Galen's Gemma - Dale Mayer Page 0,15

just look after you.”

She stared at him in surprise.

He gave her a half smile. “Choose someone you want, not someone you think you should have.” When he heard a call, he turned to see Gemma standing on the front deck of a nearby building, motioning them to come over. He reached down and gently nudged Rebecca’s elbow. “Come on. They want us to join them.”

“Of course they do,” she said with an unhappy sigh. Then she announced, “I’ll be absolutely miserable here for a few days.”

“If you want to be miserable, you will be,” he said.

She turned and glared at him.

He shrugged. “Or you could choose something different and make this a fun time for your daughter to enjoy.”

“She’ll enjoy it anyway because she’ll be with her favorite perfect person,” she snapped.

With that, she strode off ahead, leaving him with an ugly impression of much worse than just resentment in the family. He hoped it was only on the surface and didn’t impact the safety of the three of them because that would be hard to forgive. But he had to wonder just how deep Rebecca’s resentment went.

Chapter 5

Gemma studied her sister’s face as she approached. Rebecca looked the same as always—put upon and upset. Like everything was a grand inconvenience. Hopefully Rebecca was hiding deeper feelings of worry over Joe’s demise, but Gemma never could be sure. Her sister had always seemed very superficial. Gemma knew there had to be feelings deep inside, but it appeared that Rebecca neither took the time nor allowed herself to feel them.

Finally she hopped up onto the deck beside them. Gemma smiled and said, “We’ll go in and say hello, and then I’ll take you to the rooms. I’m sure everybody could use a break by now.”

Immediately Becky shook her head. “I want to see the animals!”

“Maybe,” Gemma temporized. “But don’t forget we need permission first, so you have to be on your best behavior.”

Becky immediately nodded and smiled. “I will be.”

Gemma looked at her sister. “You too.”

She shot her look. “I’m not a child.”

Frustrated, Gemma didn’t say anything as Galen approached just then. Gemma walked into what appeared to be an office, and everybody followed.

There, a single man stood behind a small desk doing some paperwork. He looked up and smiled. “You must be our guests.”

Gemma smiled and nodded. “We’re here for a couple days.”

“Welcome.” He looked at Becky. “Was it you I heard who wanted to see the animals?”

Becky beamed. “Yes. Please,” she added.

“Once we get you settled into your cabin,” he said, “we can do that.” He turned behind him and reached for two keys hanging on separate hooks. “I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.” With that, he walked past the small group, out the door, and turned left.

They followed behind him. Gemma had been here before, many times as a child and a teenager, and had stayed in touch with the group who owned the place. She knew Galen and Zack were curious about her friendships, but she kept them in the dark on purpose. Her friends preferred it that way, and, since she’d known them for so long and had accepted them for who they were, she didn’t have a problem with that. Lots of people did though. They took a group of individuals like this who liked to live on the edge of society and tore them apart mentally, trying to figure out what made them tick and whether they were loose time bombs or not. She was just happy to let them be themselves.

As she walked along, she asked, “How has the year treated you, Tim?”

Galen noted that the man hadn’t introduced himself.

Tim looked at her, smiled, and commented, “It’s been good. The crops have been prolific. The animals have been decent. We’ve got two more babies in the group,” he said proudly. “We’re all happy. That’s what counts.”

She nodded and didn’t say anything more. He opened up the first cabin, and she stepped inside and smiled. She was always okay with the simple life. She knew her sister would freak out though.

They walked to the second cabin which was a little bigger and had a bedroom in the back.

“This is where you two will stay, Becky,” she said, turning to look at her sister. “I figured Zack can stay in here with you.”

Rebecca stared at her, surprised. “And you?”

“I’ll stay at the other one,” she said.

Rebecca pinched her lips together, as she contemplated that and then shrugged. “Sure, I’ll take the bedroom. Whatever.”

“You and