Page 29 of If This is Love

I set down the cup and tucked my hands under my chin, unsure what else to do with them. “It’s my pleasure for such a kind favor.”

“I can take him again tomorrow morning if you want,” he said, still wearing a hint of his rare but sweet smile.

“I’d love that. And I’ll have some extra hot coffee waiting then, too.”

He offered me a nod, backing away from the steps. “Let me know what the doc says.” He whistled at Gunner, and then the two started jogging away.

“Will do,” I called after him. “Have a good day.”

Gabe turned, jogging backward to face me for a second. He touched his brow in a small salute and then turned back around.

I watched him jog until he disappeared around a corner and decided I needed to pray for his ex-wife. Because anyone who threw away a man like that had to have something wrong with them.

GABE

ALGIERS POINT, NEW ORLEANS

The next morning at around the same time, I sent Ruth a heads-up text that I was still planning to come by and get Jax. And rather than replying like she did yesterday, she opted to call.

I nearly jumped out of my skin, and the phone nearly slipped right out of my hand. After juggling it like a slippery bar of soap for a second, I gripped it and stared at the screen.

Was this a butt-dial, or was she really calling me? Onpurpose?

By the fourth ring, I finally gathered the balls to answer, but it stopped ringing before I could move my thumb to swipe. By then I’d also convinced myself that there had to be some kind of emergency if she was calling, so I immediately called her back.

I got a busy signal.

A busy. Signal.

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it again, then ended the call. Two seconds passed, and there was no follow-up call, so I guessed it was still my turn to try to call back and dialed again.

The line connected immediately, but it was silent. My heart rate kicked up a notch. “Ruth? Are you there?”

It was nothing but faint static like I was on hold without the elevator music. The high-pitched beep of call waiting suddenly blared into the silence, and I was sure I actually did jump out of my skin.

Gunner whined as he crossed the bedroom and pushed his face against the side of my leg.

“I’mfine,” I snapped, pulling the phone away from my ear and swiping to answer. I was apparently answering a call from Ruth while putting a second call from her on hold. How that was even possible, I had no idea. This was too much chaos for before coffee. Placing the phone against my ear, I barked in a purely frustrated reflex, “Ruth.”

“Oh mygoodness,” came her creamy voice, laced with embarrassment and guilt. “I am so sorry, Gabe.” She gave a quick, nervous laugh. “I was actually trying to make things easier by calling, but I guess my brain’s not quite awake yet.”

“I didn’t mean to snap at you,” I said, lowering and softening my voice. “I thought something was wrong. I was worried about you.”

“Oh.”

I’d noticed she saidohlike that a lot. I’d also noticed that the breathy, single-syllable sound of her sayingohmade my neglected dick want tocry.

“I didn’t mean to worry you,” she continued, her voice low and husky with remnants of sleep. “I was trying to let you know that the doctor said I can’t run for a while, but it’s fine to go on a nice, slow walk. And I’ve been feeling really cooped up on my couch the past few days. So, I was wondering if you’d like to go for a stroll with Jax and me instead.”

The simple request managed to speed up the slow melting of my heart that had been happening for days.

“Yeah,” I said after a pause. “I think that’d be really nice.”

“Yeah?” Her smile was audible. “Should I make us a couple of coffees to-go?”

Now it wasn’t so much my dick that was crying but myheart. She was a living, breathing dream, and I honestly hadn’t wanted anything like this in a long time.

Maybe ever.

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