Chapter 6

GABRIEL

Gabe took a deep breath to calm his overactive heart rate as he watched Sarah jog into the water and dive under. He sucked in much-needed air when she disappeared under the water, her tall body covered in an emerald-green one-piece swimsuit that was conservative in cut but emphasized her hourglass figure to perfection.

Her long legs had a gold hue where the sun touched them, her arms well-defined from hours of baking and kneading. Her bouncing ponytail mesmerized him, and he recognized it as the same one he had spotted in the restaurant the night before. Was it possible that his fascination with his ~glitter girl~—Amelia—was being transferred to her mother? Or was his reaction to her a physical attraction to a beautiful woman?

And his reaction was definitely adult…

He emptied the pocket of his shorts and slipped off his shoes as he pulled his T-shirt over his head and followed Sarah into the water. He made sure to keep some distance between them as he lazily swam beside her. Flipping onto his back, he looked up at the endless blue sky, and for the first time, he felt at peace. No obligations, no expectations, just an endless day ahead of him with no need to rush from one point to another, one mission to another, or looking over his shoulder.

“Why do you call Amelia ‘glitter girl’?” she asked beside him. He hadn’t realized that she had settled with her head nearly touching his shoulder. He sucked in a quick breath, her cinnamon scent mixed with the lake and sunshine teased him. He closed his eyes and let the sun soak into his face. Gabe thought about the first time he had seen Amelia in church, and how her sparkle chased away the images that haunted him every time he closed his eyes that day. Almost like the ghosty thing that Harry Potter calls up to chase away his demons. Amelia was his Patronus. But how did he explain that to her mom?

Then he smiled when he remembered their terms. “Now-now, Sarah, dear. You agreed to one secret for the day. And I already told you one of my secrets.”

She stood up in the water and put her hands on her hips, forcing Gabe to tread water as well. She was cute when she tried to be strict. “Explain yourself, Gabriel.”

He chuckled. “Remember at the diner, we spoke about that one secret if you came fishing with me?”

“Your point?”

“You’ll have to come hiking with me tomorrow to get another secret from me.”

She huffed in exasperation before turning to swim back to shore. With a soft chuckle, he followed her, sat down on the tailgate, and swung his legs as he watched her grab two cans of soda. He quickly averted his gaze from the enticing shape of her backside before she settled next to him. He took the can from her and sipped it, his movements casual but his heart was beating a mile-a-minute as he waited for her answer.

He glanced at her while he took another sip, and watched her pout while she considered his words. And then he hid the smile that threatened when she looked at him and he could read the agreement in her green eyes.

“Fine. As long as there is no walking involved.”

^A WEEK LATER…^

“Come, Gabriel, we need a fourth,” Grandma commanded from the table in the middle of the room. He looked up at her from his place on the comfortable sofa under the window, a book lying on his folded knee. He shook his head as she narrowed her eyes, and he knew that he was once again going to be incorporated into one of her activities.

His sigh of relief was a little too loud when she pursed her purple lips at him as Gabe fished his ringing phone out of the back pocket of his jeans. He held it up to her like a shield as he quickly escaped the room.

“I owe you a huge favor,” he answered Seth’s call.

“Good. Come into the academy and do the physical exam tomorrow.”

“Whoa…as in for the deputy application?”

“Sure.” He could almost see Seth’s casual shrug as he drawled the word. “Be here at eight. Wear some decent shoes.”

“Sure,” Gabe returned, then shut off his phone. He leaned on the balcony and looked out at the lake. They were hosted by a friend of his grandmother who lived on the lake, her deck comfortably outfitted with cane furniture that invited you to relax. He settled in an Adirondack chair and put his feet up on the balustrade, enjoying the silence that echoed across the water. He watched an eagle swoop low and then rise with a rabbit dangling from its claws, and he remembered a similar scene from earlier in the week when he took Sarah…~hiking~…

When Gabe had invited Sarah to go hiking with him, he had thought he would take her down one of his favorite trails that led to the house his grandparents had lived in as newlyweds and Gabe had inherited when his granddad died. Instead, he took her to the dock and paddled her out to the middle of the lake where they read their books, ate their lunch, and swam in the cool water. He paddled her back to shore when it was time for her to go to work and he had to take Grandma to her bridge club.

Gabe turned his face to the late afternoon sun and thought about Sarah. She was so reserved, barely laughing, and seldom smiling. They had struck up an easy friendship, reminding him of the early days with Seth during their boot camp exploits, except that Seth’s smile never made his stomach flip the way Sarah’s did. Nor was he ever tempted to pull his fingers through Seth’s hair, or stare into his eyes until he could see the universe beyond the galaxy.

There was no doubt that she was hurt badly by someone and that was the reason why she kept him at arm’s length. Then there was Amelia as well. He could understand that she needed to protect her daughter, and he would give his life to protect that little unicorn of his. He was relieved if all she needed at the moment was friendship. Sarah and Amelia were so innocent, so very sheltered, and he would rather hunt glass frogs in the dark in the Amazon than bring darkness into their lives.

“Gabriel?”

“Hey, Grandma.” He smiled up at her as she stroked his shoulder. “It’s a beautiful view.”

“Miranda always had great taste,” she agreed as she sat down in a chair next to him. “You need to spend more time with that girl. She’s good for you. I haven’t seen you smile like this since you were nine.”

He tried to suppress the smile, but he could feel it bursting out anyway. “We’re just friends, Grandma.”

She gave him a mischievous smile. “Yes, Gabriel. I have attended many weddings where the couples were ~just friends~.” She got to her feet and patted his knee. “I’m guessing the call was to say you have a job.”

He shook his head with a wry smile. “It's more an application than a job.”

“It’s a job, Gabriel.” She leaned down and kissed his temple. “You need to start believing that you are worthy of good things, mein Kind.”

The smile slowly faded from Gabe’s face. “Not with the amount of blood on these hands, Grandma.”

“We all have skeletons, Gabriel. No one is exempt from the past.”