“Fair enough,” Sally said, extracting a couple of larger pieces from the trash.
Following the artist’s patient directions, Gabi scored the glass, then tried to break it cleanly. She eyed the results with frustration. “It’s just smaller pieces that aren’t very good.”
Sally laughed. “Did you expect to master it on your first try?”
“I’d hoped,” Gabi admitted, then gave her a rueful look. “Unrealistic, huh?”
“I’d say so.” She regarded Gabi with a meaningful look. “This is the real test, though. If you have what it takes, you won’t give up. You’ll keep trying till you get it right. After all, I imagine your very first press release didn’t go out as written.”
“Actually it did,” Gabi told her, then winced as she recalled the versions she’d never shown anyone. “Of course, that was after the twenty or so tries that no one ever saw.”
Sally tapped the broken bits of glass. “Consider these version one.”
Gabi chuckled. “Meaning I have a long way to go.”
“Oh, hon, don’t we all?”
After years of thinking of her life as a succession of triumphs, it was a little humbling to realize she was back at step one and that this path could be littered with failed attempts. At the same time, she liked the whisper of anticipation and determination that came with the hope that tomorrow would be better and the day after that better yet.
* * *
Even though Wade was fairly certain that Gabi would be tied up with her new artist friend most of the day, he found himself stopping at Castle’s after the lunch crowd had gone. He was hoping for a piece of Cora Jane’s pie and a few of her insights. Instead, he found Gabi sitting in a back booth by the kitchen with her feet propped up on the opposite seat and her eyes closed.
“Well, this is an unexpected bonus,” he said, lifting her feet so he could slide past them. “How’d your day go?”
“Sally’s great. She even gave me a lesson on cutting glass today.” She made a face at that. “I was terrible.”
“Don’t you think you’re being a little hard on yourself for a first attempt?”
“That’s what she said. She also said I looked as if I might faint from hunger, so she kicked me out.”
“Good for her,” Wade said. “Have you eaten yet?”
She shook her head. “Jerry’s making me a grilled fish sandwich now.” A grin spread across her face. “With french fries and cole slaw.”
“I thought the kitchen closed an hour ago,” Wade said, amused.
“Hey, it pays to have known the chef forever and to have an in with the owner,” she said. “And since you’re aware that the kitchen has closed, what are you doing here?”
“Cora Jane usually has pie left,” he said simply.
“You mean she usually saves you a piece,” Gabi retorted. “She must really like you.”
“What can I say? I’m a charming guy.”
Jerry came out of the kitchen just then with her lunch. He lifted a brow when he saw Wade. “Do I need to fix you a sandwich, too, or are you just here for the pie?”
“Pie’s good,” Wade told him. “What’s left?”
“Apple and cherry.”
“Cherry, with ice cream.”
“Of course,” Jerry said. “Something to drink?”
“Water will do. How come you’re waiting tables?” Wade asked. “Where’s Cora Jane?”
“When you turned up, she got it in her head she should stay out of the way,” Jerry said, his expression filled with tolerant amusement. “However, I’m to let her know what’s happening out here. I’m almost surprised she didn’t ask me to snap a couple of pictures with my cell phone—discreetly, of course.”
Gabi gave him a dismayed look. “Have you no shame, Jeremiah? Has Cora Jane reduced you to spying for her?”
Jerry grinned. “Hey, I thought I was doing the two of you a favor by keeping her out of your hair. If you’d prefer, I can send her right on out here to ask a few probing, uncomfortable questions.”
Gabi immediately held up a hand. “Please, don’t. I apologize.”
“And well you should, young lady. Haven’t I always had your back?”
“You have,” she agreed at once. “Bless you.”
“Okay, then,” he said. “I’ll be back with that pie.”
After he’d gone, Gabi turned to Wade. “How’s your work going?”
“I should be finished with this latest job for Tommy by the end of the week. He has another one starting next week.”
She frowned at the response. “That’s not the work I was asking about. Shouldn’t you be working on your carvings?”
“I put in some time on them when I can,” he said, suddenly on the defensive.
“But, Wade, they’re so amazing. You need to focus on those.”
“I seem to be spending a lot of my spare time on other interests these days,” he said, regarding her pointedly. “I consider it a fair trade-off.”
“Me, you mean? Wade, I don’t want to keep you from the work you’re meant to be doing.”
“And I don’t want to miss out on the chance to spend time with you,” he countered with a touch of defiance. “Not when I have no idea how long you intend to stick around.” He gave her a questioning look. “Any thoughts on that?”
“I’ll be here at least until the baby’s born,” she responded. “After that, I guess I’ll see how things are going with the whole wind-chime thing.”
“Any chance I’d be able to influence your decision?” he asked, holding her gaze.
She looked taken aback by the direct question. At first he thought she might not even reply, but then she shook her head.
“I honestly don’t know, Wade. This—” she gestured to him and then to herself “—I don’t know how I feel about it. I like where we are right now, no question about it. But with so much else going on in my life, how can I even think about an actual relationship? You know perfectly well that my history of maintaining anything serious with men is all but nonexistent. We
