by Lee Rose
Toby came running back out with a marker and she sat down on a lawn chair and added her name with all the other names written on his cast. “Look at all these names, Toby, you have a lot of friends, huh?”
He giggled and nodded happily. “Uncle Ethan found my bike but I promised never ever to go in the woods by myself even if I’m mad at Kenny and I think that won’t be a hard promise to keep. I had bad dreams.” He looked down as if confessing something bad.
Gabe was standing behind Karissa’s chair but she hadn’t noticed him. He had been planning to at least be polite and say hello to her when he heard Toby and Karissa’s conversation and he didn’t want to interrupt so he waited.
Karissa leaned down and gave the little boy a big hug, brushing his bangs out of his adorable face. “Hey, it’s okay, Toby, it was a very scary night for both of us but you were so brave and strong. I had lots of bad dreams, too.”
“My mommy sat up all night with me. Even Kenny was really nice to me for a whole day,” he said looking up at her. “Did your sister stay up with you, Karissa, so you wouldn’t be all alone?”
Karissa laughed and couldn’t resist hugging him again before he ran off. She shook her head no. “She just had a baby who needs all her attention at night.”
Gabe’s heart clenched painfully at the thought of her waking up scared and alone, he would gladly be there for her if she would only let him. He closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath. He pasted a polite smile on his face and walked up to them. “Hey, kid, can I sign this cast too or is it by special invitation only?”
Toby smiled brightly and hugged Gabe with glee. “You can sign it, Uncle Gabe. I haven’t seen you much lately.” He handed Gabe the marker and Gabe sat next to Karissa.
“I’ve been working a lot lately but I came to check on my little buddy.”
“To catch the bad guys right?” Toby nodded confidently then looked at Karissa with an encouraging smile. “Don’t be scared no more, Uncle Gabe will put them in jail forever. Isn’t that right?”
Gabe nodded in agreement and signed his name next to Karissa’s. Toby ran off to play leaving the two adults sitting in an awkward silence, not knowing what to say to each other after so many years apart.
“I know you hate me, Karissa, but please promise me if you see those two men again or feel scared you’ll call me, anytime.” His gaze lingered on her soft curves in snug-fitting blue jean shorts and a pink tank top and pink flip-flops, her silky, long hair flowing down her back.
* * * *
Karissa looked over at Gabe. He still stole her breath away as he always had. Her heart jumped at the sight of him sitting so close to her and she could smell his woodsy cologne. Gabe was still such a handsome man that her body obviously didn’t get the memo that this was the man that had broken her young heart. She looked into his dark brown eyes surrounded by long, dark lashes and his muscular body frame underneath a white T-shirt and she could feel the heat stirring in her stomach and her heart racing wildly like a beating drum. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in days, leaving dark stubble on his face, making him look dangerous and delicious. “I don’t hate you, Gabe, I was just angry and hurt. I guess it’s immature of me to keep holding a grudge. This is a small town and we’re bound to run into each other over and over again. Thanks for rescuing us that night by the way and for the flowers you sent me.”
“I don’t blame you for having a grudge, Rissa,” he stated, using her old nickname, brushing off her thanks. He wanted a chance to explain the past before she started avoiding him again. It might be his only chance to speak his heart. “I was young and stubborn back then. I was having a rough time settling back into regular small-town life and instead of talking my feelings through with you I reenlisted without you knowing. Back then I thought everything had to be my way or no way. I am sorry I hurt you, though. I regret that most of all and you didn’t deserve it.”
Karissa didn’t want his pity. She’d tried very hard over the years to not think of Gabe or anything that reminded her of him—like this town. It hadn’t been easy, either. Gabe had always popped into her dreams. Maybe that’s why her relationship with Jordan had never been so good. She had closed off her heart, not wanting to feel the devastation she had felt when Gabe had left her. “It’s okay, Gabe, forget about it. It’s water under the bridge now and we both have moved on with our lives. Obviously we just weren’t meant to be a couple since we both want different things out of life.”
He wanted to deny that statement but he didn’t want to make her mad. One step at a time, he reminded himself. “Can we start over and be friends, please? Give me a chance to show you that I’m not a bad guy, just one who made mistakes.”
Karissa didn’t speak for a minute but she agreed by nodding her head. Surely she could handle being casual acquaintances with this man. She looked around the big yard filled with family and friends talking and kids running around laughing and playing. It was a hot summer day with clear skies and the smell of good food grilling. This was the life she had wanted once upon a time when she was still young and naïve. Gabe had been the main star in that particular fantasy, of them having a nice house and children who were loved by both parents and never scared, like her and Casey had always been as children. Toby waved to them as he ran by with a group of boys, including his brother, chasing a soccer ball, looking happy despite his cast on his arm.
