Daddy's Coming Home For Christmas

Chapter Eight: Honey?

Raphael

“I want the address for Gabe’s house, ASAP,” I barked into the phone as I slammed the door to the rental car. I was still sitting in the driveway of Gabriel's real estate office, staring at the large sign that showed my brother, with his million dollar smile, his arm around some pretty blond woman.

If that woman was his business partner, they looked a little too cozy.

I couldn’t help but wonder why Bethany wasn’t on the sign. Had some a.sshole decided the blond bombshell was more appealing for advertising? How did Bethany feel, seeing that image plastered on the properties for sale all over town?

I didn’t want to care if it hurt her feelings. It was none of my business.

The secretary in the office had informed me that Gabe had already gone home for the day. To her credit as a competent employee, she refused to give me his home address. But no matter, Rachel had texted me the address by the time I had my seat belt buckled and the car in gear.

It was a forty-minute drive out to Lake Bonnie, and the upscale community where Gabriel lived. It gave me time to think and reflect on what I had seen that morning. And to kick myself for being such a hothead.

Firstly, I had barely said two words to my mother. I had walked in the house, seen her condition, and lost my mind. All the things I had wanted to tell her for the last seven years had flown the coop in the face of my rage and confusion.

I could run a nine-figure hotel and hospitality empire, but I couldn’t take care of my own mother. I was furious at my brother, but even more so, I blamed myself. I did this. I had stuck my head in the sand for seven years, and turned a blind eye to anything that had to do with home.

And then I had unloaded that fury on Beth. I couldn’t wipe her stricken expression from my mind. Of course, she would be upset. She and Mom had always been close. Neither one of them would take kindly to my attempt at throwing Beth out of the house.

Mom used to say that Beth was the daughter she’d always wished for.

I shook my head and turned off the highway, taking the exit for the lakeside district. Lake Bonnie was a long, banana-shaped lake lined with holiday homes and beach houses. Gabe’s home was part of a newer development of steel and glass homes that perched over the water, with a boathouse and private dock underneath.

The houses were an eyesore, I thought. Completely incongruent with the natural beauty of the lake and the older homes that surrounded it. The steep lots offered no grass, no play areas for children. In fact, it looked like a safety hazard, with nothing stopping a child from falling and rolling right into the water. I hoped Beth's kid could swim.

No wonder Beth had brought the kid to play at my mother’s.

Twin BMWs were parked in front, one blue, one cherry red. I hadn’t seen either of those vehicles at Mom's house, but maybe Beth had pulled hers into the garage. There was no room for a third vehicle, so I simply pulled off the road on the small shoulder between Gabe’s house and the next neighbor.

I walked up the sidewalk and stopped in front of the door. They had a doorbell with a camera, so he probably already knew I was coming. Hell, Beth must have sped home to warn him as soon as I had left the driveway.

I waited impatiently, tapping my foot, until the door was pulled open. I expected Gabe, or perhaps a wary and guarded Beth.

Instead, it was a blond woman who held open the door with a clueless smile on her plastic face. “Hello, can I help you?”

It was the woman from the sign. The one that Gabe had a cozy arm around. It was on the tip of my tongue to blurt out, “Who the hell are you?” But I reined in my temper.

“Hi. I’m looking for Gabe Segretto?”

“Oh sure, wait one moment.” She closed the door slightly and bellowed back into the house. “Honey? Someone is here to see you!”

Honey? What the hell…?

A moment later the door was pulled open again, this time by my younger brother. He was wearing a yuppy sweater which was a little snug around his midsection. His slick salesman smile froze on his face when his eyes landed on mine. “Well, well,” he said coldly. “The prodigal son returns.”

Given that the Biblical prodigal son returned home desperate, penniless and ashamed, I didn’t think his assessment quite fit. “Hello Gabriel,” I said stiffly. “I think we need to talk.”

He opened the door fully and stepped aside so that I could enter his house. “I take it you’ve seen Mom.”

“Yes,” I said, deliberately keeping my answers short and clipped. He led me to a living room, one wall of which was all glass, overlooking the lake. There was ice along the shoreline, but the water in the center was still open. It all looked cold and gray and frigid, exactly how I felt. “Nice view,” I admitted grudgingly.

“Thanks, we like it.” He dropped into an easy chair. “Can I get you something? Beer, wine?”

I shook my head, which was still throbbing from the last bottle of whiskey I’d downed. “No, thanks.”

He shrugged indifferently. “Ashley, darling, would you grab me a cold one?”

“Ashley?” I asked when the blond had sashayed out of the room, “who the hell is she?”

Gabe laughed as though my ignorance delighted him. “My wife, of course.”

“What about Bethany?” I blurted.

He gave me a smug look. “I divorced her. You might know that if you ever came around.”

He divorced her? How could he? Why would he? My mind practically exploded with questions. But I had to remember the purpose of my visit. I wasn't here to poke into his relationship with Bethany.

“What about mom?”

The blond woman came back into the room carrying a stein of beer. When she bent to hand it to Gabe, she purposely stuck her ass out in my direction, and her short skirt rode up to just below her ass cheeks.

“Charming,” I muttered as she gave me a flirtatious look under her lowered eyelashes. Did Gabe realize his trophy wife was coming on to me?

“What about Mom?” Gabe asked carelessly, taking a gulp of the beer.

“What happened?” I growled, “When did it happen? Why wasn’t I informed? What medical care did she receive?”

“Well, she had a stroke last year. I think it was October or November. Beth found her in the bathroom and called an ambulance. By the time they got her into surgery, the damage was already done.” He took another long drink. “And I told my secretary to email you or something. I guess the message never got through.”

“You guess!” I bit out angrily. I had to suck in a breath. It wouldn't do any good to start an argument about his lack of communication now. I'd deal with it later. “So you say Beth found her. Where was the personal care attendant?”

Gabe laughed, but the sound was empty and hollow. “Beth is the personal care attendant,” he said, and then tipped back the rest of the glass. “So if you have issues about Mom’s care, take it up with her.”