Page 71 of Justified Lies

“I shouldn’t have involved you in this. If I didn’t call, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“How can you say that?” he asked incredulously. “Of course you should have called me.”

“How are you really? The police said you were stabbed. I spoke to the hospital shortly before you arrived here. They wouldn’t give me any information on your condition, just confirmed you were treated there. I was going to drive up once the kids were in bed.”

Gabe was comforted that Lianna cared enough to scour the hospital looking for him. But before he could say anything she went on.

“What really happened? It must have been serious if they took you to the hospital. Can I get you anything? You should be resting right now,” she was starting to ramble and he found it adorable.

“No, thank you, sweetheart.”

He needed to stop this awkward small talk and get her to truly listen to him. As Gabe watched Lianna wringing her hands, he realized she was nervous too.

“I’m here to take care of you, not the other way around. What happened to your arm?” Although her sweatshirt covered any injuries, he remembered the blood from earlier.

“Diane sliced her way into the house. I didn’t need stitches, but, my God, it hurts.”

“Damn, I wish I had gotten here earlier.”

“Gabe, don’t you dare do that. Don’t feel guilty for something that was not your fault. I’m okay and I shouldn’t get into any more trouble … at least for tonight.”

“That’s impossible, the worrying part,” he said around a grin. But Lianna’s expression remained serious.

“Now that Diane is out of the picture, there won’t be any more weird things happening. As awful as today was, it is a relief to understand what has been going on the past few weeks.”

“I bet,” he sighed.

Unable to resist touching her for another second, he lifted the arm on his good side to cup her neck. Rubbing her nape softly with his thumb, she finally melted, leaning into the contact.

“Gabe, if my arm hurts this bad you must be in serious pain. You should be lying down.”

“I intend to be lying down, very soon.” He hoped she recognized the need in his tone. “Soon as we get the kids taken care of. Did they eat? I’ll make something. You sit down and relax.”

Gabe started towards the kitchen. “Also, I’m sorry for not asking before I brought Jacob over. I didn’t want to give you a reason to say no. It was selfish but…” He shrugged, his back to her.

“I love having Jacob here—he’ll keep Harris from bugging his sister all night. But right now, you should be home resting. I promise I’m handling all this okay.”

Gabe had been scouring her cabinets for a pot when he stopped and righted himself. Slowly he rubbed a hand along his beard, then placed it on the island to steady himself.

“I believe that you’re handling all this well. You are strong and brave, so it doesn’t surprise me one bit. I’ve never met anyone as resilient as you.” He pulled in a deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m here becauseIneed to be.Ineed you right now … just to be near you. And there are some things I have to say once we are alone.”

Lianna nodded and whispered, “Okay.”

On cue, six feet came thundering down the stairs.

“Mom, Harris and Jacob won’t let me play with them.” Annie was whining.

“It’s the green soldiers against the gray ones, it’s only for two people, dummy,” Harris retorted.

“I’m not a dummy, dummy,” Annie quickly spat back.

Jacob noted the spaghetti on the counter. “I’m hungry.”

Gabe held up his good hand as if he were trying to pacify a pack of wolves. He spoke around a chuckle. “I’m making some food now. Why don’t you boys let Annie oversee the command center. Set up your ship and Annie can be the admiral on board calling all the shots.”

The boys looked at each other and seemed to consider the idea, while Annie downright beamed.

“Okay,” they finally decided, and all three kids turned and disappeared.

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