“But you’re not ruling it out?” he said, not entirely sure why he’d picked this particular moment to pressure her. Maybe it had something to do with an earlier call from Louise, who hadn’t been able to resist making a few nagging comments about the disaster she saw looming on the horizon if he got too invested in something destined to fall apart.
Gabi looked into his eyes, and a faint smile touched her lips. “No, I’m not ruling it out.” Her expression turned earnest. “But, Wade—”
“No buts,” he said. “As long as the possibility of more is on the table, I’m in.”
“Why?” she asked, clearly bewildered.
“Because you’re worth it,” he told her, “and it amazes me that a woman as incredible as you needs to be reminded of that.”
“You are so good for my bruised ego,” she said, a smile blooming across her face.
“My pleasure,” he said, wishing his skeptical sister could understand this draw Gabi held for him. He hadn’t expected it, hadn’t gone looking for it, but if he had his way, he’d spend a lifetime trying to put a sparkle back into those too-sad eyes of hers.
15
Even though he was reluctant to face another of his sister’s disapproving looks, Wade forced himself to drop by Louise’s after leaving Castle’s. Despite his promise to Zack, he’d continued to put off the visit. It had finally dawned on him, though, that he was not only punishing Louise for wanting to protect him, but his actions were taking a toll on the kids he adored, as well. That had never been his intention, and yet, the proof of that hit him the instant he opened the door and four little bodies hurled themselves at him.
“Unca Wade, Unca Wade, we been missing you,” Chelsea said, her little arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
“And I have lots of things to show you,” Bryce said eagerly. “Mom took pictures at my soccer game and I got an A on my math test.”
“Good for you!” Wade said, managing to give Bryce a high five, despite Chelsea’s death grip on him. He looked at Peter. “How about you? What’s up with you these days?”
“I hate my teacher,” the seven-year-old announced with stunning bitterness. Since he’d adored the young, enthusiastic first-year teacher just weeks ago, this was a shock.
“Why is that?” Wade asked him.
“She made him sit in the corner for misbehaving,” Bryce revealed, a gloating note of triumph in his voice.
Wade’s astonishment grew. Peter had always been so well-behaved it was kind of scary. Wade tried to catch his eye, but Peter had already turned his back on them and was trudging back up the stairs. Well, he thought, he’d get to the bottom of the uncharacteristic behavior soon enough.
Now he smiled at five-year-old Katrina, who’d been hanging back shyly. Less exuberant than the others, she was often left out of these initial greetings.
“Hey, short stuff, what do you have to say for yourself?” Wade asked.
She grinned at the affectionate name he’d adopted for her and sidled closer. “I missed you,” she whispered.
He caressed her wild golden curls. “I missed you, too. I’ll bet you haven’t misbehaved at school, have you?”
She shook her head.
“But she peed her pants because she was too scared to ask to go to the bathroom,” Bryce taunted.
Immediate tears filled Katrina’s eyes. “I hate you,” she told her brother. “I hate you, hate you, hate you.”
As she, too, ran off, Wade regarded his oldest nephew with dismay. “Why would you do that?” he asked the boy. “You had to know you were embarrassing her and Peter.”
For just an instant Bryce looked chagrined by the disapproval in Wade’s voice. Before he could try to make excuses, Wade told him firmly, “These sisters and brother are your family. You’re the oldest. You’re supposed to have their back, not torment them, okay?”
He thought he detected an instant of real shame in Bryce’s eyes, so he pressed the point. “Do we have a deal?”
Bryce now looked as if he, too, might cry, but he nodded. “Promise.”
“Okay, then,” Wade said, taking him at his word. He ruffled his hair affectionately, earning a faint smile.
Wade climbed the stairs to the living quarters and found Louise waiting at the top of the steps. He gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Have you missed me, too?” he asked.
“You know I have. You stayed away too long,” she said, a scolding note in her voice.
“I apologize for that.”
She drew in a deep breath, then looked him in the eye. “I get why you did it, and from here on out I will try like crazy to keep my opinions to myself.” She paused, then amended, “At least about Gabi.”
“I’d appreciate it,” he said, speaking just as solemnly as she had.
“But,” she began, ruining the moment, “I just want to say that I heard what you said a minute ago about family having one another’s backs. All I intended to do was have yours.”
“I know that your intentions were good,” he conceded. “All behind us, okay?”
A smile spread across her face. “Okay. You staying for dinner? I was planning on spaghetti, but since you’ve shown up, I can roast a chicken and make mashed potatoes.”
Wade had considered making a hasty exit, but the hope in his sister’s eyes changed his mind. “Sure. I’ll stick around.”
He managed to disentangle himself from Chelsea and sent her off to join the other kids, then helped himself to a glass of sweet tea. “So, what’s up with Bryce? It’s not like him to be tattling on the other kids the way he did just now. And what about Peter getting punished in class?”
Louise shook her head, her expression bewildered. “I wish I understood it myself. Zack thinks it’s just a phase with Bryce, but I’m not so sure. Not to dump a guilt trip on you, but it started when you missed that soccer game. And you haven’t been coming around, either. I don’t think you realize how much my