“I’m so relieved he’s okay now. I worried he might be traumatized,” Karissa observed, waving back at Toby with a smile. “He was such a brave little boy that night, even with a broken arm. I know he wanted to break down and cry his heart out but he held it together and that helped me hang on, too. I’m not sure which one of us would have cried the loudest.”
Gabe chuckled but shook his head in denial. “You’re a strong woman, Karissa, I’ve always admired that quality about you. Toby was lucky you were the one to find him that night. Sorry about your car though, honey.”
Karissa shrugged, feeling a little sad about her car. “Thanks. I just have to work more hours and stay at Casey’s a little longer than I intended. Roy said my car was on its last leg anyway.”
“I was so terrified that night,” Gabe leaned toward her, aching to reach out and touch her for just one second. He knew her cheek would be silky smooth and she’d smell like fresh flowers. He knew her hair would feel like satin.
“Worried for Toby? I noticed he called you uncle. He talked about you and Ethan a lot that night. He kept telling me not to worry, his two strong uncles would save us.” She remembered Toby’s assurance with a smile.
Gabe didn’t tell her he had been worried for her. She probably wouldn’t appreciate it. “Ethan and I spent so many years in the same military unit. It made us as close as brothers. When we got out we came back home and Ryan hired us both on as deputies, and my younger brother Logan started not too long after that. It’s nice to work with people you trust with your life.”
“I missed the peacefulness of this town over the years,” she said, leaning back in the chair and lifting her face toward the sun, loving the feel of warmth hitting her face. “St. Louis is a big, fast-paced city with noise and traffic and lots of people running everywhere. You get used to it but this is so nice and relaxing.”
“Why did you stay away for so long?” he asked, openly admiring her since her eyes were closed against the bright sun. She was the epitome of a woman in his opinion. Soft and curvy in all the right places and perfect facial features including lush lips that he could look at and never get bored. He had looked for Karissa as soon as he got back to Appledale, ready to fall on his knees in front of her, and was disappointed to hear she had moved away years before. Casey wouldn’t tell him much and she gave him dirty looks whenever he saw her in town. So he had finally stopped asking.
She shrugged her shoulders. “Lots of bad memories here in this town and it was easier to run from them than to stay and deal with them. You don’t have the monopoly on being young and stubborn, Gabe. Then I met Jordan
in St. Louis and we moved in together. I thought finally I could settle down and have the life I always wanted but unfortunately I don’t inspire loyalty in people.”
“Ouch,” he said at that comment, knowing it was also a dig at him. “I’ve heard a little about this Jordan creep from Roy. He wanted to gather a posse and hang him from his—well you get the idea. I was the first to sign up but Ryan nixed the idea real quick.”
Karissa laughed at that picture. She would have enjoyed seeing that. “Yeah, Casey got lucky in love. Roy is a good, decent man that will take care of her and Jonathon. He’s been good to the both of us. I just never got that lucky in love, but I’m happy one of us did. Casey deserves it. She was always the responsible adult in our household when we were just kids and that wasn’t fair to her. Casey deserves nothing but happiness in her life from now on.”
Gabe nodded knowing of the two sisters’ bad childhood. Why had he been such a selfish idiot in the past? He had never considered all the people that had let Karissa down in her young life, he had only thought of what he had wanted. He knew she’d be hurt by his leaving but he figured she’d move on and find someone better. Settling down was not something he thought he could do. At least that’s what he’d told himself over and over. Leaving had been hard but he thought he would never be happy in civilian life. How wrong he had been. If only it was possible to go back and redo things.
Casey came over and interrupted their conversation, grabbing Karissa by the hand to meet some people that were new in town and leaving Gabe alone with his sad thoughts. He could give her that dream now but it was too late. She would never trust him or want to depend on him again.
“See you later, Gabe. I’m glad we talked,” Karissa said getting up and following Casey around the yard meeting the residents of her hometown. She ended up having a fun afternoon. Ethan White’s wife, Liz, owned a clothes boutique in town. She told Karissa she had moved into town three years ago from Chicago and loved living in Appledale. She was a petite, elegantly dressed blonde and Karissa promised to stop by her store and shop as soon as she got a day off. It was nice to have a clothes store in town, she told Liz excitedly.
Lacy Martinez-Clark was Ryan the sheriff’s wife and worked at Ally’s diner as a waitress. She was taller than Liz with long reddish brown hair falling in waves down past her shoulders and a curvy figure. She had been in town less than a year and had come from Detroit, Michigan. Both women were very friendly and made her feel comfortable in their company. Liz was expecting her first child in a few months, she announced, but Lacy hadn’t been married long and wanted to wait a while before having any kids.
