Chapter 6
Clockwork Armageddon
Riley couldn't sleep the rest of the night even though Mac took over for Mrs. Vaughn. All she could think about was what would happen when Gabriel found out about Michael. She had planned to take that secret to her grave, and now she had to figure out how to tell him. What could she possibly say? Granny Vaughn was right. Michael was the spitting image of his father and it wouldn't be long before someone else noticed besides his mother.
Mac took one look at the dark circles under her eyes this morning, gave her something to help her sleep and put her back to bed for the day. She did feel better after getting some sleep and now Mac was back for a reassessment.
"You are doing surprisingly well for someone who was near death two days ago," Mac says as he adjusts the dressing on her leg.
"I feel pretty good, but how long until I'll be able to walk on this leg without feeling it?" Riley asks.
"Well, you may always feel it on a rainy day, but I'd say you'll only need this cane for a couple more days," Mac says.
There's a knock on the bedroom door.
"Are you decent in there," Gabriel asks.
"Yes. Come on in," Riley says.
"I was going to see if Mac would let you come up and eat with us," Gabriel says, "What do you say Mac? Is she well enough to eat supper out of bed?"
"Yes, I think it would be good for her to get out of bed for a little while," Mac says, "Now if you'll excuse me I've got to see to my other patient. She's been overdoing it all day with Michael."
After Mac leaves, Riley says, "I'd like to clean up before dinner."
"Oh sure, everything you need should be in the bathroom there," he says pointing to the en suite bathroom in her rather elegant bedroom.
"And do you have anything else I could wear?" she asks pulling at the T-shirt of Gabriel's that's she's still wearing.
"Uh, there should be something in the closet there that would fit you. I have a friend about your size who left some things here," he says.
"Are you sure she will be alright with me borrowing them?" Riley asks.
"I don't think she'll be back," he says looking at her with his wry grin.
She decides not to touch that one and asks, "How long until dinner?"
"About an hour," he says, "I'm making my famous chili in your honor so don't be late."
"That sounds great," Riley says, "Well if you'll excuse me I need to get cleaned up.
"I'll just make sure you can make it to the bathroom first," he says.
Carefully negotiating with her cane she makes it to the door and looks back at him saying, "Made it. You can leave now."
"Are you sure you don't need help getting in the shower?" he asks with that smile on his face that makes his dimples show and her heart beat faster.
"No, I'll be fine," she says closing the bathroom door.
"I'll be back in an hour to help you hobble to the dining room," he yells through the door.
She spends an uncomfortable shower trying to keep her dressing from getting wet and her mind from thinking of Gabriel with the woman who left her clothes behind.
Gabriel was right. Everything she needed was in the bathroom from hair products to make up. The mystery woman must have had similar coloring to hers. Her taste in clothing, however, was nothing like hers. It was somewhere between trollop and circus clown.
After much consideration she chose a brown suede skirt about three inches shorter than she was comfortable wearing, a garishly patterned silk blouse with big puffy sleeves that was too low cut and a pair of over-the-knee, brown, suede boots. They were the only flats in the closet, and she couldn't manage heels with the cane. The boots were about a half size too large and the skirt was a size smaller than she would normally wear making it strain over her rear end.
At precisely an hour since Gabriel had left, she heard a knock on the door.
"Can we come in," Gabriel says.
"Come in, "Riley says.
Gabriel comes in with Michael.
"Well don't you look … nice," Gabriel says giving her body a once over from ankle to face and then back down again focusing somewhere at her chest.
Riley tries not to blush, but she can't help it. She pulls the skirt down and looks up at Gabriel defiantly. He pulls his eyes up to her face and smiles.
"You look like a pirate," Michael says.
"Well these are some clothes I borrowed from a friend of Gabriel's. Was she a pirate Gabriel?" she asks.
"No, but she did plunder my bank account… We came to escort you to dinner, miss," he says offering his arm.
