Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

Gabby

A t the end of the day, I glance over at Valentina. "Did you like it here today?"

She nods, a small smile playing across her face. "It was busier than I expected it to be."

"But you handled everything spectacularly on your own. There were very few missteps and you helped out a great deal. I would love to hire you. I can't pay a lot, but I will give you free food, and if you're interested, there's a second apartment upstairs. I'm in one, and there's another next door. It's a studio, and it needs some love. But I don't like that you're staying at that hotel and walking here. If I can help you, I want to."

"That's too much." Valentina reaches up, covering her mouth with her hand. "I didn't expect this."

"Neither did I when I opened the shop here. I was a newly divorced woman who had a couple of nickels to rub together, a shop that was halfway thrown together, with an apartment upstairs that had a leaky roof. This community took me in and they have carried me as one of their own. I would love to help you if I can." I reach into the register and pull out her pay for today. "If not, you can take that and decide not to come back, but if you want to stay here, I can get you set up in the apartment tonight. Electricity and water run off of what's already on down here, so you won't have to worry about it."

"How much will rent be?" She asks, chewing on her bottom lip. "I can't afford much."

"And I told you that I can't afford much hourly. The rent is included as part of the package, and I can give you twelve an hour. Will that be enough to get you to stay and work with me?"

Her dark eyes fill with tears, and again I wonder what has happened to this girl, why does she react this way to someone wanting to help her? There's a slight tremble to her hands, and I ache to reach out and grab it to reassure her. "Yes, I would love to work with you. Thank you so much for this

"Don't thank me yet. Sometimes this place gets insane. I've had my fair share of people yelling at me because they didn't like how I decorated their cake, or they don't like my prices. Today it's hard to please everyone, and that's not what I try to do here. As long as ninety-nine percent of the people who come through that door are happy, I'm happy." I do my best to explain without scaring her off.

"No, I get it, and I agree. Thank you. Can I go upstairs now?"

"Yeah, for sure. Let me take you up and get you some clean sheets and a blanket. I can give you some towels, too." I'm trying to remember what all someone needs to start their life over. But honestly, I feel as if she hasn't started hers yet, and she's starting behind the ball.

"Oh, you don't have to do that. You've already done so much. Please..."

I reach out, putting a hand over hers. as her words drift off "I don't do anything I don't want to. I want to help you, Valentina. I promise. You don't owe me anything for it, either."

Our eyes meet, and in that moment, I recognize someone who desperately wants to be a part of anything that doesn't make her feel so alone. That's what I was looking for when I moved to Broken Falls. My parents and I have never been close. They're traveling God knows where right now, my marriage didn't work out, and I knew I couldn't stay in my hometown where everyone married their high school sweetheart. "Let's head upstairs."

After I get her settled, I go over to my apartment and quickly get changed. I have a place to be, and I can't fucking wait.

I've put way too much thought into what I should wear tonight. I know that as I pull up into Barrett's driveway. He lives on the outskirts of Broken Falls on some acreage, and last time I was here, he was building onto the house in his spare time. He'd mentioned that he desperately wanted a family of his own, which I did too. It's one of the biggest things we had in common.

I can see a dark-headed boy that looks just like Barrett, running up to my car, calling me mommy. I probably shouldn't be having this dream, but since the moment I met him, I saw this for the two of us. I'm sure his mom would see it as me taking advantage, but Barrett was undoubtedly the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I'm mad at myself for not wanting to fight for it. I should've fought a lot fucking harder, and I know I'm never going to let anyone else dictate our relationship again. This time, I promise myself. I will.

Barrett comes out of the front door, reaching up to grasp the edge of the awning with his palms. He lifts himself up and swings. A bare swatch of his stomach is exposed when he does, and it takes everything I have to concentrate on him, instead of those muscles. "Hey lady, my eyes are up here."

I laugh as I walk toward him. "Same could be said for you." I watch as his eyes move up and down my bare legs. I went back and forth between whether I was going to wear the shorts or not. Now I'm glad I did; it was a good choice.

"You have the absolute best legs," he says as he comes down the steps, taking them two at a time. When we get to one another, he wraps his arms around my waist. "They're toned, and a fucking mile long."

"No, they aren't." I shake my head. "A mile long anyway. I'm only five-four. There's no way you can consider those a mile long. Toned, I'll take."

"You work hard every day. I can only imagine how many steps you get." He drops his head down so that our foreheads touch.

"When I wear something that counts them, it's well over fifteen thousand. I've lost weight since I opened the business. More than I imagined I would, but I've always worked much harder than I thought I would have to." I grin up at him.

"You're not afraid of it, though."

"No, I'm not. I want this, need to be able to tell others how successful I am because they said I couldn't or wouldn't be."

Barrett hooks his fingers into the belt hoops of my shorts and pulls me even closer. "I want you to be the most successful person in this town. Don't tell Kara or Abel, but I think you have such a great business and I know you love it. I want to help you get there, if you'd allow me."

"You know that's a problem with me." I whisper.

He pulls back, grabbing hold of my hand and leading me up the stairs. "I know, so that means if you ever decide to let me, I'll know I've earned your trust."

Trust is hard, because of what my ex-husband did and the things he didn't do. "You won't get it easily. You know that, right?"

"I do." He nods and hooks his arm around my waist. "But I'm going to be here for the long haul. That I promise you."

I don't say anything, because I don't know what to say. "I'm not intentionally making it hard."

"I know that too, and I'm patient. You don't owe me a damn thing, so you're not going to piss me off. All I want is your trust, and if you don't want to talk about this any longer then we won't. But I want you to know how important it is for me to overcome what we went through last time. Communication will be at the forefront of this relationship from now on."

I grasp his shirt between my fingers. "I appreciate it, and I don't want to talk about it anymore. I just want to have a nice night with you."

"Then that's what we'll do."