“That girl was Gina,” Winnie tells me.
“What?” Chase and I say at the same time.
“Are you sure?” I ask, even though I know it’s possible. I barely spared her a glance that night.
“Surely we would have remembered that?” Chase says, almost as if he’s thinking out loud.
“Apparently, not.” This from Gabby as she never takes her eyes off Chase. “Do you forget all the women you sleep with?” Gabby asks, her face pinched as if it pains her.
“What are you talking about? I never slept with her.”
“That night she told me that the guy she wanted to go home with fell through, so she went home with his best friend.”
“It wasn’t me,” Chase says through clenched teeth.
“Right,” Gabby scoffs. “No point in denying it, Chase.”
“I’m telling you, Gabrielle, it wasn’t me.” He turns to look at me. “Ethan was with us that night.”
“That’s right. He just accepted that new job and was moving away,” I say as the memory comes back to me.
“It wasn’t you?” Gabby says, her voice sounding strange.
“No, Gabs, it wasn’t me. I remember distinctly. I had my eye on a girl way out of reach. I couldn’t see past her to notice anyone else.” His eyes lock on hers.
“It fits,” Winnie says, peeking under the cover at Sophia. “She’s snoozing, and I need to burp her.”
“Let me.” In a couple of long strides, I’m at her side. Grabbing the extra blanket, I place it over my shoulder, like I saw Winnie do earlier. Gabby helps her hold up the blanket while I lift my sleeping daughter into my arms. I go back to the window, and take my spot beside Chase, rubbing my little girl’s back. The conversation goes on as we continue to put the pieces together. Sophia burps and Chase laughs loudly, causing her to startle.
“I’m sorry, sweetie,” he says, reaching over and lightly running his finger over her cheek. “I didn’t expect that from such a little thing,” he says gently.
“So what do we do?” Winnie asks.
“I’ll make a call. Tell them what we know. Otherwise, we do nothing.”
“What do you mean, nothing?” she asks incredulously. “She’s torturing us, messing with your business. She started a fire, Harrison.”
“I know. But all that matters is that we’re all okay. No one was hurt. We have a new baby girl to take home and get settled. We’ll let the authorities handle it. Right now we have no concrete proof that this is happening. We’ll tell them what we remember, what we think and let them work it out.” I’m furious at myself for letting her stay employed by All Fit as long as I did, and at her for everything she’s done. However, I refuse to let it ruin the miracle that is my little girl.
“Who are you?” Gabby asks.
“I’m a father,” I tell her. “I’m a husband, and a brother-in-law, a friend, a son. I’m lots of things, but most of all, I’m deliriously happy. If it was Gina, which I believe it was, they’ll get her.”
“And if they don’t?” Winnie questions.
“Then we’ll figure it out when that happens.”
“He’s right,” Chase agrees. “We can’t take matters into our own hands. I mean, what are we going to do? Tie her up in the basement? We’ll tell them what we know, and it all leads back to her. We’re all confident of that. They’ll more than likely need to talk to all four of us, to give our side of the story.”
“Count me in,” Gabby says.
“Not alone,” he tells her.
“It’s not the mob.” She laughs.
“I’ll go with you, Gabby.”
“He’s right, you know. Just to be on the safe side. Until she’s caught, we don’t know what she has planned next or where she might be lurking.” I hate the thought of Gina out there after my family. I’m not letting her ruin this day, though, Sophia’s birthday. Inside, I’m raging mad, and I won’t stop until she pays for what she’s done.
“You should stay with us,” Winnie tells her.
“No. No way. You have a new baby, and you all need to settle in and get a routine. You don’t need a house guest.”
“You can stay with me.” Chase doesn’t even hesitate.
“Absolutely not,” Gabby says, but there is no heat behind her words.
“Then I’ll stay with you.”
“Have you lost your mind? I’ll be fine,” she tells him. There’s a slight tremor in her voice. One that tells me she’s worried.
“Gabby,” Chase says sternly. “Please.” His voice is quieter now, almost pleading.
If I hadn’t been watching with my own eyes, I never would have believed it. I see Gabby’s shoulders fall, and her features soften. “We’ll figure it out.” It’s not a complete agreement, but it’s close enough. Chase must think so too. He nods his acceptance and that’s that.
Chase pulls his phone out of his pocket, and it reminds me I need to call our parents. “Our parents,” I say to Winnie. “Gabby called them both. They’ll be here first thing in the morning.”
“Detective Benson, Chase Callahan, I have some information that might help with your case.” We remain quiet as we listen to Chase give him the details and our suspicion of Gina. From that night all those years ago, to her being fired and the events that have happened since. “Thank you, sir. We’ll be waiting to hear from you.” Chase ends the call and looks at me. “He’s on it. I guess there’s video footage from the back of the gym. Apparently, there’s a camera she didn’t know about or forgot about.”
“She didn’t know about it. When Winnie started working out there, I realized the back hall wasn’t well monitored; there was a blind spot. And not willing to risk her safety, I had them come and install another camera. It was a Sunday. Gina wasn’t there,” I explain.
“Your alpha male tendencies finally come in handy.” He grins. “Who knew you being a caveman when it comes to Gwen would work out in our favor,” he jokes. My best friend never misses an opportunity to give me shit. “Time to eat,” he says, going back to the table full of tacos and passing them out.
“Then we need to go, let you three get some sleep,” Gabby says.
“We have a newborn. There won’t be much sleep in our future,” I tell her.
“Still. We should get out of your hair. Until later today that is.” Winnie opens her mouth to argue, but Gabby holds up her hands to stop her. “Nope. Chase and I will check on the gym, and we’ll be back to check on you.”
“Chase, please look out for my sister,” Winnie asks.
“I’ve got her,” Chase says. There is conviction in his voice, something I’ve heard from him on very few occasions in our life. I have no doubt he’s not going to be letting my sister-in-law out of his sight.
After we say our goodbyes, the nurse comes in and checks on my girls, asking if we want her to take Sophia to the nursery. We both say no, making her laugh. She reminds us to call if we need anything or change our minds, then walks quietly out the door.
“Alone at last,” I say, rubbing Sophia’s back.
“It’s been an adventure.” Winnie beams.
“Definitely. You did good, Winnie. You did real good.”
“You had a hand in that too.” She smiles. “Why don’t you put her in her bed, then climb in here with me. We need to sleep while she does.”
Doing as she says, I lower Sophia so Mommy can give her a kiss, then place her in her bed. I wheel the bed as close to us as we can get it before kicking off my shoes, and lying down beside my wife. Winnie snuggles up to me and I breathe her in. This is what life is about. The moments, no matter how big or small. Not your career, or how much money you have in the bank. None of that compares to snuggling up with your wife, while your newborn daughter sleeps peacefully beside you.
“It’s not over,” I whisper, kissing her temple.
“What’s not?” she asks sleepily.
“Our story. It’s not over. It’s just beginning.” She hums her agreement as we both drift off to sleep. r />
Chapter 20
Winnie
* * *
“So King Harrison had some major groundwork to make up to win Queen Gwendolyn’s heart back.” I hear the deep timbers of his voice through the baby monitor beside my bed.
I woke up fifteen minutes ago when Sophia started to cry, but Harrison just kissed me on the forehead and told me he had her. The clock reads just after two, a common wake-up time for our daughter, but even though I’m seriously lacking sleep, I’ve been unable to drift back off.
Instead, I lie here and listen to the sound of a doting father caring for his daughter. At only ten days old, she already adores him. Her eyes light up when she hears his voice and often search for him. When she’s tucked safely in his arms, she sleeps soundly and peacefully. It always makes me smile because, well, I know that feeling.