Unwished For Gift Ch 05

Chapter 5 – Secrets

Whispers and giggles reached Caitlyn's ears and woke her up. Five more minutes mom, she thought. Snuggling closer to the source of warmth, she tried going back to sleep. Something's different, she realized. Why is my bed moving, she wondered. A male grumble had her coming awake immediately. She tried to sit up only to have the arms encircling her grip her tighter. More grumbles came from the man she was laying against. Oh my god, what happened last night, she thought as she began to panic. The sound of more muffled giggling had her looking past the man and right into the eyes of her brothers' kids. Blushing beet red, she tried once again to move away from the man she now remembered was Gabriel. "Wake up," she frantically whispered while trying to extricate herself. Getting nothing but more grumbling, Caitlyn resorted to drastic measures. She pinched him ... hard.

"Yowch!!! What the hell!!" cried Gabriel coming awake immediately. Before the cursing started, Caitlyn quickly moved her hand to cover his mouth. He grabbed her hand and started tugging when he finally realized where he was and who was with him. He stopped cursing and tried to move when three little voices made him freeze.

"Gabe said a bad word, Gabe said a bad word," Emily, Mandy and Cameron sang teasingly. Looking at them sternly, the oldest of them, Emily, stated in an imitation of her dad, "You two are in BIG trouble."

"Oh shit," Gabriel swore and then winced as he realized what he said.

"Damn it Gabe," Caitlyn replied and then gasped realizing what she said.

Pulling themselves away from each other, they tried to compose themselves as the kids kept up the singing and Emily marched back and forth in front of them wagging her finger. Before she could say a word, Gabriel cleared his throat and said, "What's it gonna cost us?"

The kids suddenly stopped and gathered themselves into a huddle whispering amongst themselves. Caitlyn looked at Gabe questioningly. "You're not thinking of bribing them – are you?" she whispered. "But I know they won't say anything to anyone," she told him. "Besides, what is there to tell – It's not like we were doing anything. We just happen to fall asleep together ... on the living room floor ... in each other's arms ..." Caitlyn trailed off as the implications of what the kids saw and what they could tell came crashing down on her. Looking at Gabe, she knew he had already come to that conclusion. Swearing to herself, Caitlyn felt so stupid.

"OK," Emily started. "Second desserts, pony rides, dress-up, and you have to build us a snow fort to play in." Standing with her little arms crossed and her two cohorts behind her mimicking her stance, Caitlyn could only sigh and wish for the floor to swallow her up. She looked over at Gabe who was pondering the kids' demands.

"No deal," Gabriel replied. "Unless you add a family snowball war and hot chocolate with cookies," he finished with a big grin on his face. Cheers erupted from the kids which led to dancing around them. Conceding defeat, Caitlyn sighed and then squealed when Gabriel started tickling her. The kids immediately joined in and within seconds all of them were giggling and squealing amidst trying to tickle each other all over.

"Truce please," Caitlyn begged while trying to catch her breath. "We're going to wake up the others," she stated. Some throat clearing from the doorway made them freeze. They turned as one and looked up with worried looks plastered all over their faces. Sam stood in the doorway with a stern look upon her face. Still dressed in their clothes from the night before, Caitlyn embarrassingly looked down and covered her face. Sam looked at each of the kids and with one look and a cock of her head; they scampered quickly and quietly back up the stairs to their room. Sam gazed back at Gabriel and Caitlyn. With a quick wink that only Gabriel saw, she turned and walked back upstairs.

"Caitlyn, she's gone," Gabriel whispered softly in her ear. "It's alright. Come on. We had better get up to the attic before anyone else sees us," he stated. Getting up, he held out his hand to help her up. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a sigh, Caitlyn reached for his hand and stood up. Not saying a word, they walked quietly up to the attic, hand in hand. Gabriel let her go only to grab a comforter and beckon her to lie back down. Giving in, she did as he bid and he softly placed the comforter snug around her. Before he could stop himself, he reached out and gently cupped her chin. Tilting her head up, he waited until she looked up at him.

Gabriel could see the emotions playing out on her face. He wanted to reassure her but he knew she would still worry. God, she is so beautiful, he thought. He couldn't help but want to stare at her always. She tugged at him in ways no one else ever did, even though he didn't really know her. There was an air of fragility about her, even though she didn't show it. He thought about how she had snuggled into him last night. He wanted to feel her in her arms again. Without a second thought, he leaned down and kissed her. He felt her stiffen up and he thought of stopping, but then she just melted. He didn't push her but he felt the heat start to build between them. Her lips were as soft and sweet as he imagined. He wanted to ravish her mouth until she begged for more than his kiss, but he knew he had to stop. Grudgingly, he moved away. "Go back to sleep, my sweet Caitlyn," he whispered in her ear. Kissing her lightly one more time, Gabriel reached over to grab a comforter and resign himself to the couch downstairs.