Page 116 of Lost Lake
“I’d like to keep discussing this with you,” he said. “But my mother and Brad are coming our way.”
“I’ll get started with the tables,” she said, reaching for the box. “You can talk to your family.”
He took her hand. “You’ll soon be part of the family, and they need to know about you and me.”
“Son.” His mother stopped next to them. She cast a beaming smile his way. “Thank you for inviting us.”
“Ditto,” Brad said.
Gabe and Brad had spent some time together while Brad was healing in the hospital, but their contact ended when Brad was discharged. Not because of a disagreement. No, they’d madepeace with each other, and Gabe had even accepted that his brother had once planned to marry Kenna and be Lucy’s father. Thankfully, Kenna hadn’t been ready for Lucy to find out about Brad until he made good on his promise and left the family business. So he’d only met with Kenna when Lucy was sleeping, and she knew nothing about Brad.
His mother looked at El. “I thought you and Gabe were more than business associates when you came to question me.”
“We didn’t hide it very well, Mrs. Irving, did we?” El asked.
“No, and please call me Denise.”
El nodded, and Gabe hoped this meant his mom would someday accept El as her daughter-in-law.
“You should know.” Gabe put his arm around her waist. “Once Lucy settles in, we’ll be getting married.”
His mom clapped her hands. “How wonderful!”
“Congratulations.” Brad held out his hand for a fist pump, but sadness lingered in his gaze. “It’ll be great for Lucy to have a mom and a dad.”
Gabe bumped his brother’s fist, still surprised to see him show concern for others.
“How are you feeling?” El asked Brad.
“Good. Been able to work and get on with life.”
“I’m so proud of him.” His mother gave Brad a fond smile. “He found a great job working for a security firm. They contract with businesses to evaluate their security risks.”
“No one better than someone with a sketchy past like mine to determine risks.” Brad laughed. “But seriously. It’s a great job.”
“Are you still living at home?” Gabe asked.
“I left your father, and we’re sharing an apartment.” His mother lifted her shoulders as if the weight of living her former life with their father was gone. “Brad has saved enough money to help support me until I’m able to find a job.”
Gabe didn’t know what to say. A deep ache that had lived in his gut since the day he’d learned of his father’s profession evaporated. He might just float up like the balloons in the pavilion.
“We need to run back to the car for the present,” his mom said. “We just wanted to make sure we were at the right place before we hauled something so big over here.”
“Do you need help?” El asked.
They both shook their heads and turned to leave, but his mom spun back and threw her arms around Gabe’s waist. “I hope this changes things between us.”
He hugged his mom tightly for the first time in years. “It does, and I want you to be part of my life.”
She started crying and pushed back to get a tissue from her purse. “The present. We need to get the present.”
Dabbing at her eyes, she rushed away. Brad followed, a loving smile on his face.
El turned her attention to Gabe. “Looks like you’ll not only be able to leave your past behind you, but your mom and Brad can now be part of your life.”
“Thanks again to God, and we can pray that my dad realizes what he’s doing and makes a change, too.”
“Everything is working out for us.” She let out a contented sigh and rested her head against his chest. “I’m not naive enough to think we won’t have problems, but together? Trusting in God? We can get through it.”
