Angered Seasons: The Worst Birthday Ever (Volume One) Read online

  “I will never be a single mom.”

  I stopped gazing around the restaurant and focused on Michelle. “Excuse me?”

  “A single mom; I’ll never be one. If some guy is going to knock me up, he’ll be decent enough to stick around after the fact.”

  I took a deep breath. “You need to watch your mouth. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Lane was staring at her, shocked.

  “I’m just saying. It’s called a condom. They’re not that hard to put on.” Michelle gave a flip of her hair. Ian reached across the table and put a hand on mine, his ‘calm down’ look on his face. He turned back to Michelle.

  “The reason she’s a single mom is because her husband was killed. It was a freak accident with some machinery at the mine where he was working.”

  She had the decency to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “That’s right, you didn’t. So next time, try to keep your opinions to yourself.”

  “Gabby, she said she was sorry.”

  “Whatever.” God, what was wrong with me? I was one of those happy people that rarely got upset. The last few days, it seemed like I was snapping at everyone and Lane, well, he wasn’t helping with his half depressed attitude.

  “Ok. Enough, both of you. Here, Gabby, I have a present for you.” Lane pulled a long box from the inside pocket of his jacket. It was wrapped in green wrapping paper and a yellow ribbon. Michelle’s eyes bugged out of her head and I tried not to laugh. The box looked like something you’d put fancy jewelry in, but I knew better. Or, should I say, Lane knew better. I loved to dress up, but it wasn’t something I did very often. For the most part, the only jewelry I wore was studs in my ears. Jewelry and power tools were never a good mix.

  The tight look on her face relaxed slightly as the box turned in his hand and it became obvious that it was too thick to be jewelry.

  I grinned and took it from him. “What is it?”

  “Open it.” He smiled as I ripped open the package and then opened the plain brown box hidden inside. “Try not to lose this one. You’re not allowed to steal mine on Monday.”

  I burst out laughing and pulled out the drywall rasp. “Awww… you even put my name on it!” I held it up so Michelle and Brian could see the ‘Freckles’ in permanent marker along the side. Michelle smiled politely and Brian looked past me. He’d told me after he’d had a few too many drinks that he didn’t approve of the fact I was in construction. Why I hadn’t broken up with him then was beyond me.

  My mood lifted, we paid for supper and started back to the vehicles.

  “Let’s go to the bar!” Michelle hung on Lane’s arm and looked at him lovingly. He glanced at me.

  “Feel like going?”

  “Sure, why not.” I looked at Brian who I’d found particularly quiet all evening. Not one comment about what I was allowed to eat (good little girls eat salads, not rare steaks with fries and gravy like I’d had tonight), nor a smirk when I’d told Lane I’d gotten a replacement dimpler while Home Depot sent ours to the manufacturer to get the brake fixed. “Feel like coming along?”

  He took my hand and stopped walking then shook his head when I looked up at him. “Look, I didn’t want to do this on your birthday, but this isn’t working out.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. No shit, Sherlock. I waited for him to continue.

  “This whole arrangement with you and Lane, it’s weird. You’re not kids anymore. I can put up with your choice of livelihood. Hell, I can even get used to the fact that you refuse to do yourself up in the morning before I wake up when you spend the night.” He paused at my frown. “But I won’t play second place man in a woman’s life. If you want to have any chance with me, you’re going to have to leave him. Move out; get your own place. Just quit having him around all the time.”

  “If I want to have a chance with you?” Wow, this man was a piece of work. I gazed over to Lane who didn’t look too happy as he watched what was happening. I turned back to Brian. “But who would get custody of Iggy? We can’t do that to him. It would break his fragile little heart! And joint custody won’t work. We can’t just move an iguana around in the middle of winter. Plus, have you tried moving that tank? It’s huge…” I said the last of my speech to his back as he simply turned and walked away. “Jackass.”

