Chapter 7

GABRIEL

^SIX WEEKS LATER…^

“Ah, shit! Sheriff’s Department! Stop running!” Seth swore as he jumped over the five-foot fence to follow the thief into the backyard. “Stop running! Oh, for fuck’s sake!”

Gabe cleared the fence, shaking his head at Seth’s frustration. They had been chasing the young man when they identified the motorbike he had stolen. The foot pursuit then followed when the guy crashed the bike four blocks ago, and they chased him over fences, landing on trash cans and invading people’s yards.

“Seth! Switch!” Gabe called as he veered to the right while Seth went straight. He rounded a corner in time to place his shoulder into the boy’s stomach, lifting him into the air and guiding him into an injury-free landing on his back.

“Ow, ow, ow!” the youth moaned as Gabriel flipped him onto his stomach and placed the cuffs on his wrist.

“Maybe next time you’ll be smarter and not run from the sheriff’s deputies,” Seth said, lifting the boy to his feet and walking him to the gate. “Not bad, Rookie.”

“Gee, thanks, Sergeant.” Gabe opened the door to the patrol vehicle and helped Seth search and place the offender in the vehicle. “What a first week, huh?”

“A helluva lot worse than mine.” Seth laughed, squeezing Gabe’s shoulder. “Besides, I need to give you some shit for dating my sister.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Seth! We’re not dating!” Gabe walked around the vehicle before getting behind the wheel.

“Come on, Jiminy,” Seth argued. “The two of you are spending practically every waking moment together. You’ve had dinner at our place more times than you do with your grandma. And you’ve got everyone wrapped around your finger.”

“It’s not ~every~ moment!” Gabe was about to argue when he frowned at Seth. “You sound jealous.”

“~Jealous~? Of course, I’m fucking jealous!” Gabe looked over at Seth’s face reflected in the red traffic light. “Do you know that the first time I asked Indie on a date, Grace threatened to slit my throat? She tried to hide it, but I could see her in the reflection of the glass behind Indie. It scared me shitless.”

Gabe glanced at Seth and then burst out laughing, joined by the guy in the back of the vehicle. “Seth, Grace is like a…a…~leprechaun~…compared to you!”

“Gee, thanks for the reminder!” Seth retorted.

“Ah, man, Seth, still the king of drama,” Gabe tutted, making Seth gasp. “Your cuffs, your report.”

Gabe slipped out of the vehicle, took the perp out of the back, and escorted him to the processing office, leaving Seth to look for the handcuffs that Gabe had slipped off his belt when he cuffed the guy.

“Fuck you, Jiminy!” he heard Seth call as the glass door swung shut.

***

As Gabe drove home through the quiet streets after his shift, he thought about the last few weeks and had to admit that the time he was spending with Sarah was feeling more like dates than just friends meeting up. Indie and Amelia made a point of sitting with him on Sundays at church and Grandma had started making the big family meals he remembered because ~everyone~ came for lunch or dinner, depending on what time his shift started. Grace, Indie’s best friend since school, and her grandmother, Faith, also joined them.

He chuckled as he thought about tiny Grace threatening to slit Seth’s throat. Grace was an elegant woman, her five-foot-two form as fine as her Chinese heritage, a replica of Faith, without the gray streaks in her hair. He liked Grace. She was a straight shooter, not waiting for someone to ask for her opinion. She was also very loyal to those she loved, and he just loved her crazy ideas.

Gabe could still feel the shock of the cool water on his body as he volunteered to demonstrate her idea of using the air mattress to float on the waves. Granted, the idea was a bad one because the only mattress they had was Amelia’s, and it obviously didn’t hold his bulk and dumped him into the lake. This resulted in hearty laughter from the group on the shore, but the one that affected him the most was Sarah’s.

It was smooth and warm, filling the tears in his soul like maple syrup on a summer’s Sunday. He closed his eyes to absorb the sound blending so sweetly with Amelia’s giggles. Amelia…~Elli~ as the family calls her. His little unicorn.

He frowned as he took stock of his thoughts, the traffic lights changing from red to green reflected on his face, but he was oblivious to them. How had his thoughts turned from mother to daughter? ~Is he attracted to Sarah for her daughter? Is he one of those sick bastards who dated the mom to have their way with the daughter—?~

Gabe swallowed the emotions that threatened to paralyze him. The two of them were a light into his dark life, a sunflower in a garden of weeds. But he knew that he would rather cut off his right arm with a blunt knife than hurt that little girl. He would annihilate someone that hurt her, even if he was that someone. With a shaking hand, Gabe pushed a hand through his hair, his decision was made.

He started when a siren blared beside him. He rolled down his window and looked over at the sheriff’s deputy vehicle.

“Hey, you okay?” a deputy asked from the passenger seat. The driver looked past her and looked at Gabe.

“You’re the new deputy riding with Sergeant Marshall. You don’t look okay, man.”

Gabe took a deep breath and shook his head at his new colleagues. “I’m good, thanks. I just got caught in some thoughts.”

“Yeah, the job can do that,” Deputy Eliza Freeman answered. “Just make sure to find a spot at the lake, man. The locals might have an issue if you book a spot at the busiest intersection in town.”

“Thanks for the tip.” Gabe smiled but didn’t feel the humor. He waited for the light to turn green before he pulled away slowly, his shattered heart lying on the tarmac.