Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) (21 page)

“Emma.”
Sam nodded at her. “Need to talk to you, could you take a seat please?”

She
frowned not wanting more bad news, but took a seat. She gla
nced toward Gabe. “What’s going on?”

“Sam
thinks he may know who’s doing the shooting,” Gabe explained. “We’re waiting
for
Becca
and Olivia to get here.” She
wondered why
Becca
and Olivia had to be with them
but she didn’t have long to wait, since
Becca
an
d Jake arrived a few minutes
later with Olivia right behind them. They came through the kitchen to join them
in the living room. Olivia and
Becca
took seats on each side of her.
Once everyone had settled in, she noted how Sam took a deep breath. His hesita
tion failed to make her feel less anxious.

“I just
found out Charles Harris escaped from prison while on a work detail,” Sam
announced.

“What?”
Jake’s body went rigid with anger and he reached for
Becca’s
hand. “Why weren’t we notified of this?”

Sam
shrugg
ed. “I asked the same thing. The excuse they
gave was they didn’t have anything on file about notifying anyone. He’s locked
up for attempted murder on you, Jake, when he shot at you the night your horses
were stolen, but there was nothing saying we had to
be
told.”

“Oh my
God,”
Becca
exclaimed, jumping up from her
seat with a horrified expression.

“What is
it?” Jake asked her.

Becca
looked down at Emma and Olivia.
“The man at the diner.”

“What
man?” all of the men asked in one voice.
Becca
explained about t
he man they’d
seen at the diner.

Emma
watched as Gabe started pacing. Suddenly, he turned to face her. Gabe was
angry. She read it in his expression. “You didn’t think to tell us?” he roared
at her.

She
flinched beneath his anger. “I kept forgetting to tel
l
you and since nothing more has happened, it didn’t seem to matter.”

Gabe
squatted in front of her and took a deep breath, but his anger was still there.
“It didn’t seem to matter? Jesus Christ, Emma. This could be the man who shot
you and killed Tim.”

“D
on’t you yell at me, Gabriel
Stone.
” She burst into tears. Gabe
swore at himself, and pulled her into his arms and held her to him.

Sam
moved closer to where
Becca
and Olivia now stood, took a
photo out of his pocket, and unfolded it, showing it to them. “
Is this the man you saw in the diner?” Emma heard them gasp
and knew it had to be Charles Harris they’d seen at the diner. When Sam showed
it to her, she nodded her agreement.

Becca
took her seat alongside Jake, and Olivia joined Gabe and
Emma on the sofa.
They all sat quietly while Sam
spoke into the two-way radio attached to his shoulder. He told his deputies to
check the motels and boarding houses in town, and the diner for Harris. He put
out a BOLO, police jargon for be on the lookout, for Charles Harri
s. Emma knew Sam wanted the man found before he hurt anyone
else. So did
she
. The man’s brother, Steve
Harris, had abducted
Becca
and ransacked her home before
she’d turned it into the B and B. Charles Harris was obviously as dangerous as
his brother was,
if not more. He’d already killed
once.

Sam
needed to get back out there to do his job so he told them he’d be in touch and
left. When
Becca
and Jake stood to leave, Emma
turned to face Olivia. “I don’t like the idea of you being alone,” she said.

Olivia
sh
rugged. “Nothing’s happened so far. The place is
locked up tighter than Fort Knox.”

“We
thought that before, but Steve got in anyway,”
Becca
reminded everyone.

“Yes,
but this time I’ve got my own apartment separate from the B and B. Someone
might be able t
o get into the B and B, but not into
my apartment. Besides,
Punkin
is there. She won’t let anyone
in,” Olivia said with a less than confident grin. “If it makes you feel any
better, you and Jake can follow me home,
Becca
. Jake can check out the place befor
e I go in.”

Emma
didn’t like her being on her own, but she knew Olivia wasn’t going to give in
either. She hugged Olivia. “If you need us, you call. No matter what time it
is.”

Gabe put
his arm around Olivia. “She means it, Liv. No matter what time it is.
I can be there in no time, and so can Jake.”

Olivia
laughed it off, but the humor didn’t reach her eyes. “Okay, now you guys are
starting to freak me out a little. I promise I’ll call if I need anything.”

Olivia
left in her car with Jake and
Becca
following close behind in
theirs. Gabe turned to glare at Emma, his anger at her returning. “I can’t
believe you didn’t mention this man to me. He could be the man who shot you,
Emma. Tim is dead, and Sam thinks I was the target. Now I find out there’s a
strange man in town, whose presence made you nervous. What
part of all that made you think I didn’t need to know about him, or make you
not want to let me know about him?” Gabe clenched and unclenched his fists.

She knew
he was angry and didn’t blame him.
She sat down,
feeling the weight of it all on her shoulders. “I’m sorry. Maybe I was hoping
if I ignored him, he’d go away.”