  I made my way to the truck where Michelle lay shivering in her tiny dress jacket. The tight silver skirt she was wearing was so short it looked like she was naked under the coat. I may not have been the picture of class and sophistication in my parka, but I was warm. I slapped my big mitts together.

  “Alright, lovebirds, let’s get this show on the road. I’ve a craving for lemon pepper wings and a Newcastle.”

  All three of us slid into the front seat of the one ton so that Michelle was in the middle. I was suddenly in a much better mood.

  “What did you say to him? He didn’t look very happy.” Michelle seemed cautious as she glanced in my direction.

  “Well, first, he told me he could put up with my job and the fact that I didn’t look like this every single day just for him.”

  Her eyes bugged out of her face. “Jackass!”

  I grinned. “That’s what I said.”

  “What about the end? When he shook his head and walked away?” Lane was frowning as he concentrated on the road.

  “He told me I had to move out of our house.” I shrugged. “He said our relationship was weird.”

  He grunted.

  “I told him I couldn’t do it. I mean, what would happen to Iggy? The custody battle would kill him, and joint custody wasn’t an option.”

  Lane burst out laughing. “Well, of course not! Has he seen the size of that tank? God, it would be a pain in the ass moving it from one house to the other!”

  Both of us laughed until we noticed that Michelle definitely wasn’t. Lane cleared his throat as we pulled into the Rogues parking lot.

  Michelle’s frown deepened. “Why Rogues? Belly Up is much funner.”

  “Because Gabby wants lemon pepper wings and a Newcastle and this is the only place where you can get both. And, since it’s her birthday, she gets to pick.”

  I waited until he’d closed his door before turning to her. “Look… I know you don’t like me. That’s plain as day. But the fact of the matter is that Lane is my best friend. We should try to get along for his sake.”

  She blinked at me and nodded. I let us out of the truck and smiled at Lane’s questioning look.

  As it turned out, after a few more drinks, Michelle didn’t seem to have any issues with my choice of pub. She did, however, start to mind my presence a bit more.

  “Gabrielle, we need to talk.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “Why don’t we wait until we’re sober?” Truth be told, I wasn’t drunk, but I did have a nice buzz on and I didn’t want her to ruin it for me. I looked up at the sound of two girls giggling at the table beside us and noticed they were looking at Lane who was pressing buttons on the jukebox.

  “Maybe you should have a talk with them,” I suggested.

  “I don’t need to have a talk with them. They’re not the one he’s in love with!” I sat and stared at her with no smart alecky comment to make. I slowly took a drink from my pint to give me time to think of what I would say to that. It wasn’t the first time one of Lane’s girlfriends had told me this, but the correct response was different with every girl. I decided on the ‘I may be a lesbian and that’s why Brian broke up with me’ approach with her, but she cut me off as I started my protest.

  “And it’s so obvious that you love him back! I mean, come on! Why else does a girl walk around in her skimpy underwear all the time? You’re obviously trying to turn him on! So, now what? Now that Brian is gone, you’ll be all over Lane? Don’t tell me you’re not!”

  “Jesus, Michelle, calm down.” I tried to get her to lower her tone as I sent an apologetic look to the tables around us.

  “Don’t tell me to calm dow
n! He is mine!”

  I looked her straight in the eyes. “What part of this are you not getting? He’s yours! I don’t want him!”

  Lane had a strange look in his eyes as he walked up to the table. “What’s going on?”

  I threw my hands up in desperation. “I’m getting the whole ‘he’s in love with you’ speech.”

  “Oh.”

  Michelle whirled on him, her eyes blazing. “Don’t you ‘oh’ me! Don’t you dare deny it!”

  “Let’s get you home, Michelle.” He started to ease her out of her chair. She pulled out of his grasp and stumbled toward me.

  “That’s all he talks about. ‘Oh, Gabby, this and oh, Gabby, that’. He even talks about you in his sleep! He makes love to me and dreams of YOU afterwards!”

  Lane’s face blanched and I felt my heart kick in my chest.

  “Lane?”

  He swallowed hard and licked his lips nervously.

