Chapter 5
FIVE
“Did you brush your teeth?” Gabriela asked as she placed the large glass mixing bowl in the dishwasher.
“Yeah,” Ana called from her bedroom.
Gabriela added soap to the dishwasher, closed the door, and started it.
She turned to look at the rest of the kitchen.
Everything had been tidied. The dirty dishes were all in the dishwasher; the flour, powdered sugar, and smeared icing had been cleaned from the island counter; and the cookies were spread out on parchment paper so their icing could finish hardening overnight.
She smiled as she ran her eyes over the cookies. Each one was uniquely decorated.
It had been a good day. A better than good day.
Gabby pushed away from the sink and headed for Ana’s bedroom, stopping in front of the Christmas tree along the way.
There were five gifts for Ana under the tree, including the couple Gabby had wrapped while her daughter was in the shower earlier, and the little tissue-paper-wrapped bundle Ana had made at school sat in front of them.
Ana had been so proud and excited when she’d placed it there.
Smile widening, Gabriela continued to her daughter’s room.
Ana was lying on her stomach on her bed, drawing in a sketchbook, a rainbow of markers spread on the blanket beside her.
She had changed into a blue long-sleeved shirt and pajama pants with little sloths on them.
The overhead light cast a warm glow on the room, which was filled with so many pinks, purples, and blues that you’d think a unicorn had farted in it.
That probably wasn’t too far from the truth considering all the unicorn décor.
There were unicorn posters and drawings hanging on the walls, a rainbow unicorn rug on the floor, a unicorn lamp on the small corner desk, a glowing unicorn nightlight on the pink plastic storage cart Ana used as a nightstand, and stuffed unicorns and unicorn pillows on the bed. Ana was obsessed with them.
“What are you drawing?” Gabriela asked as she entered the room.
Ana hurriedly flipped over her sketch book and smiled sheepishly up at Gabriela. “Nothing.”
“Sure didn’t look like nothing.”
“It’s a secret.” Ana closed the sketchbook and gathered the markers.
Gabriela sat on the edge of the bed, grinning as Ana slipped off the other side. “I see.”
“No looking, Mom.” She set the sketchbook on her little desk and put the markers away in the top drawer.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Better not. It’s called privacy.”
Laughter spilled from Gabby. “I’m twenty-nine years old. I believe I know what privacy is.”
Ana put her hands on her hips. “And you better not forget it.”
Shaking her head but still grinning, Gabriela pulled down Ana’s blanket. “I won’t. Now come get into bed.”
Ana climbed onto the mattress, slipped her feet beneath the covers, and lay down. She raised her arms, allowing Gabriela to draw the blanket over her before folding her hands atop her chest.
Gabriela was going to miss these moments when Ana was older. She brushed her fingers over her daughter’s forehead, smoothing her hair back. “Did you have a good day today?”
Ana smiled. “It was the best.”
“It was, wasn’t it?”
“And tomorrow is going to be even better. Can we build snowmen with Mason after we have hot chocolate?”
Gabriela arched a brow. “Mason? What happened to calling him Mr. Lee?”
“He said I could call him Mason.”
“That was nice of him. And you’ll have to ask him about the snowmen, but no pestering or begging if he says no, got it?”
Ana nodded. “Got it.”
Gabriela leaned down and pressed a kiss to Ana’s forehead. “Goodnight, Ana.”
Ana hugged Gabriela. “Night, Mom.”
Once Gabby was free, she straightened and walked to the door, glancing back in time to see her daughter roll onto her side to face the window. Gabriela flicked off the light, leaving only the gentle blue glow of the unicorn nightlight. She closed the door as she stepped out.
She cleaned up the living room, returning the television remote to the coffee table, stacking the coasters, folding the blankets and draping them over the back of the sofa. The carpet needed a good vacuuming, but that could wait until tomorrow.
After checking the front door locks and making sure her cellphone was plugged into the charger on the kitchen counter, Gabriela turned off all the lights except for those on the Christmas tree. That colorful glow drew her eye naturally to the nativity scene upon the mantle.
It’d been a Christmas gift from her mother, after eighteen-year-old Gabby had moved out. Even when other traditions had been set aside or forgotten, Gabriela had put out this nativity scene faithfully every year. Looking at it always reminded her of her parents.
Looking at it now reminded her of how much she missed her mom and dad.
