Gabrielle staring at him.
“That was short and sweet,” she said, grinning as she flapped a napkin across her lap. “You’d think you were the one who bumped his head.” She leaned forward to give him a quick kiss on the lips. “I hope you didn’t forget how to say a proper blessing because you’re worried about me. Because I’m fine. Honest.”
She hadn’t been raised in a church-going household. He’d known that when he married her. It had been just one of the things he figured he could teach her…and one of the things that had caused conflict between them.
He focused on his plate so she wouldn’t read the concern in his eyes. “I’m not worried about you,” he said, knowing even as the words exited his lips that they weren’t true. “I’m starved, is all. Haven’t had a bite all day.”
“What! There wasn’t a scrap of bacon or a streak of egg yoke left on your plate when you left here this morning!”
The last time she’d made him a big country breakfast had been on the morning of the day she’d left him. But Doc Parker had warned Drew not to let Gabrielle get upset, and to remind her of that fact was sure to do just that. “Well,” he began, choosing his words carefully, “I haven’t had a bite lately.”
All through the rest of the meal, Gabrielle told him about how she’d heard a wolf howling that morning, even before the cock crowed. The candle glow shimmered on her ivory skin, made her bright gray eyes glitter like polished silver.
Oh, how he loved this vital, animated woman, and oh, how he’d missed her! Her zest for life was contagious. Before he’d met her, thanking the Good Lord for every sunrise was more a habit than anything else. But since meeting Gabrielle… Well, waking to find his beautiful, lively little wife cuddled up beside him had given him a whole new and glorious reason to thank God for each new day.
He looked into her eyes—eyes afire with the love of life. Did Gabrielle realize what she was doing? Did she understand that her sweet smiles, the love-light in her eyes, the way she rested her hand on his arm now and then, was awakening memories? Did she know that this candlelit dinner—prepared and served to celebrate the day they were wed—made him yearn for that blessed day, and that wonderful night?
Being with her again was, for Drew, like feeling the sunshine on his face after a winter of cold, dreary Montana weather. She was his rainbow after a thunderstorm, his home and his hearth and the love of his life. He was grateful to have her back, so grateful that he would make any promise, swear any oath, to ensure Gabrielle would never leave him again.
Was it an accident of fate, some curious coincidence, that her soft voice and gentle touch seemed to him a signal that meant she’d come home to stay? That she expected him always to be part of her life—welcomed, wanted, loved—despite the despicable things she’d accused him of?
She deserved a strong man. A good man.
God had blessed him with a good, strong body, and in gratitude, Drew had used it to its fullest potential. Not that there was any honor in it; lately, hard work seemed to be the only thing that took his mind off missing her. But had he paid so much attention to exercising his body that he’d neglected to exercise his spirit? Was that the reason he’d sobbed like an orphan after she’d left him? Was that why a sob threatened to escape his throat even now?
Drew knew something about how time could sharpen the keen edge of yearning. He’d brooded and sulked for years after his mother left home. And done the same when Gabby ran off—for months.
And now she was back, more beautiful than ever.
“I’m going to take a hike, first thing tomorrow—see if I can’t find that wol—”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He knew only too well her love of wolves. Knew, too, about the one she’d heard nearly a year ago. It would break her heart to know he’d found a scraggly wolf a few months back. Living out here, he’d seen it before. Lone wolves, starving for affection as much as food, usually ended up like that one.
Her smile dimmed in response to the edginess in his voice. “Why not?”
“Doc Parker said you should take it easy for the next few days, remember?” Drew made a concerted effort to lighten his tone. “Hiking through the foothills isn’t exactly following doctor’s orders, now is it?”
She tucked in one corner of her mouth, shoved a wide, ruffle-edged noodle around on her plate. “No,” she sighed, “I suppose not.” Gabrielle sat back in her chair, lay her fork beside her plate. “But the wolf was close, Drew, real close.” Leaning forward, she rested both hands on his forearm. “You’re gonna think I’m nuts, but I want to see it, up close.”
He’d refused to let her track wolves before, citing the danger involved—another piece of evidence in her mind that he didn’t consider her feelings the least bit important. “Tell you what,” he began, “when Doc gives you a clean bill of health, we’ll look for the wolf…together.”
Drew focused on her ringless fingers, which were pressing gently into his skin. Until now, he’d hoped that she’d rented that little apartment in town just to cool off. That she’d pull herself together and realize what had happened between them didn’t have to put an end to their marriage.
But if that were true, would she have taken off her wedding band and her engagement ring? Drew didn’t think so.
He swallowed, hard.
Drew had never known anyone like Gabrielle. When she set her mind on something, she was like a puppy to the root. He didn’t see any point in telling her they’d had a similar conversation, before she left.
He’d try to move Granite Peak, lasso the sun, change the course of the Fishtail River if she asked it of him. Disappointing her was the last thing Drew wanted to do.
It hadn’t been the rage that gave her melodious voice a ragged edge, the memory of which, even as recently as last night, kept him awake for hours. It hadn’t been the heat of the angry words themselves that made him feel more ashamed than he’d ever felt to date. No, it had been the disappointment in her eyes that haunted him, wouldn’t give him a moment’s peace. If the Good Lord would see fit to give him a chance to make it up to her, Drew had vowed night after lonely night, he’d never make the same mistakes again.
“We can go tomorrow, Drew. It’d be safe—if you were with me.”
Gabrielle waited for his response, a sweet smile curving her lovely lips.
She had come back to him. What more proof did he need that God had answered his plea?
“I dunno, Gabby. Doc said—”
“I’m not a baby, Drew,” she snapped, snatching back her hands. “I don’t need to be coddled.”
The truth came spilling out, like the rapids spilling over timeworn rocks in the bend of a river. “Gabby, sweetie,” he said, reaching for her, “I’m sorry if it sounds like that. I don’t mean it to, honest. It’s just that I love you and I’m worried about you. I know how you push yourself. I’ve had a concussion, myself, so I know you can feel terrific one minute, dizzy as a drunkard the next.”
She gave him a halfhearted grin. “Do I smell a compromise in the air?”
Drew hung his head and chuckled softly.