  “You’re nothing but a home wrecker, Gabrielle!” Michelle was completely oblivious to the fact that the music had stopped and the whole bar could hear her screaming at me. “You’re a selfish, ignorant bitch!”

  My anger sparked and I broke eye contact with Lane so I could look at her.

  She held her chin up and let lose her last insult. “You’re worse than all that! You’re a hopeless whore!”

  Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered why she thought that. The thought didn’t bother me enough to stop my fist as it connected with her face. The instant I saw her fall to the floor I regretted my actions.

  “What the fuck, Gabby!” Lane bent down to help her up. He glared up at me, the shocked and scared look he’d had, gone. “Look, I’m going to get her home.”

  I nodded.

  “Can you catch a cab?”

  I nodded and followed them out to the truck. Apparently, Michelle was all talk and once the fists came out, she simply turned into a blubbering mass on Lane’s chest. I watched as he smoothed her hair, helped her with the seatbelt, then shut the door.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know where that came from.” We stood awkwardly facing each other.

  “Look, I’ll see you on Monday at work.”

  My heart dropped. “You’re not coming home?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe everyone’s right, Gabby. Maybe it’s time we grow up and get our own places. At this rate, we’ll be old and decrepit before we find anyone who will put up with our living arrangements.”

  “If this is about what she said…”

  “It’s not. Or maybe it is. Look, whatever the case may be, I can’t keep doing this.”

  “What? This?”

  “Us… this…I…” He ran has hands over his face and took a deep breath. “I have to go.”

  “But Iggy…”

  “You can keep Iggy. It’s not like we’ll never see each other again. We own a business together. We’ll still be friends.”

  “What about Jasper.”

  He shook his head and I felt a tear slip down my cheek. “The two weeks off will be alright, but do with it what you will. I don’t think Jasper’s a great idea right now.”

  My chest was so tight I could barely breathe. Lane walked around the truck and got in without giving me my usual kiss on the forehead. I watched his tail lights until a hand touched my shoulder.

  “Are you coming in for another drink?” asked Haley, one of the waitresses.

  I shook my head and wiped my sleeve across my face. “I’m just going to head home.”

  “Let me call you a cab.”

  I waved away her offer. “I’ll just walk.”

  “In those boots?”

  I shrugged. “Hey, Haley? Did anyone pay the tab?”

  “Just catch me up tomorrow.”

  I dug in my purse and pulled out a hundred dollars in twenties. “Here.”

  “Shit, it wasn’t that much. I’ll go get you some change.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Buy the staff a couple of rounds at closing time.” I started walking. “Someone may as well have a good time on my birthday.”

  The tears slipped down my cheeks again. Happy birthday, Gabrielle. I snorted to myself. What the hell was so happy about it? I’d gotten dumped by my shitty boyfriend. Granted, I’d planned to dump him tomorrow, but that wasn’t the point. I’d knocked a girl on her ass in a bar. My chest tightened. I’d lost my best friend. How the hell had that happened? We’d been best friends for twenty-seven years. We did everything together… Well, almost everything together. In twenty-seven years, I’d never slept with him other than to sleep. Hell, I’d never even kissed him. Of course, I’d thought about it; the man had amazing lips. But he was Lane and he was my best friend. Twenty-seven years of perfect friendship wasn’t worth destroying because of one drunk impulse. Even if Michelle was right and we did feel more than friendship… things always changed when friends hooked up. What we had was perfect. Or so I’d thought.

  I started to sweat from walking and swore at myself for wearing such heavy coat. If I’d been trying to be sexy and put on my little black coat, I wouldn’t be so freaking hot right now. I started to overheat and just unzipping the jacket wasn’t letting enough air in to cool me down. I slid it from my shoulders and frowned.

  “What the hell?” I pulled my phone from my purse and touched the weather network app on it. Plus five. I stopped walking, pulled the battery from the back of it and rebooted it. When everything was back to normal, I checked the app again. Plus five. Of course, that was impossible. Just a couple of hours ago it had been minus thirty. I looked at the snow melting on the sidewalk. “This is messed up.”

