Her voice rang out like church bells. “Have faith, young man. Have faith.” She paused, then added, “It wouldn’t hurt to say a few prayers, too.”
Gabe asked Celeste to join him for lunch, but she declined, citing other errands on her schedule. He waved as she roared off on her motorcycle, shaking his head slightly at the sight. He hoped he was as active as she was when he was her age.
She’d made him feel better, he reflected as he walked toward the house. She had lifted his spirits and given him hope. The woman certainly had a way about her that spoke to the troubled areas of a soul.
He was in the middle of making a turkey sandwich when he heard his phone ring. He licked mayonnaise from his fingers, then checked the number: Nic. “Hello?”
“Are you suicidal?”
His heart leapt to hear her voice. “What?”
“People in town think you’re depressed. They say you’re not eating or taking care of yourself.”
Gabe’s stare locked on his turkey sandwich. “I’m fine. How are you, Nic? How are the babies?”
“Why aren’t you in town?” she asked with an edge in her voice. “Why are you holed up at Eagle’s Way?”
“I miss you.”
“Answer my question.”
“I just did. I miss you, Nic. Town is lonely without you. It’s crowded with tourists, too, and for some reason that only makes me miss you more.”
After a long pause, she said, “Your sister-in-law told Celeste that you almost killed yourself last fall. There’s some concern you’ve, um, relapsed. Everyone is very worried about you.”
“Everyone?” He waited a long pause, but when she failed to respond, he added, “No one needs to worry. I’m not depressed and I’m certainly not suicidal. I don’t want you to be concerned about my mental health. Except for missing you, I’m fine, I promise. In fact, Celeste came by a little while ago. You can talk to her. She’ll back me up. Now, since I have you on the phone, can I ask how you’re doing? How the babies are doing? I think about you every day and—”
“Stop it, Gabe,” she interrupted. “I’m not ready for this. The only reason I called was because I can’t say no to Lori.”
“Then I guess that attending childbirth classes with you is out of the question?”
“Doing what?”
“I assume you’re signed up for childbirth classes and I was hoping you’d let me go with you. Otherwise I’m going to go to the classes at the hospital over in Gunnison.”
“Wait. Hold on. I don’t get it.”
“I want to be part of their lives, Nicole. I’m not going to push you, but I want you to know that I’m committed. I will be there for them, and for you, to whatever extent you’ll allow. I know you have good reason not to believe me, so I’m not going to ask that of you. I’ll let my actions prove my words.”
He held his breath waiting for her response. For a long moment she said nothing. When she finally did speak, she broke his heart. “You hurt me, Gabe.”
“I know.” He swallowed hard, and in that moment he truly despised himself. “I’m so, so sorry.”
He heard the line click, then a dial tone. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Then, wrapping his hand around the angel’s wings medallion, he murmured, “Well, at least that’s a start.”
Nic rejoiced in every week that crawled by. Never mind that her belly grew so big that she felt like she needed a sling to help tote it around. She refused to complain about the heartburn and insomnia and fatigue and pressure. She followed the perinatologist’s instructions to the letter and had Sage on speed dial for the endless questions she had and for the reassurances she needed on a daily basis. Whatever reason Sage had for turning her back on medicine, Nic was both grateful and thankful that she’d put friendship ahead of it.
As August marched on, she began to believe she might reach her new goal of delivering her babies closer to home. Sage, her doctor in Denver, and Dr. Marshall had all assured her that if she made it to thirty-seven weeks, the Gunnison facility could care for her near-term twins just fine. The only thing preventing her from heading for the hills the moment her doctor gave her the okay was her indecision regarding what to do about Gabe.
Calling him that day had created a real chink in her armor