Page 57 of Chasing the Dream

Here we go. “She’s not,” he said and then took a big bite of his tuna sandwich.

“Pretty girl like her? I’m surprised,” Cal said.

“She’s not only pretty. She’s smart, and sweet, and—”

“Everybody knows how you feel about her, Mom.”

“How we all feel about her,” his dad corrected, looking pointedly at his son.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Cal shrugged. “No reason.”

Gabe took another hefty bite of his sandwich and then reached his hand into the bag of potato chips.

“It’s not like she hasn’t had opportunities. Since she’s been here, Maria tried to set her up with a co-worker, and then there’s this client of ours, Bryan.”

His mom perked up. “Oh yeah? Is he a good prospect?”

“Personally, I think he’s an ass, but it’s none of my business. Morgan is free to go out with whoever she wants.”

His hand clenched around a stack of chips, and he bit down with extra force. Just thinking about Bryan with Morgan made him tense. He should have known his parents would notice.

“Have you told her your opinion of Bryan?” Brenda asked.

“Yes, and it caused an argument. Morgan isn’t meek and mild like she used to be.”

“Meek and mild? I never would have described her like that,” Cal said thoughtfully.

“Me either. She was always on the quiet side, but never meek,” his mom added.

“Anyway, she doesn’t seem interested in dating anyone right now. She seems perfectly content with the way things are.”

“Hmm.” Brenda eyed Gabe curiously.

He averted his attention back to his plate and hurriedly finished his lunch. It might have been less stressful to go out with Morgan and Maria after all.

For the remainder of the afternoon, he busied himself with helping his dad with tasks around the house. Anything to keep his mind off Morgan.

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Cal said at one point. “You can just hang out and relax.”

“I’m not sure I remember how. I’m used to being busy.”

“I suppose that’s what happens when you own a business.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Don’t forget to carve out time for other things too.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Yes, but that’s not what I’m talking about.”

“What, then?”

Cal set down the hammer he’d been using to pound extra nails into a loose board on the house. “I’ve found that nothing beats the love of a good woman.”

Gabe almost dropped the container of nails he’d been holding. He couldn’t remember the last time he and his dad had talked about women. It might have been when he was a teen and his dad had warned him not to get anyone pregnant.