It was ironic, really, that just this morning she’d been trying to sort through her jumbled thoughts to construct a new plan, fresh goals, only to have the old ones dangled in front of her. Of course, she didn’t know for a fact that the opportunity to go back was real.
Sucking in a deep breath, she drew the phone from her pocket and listened to all three messages. Indeed, her father and Ron Carlyle had apparently agreed that the decision to let her go had been precipitous. And Amanda had been contrite in her messages, assuring Gabi that she could come back and resume her rightful role at the company. There’d even been the hint of a plea in her voice in the second message, as if she was getting pressured from above to make this happen.
So, now she knew, Gabi thought as she ended the final message. She knew she owed her father and Amanda a call back, but instead she found herself punching in Wade’s number.
“Are you free?” she asked when he answered.
“Is everything okay, Gabi? Are you all right?” The immediate worry in his voice was unmistakable.
“I’m fine,” she said. “I just need to talk to someone who isn’t family. You seem to have a pretty clear perspective where I’m concerned. I’m not sure you know me as well as you think you do, but you’re the first person I thought of who might help me sort this out.”
“Where are you?”
She told him.
“Give me twenty minutes,” he said. “Don’t move.”
She chuckled. “Well, I might have to hunt down a restroom, but I promise I will be in the vicinity.”
“Did you have lunch?”
“Come to think of it, no. The last food I had were those doughnuts you brought by earlier.”
“I’ll bring lunch, too.”
“Thanks, Wade.”
“Anytime, sweetheart. You can always count on me.”
As she hung up, she couldn’t help wondering if it was worrisome that she was starting to believe that.
* * *
Wade called an order in to Boone on his way to meet Gabi. “Can you have your chef put together a couple of shrimp po’boys, some fries and coleslaw? I’ll pick ’em up in ten minutes.”
“Done,” Boone said at once. “Do you have a date with Gabi? Emily’s worried about her. She called a while back and said Gabi left the house a couple of hours ago, upset about something, and no one’s heard from her since.”
“She just called me. Let Emily know I’m on my way to meet her.”
“She’ll definitely be relieved,” Boone said. “How about I throw in a couple of slices of key lime pie while I’m at it?”
“Now you’re talking my language,” Wade said. “That’s the only pie I can’t get at Castle’s. Cora Jane says yours is the best, so why bother.”
Boone chuckled. “My chef is going to be ecstatic to hear that.”
Ten minutes later, Wade swung into the parking lot by Boone’s Harbor and saw Boone waiting with two large take-out bags. Wade grinned at him.
“If word gets out you’re doing curbside service, your business will probably triple,” Wade teased.
“This courtesy is only for certain valued customers,” Boone told him.
“How much do I owe you?”
“This one’s on the house. Emily’s convinced you’re about to save the day and that we owe you, whatever that means. Do you have any idea?”
“Not yet, but I will get to the bottom of it,” Wade promised, taking the bags. “Thanks, man.”
“Anytime.”
Once he reached downtown, it took Wade longer than he’d have liked to find a parking space in the busy waterfront area, but when he had, he found Gabi on a bench, staring at the crowds and the boats, though he had a feeling her head was a million miles away. The sun had dropped in the sky, and the air had turned brisk.
She glanced up when he sat down beside her.
“Want to go someplace quieter, where we can talk?” he asked, shrugging out of his jacket and handing it to her. “Put this on. The temperature’s dropping. You don’t want to catch a cold.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted, even as she pulled the jacket around her. “I like sitting here. I’ve been watching the kids.”
“And wondering about yours?” he guessed.
She nodded.
“Have something to eat and tell me,” he suggested, handing her the sandwich and opening the fries so she had access to those. He took the ice-cold bottled water out of another bag and gave her one of those, as well.
Rather than responding, she took an eager bite of the sandwich, then closed her eyes in ecstasy. “From Boone’s,” she said at once. “It’s the only place in town that can make a po’boy this good.”
“And it comes with his compliments,” Wade said. “Your sister’s worried about you. I gather you took off from the house a while ago and haven’t checked in.”
“I needed to think.”
“About the baby?”
She shook her head. “I had some calls earlier, while you and I were out. I’d left my phone behind, so there were messages.”
“Bad news?” he asked, trying to figure out the weary tone in her voice.
Her unexpected laugh seemed forced. “A few days ago, I’d probably have thought just the opposite. My company suddenly seems willing to have me back in my old job.” She met his gaze. “I can thank my dad for that. He made a call.”
Wade’s heart sank at the news, but he forced himself to hide his reaction and focus on her odd mood. She didn’t seem nearly as ecstatic as he would have expected.
“You haven’t called back, asked for details?”
She shook her head. “Not even my dad, much less my old boss.” Her expression turned bewildered. “Why haven’t I?”
He smiled at her.
