Free Undaunted Love (PART ONE): Banished Saga, Book 3 by Ramona Flightner Page A

soon.
    I unlocked the workshop, re-locked the door and trudged up the stairs to the loft-like living area. I carried the slab of anniversary cake Amelia had sent home with me for us to share, any of Amelia’s optimism that our disagreement could be resolved by consuming her confection fading with each step.
    As I neared the top of the steps along one sidewall, long shadows entered our apartment through the three large windows overlooking the street. The small kitchen area was near the stairs along the back wall. A small dining room table sat next to one of the windows, covered in a colorful, poppy-covered cloth. The living area consisted of two gentleman’s chairs, a rocking chair and two small side tables covered in lace doilies tatted by Amelia. I enjoyed the small touch of home.
    My desk sat at the edge of the living area, toward our bedroom area and in front of the second window. In truth, Gabriel and I shared the desk, as he often worked there, going over his books and orders during the evenings. Our bed was in plain view across the room.
    I entered the kitchen area near the top of the stairs and set the plate on the dining room table. Gabriel stood with his back to the far window, in our bedroom area. He had pushed the privacy screen aside, allowing him to see the entire room.
    “So, you came home.”
    I shuddered at his chill tone. “Of course. Amelia sent cake.” I unpinned my hat, setting it on a small table near the top of the stairs. I avoided looking in the mirror and turned toward him. Gabriel remained across the room, his arms crossed as he leaned against the ledge of the window.
    “Who is he?” Gabriel asked.
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “You’ll have a lot more to beg than that, Rissa. Who is he?” Gabriel growled, as he pushed away from the window and prowled toward me.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “You don’t come home anymore after you leave the depository. You wander in, hours later, breathless and disheveled. Acquaintances tell me that they’ve seen you walking in parts of Missoula they’d never seen you in before.” Gabriel’s eyes flashed, and he gripped his hands at his sides, although he refrained from touching me.
    I gave a surprised laugh at his conclusion. “Gabriel, there is no one else.”
    “Don’t laugh at me,” Gabriel hissed, as he reached up and gripped my arms almost to the point of pain.
    I jerked at his sudden movement, and he released my arms but not before I saw the hurt flash in his eyes.
    “Gabriel, there is no other man. I … I have a lot to think about. I go on walks.” I blushed. “You know I’m clumsy.” I smiled, hoping the shared memory of how we’d met—me knocking him off a ladder and landing on top of him at my uncle’s store in Boston two years ago—would lighten his mood. I frowned as he continued to glower at me. “When I sit next to the streams, I like to take off my hat, cool down. I nearly fell into the stream a few times.”
    “You mean you’d prefer to spend your time alone, rather than talking with me?”
    “It’s not like that.” I hated the pleading in my voice, but I couldn’t hide it.
    “How is it then, Rissa? You won’t talk with me. You don’t want me to touch you.” He backed up a step. “You prefer to spend all your time away from home.” His eyes flashed pain and disappointment.
    “Gabriel, I wish you could understand—”
    “How? How am I to understand when you won’t tell me anything?” he roared. “I’m not one of those clairvoyants. I don’t know what you want without you telling me.”
    “I … I …” I tried to speak, but no words emerged, as though I were choking.
    He turned away from me and took a deep breath. “Happy anniversary, Clarissa.” He spun around to face me, and he watched me with tormented eyes for a moment before he moved past me and down the stairs. I heard the resounding slam of the workshop door.
    I stood in the middle of the room, a welling desire to tell