Double the Trouble (Texas Trouble 3) (37 page)

His voice echoed off the trees and through the woods.  He was going to kill that bastard, Gabe thought and pulled Karlie out and onto his lap, holding her tight against him and rocking her.  He felt hot tears sliding down his cheeks as his hand hovered over her throat, almost dreading feeling for a pulse.
  Gabe placed his trembling fingers on her neck and sobbed with relief when he felt a slow and steady pulse there.
  He pulled her against him and put kisses all over her face then finally kissed her lips and
pleaded brokenly
, "Please wake up and talk to me, baby...
please
."

Karlie's body jerked then she opened her frightened eyes and pinned them to his.  When recognition hit her, she started wailing and put her arms around his neck
, then said between sobs,
"Oh, god Gabe, I was so scared, but so exhausted I couldn't go anymore..."

"You
did good, baby...you
're safe now...they caught him
,
"
he told her and held her tighter when her body started trembling violently.  "Shh, it's okay, sugar..."

She sniffed then swiped at her tears with the back of her hand and told him, "Thank you for finding me."

"The
Texas Rangers
have been out here on ATVs looking for you for hours," he told her.  "I just got lucky, because I saw Sarge."

She gave him a watery chuckle then said, "I
was hiding, because I thought it was Jake trying to find me.  I
told
Sarge
to stay put, when I covered myself up to take a nap...I'm glad he didn't listen."

Gabe pulled back from her a second and pulled the baggie out of his pocket then took out the radio and announced with a whoop, "I found her!  She's tired, but okay!"

Loud clapping and yelling sounded over the radio, then Cole piped in, "I'll drive the truck around and come get ya'll."

Karlie sat up and looked at his arm, "Oh, Lord, you should be in the hospital!  I can't believe you're out here,
and
you jumped in the river!"

"When I found out he took you, there was no way in hell they were going to keep me there...I checked myself out.  I had your phone and the lawyer Jake made you call needed to tell you something and called back on your phone."

"Wow, that was just lucky, huh?" she said with astonishment.

"
Yeah, damned lucky.  Y
ou didn't have your phone,
which I felt guilty about,
but
that lawyer
gave me all the information I needed to help find you. 
Jake's
probation officer was the key
to us finding you
."

Her face paled and her lips trembled as she repeated, "Probation officer?"

"Yeah, he had a pretty extensive record, and he was on probation for assault
. H
e missed
a
contact with the probation officer, so there was a warrant out for him.  Once he heard about the kidnapping and stuff, he pulled out all the stops to find him...and you."

Gabe heard Cole's truck pulling near the edge of the trees, and helped her stand up
.
"I'd carry you, baby, but my arm..." he felt blood rushing to his face as he apologized.

"I can walk, sugar...you
're the one that
should be carried.  We're going back to the hospital, and you're checking yourself back in.  You don't look so good," she told him seriously, then tiptoed to kiss his cheek.

Gabe grabbed her chin
.
"You're the one that looks like file miles of bad road, darlin',"
he told her
then anger poured through him and he gritted his teeth.  "I want to pulverize that bastard for doing this to you."

"Sounds like he's in enough trouble, don't let him
take you
with him.  The cops will give him what he deserves," she told him seriously, then added, "And I might not look very good, but I'm fine...now."

Holding her elbow, Gabe helped
Karlie
walk through the woods with him, and then out in
to
the clearing to the SUV.  Cole came over and picked her up in his arms and she smiled back at Gabe, "What is it with you
Bowie
men and carrying around women?"

"We just want to impress you with our strength, sugar," Cole told her then kissed the top of her head, which made Gabe growl
. 
"I told the
Rangers
, you'd give them a statement after you were examined at the hospital, is that okay?" Cole asked her.

"I don't need to go to the hospital,
"
she told them
then clarified
, "What I need is a shower, something to eat, and about forty-eig
ht hours of uninterrupted sleep,
"
she flinched and put her hand to her face, as Cole helped her into the SUV, "And maybe an ice pack for my face."

"Cole do you mind if we go to the lake house
to recuperate?" Gabe asked him, as he slid into the passenger seat and buckled up.
  They needed to be somewhere neutral, where they could relax, and the rattlesnake memory at the cabin wasn't conducive to relaxation
,
in his opinion.  They had a lot to talk about
, when they weren't delirious
.

Cole looked over at him and grinned, "Sounds like a great idea," he told him then pulled his keys out of the ignition and slid a key off the ring, then handed it to him.  "Buy groceries before you go,
the
pantry is empty.  Everything else should be stocked from the last time I took Bri out there," he told them.
  Gabe knew from talking to Sabrina the last time they'd been there had been when he proposed to her.  His throat clos
ed and his heart rate ramped up just thinking about it.