  I started walking again, faster this time. Something wasn’t right. Maybe I should phone for a cab. I looked down the street in front of me and noticed for the first time tonight that there was absolutely no traffic. A quick look at my phone told me it was ten o’clock on a Saturday night which meant it should have been packed with cars heading to bars and parties. There was movies letting out and the local hockey game was ending. Where in god’s name were all the cars?

  I was about halfway home when I thought I heard something behind me. I spun around, trying to see who it was. Nothing. I pulled my cell phone out again. Enough was enough. I was calling a cab.

  I screamed as something hit me in the back and I fell to the sidewalk, skidding on my knees and elbows. Whoever it was pressed a hand against the back of my head and started to squeeze. I screamed again and tried to roll to get away as the pressure increased. Realizing I had moments before I blacked out from the pain, I dug into my purse and snapped open my jackknife. I gripped it as hard as I could and swung it backwards. I heard a grunt and the hand released my head. Fighting the panic to keep slightly coherent, I bucked my attacker off of me and scrambled to my feet.

  The woman facing me seemed normal enough. She was dressed for an evening out. The only thing about her that struck me as odd was her eyes. They were yellow; bright yellow, like the yellow on the vests that highway workers wore.

  “La… lady? Are you ok? Do you need me to call an ambulance?” I took a step back as she took a step toward me. “I… I have my cell phone. I can get you some help.”

  She rushed me which caused me to trip backwards. I fell on my back and the air left my lungs in a rush. She was on me in seconds, clawing at my face. I brought the knife around and stabbed it into her side. She fell off of me with a screech but came back just as determined as she’d been with the previous attack.

  I yelled for help, hoping someone would hear. The knife was getting slippery with her blood and I jabbed it into her chest as hard as I could. This time, the wound was damaging and she fell off of me. I scrambled to my feet and started to run.

  “Help!” I chanced a glance back and started to cry when I saw no one. Where the hell was everyone? My phone vibrated in my hand. Fresh tears slipped down my face at the caller ID. “Lane!”

  “Thank god! Gabby, where are you?”

  “On Marquis, almost at the curve.”

&nb
sp; “I’ll be there in two minutes. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but find somewhere to hide. There is some strange shit happening…”

  I tuned out as two men started toward me from across the street. Even from this distance, I could see their strange, yellow eyes.

  “I… Lane?”

  “Hang on, Gabs. One more minute.”

  “I… I don’t have one more minute.” I dropped the phone and wiped my hands on my dress, trying to get the blood and sweat off of them.

  “Gabby!” Lane’s voice sound small and far away as he yelled into his phone. Both men stopped and turned at the sound of tires squealing around the Marquis Road curve. The one ton’s headlights flashed to the side and jumped as Lane hit the curb then straightened. I realized he was on the walking path I was on and that he wasn’t slowing down. I ran back onto the street as fast as I could, turning just in time to see both men go under the truck with a hollow thump. Lane barely slowed to get back onto the street so that he faced back toward the curve. The driver’s side door opened and my knees went weak with relief at the sight of him.

  “Gabby! Gabby! Please! Are you ok?” Lane’s arms pulled me to his chest and held me tight. “We have to go.” He was forced to carry me as my legs gave out.

  Once in the truck, he gave me a once over.

  “I’m ok.”

  He shook his head. “You’re bleeding.”

  “It’s hers. She attacked me and I stabbed her with my jackknife. Oh my god, Lane, I think I killed her. I think I killed somebody.” My chest heaved and I tried to breathe through the sobs that raked through me.

  “Sshhh. Come here.” He pulled me into the middle of the seat so he could put his arm around me while he drove.

  “What’s happening?” My question was just a whisper.

  “We don’t know.”

  I jumped and screamed at the voice that came from behind me.

  “Gabby! It’s ok. This is Rebecca. I saw her getting attacked while I was out looking for you.”