Money had been especially tight this year, for Gabby and her parents, too. She hadn’t been able to make the trip to Arizona to visit them with Ana, and they’d been unable to travel to Idaho. Hopefully, they’d see each other next year.
And perhaps…she’d have Mason to introduce them to.
Gabby, getting way ahead of yourself here.
Yet she couldn’t help but grin at the thought of Mason meeting her mother and father as she made her way into her bedroom. She turned on the light and closed the door behind her.
Gabriela’s room was sparsely decorated compared to Ana’s.
With the exception of a few paintings of flowers, the walls were bare.
The queen-size bed with its blue and white comforter and matching pillows took up most of the room.
The nightstand behind the bed had her alarm clock perched atop it, and the tall dresser was tucked in the corner, a basket for dirty clothes beside it.
Walking to the dresser, Gabby grabbed underwear and a pair of oversized, fuzzy socks from the top drawer and pajamas from the next drawer down. She carried the clothing into the adjoining bathroom, flicked on the lights and fan, and set her clothes on the counter.
Gabriela paused and stared at herself in the mirror. There were small, dark circles under her eyes, and wisps of hair had fallen from the bun atop her head. She looked…tired. And she was. She’d barely had a moment to sit down all day, and her entire body felt it.
Is this what Mason saw?
If that weren’t bad enough, she’d likely smelled of sweat and cleaning chemicals when he’d been so close to her earlier.
She wrinkled her nose at her reflection.
But…they were still on for their date tomorrow. So, he must have seen something he liked.
Gabriela smiled. “It was an amazing day.”
And as Ana had said, tomorrow would be even better.
Gabriela couldn’t wait for morning to come so she could see Mason again, so she could spend time with him and learn more about him.
He hadn’t lived across the street for long, and he was always such a quiet, reserved man, but he’d always been kind.
He was also alone.
Her mind turned back to what Ana had said, about how it would be okay for Gabby to open herself up to someone—to Mason. About how much she longed for a father.
For a whole family.
Had Gabriela failed in some way?
No. It wasn’t her fault—it was her ex’s fault.
He’d been a selfish coward. He hadn’t wanted to be tied down so young in such a small town, hadn’t wanted a baby, so he’d left, leaving Gabriela alone and pregnant at nineteen to raise her daughter by herself.
She hadn’t even had the help of her parents because they’d moved to Arizona a year prior, and Gabriela had decided to stay behind in Donnelly with James.
And Gabby had been too prideful to ask for money, to move back in with them. To ask for help. Her parents hadn’t liked James from the start, and she’d been too headstrong, too in love to listen to their warnings. She had made her bed, and she would lie in it no matter what it took.
Despite all the heartache, despite the hardship, she wouldn’t have changed anything. Ana was worth it all.
Gabriela had accepted state assistance when she could—she wasn’t stupid—but she’d still worked hard to earn a living without sacrificing time to bond with her daughter.
Cleaning homes had been a natural fit, as it had allowed her to bring Ana along and had saved a ton on daycare.
Things had become easier once Ana started attending school.
Over the years, Gabby had built enough of a client base that she and Ana had been able to move out of the old trailer and into this little home, and they’d lived comfortably on her income for a time.
Gabriela had done everything she possibly could for Ana, and she’d always do more, but she simply couldn’t fill the role of a father. Ana deserved to have a dad, a man who would love her unconditionally, protect her, and treat her as his own.
And…Mason could be that man.
He could be Gabriela’s man.
“Again, getting way ahead of yourself there, Gabby. You haven’t even gone out with him yet.”
But now that the thought had presented itself, she found that she wanted it, craved it with every fiber in her being.
She desired Mason. A simple touch of his fingers had lit her body up like striking a match.
She could only imagine what it would be like to have those big, strong, calloused hands all over her body, caressing her skin, stroking her between her thighs until she succumbed to the burning passion locked within her.
Gabriela caught her lip between her teeth and clutched the hem of her shirt as her core tightened, and her clit throbbed with arousal.
It had been so long—too long—since she’d been with a man, since she’d had any kind of intimacy.
She breathed in deep and let out a slow breath through her mouth.
There wasn’t much to be done about it now.
Using her own fingers to get herself off would feel as empty as it had the last time she’d done it weeks ago.
She’d be left as unsatisfied now as she was then, and the time before that, and the time before that.
Not to mention, she was simply too tired to bother putting in the effort to give herself little more than a few seconds of empty pleasure.