Gabi sighed as she disconnected the call. “Now I’m more confused than ever,” she told her grandmother. “This big-deal secret is apparently something that turns Wade into a hero, not a jerk. If that’s the case, why not just tell me?”
Cora Jane smiled. “Because it’s obviously something Wade doesn’t like to talk about but that Sally thinks you ought to know. Looks to me as if you’ll have to practice a little patience until he’s ready to talk.”
“Have you ever once put patience on any list of my virtues?” Gabi inquired, exasperated.
“Nope, but now seems as good a time as any for you to get a little practice.”
“Can’t I just hunt Wade down and persuade him to talk to me?”
“Did he seem as if he was in a talking mood last time you saw him?”
“No.”
“Well, then, that’s your answer. This is one time when you need to listen to your grandmother.”
“I always listen to you,” Gabi claimed.
“And then do whatever you please,” Cora Jane noted, then glanced up. “Besides, it doesn’t look as if you’re going to have to wait all that long for answers.”
Sure enough, Wade was striding across the dining room, a determined glint in his eyes. His expression softened as he greeted Cora Jane with a kiss. Then he met Gabi’s gaze.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
“You’re in the mood now?” she asked, unable to keep the snarky note from her voice.
“Gabriella!” Cora Jane scolded.
Wade merely grinned. “It’s okay. I gave her a rough time earlier. She probably didn’t deserve it.”
“Probably?” Gabi repeated with indignation.
“Okay, you didn’t deserve it.”
“Thank you,” Gabi said. “And maybe I was a little bit at fault, and I am sorry for earlier and for my attitude just now. Being snippy is not the best way to mend fences.” She frowned slightly. “You do want to mend fences, right?”
He nodded. “That’s what I was thinking when I spotted your car outside.”
“Then I’ll leave you two alone,” Cora Jane said. “I’ll bring your pie and some iced tea, Wade. In the meantime, play nice.”
Gabi smiled at the admonishment. She hadn’t heard it in years. It had usually been directed at the more rebellious Emily. Gabi had always played nice. It was the trait that had gotten her ahead in the business world. She’d played nicely, but always to win.
Now she’d have to see if it could get the answers she wanted under these circumstances.
18
Wade found himself nervously dissecting the piece of apple pie that Cora Jane had brought to the table. He knew he owed Gabi not only an apology, but an explanation for what had happened earlier. Neither was going to come easy. Since the apology was the lesser of two difficult conversations, he started there.
“I’m sorry I got all bent out of shape at lunch,” he said, looking her in the eyes. “The whole conversation stirred up a lot of bad memories for me, but you couldn’t have known that.”
“That wasn’t at all what I’d intended to do,” she told him. “I feel as if I’m groping around in the dark, Wade. Clearly there’s some topic that’s off-limits between us, but without knowing what it is, how am I supposed to avoid it?”
“That is a dilemma, isn’t it?” he asked with a rueful note in his voice. He’d imagined dealing with this a million times, but it had never been as difficult as he was finding it in real life. Not only did it mean opening an old wound, it meant baring his soul.
Gabi waited, then began carefully, “Wade, I know we don’t have any idea where this is going between us.”
What he knew was that she was trying to fill the silence that fell while he sorted through what he wanted to say, what he had to say. “True,” he said.
“But you’ve certainly hinted at wanting a relationship. Admittedly, my experience with relationships is pretty lousy, but I do think the cornerstone is probably built on honesty and communication. Since that was clearly lacking in my last so-called connection with a man, I’d like to get it right this time. Evasions aren’t going to cut it with me.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” he said. He gave her a wistful look. “Isn’t it enough that you know I was married, that I lost my wife and baby in an accident?”
“If that’s the whole story, then yes,” she said at once. “Is it?”
Wade sighed heavily. “No.”
As he let the silence drag on, her eyes widened. “Wade, you didn’t cause the accident, did you? Is that what you don’t want to talk about?”
“No! God, no,” he said emphatically, genuinely horrified that such a thought had even crossed her mind.
He understood, though, that nature abhorred a vacuum. Without answers from him, her imagination could spin completely out of control. Obviously she wasn’t going to be satisfied with half-truths or evasions, either. Anything less than complete candor was going to leave room for the wildest speculation. He didn’t know if he had Sally or Louise to thank for planting these seeds of distrust in her head, but it was up to him to set the record straight, to talk about something that only very few people knew. And no one—not one single person—knew everything. He’d kept the secret for Kayla’s sake, and maybe for his own.
“What have you heard about me and Kayla?” he asked, backing into the subject.
“That you were high school sweethearts. Even the waitress that night at Boone’s Harbor talked about how you’d only had eyes for her.” She frowned slightly. “Is that not true?”
“Oh, it’s true,” he said, unable to keep a hint of bitterness from his voice. “I was crazy about her almost from the day we met. We were in high school. She was new in town. I can remember like it was yesterday when she walked into my homeroom. Actually, she bounced in with this shiny brown hair practically down to her waist. Her hair seemed like it was shot through with gold.”
A faraway smile crossed his face. “She
