Passion Ignited

“So it would be perfect timing for her to come here and spend some time with you and Daddy,” Gabrielle pointed out.

“I’m sure she’s going to come here as soon as she can. She loves your father.”

This wasn’t about Grace not loving her father. This was about Grace being selfish. She’d been raised as a spoiled kid, and had always felt that the world revolved around her. Now her father had had a life-threatening heart attack and she didn’t even have the decency to come see him? What if he had a second heart attack and died?

Gabrielle prayed that didn’t happen, but there were no guarantees in life. And with her father determined to eat a diet that would kill him... You just never knew.

“It’s not like we haven’t heard from her,” Gina said. “She’s called, spoken to your father.”

“Isn’t that nice?” Gabrielle said sarcastically. “She should get on a plane and come down here. Portland isn’t on the other side of the world.”

“Don’t be so hard on your sister,” Gina said.

“You always defend her, Mom,” Gabrielle said, exasperated. “But she’s never here when we need her.”

Gabrielle refrained from pointing out that her parents had always been there when Grace needed them. Grace had had one financial disaster after another in her life, and had always called her parents when she needed help picking up the pieces. While Gabrielle had adopted her parents’ work ethic, her sister had not. Whenever she had money, she spent it carelessly. She liked to party, and even do the occasional recreational drug.

Though maybe it was more than occasional. That would certainly explain why she could never hold down a steady job.

“She got fired from her last job,” Gina said.

“So she has no money,” Gabrielle said. Of course, she added silently. Her sister could never keep a job. It wasn’t the first time she’d been fired. And it wouldn’t be the last. Grace liked to stay up late, and sleep in late. Which only proved her to be unreliable. Employers wanted to know that you would get up in the morning and go to work consistently.

But when you had Mommy and Daddy bailing you out all the time...

Gabrielle knew this wasn’t the time to get into Grace’s situation with her mother. So all Gabrielle said was, “Well, hopefully she finds another job and gets herself down here to see Dad.”

“Will you go and pick up the groceries for me?” Gina asked.

Gabrielle put an arm around her mother. “Of course.”

This was so hard on her mother, and she could see it in her eyes. If only Grace would come back home to help her parents out and ease the stress on their mother.

As Gabrielle descended the stairs with her mother, she tried to push Grace out of her mind. It hurt thinking about her sister. So many disappointments... She and her sister were not even on speaking terms anymore.

Grace had stopped talking to her because Gabrielle had refused to give her more money. The first few times Grace had called her in crisis, Gabrielle had lent her money. And when she hadn’t gotten it back, she’d been okay with it. In her heart, she wanted to believe the best about her sister. Grace’s hard-luck stories were always compelling. This or that bad thing had happened to her. Eventually, it became clear to Gabrielle that Grace had been making excuses.

She had a safety net. And it was the family.

So when Gabrielle had told her she would not give her any more money the last time she had called, Grace had been livid. She hadn’t spoken to her since. Not truly spoken to her anyway. Gabrielle had seen her at the occasional family get-together, and Grace had always been distant and cold.

“Sweetheart?”

Her mother’s voice pulled Gabrielle from her thoughts. “Yes?”

“This is a list I made. And here’s some money.” She stuffed several bills into Gabrielle’s palm.

“I don’t need the money,” Gabrielle said. “I can certainly buy my parents some groceries.”

“I don’t know what I would do without you,” Gina said and smiled.

“And I don’t know what I would do without you and Daddy,” Gabrielle said.

It was why she was determined to see the arsonist caught.

Because only then might some normality return to her family.

Chapter 5 (#ulink_e3ff8f4b-6307-53f5-8a2d-739f5ef008e4)

“Thank you so much for coming in today,” Gabrielle said to her guest, as she was packing up the clothes she had displayed on Your Hour. Cindy Holjak had been the last segment for today, and she had enthusiastically shown various scarves and skirts and blouses made by women in South America. All of the profit went to the women in South America, as a way to help them better their lives. It was all about empowering women in impoverished countries.

“Thank you,” Cindy said. “Anytime I get to talk about this initiative, I’m grateful. This is really changing a lot of women’s lives.”

As Cindy continued to pack up her bags, Gabrielle retreated to the small kitchen outside the studio doors. She needed coffee.

She had stayed with her parents for a good while last night, not wanting to leave them. Her mother needed the company, she knew. Her father just wasn’t the same. He was bitter, miserable. Constantly complaining about the food he had to eat. So she knew that her mother appreciated a change of pace.

Gabrielle had gotten home late, and then had not been able to sleep well. She kept thinking about her father, and how he had changed so drastically.

And all she wanted to do was be able to help him. To turn back the clock to the time before the arsonist struck.

She couldn’t turn back the clock, but she could make a difference. She’d put a call in to Stacy Jackson from Channel 10 news earlier. Their team had been out videoing footage of the fire. Gabrielle was hoping that she could take a look at the footage, and see if the arsonist was anywhere in there. The first order of business when she got into her office was to check emails and her phone messages.

Her cup of coffee in hand, Gabrielle exited the small kitchen and made her way toward her office. She rounded the corner into the main reception area, then stopped dead in her tracks.

She blinked, trying to make sure that she wasn’t imagining things.

“He’s been waiting here for an hour,” Renée the receptionist said.

Gabrielle’s heart was pounding. Omar Ewing was there. Again.

“What—what are you doing here?”

“He said he wants to see you,” Renée went on when Omar said nothing.

He stood up and smiled. He was wearing jeans and a white dress shirt and looked especially fine.

Gabrielle started toward the door that led to the main offices. “I thought I told you to call and set up an appointment,” she said, trying to hide her irritation for Renée’s benefit. “I’m certain I didn’t tell you to just drop by.”

“I was in the neighborhood.”

Sure you were, Gabrielle thought sourly. Then she turned to Renée. “Let me know when my 2:00 appointment gets here.”

Renée said, “Your 2:00?” She looked confused. “I didn’t realize—”

Gabrielle shot her a narrowed gaze, and Renée caught on. “Oh. Of course. That’s right, I forgot all about that appointment.”

Gabrielle pushed through the door, and Omar followed her. She walked swiftly to the second door on the left, which was her office. When she stepped inside, she continued to her desk. She put her clipboard and coffee down and picked up her phone.