Dawn in Eclipse Bay

glass. “Such as?”
    “Us Madisons are pretty creative,” Mitchell assured her cheerfully.
    She looked at each of them in turn. Another small chill wafted through her. They were both smiling, easy, laid-back Madison smiles. Probably trying to reassure her. But there was something very different going on in their eyes. Something very dangerous.

    She did not argue when Gabe suggested that they go back to his place after dinner. The idea of leaving the cottage undefended made her uneasy but the notion of actually spending the night there gave her the jitters. She knew that she would not sleep.
    When she emerged from the bathroom she found him standing at the bedroom window, gazing out into the night. He wore a pair of jeans but nothing else. The sleek, muscled contours of his bare back and shoulders made her fingers itch for a pencil and some drawing paper. Other parts of her were tingling, too, she noticed.
    “What are you thinking?” she asked.
    “I had an interesting conversation with Mitch on the way back to Eclipse Bay this evening.” He did not turn around. “Apparently Madison Commercial is more important to him than he likes to admit.”
    “Oh.” She tightened the sash of her bathrobe and sank down on the end of the bed. “I could have told you that.”
    “He said it was proof to the world that he hadn’t screwed up completely with Rafe and me.”
    She thought about it. “I can see where he might view your success as a sign that he hadn’t botched the job of raising you. What did you say?”
    Gabe let the curtain fall and turned around to face her. “That he was the reason Rafe and I made it at all.”
    “Ah, yes.”
    “It’s the truth. I’ve known it for years but I don’t think I ever told him.”
    “Madison Commercial is important to your grandfather, but you and Rafe mean a lot more to him than the company does.”
    Gabe sat down beside her, leaned forward and clasped his hands loosely between his knees. He contemplated their images in the mirror above the chest of drawers.
    “He really is afraid you’ll break my heart,” Gabe said.
    She managed a soft little laugh. “Did you assure him that’s not very likely?”
    Gabe said nothing.
    She stilled. “Gabe?”
    “What?”
    “You didn’t allow him to think that I could really break your heart, did you?”
    “Well, sure.” He said it carelessly, easily, casually. As if it were an incontrovertible fact. “I’m a Madison.”
    She stopped breathing altogether for the space of a couple of heartbeats. With concentration she managed to drag some oxygen into her lungs.
    “Is this your subtle, roundabout way of telling me that you see our relationship as something more than just a short-term affair?” she whispered.
    “It’s been something more than just an affair for me right from the start.”
    She could hardly speak. “But I thought we had agreed that we aren’t a good match.”
    He shrugged. “You Hartes probably worry about things like that more than we Madisons do.”
    “You’re supposed to be a different kind of Madison.”
    He straightened and reached for her, pushed her gently down onto the bed. He leaned forward and kissed her throat.
    “Not that different,” he said.

    The following morning they went back to the cottage together to clean up the studio. There was a message from Nella on the answering machine. It was short and to the point.
    “Call me.”
    Lillian grabbed the phone and punched in the number.
    “What have you got?” she asked without preamble.
    “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you since six o’clock this morning.”
    Lillian glanced at Gabe. “Out. I was out.”
    “Is that so?” Nella sounded amused. “Wouldn’t have thought there was enough going on in Eclipse Bay to keep a jaded city girl out all night.”
    “Nella—”
    “I found Witley,” Nella said, brisk and businesslike now. “He has a rock-solid alibi for the entire time that you’ve been in Eclipse Bay.”
    “What is it?”
    “He and a pal are down in the Caribbean doing some diving. They’re registered at a hotel on Saint Thomas. I checked with some of the local dive shops and I called his room. He was there, Lil. No way he could have flown back to Oregon, driven to Eclipse Bay yesterday and then returned to the island this morning in time to take my call.”
    “I see.” Lillian looked at Gabe, who was listening intently to her side of the conversation. “I’m not sure if that’s good news or bad