He needed to make an appointment with that therapist to talk about his mother and his aversion to marriage, without Karlie there.  Maybe he had some magic hypnosis cure for that too. 
He'd sort of battled his commitment phobia, and won to a partial degree, but he wanted to conquer it, so he could have a normal life.
 
If he didn't, his mother wouldn't have only ruined his father's life...and Gabe wasn't willing to let her do that to him.

In his mind, Gabe knew that Karlie wasn't anything like his mother
.  A
lthough she had a habit of running when things got tough, it wasn't because she was
bored and
itchy to find greener pastures. 
Karlie
ran to protect those she loved, because she thought
any trouble that came down the pike
was all her fault. 

That was what she needed to work on...her self-confidence.  It didn't take a therapist to figure out what her problem was.  After she told him about how her parents had dumped her and her sister on their uncle, and told him they were too much trouble, he could see that little girl was still inside of her trying not to cause trouble to those she loved, for fear they'd dump her too.
 

Whatever the reason
she did it though
, it would take him some time to trust her not to run out on him
, if she got scared
.  Them
living together would give him that time
.
..and he would have a commitment with her stronger than just dating.
 
Gabe d
idn't want to lose her, he knew that for sure, and he had a feeling if he didn't address his issue, that is what was going to happen.  Karlie
was the kind
of woman
that wanted
and
deserved
happily ever after
.
H
e wanted to be
the man to give that to her
...eventually.

***

Karlie was kind of worried about Gabe, he'd been so quiet the whole ride to the Double B, where they
'd dropped off Sarge to Cassie who insisted she would take care of him while they were at the lake
.  After
Karlie
p
a
cked some clothes
, they
drove her
newly repaired
car to
his
cabin
, so he could get some clothes
. 
She went with him inside, watching the floor carefully as they walked, and Gabe had used a baseball bat to probe the closet, before reaching inside for his tennis shoes this time.
 
The bag
filled with
his
clothes
was still on the dresser
, so it was a quick stop, before they headed out to the lake house. 

Gabe had gotten the first aid kit from the house
too so she could redress his wound,
and they stopped at the pharmacy
right before it closed
to get his
prescriptions filled, then
they went in
the Piggly Wiggly and bought some groceries. 

All of it felt so domestic, it made
Karlie
want to smile.  When she was living with Jake, he didn't do any of this stuff with her, he expected her to do it all, and got mad when it wasn't
done
.
 
Shaking her head, she pushed thoughts of her disgusting ex to the back of her mind.  Gabe was not like him, she reminded herself.  He wasn't controlling or abusive, he was just a sweet sexy man, and she loved him.
 

Maybe if she told herself that enough, she'd eventually get over the fear that clawed in her gut whenever he mentioned her moving in with him.
  Cole had suggested she talk to Cassie, and she planned on doing that, as soon as she had the chance.  Cassie was really busy
though
, and now
Karlie
was going to the lake house with Gabe
,
leaving her to worry about the ranch again.  Guilt poured through her and she chewed her lip wondering if she shouldn't have just stayed at the ranch.

"I hope Cassie is okay this week, she's getting really close to her due date, and she shouldn't be worrying or working."

Gabe looked over at her, "Don't worry about that, Luke will make sure she stays off her feet and doesn't overdo it.  Wade can handle it, he can get one of the hands to help him with the horses, while you're gone."

"I just feel bad, it seems like I'm always running out on her,
or causing her trouble,
"
s
he told him.

"Not your fault, honey.  You didn't ask a crazy lunatic to kidnap you and bang you around...and you didn't ask him to do all the things he did
to any of us
.  Things will settle down now that he's in custody."

Karlie huffed out a breath and said,
"I sure hope so...I just want some peace for a change.
  I feel like I've been on a runaway train for the last four months.
"
 

Gabe pulled up in front of the lake house and parked,
and stared out into the darkness
of
the night, before he
turned
and took
her shoulders in
h
is hands
,
and asked
,
"You remember when you told me that I wasn't responsible for the world's problems?"

Karlie
nodded
, then
Gabe told her earnestly
,
"Well,
you were right--and
you
aren't responsible for the world's
troubles
.  As
soon as you accept that fact, you'll find your peace.
..and I'll find mine, because I won't be afraid you're going to run out on me when you get to blaming yourself
,
or trying to
protect
the world
.
"