Free Ride Hard by Evelyn Glass Page B

tales that he couldn’t believe? Only one possibility sprang to his mind. She was having an affair.
     
    The thought even as it ran in his mind froze his inside. He couldn't move, couldn’t even take another step. All the breath whooshed out of his lungs and Nick felt lightheaded. No way. That couldn't be true. But if that was true, it explained her behavior. If she was interested in another man, she wouldn’t want to shift with him. That would curb her freedom and wouldn’t give her the chance to meet the man she liked. If that was true, it explained her shady behavior such as talking on the phone.
     
    Shit!
     
    Was he blind? How could this possibility not occur to him before?
     
    “Hey man, what’s up?” said Matt in a loud voice as he climbed up the stairs.
     
    Startled, Nick shifted. “Alright. What are you doing here?”
     
    Matt raised his eyebrow at Nick’s abrupt tone. “I’ve recruited to deliver this to Gabby.” He held up the packet in his hand. “It’s some beads or necklaces or some such thing that Tasha lent to her.”
     
    Nick resisted the urge to snatch the package from his hand. In his current state of mind, he didn’t want to barge into her room again. And also, he didn’t think Matt was the one having an affair with Gabby. And perhaps, he was wrong. It could probably be his imagination that as going wild. “Go right ahead. I will see you at the party.”
     
    “Yeah, sure, man.” Nick must have detected something in Nick’s voice because he didn’t immediately start to climb up. Ignoring him, Nick wound his way down. He didn’t talk to anyone else. Instead, he walked out of the clubhouse.
     
    Surely, he was wrong.
     
    He couldn’t possibly be right.
     
    Gabby wasn’t the sort of woman who juggled two men at the same time. She was honest and decent. If she didn’t love it, she would have told him straight out. Why would she lie to him and sleep with another man?
     
    But nothing else fit her behavior as well as this theory.
     
    Ronald was waiting outside with Willow. They were also headed back home to get dressed. The two of them were together for more than fifteen years now. Sometimes he looked at them and his heart swelled with an ache. He wanted the same love that they shared with each other. For years, they were with each other through thick and thin. When he found Gabby, Nick had naively assumed that he’d found something similar. Given time, he expected to grow old with Gabby.
     
    Now, it looked as his dreams would never come to fruition.  
     
    “Hey, how is the man of the moment?” Ronald’s grin damn near broke his head. “Ready to tie the old yolk around your neck, boy? She is moving in. That’s a huge deal.”
     
    Willow poked him in his tummy. “Don’t scare the boy. You love living with me, and he is going to cherish this too. Gabby is a great girl.”
     
    Ronald winked at Nick. “Sure, that is true. But there is no end to the nagging, I tell you that. Pick up the towel. Don’t leave the dirty dishes in the sink. Fold the laundry and put it in. I may be boss in this clubhouse, but she works me like a slave in the house.”
     
    “Me? Nag?” Willow put her hands on her hips. Another time, her indignant expression might have amused Nick, but now he couldn’t think straight. “You just wait till we get home, Ronald James Mathew!”
     
    “See, this is exactly what I am talking about.” Ronald gripped her arm and marched her towards the bike. “Nag! Nag! Nag!”
     
    They bickered all the way to the bike, but he helped her strap on the helmet, and when she rode behind him, her arms went around his waist in a loving manner. Willow waved to him before they sped off. Nick didn’t bother to wave back. He was feeling too depressed, but maybe he was blowing this whole thing out of proportion. Surely, his sweet, loving Gabby couldn’t be cheating on him with another man. She loved him. Maybe she hadn’t said the right words back, but that didn’t