Authors: Patricia Isabel
CHAPTER 16
When
Gabe left Shane’s house one week ago, he went straight to his father’s house. Finding him in his library, reading the paper, he made his way to the chair across from him and took a seat. “I would suggest you put a leash on your wife or you may become a widow again” Gabe stated. “What do I care what Lynesse does?” Holten peered at his son over the newspaper he had been reading. “She had her own mind since before your brother brought her around” His father was seventy years old and his years were beginning to show. He looked more tired and weary than the last time Gabe had seen him. “She has been a loose cannon since day one and I have learned to ignore it” Holten brought his newspaper back to eye level and continued to read. The last thing he wanted to think about was his errant wife and her social blunders. Lynesse was a big girl and Holten was happy to let her fend for herself in her follies. “Well, you may want to hear what she’s been up too. It concerns Shane” Gabe leaned forward in his chair and put his elbows on his thighs. He knew his father and brother were estranged the past five years but he also knew that Holten had been keeping tabs on Shane, making sure he was alright. Holten peered over his paper again and seeing the look on his son’s face, folded it and put it aside. “Alright, what is she up to?” Gabe spilled all that his dear wife had been doing and what it was doing to Shane. Holten listened intently to what Gabe had to say and when all was said, he got up and went to get himself a much needed drink. Holding the decanter, he glanced over at Gabe “Would you like one?” Gabe nodded and Holten poured another snifter of Bourbon. “I’ve had my man keep tabs on her since before the wedding but this is new. This is something that hasn’t been reported. She must’ve found a way to slip past to go unnoticed and cause this kind of trouble”. The ‘man’ Holten had referred to was his lawyer, Mr. Anthony Marks. Gabe can remember Marks from his childhood years and he was old then, can’t imagine what he must be now. “What do you mean by ‘keeping tabs’? Why would you need to keep tabs on Lynesse
before
your marriage?” Something didn’t smell right and it wasn’t the Ben-Gay his father used for his joints. Holten can be sneaky at times, for good or for bad and Gabe had seen them both. But something just wasn’t quite right with his father’s last statement and he was going to find out what he meant by it. Making his way across the room with two glasses in hand, Holten ignored the questions. “So, you say that Shane has found himself an amazing woman who wants nothing to do with him. Why is he wasting his time then? Tell him to move on and be done with it. No point in crying over spilt milk, I say” Holten returned to his chair and handed Gabe a glass of Bourbon. Reaching for it, Gabe explained that it wasn’t so much that she didn’t want anything to do with him, it had to do with the fact that Lynesse lied to her and she believed it. Things were going great until Lynesse dipped her finger into the pot so, she needed to be found and told the truth. Hopefully, once Penny hears it, she will have a change of heart. “Dad, he’s dying. He won’t eat or drink and when he does it hardly constitutes as nourishment. All he does is remain locked up in his bedroom and sleep. That’s it. I’ve tried to get him up but he won’t have it. His business is beginning to suffer because of it. I’m at a loss” Gabe looked at his father with frustration on his face. He and his father were never really close but they had a relationship which was more than what Shane had with him. Now, he hoped that relationship will help Gabe figure out what to do. “So he’s completely distraught over this woman, you say?” Holten said with a pensive look to him. He was cooking something in that old brain of his and Gabe knew it. “He is” Gabe hoped that whatever it was, it would help his brother.