“You
need to tell me when anything doesn’t feel right, understand? I’d bet my last
dollar he’s still around.” Gabe sat beside her a
nd
pulled her to him. He kissed her forehead. “You don’t leave this house without
me. Got it?”

Emma
nodded. She had a feeling Harris was still around too. He was waiting for
something, the right moment perhaps. “Do you think he wants revenge for his
brother’s death?”

Gabe
nodded. “That’s exactly what I think. What I don’t understand is why he shot
you? Why not go after
Becca
instead? Not that I’d want that
either.”

She had
no answer for him.
Becca
was the logical choice for
Harris to go after for reve
nge. She was the one Steve
had abducted and it was because of her, the man’s brother was dead. She yawned.
She couldn’t believe she was tired again. She just woke up. Gabe pulled her up
from the sofa and lifted her up.

“Darlin’,
don’t hit me, but are you p
utting on weight?”

Emma
laughed even though she should be insulted.
“Just a little bit.
I’m hoping to lose most of the
weight next month though.”

Gabe
chuckled as he shifted her in his arms. “I’m glad to hear it. I’m not sure my
back can take it if you add
any more.” She gently
smacked the back of his head. He burst out laughing then kissed her. “You can
weigh whatever and I’d still…carry you around.”

She put
her head on his shoulder. “You’re a good husband,” she said against his neck as
she nuzzled and pre
ssed her lips against his skin.

Gabe
growled. “Keep that up and I’ll be taking a nap with you.”

Emma
sighed and smiled. “I was hoping you would.”

“I can’t
right now but if you’re still asleep when I come in later, I promise to join
you.” He nuzzled her nec
k. “I may just wake you up
first, though.” He carried her to the bed and laid her on it before pulling the
covers over her. Sleep was pulling her under even as she felt his lips caress
hers in a sweet kiss.

* * * *

A few days later Emma,
Olivia, and
Becc
a
traveled into town to the local florist shop to pick out
flowers for
Becca’s
wedding. Madilyn Young sat behind the
counter and greeted them with a smile when they entered. Madilyn was a tall,
gorgeous redhead with porcelain skin and a sprinkling of freck
les across the bridge of her nose. Thick, lush eyelashes
surrounded luminous light green eyes.

“Hi Madilyn,” Emma
said with a smile.
Becca
and Olivia greeted her as well.

“Hi
girls!
Are you ready to pick out your bouquets,
Becca
?” Madilyn asked rising from
her
seat behind the counter.

Becca
laughed, her voice filled with excitement. “I am. Let’s do
this.”

An hour later,
Becca
had finally made a decision on her
arrangements. Madilyn wrote up the order after pouring them each yet another
glass of champagne. O
f course, Emma was still nursing
her first one. Madilyn left them for a minute to wait on another customer.

“She’s so beautiful,”
Olivia mentioned after the redhead walked away.

Emma nodded her
agreement. “Yes, she is. Poor thing had her heart broken about
four years ago by Brody Morgan. They were such a hot item,
and then he left town.”

“Why?”
Becca
asked with obvious curiosity.

“Brody had an
opportunity to join the United States Marshals Service and Madilyn didn’t want
him to. He worked for the local poli
ce here with her
dad, and then her dad pulled over a speeder one night. The man shot and killed
him. Madilyn was terrified from then on about Brody being in law enforcement.”
Emma shook her head sadly. “It was awful when he left. I thought she was going to
fade away. It’s just recently that she’s even started
smiling again. I don’t think she’ll love anyone the way she loved Brody.”

“Another
hottie
, I presume?” Olivia asked, shrugging
her shoulders sarcastically.

“Oh, dear lord,
Brody’s so hot. Well, he was
then. I don’t know about
now. But he has black hair, brown eyes and believe it or not, he wears glasses
and he looks so hot in them. There’s not a woman in town who didn’t love seeing
him in those glasses.” Emma slightly shook her head then shushed them. “
Here she comes.”

The women spent a
little longer at the florist before heading off together to catch some lunch.
As they sat in their usual booth in the diner, Emma glanced around but
thankfully, didn’t see Charles Harris anywhere. She let out a relieved s
igh and smiled as Connie arrived at their table to take
their orders. Maybe he’d left town and wouldn’t be around anymore. She hoped
so, even prayed for it. She listened as
Becca
and Olivia discussed the wedding. She
was thrilled to be in the wedding. She
just hoped
she’d lose enough weight before then. Her gown wouldn’t fit if she didn’t.

“Tell me about Brody
Morgan hurting Madilyn.” Olivia suddenly changed the subject and smiled. Olivia
certainly loved gossip.

Emma sighed. “Just
what I told you. They were
so in love, but he wanted
to be a US Marshal like Sam.”

“Sam was a US Marshal?
I didn’t know that,”
Becca
said with sudden excitement in her
voice.

“Yes, he went in right
after college. Then his parents moved to California and asked him to come home
to ru
n the ranch. Sam ran for the position of Sheriff
here in Clifton, and won,” she told them, suddenly proud of her old friend.