The house was soundproof, so she didn't hear him. There were amazing security systems and gates around the entire house, so she didn't see him. But she knew he was out there. She slowly got out of bed reached for her cell, and looked at the time. 2:37. she walked out of her bedroom then down the hall to the front door. She still didn't see anything. She would have to be insane to go outside alone. And she wouldn't wake the others and scare them unless it was an emergency. He wasn't getting inn here, but that didn't stop him from coming. He was like a lion waiting for his prey. Just waiting for them to be at their weakest, and then pounce out of nowhere. The next day she and Zeke drove the kids to school. As she was driving back, Martha started to cry. Screams and wailing were never heard come out of this baby's mouth. But she knew Martha felt it to. Something was still wrong. She reached for her cell.
"Mom?"
"Yah? What's wrong?"
"nothing, just making sure your okay, I'm almost at the house can you drive down to the gate and make sure its clear"
"of coarse I can"
"okay good, take the blue cell phone that's on the counter by the microwave okay, I meant to tell you I got it for you, press #1 for my cell okay?"
"Yah, sure..? Are you sure nothing is wrong Gabby? You didn't see him did you???"
"No nothing like that I'm just making sure"
they hung up, and Gabby's mom headed down the driveway on one of the 4wheelers. She met Gabby there, and nothing. No one was waiting, no one lurking around. No sights or signs of dad's truck. And Martha still continued to scream and cry. They got the gate unlocked and went up to the house. Maria (Mrs. Montez/ Gabby's mom) fed Martha for what seemed like the first time. But Martha wouldn't take the bottle, Maria felt like she would never connect with Martha now, she was 6 months old and getting older by the day. She handed her to Gabby who could calm her down and get her fed, they both played with her for a while before she fell asleep. After lunch Gabby and Maria went out to the barn to check on the animals, they decided to go out for a ride and explore the property a little more. Martha lay sleeping in a sling that Gabby wore around her shoulders and across her chest and synch. They got their horses ready, and as Maria got on, Gabby tied in a riffle to her saddle bag. "Gabby you don't think I am REALLY going to need these?"
"Mom, your right. We probably don't. But for me PROBABLY doesn't cut it. I don't want to give him any chance what so ever to catch us off guard"
"okay... but you cant live in fear forever"
"its not fear, its being prepared"
they rode for almost 3 hours, around the property and up near the big hills they had and the small mountains. All the sudden they were ridding along and Martha started to cry again?
"Mom stop"
"she's fine babies cry Gabby"
"no mom, Martha has never cried one tear in her lifetime until the last few days"
suddenly there it was, Gabby looked up in time to see a mountain lion. She ready for her gun when all the sudden BAM! It fell to the ground. Gabby looked over to see her mothers shaking hands, gun smoking.
"Since when do you know how to shoot like that??"
"Since I got the shit beat out of me on my honeymoon"
they decided they should probably go check on the heard of horses. It seemed like all was well. It was about time to be moving them over the other side of the mountain though; they needed a new grazing land. After that they headed back, they would have to tell the kids to stay out of the mountains when their going ridding.
When everyone was home, sitting around the table eating dinner, the phone rang?
"Hello?"
"Hello Gabby thought you could run from me?" dad, how did he find this number?
"Don't call here. Ever. We want nothing to do with you"
"has that ever stopped me? What a way to hurt your old man huh?"
"Don't call here, and if you have to, you know what time dinner is. Don't interrupt, I have with my family, and don't you dare ever talk to any of them"
*click* she hung up the phone, the kids paid no attention, but mom and Zeke looked at her with a question in their eyes. she returned a look that said she would talk about it later…
that night they never did talk about it, after everyone was in bed, for the second night in a row, she felt she was being watched, she didn't understand how she could feel like this when she knew she was protected by the best security. She decided the next day to call the company and get cameras installed. She knew she might be considered crazy and going a little overboard with this but she wanted the best for her family, and for that to happen she had to separate him from the picture.

Gabby awoke to screaming she didn't think a baby could make! Martha was going absolutely crazy. So she brought her into her room so she wouldn't wake anyone else, she rocked her and got her bottle, changed her, sang to her. Nothing was working.
"So you feel it to" she said to the baby. She took Martha to the window that showed the front yard you could almost see down to the gate. Gabby saw the lights of a truck, sitting in the driveway stopped at the gate. Suddenly her cell phone rang.
"Who is this?"
"who do you think, angel" dad
"I told you, don't call here, or show up, get out of the driveway Jack, I mean it"
"but I cant leave my kids behind now could I? Or my wife?"
"You don't have kids and wife your marriage is being annulled
"BULL SHIT IT IS GABBY COME OUT HERE!"
Just then she heard a gunshot go off outside.
