LITMIR.BIZ

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to get into brawls, especially at a church and dressed in a tuxedo. “What made you want to fight him?”

      “The stuff he said to me. Things meant to rile me up, I ’spect.” Again he shrugged as if it no longer mattered.

      But it did matter, especially if they wanted to put it all behind them.

      “What did he say to you?” she asked.

      Roger pondered her question for the longest time. When she thought he might never answer, he said, “I wanted to have a talk with him before the ceremony. I figured, with your daddy and your grandpa gone, that job was up to me. So I found him and his friends waiting for the ceremony to start in one of the small rooms at the church. They were already dressed and throwing back shots of whiskey as if the bachelor party had never ended.”

      She’d smelled alcohol on Gabe’s breath, tasted it, too. She’d assumed he’d been nervous and had wanted to take the edge off.

      “Now, I’ll admit,” Roger said, “I ain’t a teetotaler. But I didn’t think the preacher or the Good Lord would have appreciated those boys tying one on at the church on a Saturday morning. And I told ’em so. But Gabe didn’t take to being scolded. I should have taken the hint then, but I decided to try a different approach and asked if I could talk to him alone.”

      “When you spoke in private, what did he say?”

      “Actually, he told me there wasn’t anything I had to say that his buddies couldn’t hear.”

      “Gabe could get pretty mouthy when he drank,” Sasha admitted. “Especially when he was with his friends.” One part of her didn’t want to hear the details, but she needed to know. “So, then what happened?”

      “I just told him to be good to you, to respect you. And then I said, if he didn’t, he’d have to answer to me.”

      She wouldn’t have expected any less from her uncle. Roger Gibault might be a bit gruff and rough around the edges, but he had a good heart. And he was respectful to women.

      “Apparently, Gabe took offense at what I said and considered it a threat.” Roger turned on the spigot, letting warm water flow into the sink. He squeezed a squirt of dish soap under the flow, then chuckled. “Hell, it was a threat. And he didn’t like it.”

      When the water and bubbles reached the proper level, Sasha shut off the faucet. “Gabe never listened to his father, either. He didn’t like being told what to do.”

      “That doesn’t surprise me. It didn’t take me but five minutes to realize he thought he was pretty damn special. And that he was a big-mouthed rabble-rouser. But I hadn’t realized he was such an ass. If I had, I would have seen it coming.”

      “Seen what coming?”

      “Gabe gave me a shove that sent me flying against the wall and damn near shook the church rafters. I hit it so hard I got an egg on the back of my head. Hell, the thud alone knocked a framed picture of the Good Shepherd onto the floor.”

      “Oh, my gosh. I hope he apologized.”

      “Nope. It didn’t faze him. Instead he opened his yap and lit my fuse.”

      Sasha hadn’t realized that their words had progressed to violence. “What did he say?”

      “You want a direct quote?”

      She nodded, bracing herself. “Yes, please tell me.”

      Roger’s eyes narrowed to a glare, and his voice deepened, the tone chilly. “‘Who do you think you are, old man? You aren’t anything to me. And just so you know, I’ve got your little Sasha-Marie right where I want her—in my bed and under my thumb. So keep your mouth shut and don’t even try interfering in our lives, or I’ll make sure you never see her again.’”

      Sasha cringed. Had she known this on her wedding day, she might have...done what? Told Gabe that the wedding was off?

      No, sadly, she might not have wanted to believe the worst about him. She’d been so starry-eyed and hope-filled that day. But now, eight years later, she realized what Roger was telling her was true.

      “I wanted to knock him down to size,” Roger said. “So when I got my balance, I doubled up my fist and went after him. I landed a pretty good one on his chin, although I’d been aiming for his nose. He might have thought of me as just an old man, but I’m cowboy strong. And I would have beaten the crap out of him then and there, if his friends hadn’t pulled me off him.”

      “I’m sorry, Uncle Roger. I had no idea what a mean, selfish jerk Gabe was.”

      “Well, what’s done is done. After it was all over, I realized how embarrassed you would have been if I’d battered your groom until he was black and blue.”

      She smiled. “I almost wish you’d done it now.”

      He chuckled. “Me, too. But my mama and daddy taught me better than that. I just wish my temper didn’t sometimes get the best of me.”

      She smiled and opened her arms. “Can I give you a hug?”

      “You betcha.” He stepped into the embrace, and they held each other close. That is, until the baby shifted and gave her a quick jab with either a little foot or fist.

      “Well, I’ll be damned.” Roger dropped his arms, took a step back and looked down at her expanded belly. “I guess I’m not the only one in the family with a feisty side and a protective streak. That little one has a good kick.”

      “She’s strong, that’s for sure. And she’s always making her presence known.”

      “Well, I’m looking forward to meeting her. I wish I could have seen more of Maddie when she was a baby. But...” He clamped his mouth shut and slowly shook his head.

      “You came to see her when she was born. Then you left quickly. Did Gabe chase you off?”

      “He didn’t actually say anything too bad that time. Maybe because there hadn’t been any alcohol involved and he didn’t have an army of friends surrounding him. But each time I glanced at him, he glared at me, so I decided to end my visit and to stay away. I didn’t want to avoid you, but I knew if I came around more often, things might eventually blow up again. Besides, I figured my presence alone would upset your husband and he might take it out on you.”

      “So you made that sacrifice for me?”

      “That’s what you do when you love someone, Sasha-Marie.”

      She placed a hand on his arm, fingering the softness of his worn flannel shirt. “I hope you know how much I love and appreciate you.”

      Roger’s eyes glistened and his grin deepened. The hard feelings he’d once harbored had clearly softened.

      He might have said that his anger had been directed at Gabe, but she suspected that he’d resented her for not listening to him in the first place, for not calling him regularly or visiting on occasion.

      But he was right. That was all water under the bridge now.

      “I’d better check on Maddie,” she said. “She’s liable to pester Graham more than I ever did.”

      Roger laughed. “You were a pistol when you were a youngster, that’s a fact.”

      Sasha smiled at the truth. She might have been a little headstrong, but she’d also had a loving heart, just like Maddie, who shared the same vivacious energy. Thank goodness her daughter hadn’t picked up any of Gabe’s bad traits.

      Instead Maddie resembled Sasha in so many ways, and not just because of their big blue eyes and fair hair.

      As Sasha entered the living room, where she assumed Maddie and Graham were watching television, she expected the cowboy to jump up immediately, glad for her return and a chance to escape the precocious child.

      But she hadn’t been prepared for the sight that met her eyes. The

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