The comment worried Wade. Much as he might like Gabi, he didn’t want to influence decisions she needed to be making for herself. He knew the sort of simmering resentment that could cause in the long-term. There were some mistakes he wasn’t hell-bent on repeating, despite what Louise thought.
“Now I definitely want to know,” he said. “How much trouble am I likely to be in?”
Gabi smiled and touched his hand. “No trouble. Not yet, anyway.” She drew in a deep breath. “Okay, you know how you and I were talking about art last night?”
“Sure,” he said, more bemused than ever.
“Well, I dug out those old paintings of mine this morning.”
“And they were incredible?” he asked hopefully.
“Oh, no. They were every bit as awful as I’d remembered,” she said, though she sounded surprisingly okay with that.
“I’m not following this,” Boone said.
“Hush,” Emily told him. “Just listen.”
Gabi’s flush deepened as Wade and Boone stared, awaiting the obviously big announcement.
“Just thinking about telling you all this is embarrassing,” she said, her nervousness plain. “I’ve probably made a huge mistake. This whole idea is ridiculous. I can’t imagine what I was thinking.”
“Stop that this minute!” Emily commanded. “It most certainly is not ridiculous! Surprising, maybe, but not ridiculous.” She jumped in to take over since Gabi obviously couldn’t find the words to explain. “We were in this little art-and-gift shop, and suddenly Gabi took one look at these wind chimes and went all gaga over them. Right, Samantha?”
“Definitely gaga,” Samantha confirmed, a grin on her face.
“It was like she had some sort of epiphany right there in the middle of the store,” Emily continued. “She told Samantha and me she wants to make them.”
Wade couldn’t seem to keep his lips from curving into a smile. The ultimate businesswoman playing with bits of colored glass? He couldn’t imagine it lasting, but for now it seemed like the perfect answer for the transition period she needed.
“Seriously?” he asked. “Wind chimes?”
Her expression sheepish, Gabi nodded. “I think so.”
Boone looked totally perplexed. “Hold on a minute. For years you’ve been the single most driven member of the entire Castle sisterhood, leaving even Emily here in your dust, and now you want to give all that up to make wind chimes? That’s some epiphany!”
“I was just thinking that if I’m going to change my life, maybe it ought to be in a dramatic way,” Gabi responded defensively. “And there’s something special and beautiful about wind chimes. They’ve always made me happy.”
Wade leaned closer and kissed her cheek. “Congratulations!”
Though Boone continued to look skeptical, he lifted a glass. “You know I wish you lots of success, Gabi.”
“Thanks. Of course it remains to be seen if I have even the tiniest bit of artistic talent. For all I know, once I’ve had a few lessons all I’ll have to show for it will be a lot of glass cuts and blood loss.”
Samantha reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. “Whether you turn out to be the world’s best wind-chime maker or not, I’m so impressed that you’re going for this, Gabi. It’s a daring move. I’m proud of you.”
“Hear, hear,” Emily said.
Wade could see the impact their enthusiasm had on Gabi. It was clear just how much she counted on her sisters’ support. Her eyes were shining as they toasted her. And if there was even the tiniest shadow of doubt in her mind about her decision, for now at least, she hid it well.
* * *
Gabi accepted eagerly when Wade offered to drive her home after dinner. She’d been dying to hear his uncensored reaction to her decision.
Once they were in his car, she turned to him. “Okay, now tell me what you really think about all this. Am I insane to even consider something like this out of the blue?”
His somber expression as he faced her made her pulse beat unsteadily.
“Oh, no,” she whispered. “You do think I’m crazy.”
He shook his head at once. “It doesn’t matter what I think,” he said. He was quiet for a long time before he faced her squarely and asked, “Just tell me one thing. Do you really, really want to give this a try? Or are you just desperate to seize on anything that doesn’t require you to go back into the same old corporate grind?”
She frowned at the questions, mostly because he was asking things she’d been wondering herself, but avoiding answering. “Do you know how annoying it is that you always seem to cut right to the heart of things?”
“You asked,” he reminded her. “How about an honest answer?”
She drew in a deep breath and thought about the question. “Maybe a little of both,” she admitted. “I mean, I can see being passionate about something like this, about creating something so beautiful, something that will make people happy when they hear the sound on the breeze.”
“But?” he prodded.
“I know I was also getting frustrated by not having made a decision. At least this is a step forward, even if it’s not necessarily on the right path.”
Wade nodded. “I had a feeling that might be part of it.”
Her conviction wavered. “Should I just forget all about this?”
“Absolutely not,” he said, surprising her.
“Why not?”
“Because changes aren’t always black-and-white decisions. There’s nothing wrong with experimenting, as long as you understand that the results might not be what you wanted or expected. It’s never wrong to explore, to take risks, to shake things up as long as you understand why you’re doing it.”
“And I do know with absolute certainty that I want something different,” she said, confident on that point at least. “This certainly fits that criteria.”
His eyes sparkled with amusement. “It certainly does. I think you successfully stunned both of your sisters when you made your announcement in that store and then Boone when you told us tonight.”
“And you? You weren’t even a tiny bit taken aback?”
“Nah,” he said, then claimed, “I’ve known for months that there was an adventurous soul in there yearning to