“Son, I’m going to tell you something that no one else knows about aside from Anthony” Arranging himself in a more comfortable position,
Holten looked at Gabe with an expression that Gabe knew it was going to be serious. Holten took a sip of bourbon and swirled the amber liquid in his glass before beginning what was a well-kept secret. After what seemed like an eternity to Gabe, Holten let out a long breath “When your brother brought Lynesse home, I knew she was trouble and not for him. Now, telling him that was out of the question knowing your brother and how he can be. When he left to go abroad, I had Lynesse followed and let me tell you it wasn’t good. She had lovers from one coast to the other. She didn’t love Shane, she loved the money. Shane couldn’t see that at the time and I knew he wouldn’t believe me no matter what proof I showed him. So, sacrifices had to be made and made them I did” Gabe didn’t understand where his father was going with this. He knew Shane would’ve never believed his father, that was certain but what exactly had his father done? “What sacrifices are you talking about?” Gabe didn’t think he wanted to hear the answer. “I married her instead. I couldn’t let Shane make the biggest mistake of his life and lose everything to that woman. I knew he didn’t really love her, you could see it in his expressions when he was around her. It was an infatuation he had for her. Nothing more. And I would be damned if I didn’t do something about it”. “So
you
married her instead? I don’t understand? Why would you do that?” Gabe thought he heard of every ridiculous deed and notions in the world but they certainly did not compare to what he was hearing now. “It had to be done” he said “I confronted her regarding her promiscuous ways and she laughed. She said that Shane would never believe me and she was right so, I made her an offer she couldn’t refuse” Holten smiled at his son, waiting for the reaction he knew he’d get. His lawyer thought he was out of his mind as well back then but it was all for a good cause. Gabe had trouble wrapping this around his brain. His father married his brother’s fiancé just so that he wouldn’t get hurt? Gabe looked at his dad, seeing him in a whole new light. “So you married Lynesse knowing that Shane would never speak to you again, just so that he wouldn’t get hurt?” Gabe was confounded at the confession his father gave. He never realized just how much he actually cared for his sons. “Gabriel, I wanted you boys to be out in the world, to make a name for yourselves, so that you wouldn’t become dependent on what was left to you both when I was gone. I wasn’t raising playboys who traveled the world and spent all kinds of money on frivolous things, including women. I wanted you boys to know what it felt like to earn, to know the exhilaration of working for that dollar and being able to spend it how you wanted. Now, I may have gone about it the wrong way but in any aspect, it worked. You both are prominent men with prominent careers that you each worked to get. I wasn’t about to let some fool woman take it away. So, I did the only thing I could. I offered Lynesse more money than she could ever hope to have if she remained with Shane. And with a few more lines, she took it” Holten got up and went to the sideboard to pour himself another drink. He offered Gabe another and he accepted, he needed it after what he heard. After taking a couple of sips and digesting the information, Gabe looked at his father “So you made yourself miserable with a woman to make your son happy without one? Is that it?” Gabe still couldn’t grasp it. It was something he never thought his father would ever do. “Bah! Who’s miserable? After the wedding I went about my business. Like I was going to let her affect me the way she affected Shane. No, I did what I have always done before she came around. I worked” Gabe couldn’t help but laugh at it all. Of all the things, this certainly was the best story he had ever heard. “Now, you’re telling me that she has it in her head that Shane still wants her? She’s delusional if that is the case. Shane hasn’t spoken to her in years”. Gabe looked at his father with somewhat of a surprised look on his face. “Surprised that I know? I told you, I have been keeping tabs on her since the wedding. I know everywhere she’s been and with whom, until now. I think it’s time to take my dear wife in hand, don’t you?” Holten took a large sip of bourbon and contemplated his actions. Gabe had a feeling it wasn’t going to be good but he couldn’t help but laugh at the whole ordeal. ‘
To be a fly on the wall
’, he thought to himself and sipped his bourbon between chuckles.
CHAPTER 1
7
Since the fiasco at Shane’s, Penny still wasn’t back to her normal, joyful self. She just couldn’t find a way to heal herself back but she knew it would take time. Greg had offered to hunt Shane down but Penny declined. She didn’t wish any ill will towards him, only happiness, and maybe poison ivy on his honeymoon but that was the extent of her bad thoughts. The only thing Penny knew how to do was keeping busy, and that was what she knew best. She was at work early and left late each day and spent more time with Cathy and her family than she normally had in the past. She hadn’t heard anything from Shane after she sent the congratulatory e-mail of ‘well wishing’ regarding his wedding. She knew she shouldn’t have but, she wanted to be the bigger person and show him that he didn’t hurt her and that the game he played hadn’t fazed her. It was a lie, but he didn’t know that. Although, she hadn’t opened her personal e-mails since she returned home and she had instructed Sarah not to accept any deliveries unless they were work related. What Penny found the hardest, though, were the nights. She had become accustomed to speaking with Shane every night and now that she no longer does, the nights are sleepless. Most of the days, she walks around like a zombie trying to get through it as quickly as possible and other days, she finds it hard just to get out of bed. Especially if she hadn’t slept the night before and that had been the case the last couple of weeks. Cathy had mentioned she take sleeping pills to help get her back on schedule but Penny didn’t want the sedative. This was something she needed to go through and there were no amount of pills that she could take in her lifetime that would help in the long run. She needed to get Shane out of her head and her heart, only then would she be back on schedule. Speaking of schedules, Penny looked at the clock on the wall and realized she was going to be late, “Aw man!” she groaned and grabbed her briefcase and walked out the door. It was a beautiful, sunny day but Penny hardly noticed. The dark cloud that was looming above her tended to eradicate anything beautiful lately and she couldn’t enjoy the warmth of the sun’s rays. As she was heading down the street, she noticed a really tall, really handsome man leaning against a car. He seemed familiar to her but she couldn’t place him. Maybe she had seen him on her way to work in passing or a neighbour she never really noticed before. She ducked into the coffee shop she normally visits on her way to work and was standing in line when she had the feeling she was being watched. Penny turned around and saw the man right behind her. She smiled, turned back around and took a step forward in line. Penny was up at the counter and she gave her order, a large double-double with extra milk and turned to head out the door. Only one thing stood in her way…a very large male.
