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Authors: Patricia Coughlin
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to Connor, who had never offered her anything but aggravation and heartache.
In a contest between Adam and Connor, she didnât even have to blink to know whose side she ought to be on.
In fact, as sheâd told him yesterday, she refused to even consider the allegations heâd made against Adam. After all, the only thing she had to support any of it was Connorâs word. She rolled her eyes. Hardly what she would consider irrefutable proof. For all she knew, it was a complete hoax and the state police hadnât arrested anyone for the bombing at the Black Wolf, and the investigation into it was as stalled as ever. And Connor was simply...
Simply what? she asked herself for at least the hundredth time since sheâd shut herself in that room all alone. She pulled aside the white ruffled curtain to gaze without seeing at the lake as her fingertips drummed restlessly on the wooden sill. Any other time she would have enjoyed the peaceful tableau, with the sun glistening on the clear water, a light breeze ruffling the branches of the surrounding trees and dozens of birds providing soft background music. But not today. Today she was too upset to enjoy anything.
What in the world could Connor hope to gain from stopping her wedding and hauling her up here to this cabin in the middle of nowhere? Amusement? Perhaps at Adamâs expense ? She bit her lip, wishing she could convince herself that was it. Lord knew sheâd tried. But she couldnât.
In spite of his many faults, and the myriad well-deserved accusations sheâd hurled at him yesterday, there was no denying that Connor had cared deeply about Joel and that heâd been shattered by his death. Even she couldnât believe that he would treat the matter lightly or use the explosion that had killed his friend as part of some stupid joke.
Last night she had woken again and again and lay there in the dark trying to figure out what other possible reason there could be for what he was doing to her. Ransom came to mind, but was quickly dismissed. The restaurant was earning more than any of them had ever dreamed it might, and Connor shared fully in those profits. Besides, unlike Adam, the man had never had expensive tastes. Far from it. Old jeans and boots and enough money in his pocket to have funâthat had always been the extent of his material needs. Nothing Gaby saw yesterday suggested heâd changed any in that respect.
One after another she had examined each motive she could possibly conjure for his actions, and one after another they crumbled in the bright light of reason. It was her misfortune to be consummately logical, and logic told her that as farfetched and ridiculous as it seemed, the only explanation that made any sense at all was the one Connor had offered in the first place. The one she had refused to accept.
Was it possible that he was right? That Adam had involved the Black Wolf in something illegal? If so, she reasoned, it followed that he might also be somehow involved in Joelâs death. Everything inside her rebelled at that thought. Why? Gaby asked herself, struggling to dissect her own response. Was her vehement gut reaction prompted by loyalty to the man she planned to marry? Or was the reason more selfish? Perhaps her feelings were due to the fact that if Connorâs suspicions proved true, it would be tantamount to another explosion in her lifeâand Tobyâsâjust when it seemed everything was going to work out for them at last.
Only one thing was certain. If by some chance Connor was right, sticking her head in the sand wasnât going to make it all go away. And there was still the possibility that he was wrong and that there was a very simple explanation for everything, she told herself reassuringly. An explanation she might even be able to provide now that some of her anxiety had subsided. She had been so tense and furious with him yesterday it had been hard to hear what he was saying, much
In a contest between Adam and Connor, she didnât even have to blink to know whose side she ought to be on.
In fact, as sheâd told him yesterday, she refused to even consider the allegations heâd made against Adam. After all, the only thing she had to support any of it was Connorâs word. She rolled her eyes. Hardly what she would consider irrefutable proof. For all she knew, it was a complete hoax and the state police hadnât arrested anyone for the bombing at the Black Wolf, and the investigation into it was as stalled as ever. And Connor was simply...
Simply what? she asked herself for at least the hundredth time since sheâd shut herself in that room all alone. She pulled aside the white ruffled curtain to gaze without seeing at the lake as her fingertips drummed restlessly on the wooden sill. Any other time she would have enjoyed the peaceful tableau, with the sun glistening on the clear water, a light breeze ruffling the branches of the surrounding trees and dozens of birds providing soft background music. But not today. Today she was too upset to enjoy anything.
What in the world could Connor hope to gain from stopping her wedding and hauling her up here to this cabin in the middle of nowhere? Amusement? Perhaps at Adamâs expense ? She bit her lip, wishing she could convince herself that was it. Lord knew sheâd tried. But she couldnât.
In spite of his many faults, and the myriad well-deserved accusations sheâd hurled at him yesterday, there was no denying that Connor had cared deeply about Joel and that heâd been shattered by his death. Even she couldnât believe that he would treat the matter lightly or use the explosion that had killed his friend as part of some stupid joke.
Last night she had woken again and again and lay there in the dark trying to figure out what other possible reason there could be for what he was doing to her. Ransom came to mind, but was quickly dismissed. The restaurant was earning more than any of them had ever dreamed it might, and Connor shared fully in those profits. Besides, unlike Adam, the man had never had expensive tastes. Far from it. Old jeans and boots and enough money in his pocket to have funâthat had always been the extent of his material needs. Nothing Gaby saw yesterday suggested heâd changed any in that respect.
One after another she had examined each motive she could possibly conjure for his actions, and one after another they crumbled in the bright light of reason. It was her misfortune to be consummately logical, and logic told her that as farfetched and ridiculous as it seemed, the only explanation that made any sense at all was the one Connor had offered in the first place. The one she had refused to accept.
Was it possible that he was right? That Adam had involved the Black Wolf in something illegal? If so, she reasoned, it followed that he might also be somehow involved in Joelâs death. Everything inside her rebelled at that thought. Why? Gaby asked herself, struggling to dissect her own response. Was her vehement gut reaction prompted by loyalty to the man she planned to marry? Or was the reason more selfish? Perhaps her feelings were due to the fact that if Connorâs suspicions proved true, it would be tantamount to another explosion in her lifeâand Tobyâsâjust when it seemed everything was going to work out for them at last.
Only one thing was certain. If by some chance Connor was right, sticking her head in the sand wasnât going to make it all go away. And there was still the possibility that he was wrong and that there was a very simple explanation for everything, she told herself reassuringly. An explanation she might even be able to provide now that some of her anxiety had subsided. She had been so tense and furious with him yesterday it had been hard to hear what he was saying, much
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