She hadn't really counted on how hard it was to be physically close to Gabriel. Keeping her distance emotionally was relatively easy. All she had to do was think of the secrets and lies between them to know their relationship was over for good. While her rational mind could come up with lots of reasons why they couldn't be together, her body was not so easily reasoned with. Mrs. Vaughn's house was a big rambling ranch and it was a long walk to the dining room. Riley was forced to lean on the arm Gabriel offered. She could feel his bicep muscle bulging through his shirt and the warmth of it seemed to burn. She had been ridiculously attracted to Gabriel from the first moment she saw him. She was drawn to him by some kind of magical force that made her see only him. There was no denying his good looks. She couldn't help but notice his chiseled features, big shoulders and trim waist. Yet it was the something about his vulnerability under the raw power and confidence that drew her to him in a primal way. She cast about for something to say to distract herself.
"Your mother's home is beautiful, but I'm puzzled as to why she chose South Dakota?" Riley asks.
"I guess she and my Dad made some plans for what they were going to do after he got home from Vietnam. For some reason, he wanted to raise beef cattle in South Dakota. When we made it big with the Catalyst Code I told her I would buy her any home she wanted and this is what she picked. I guess it's her way of making a tribute to my dad. Sort of fulfilling the dream that he couldn't," he says.
"You're a good son Gabriel," she says.
"Oh it's worked out pretty well for me too. Sometimes it's nice to get away from it all, and with over 1300 acres I don't have much trouble with paparazzi," he says.
Turning to Michael, Riley says "I'm sorry I couldn't play with you today."
"That's okay. Mac says we can play tomorrow. I played with Granny Vaughn today," he says.
"What did you play?" she asks.
"She taught me how to play poker and I taught her how to play Risk, but the best thing was getting to see her cows and horses," he says.
"I thought you weren't allowed to go outside," she says.
"Oh there's a tunnel that takes you to the barn, because Granny likes to see the horses, but she doesn't like to go outside in the snow. She has a new foal named Blaze. When I come back to visit she is going to let me help train him," he says.
Mac is seated at the table and he gets up when he sees Riley coming in.
"Good evening Mac," Riley says.
"Riley this is Mac's wife, Treeney," Gabriel says indicating a tiny Pilipino woman sitting next to Mac, "She's my mother's housekeeper and she keeps us all straight while she's at it."
"Nice to meet you Treeney," Riley says.
"Yes. Nice to meet you too. Glad you are feeling better," Treeney says.
"What are you dressed for, Halloween?" Mrs. Vaughn asks.
"No, these are some clothes I borrowed that a friend of Gabriel's left here," Riley says.
"I've been after that boy for years to settle down with a nice girl and give me some grandchildren, but all he wants to do is chase after a bunch of tramps," Mrs. Vaughn says as she looks straight at Riley's cleavage.
"I told you that I'm too young to be a father," Gabriel says.
Riley begins to panic wondering what the old woman will say next.
"Michael, do you think Gabriel is old enough to be a father?" she asks giving Riley a nasty smile.
"Sure," Michael says, "but baby's are boring and they cry all the time."
"I like babies. I wish I had known you when you were a baby," she says to Michael making Riley feel a wave of guilt for what she had denied her.
"Babies just cry and poop," Michael says very amused at his own joke.
"Michael, we don't need to talk about poop when we're about to eat," Riley says.
"So you don't want a brother or a sister?" Mrs. Vaughn says.
"Well maybe a brother if he was old enough to play with," he says, "but I'd rather have my own horse."
"A much better choice little man, though horses poop even more than babies," Gabriel says making Michael laugh and Riley frown at him, "Now you sit down next to me, and Riley you sit here," he says pulling out the chair across from his and helping her into it.
Dinner was a pleasant affair. Mac and Treeney told the story of how they met when Mac was stationed in the Philippines. Mrs. Vaughn amused Michael with some stories of the trouble Gabriel and his brother had gotten into when they were little boys.
"Gabriel was a little feller, probably four or five. His big brother Tom teased him until he climbed up the apple tree, but Gabriel was scared to get down. Tom knew he would get in trouble with me for getting his brother stuck up a tree so he found a rope in the garage and tossed it up to Gabriel. I looked out the window and I saw Tom on the ground holding the rope and Gabriel with the rope in his hands. I started to open the window to yell at them when Tom gave a yank on the rope and pulled Gabriel down from the tree. Thank God the ground was muddy. I ran outside and Gabriel wasn't even crying. He just said, 'I was sceered but Tom got me down with the rope,' Mrs. Vaughn says laughing.