Tracking her down had been easy enough, once his father got involved. All he did was make a couple of phone calls and next thing Gabe
knew, he had an address in his hand. Gabe didn’t want to leave Shane alone any more than he had to but he knew he had to go. Holten offered to put Shane back in shape as long as he brought Penny back with him. Gabe didn’t argue and left to catch a flight. He had been in town for a couple of days and once he found the address, he stayed rooted to it, waiting for her to come out so that he could easily confront her and explain what happened. As she appeared, Gabe couldn’t believe his eyes, ‘
Shane had a reason to be nuts about
this
one
’. Smiling to himself, he followed her to a coffee shop. He didn’t think she saw him so he ducked inside the shop as well, pretending to be a customer who just happened to enter the same establishment as her. When she turned around for that brief moment, seeing her face to face, he understood why Shane reacted the way he had. He could tell she was a great woman. How? By the way she was smiling at him. She didn’t know who he was but she was being gracious and pleasant to him while trying to squeeze by through the crowd of people with a hot cup of coffee. Most people just grumbled their way past, but not her. She easily slipped outside before Gabe had a chance to say anything. With that realization, he quickly cut through the crowd and made it outside as well, just in time to see her cross the street. Gabe made a run for it and got to the other side before the lights changed. ‘
Enough wasting time
’ he thought and approached Penny with a clearing of the throat so that he wouldn’t alarm her. “Excuse me. Are you by any chance Penelope Dawson?” Penny stopped and stared at this very familiar looking man. It was bothering her that she couldn’t place him anywhere. “Yes I am. Do I know you?” Penny was becoming agitated with herself, it was killing her not knowing. “No. We never met but we do have someone in common. Shane Somers? I’m his brother, Gabriel” That was it! She knew he looked familiar! “I’m sorry but I have nothing to say” and she resumed walking. This was not what she needed right now. “Then you can listen. I really need to talk to you” Gabe matched her pace. He wasn’t about to let her leave without hearing him and if he had to follow her all the way to Timbuktu then so be it. Penny was about to hyperventilate, why was he here? What could he possibly say that she would want to hear? “Please, I’m late for work. What’s done is done and there is no going back” She could feel the tears beginning to well and she hated herself for feeling them. She didn’t want to talk to him and she certainly didn’t want to talk about Shane. Penny quickened her pace, hoping he would get the message and leave. No luck with that happening. Gabe matched her step for step. He gently grabbed her by the arm and made her stop “What if there is a way to go back? Look, I really need to talk to you. You don’t have to say anything, just listen. And if you still want to walk away then I won’t stop you” Penny could see the determination in his eyes and reluctantly gave him her attention. “Alright. Speak.” That was all she was going to say. She couldn’t fathom what he wanted to tell her and right now, she really couldn’t care. “I need to ask you something before I begin. Do you love my brother?” Now
that
wasn’t what she was expecting. Looking into this man’s eyes, she could see Shane. She remembered the nights in his arms, the kisses he gave. She remembered the days of laughter and fun. These were things she was trying so hard to forget and now, with his brother in front of her, the memories came flooding back. “I do. I mean I did” she stammered on that answer and cursed herself for it. She didn’t want to deal with this! Looking at her watch, she noticed that she was really late and needed to get going. “Look, I don’t know what kind of game this is but I really do need to get going. Your brother made a fool out of me, plain and simple and I have no desire to go down memory lane and relive it. Now, if you will excuse me.” Penny tried to make her way around Gabe but his hand on her arm prevented it. ‘
Can this day get any worse?
’ she looked up at a pair of eyes that were so familiar. “Can we go somewhere where we can talk, privately. Please, his health depends on it” With the sound of desperation in his voice, she stopped and stared at this man who was Shane’s brother. Feeling somewhat deflated because she knew what she was about to do, Penny turned around and motioned to him with a wave of her hand to follow “We can go to my place. It’s just around the corner” and with that, she began walking back the way she came with Gabe behind her. She was already late for work so she decided she would just take the day off. Of all the things to happen, this was by far the one thing she never expected.