"If you think i'm coming out there when you have a gun you're insane, I have a family I need to take care of, and a baby. so you can go fuck yourself and shoot that gun off all you want Jack your not getting in here, I suggest you go before I call the police"
all she heard over the phone was some static, bottles smashing and more gun shots, finally she saw the lights recede and turn out of the driveway, she knew he was leaving… for now. School let out in 2 days, she just needed to get by those 2 days and she could then devote her time to her family and the ranch. In was 4:45 in the morning so she decided there was no point in going back to sleep. She walked Martha around for a bit longer but she wouldn't stop crying, so finally she decided to take her outside to show her it was safe now. She punched in the security code so the alarm wouldn't go off, and then walked out the door. She walked around the yard for a few minutes and Martha's cries settled down a little until she finally stopped crying and fell asleep. Gabby went inside and put her in her rocker in the kitchen. She started the coffee and waited for her mother to get up. Finally at around 6 her mom was up and downstairs.
"How was your sleep baby? Your up early?"
"Dad was here. I need to go out today, ill take nikita. I need to be sure he didn't get in anywhere in the fence or anything"
"i'm coming then? No question. You can't go out there by yourself with the possibility of mountain lions and your father"
"okay then. We can go right after we drop the kids off"
"let me take care of that today, you look tired. Go back to bed okay?"
"Okay" she went for Martha when her mother said "ill take care of Martha, she needs to be able to trust me again"
Gabby understood that so she left her mom to it. She also knew that Maria knew Martha thought of Gabby as her mother, and it was an unspoken understanding. But after all Gabby did take care of her and Taylor since birth. And Sharpay and Kelsie and Ryan, they knew who there mother was, but they also knew to turn to Gabby when they needed something. Maria felt horrible that she wasn't there for her family; she thought it was all her fault. In the back of her mind she thought they would be better off without her… she saw how Gabby handled them in the morning. Like she had been born to do it. She was so organized and in control. Given that the kids were horrible to deal with under the circumstances. But still taking care of 6 other people plus her mother must have been difficult, and it was. Gabby thought she should stay home that day from taking the kids anyways, the camera installment men would be there around 8.
They installed cameras in the woods, down the drive and all over the property for 500 yards around the house. As the camera men came and the kids and everyone was gone, she showed then around as she fed the horses. After she let them get to their work, she decided to call Troy; he wouldn't be at school for another 30 minutes.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Troy it's me, Gabby"
"Gabby where have you been??? One day you just disappeared, I don't understand? Did I do something? I came by your house and it looked deserted"
"well it kind of is... I took the kids and moved out..."
"Why?? Why would you do that?"
"Troy you've heard the rumors."
"Well yea but you always said they weren't true, Gabby??... (Silence)... Gabby where they true?"
"Every one of them... I won the lottery and I just decided I needed to do what was best for my family, they need to get away from Jack ..." Gabby went on and told him the whole story, about how he broke 6 of her bones on her 18 birthday, how she won the lottery, even how her father took her innocence and rapped her repeatedly for the last 5 years. She told him everything and when she was done silence so painful and questioning stung into her for almost 4 minutes. Finally he said,
"Why didn't you tell me this before? I could have done something? where are you living? I'm coming over"
Gabby described how he could get there, in the hour in took he was only 40 mins to get to smith falls.
She saw him at the gate through the new camera that was put in there. She let him in and met him in the driveway. "Hey!!!" Gabby squealed as she ran into his open arms. They held each other for a long time before going inside. They talked for a long time, and finally the heat of June got to them, they decided to go for a swim, Gabby came out of the pool house in her bathing suit and Troy had never seen her in such little clothes, he had a hard-on the entire time in the pool. Gabby noticed but laughed and didn't say anything. As they were swimming, Troy couldn't hold him inn anymore. He grabbed Gabby and pulled her into his arms, she knew, and felt! How excited he was. He kissed her passionate and hard, she kissed back and wrapped her legs around his waist.
Just as they got out going to the pool house, Gabby's mom walked outside.
"Hey guys, I didn't expect you to have company, this must be Troy?"
"Hi Mrs. Wilson"
"no, please call me Maria"
"sure thing."
"Mom can we take that ride in a bit? Maybe Troy can come?"
"Or you guys can go out together now? I just didn't want you going alone, Troy looks like he can handle it ha-ha"
"okay, you up for a ride around the property to check some things out?"
"Anything as long as your here"
she gave him a little pinch, signaling her mother was still there, and then laughed. They decided to take the 4 wheelers instead of horses. they packed a lunch, and a few blankets to sit on, and they kept their bathing suits on because there was a little lake on their property in the east end…
They expected to have a little fun, but what they didn't expect seemed to find them anyways.