Riley stole a glance at Gabriel and caught him looking at her with a scary intensity.
Gabriel got up saying, "Time for bed, Michael."
"I don't want to go to bed. I'm not tired," Michael says.
"We're all going to bed now. Riley and Granny Vaughn need their rest and it's past your bed time," Gabriel says.
"Will you put me to bed?" Michael asks.
"I'm afraid I can't tonight. I have an important phone call that I have to take, but Mac has agreed to do the honors tonight and he has some really good stories," Gabriel says.
"Will it be about shooting and bullets?" Michael asks.
"How about the time I caught a tiger," Mac says.
"Yes. I want to know about the tiger," Michael says and happily takes Mac's hand.
"Say goodnight Michael," Mac says.
Michael makes the rounds kissing Riley and Granny Vaughn and high fiving Gabriel, before he heads off happily with Mac.
"Well, I'm off to bed too. Thanks for the chili, son. Good night," Mrs. Vaughn said leaving the room.
"And I have some clearing up to do," Treeney says.
"Come on gimpy. I'll put you to bed," Gabriel says to Riley pulling out her chair and offering her his hands, "I should have put you in one with arms. You'll never get out of that one by yourself."
She puts her hands in his and he gently pulls her to her feet. Suddenly her face is inches from his chest and when she looks up his face is perilously close to hers. She swallows, looking into his eyes. They're like a magnet pulling her in. She can't help but think about kissing his smiling, full lips.
"Tell me about your phone call," Riley says trying to break the tension.
"Nothing for you to worry about," Gabriel says steadying her on her feet and stepping to her side.
"Come on Gabriel, don't leave me out. It just makes me worry more," Riley says.
"Alright Riley, they want me and Nelson in New York. They've decided we aren't terrorists after all and they need our help to figure out what's going on with our code," he says offering her his arm again.
"Oh," she says feeling a stab of disappointment as she takes his arm, "Well I'm sure Michael and I will be quite safe here."
"I don't like leaving you here alone. I've worked out a plan with Nelson. Tomorrow, you and Michael are going to come with me to Nelson's island in the Caribbean," he says.
"Michael and I can't go gallivanting around the country. I'm sure they have us on the no fly list, we're fugitives," she says.
"The only fugitive list you're on is Cyber Com's. Lillian doesn't trust any other agency enough to ask for their help. We'll be flying from here on my private jet and landing on the island. I don't think we'll have any trouble," he says.
"Are you sure Michael will be safe there?" she asks.
"He'll be a safe as he can be. Nelson has the best security money can buy. John Neff, his head of security used to be assigned to the President of the United States. John outfitted the island specifically to be a stronghold and it can't be approached without his knowing. You two will be safer there than you would be in the Whitehouse," he says.
"Alright, I guess we could use a little fun in the sun," she says.
"Camile and the kids are going to be there too. Nelson has been very nervous about his family's safety lately. He's afraid some of the world's governments might hold us responsible for the attack," he says.
"But I don't think it's a good idea to let anyone else know about Michael," she says.
"Nelson knows the truth, but to everyone else you are going to be one of my old girl friend's, hiding out from an abusive husband," he says.
"Great, I guess that explains my gunshot wound, but what about Michael?" she asks.
"Michael is your step son and you're on the down low until my lawyers can get you full custody," he says.
"I guess it will work," she says, "I've never met Nelson's wife. Isn't she some kind of Brazilian bombshell?"
"She's a huge star there," he says.
"I can't imagine Nelson married to a film star," she says.
"Camile looks like a swim suit model, but she's really down to earth. I think you'll like her, and they have two kids the right age for Michael to play with. Nelson is five and Shanen is three," he says.
"That will be good for Michael," Riley says, "He doesn't get much time to play with other children."
They arrive outside of her bedroom door.
Riley looks up at Gabriel. Every inch of her body is screaming for him. It had been so long, but she remembered everything about it, the way it felt when he took her in his arms, the urgency of his lips on hers. What if she just let herself go and kissed him?
She gathered every ounce of will power she could muster and said, "Good night, Gabriel," as she turned the handle to her door and practically threw herself into the room.
"Good night, Riley," he said quietly, and then he turned and walked away leaving her feeling deserted and empty. She closed the door and started removing her ridiculous outfit.