“Yeah, well you’re still a kid yourself at twenty-five and can afford to wait. I’m thirty and my biological clock says, ‘Hurry it up, girl,’” Liz teased her, rubbing her small pregnant belly fondly.
Lacy pretended to be offended for a second but she laughed out loud and winked at Karissa and Liz. “My husband doesn’t think I’m a kid.”
Ryan and Ethan walked up behind them with grins on their faces. “You three ladies are having too much fun all alone.”
Lacy hugged her husband’s waist with her arms and leaned against him lovingly, looking up at him and batting her brown eyes at him. He was a tall, muscular, handsome man with short blond hair. “Liz was calling me a kid and I said you don’t think of me as a kid, right, baby?”
Ryan kissed his wife’s cheek and nipped her neck with his teeth, making her giggle. “Oh I can testify you are all woman, darlin’.” Lacy looked over at Liz with a superior smile as if saying, “See?” and made Karissa laugh at their antics.
“Quit causing trouble, angel. The food is finally done. Let’s go eat, me and junior are very hungry.” Ethan led his wife away to the food table.
They walked away with Ethan patting her rounded stomach and telling her she had to eat something.
“Come on, Karissa, let’s go get some food.” Lacy invited her and she followed them to the foldaway tables that had been set up and filled with delicious-looking food and drinks.
Karissa enjoyed the afternoon more than she thought she would, catching up with old friends and making new ones, and was glad Casey had forced her to come. Gabe hadn’t stuck around for long and she noticed his absence right away, much to her dismay. If she was going to stick around Appledale she needed to make friends and not be a hermit as Casey often accused her of being. Life went on despite heartache and pain. She had already learned that lesson.
Chapter 7
Gabe sat at the station the next night, leaning back in his chair with his feet up on the desk. He couldn’t do this in the daytime without Helen, the receptionist, getting after him. Tonight he was working the night shift with his brother Logan instead of Ethan. Ethan’s wife Liz was sick and he had traded shifts with Logan.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Karissa, he had missed her immensely over the years. He wanted a second chance with her or he knew he would always regret it. He never thought he would have the chance since she was living with her boyfriend in St. Louis.
“Gabe, I’ve been talking to you for a while now and you’re daydreaming.” Logan’s voice interrupted his thoughts about non-police business.
“Sorry,” Gabe said, putting his feet down and leaning forward, giving his brother his full attention. “What’s going on, Logan?”
“That’s what I’d like to know. I told you Harrison said he tracked those men he’s been following to the state campground. He has the sketch of the one that banged on Karissa’s window and he’s camping out there with two other men, pretending to be a fisherman,” Logan repeated. “You’ve been lost in your own world lately. Is it Karissa?”
Gabe nodded with a sad sigh, feeling down. Ever since the barbeque he couldn’t stop thinking about Karissa and wishing he could get her back, but he didn’t know how to start. This time he would appreciate her. He was old enough to know he would never find another woman who fit him so well. “She agreed to be friends with me, but I want more than that. I can’t just ask her out, though.”
“Why not?” Logan asked. “Just say, ‘Hey let’s go see a movie.’ I do it all the time and it works for me.”
Gabe glared at his younger brother’s blasé attitude. He was the oldest, wasn’t he supposed to give out dating advice? Who was he kidding, he told himself with a resigned sigh. Logan dated more women daily at twenty-five years than Gabe ever had in all his thirty-three years. Not that anyone had ever caused him to feel so deeply as Karissa did. “Because she’ll say no and who can blame her? I did break her heart but I regret that and want to make it up to her.”
Logan thought on it seriously for a while then answered Gabe. “Make up an excuse to see her and get her talking to you as a friend. That’s a big start. Get her comfortable being around you again.”
“How?” Gabe asked, then the phone rang and Logan answered and hung up looking at Gabe with a big grin. “Ask and you shall receive.”
“What?” Gabe said, confused. His brother made no sense sometimes.
“We’re needed at Thorn’s. There is a fight and you can make sure Karissa is okay, as a concerned friend, of course.”
Gabe stood up with a big smile. “What are we waiting for? We have a fight to break up.”
* * * *
Tom looked up in surprise when he saw Logan and Gabe walking in the front door. “That was quick. These two bozos here just won’t give up. Rex broke them up twice already and they still keep going at each other.”
Rex, the bouncer, held one man down on a chair who was still yelling obscenities at the other man. The second man had calmed down and was sitting quietly with a bloody nose. Karissa came running up to them and gave the man a clean towel. “I think your nose is broken, Danny.”
Danny grabbed the towel from Karissa and winked at her, no longer concerned about his nose. “Won’t be the first time, sweetness. Ready to go out with me yet?”
Karissa laughed and patted him on the back in a friendly gesture. “I told you
, Danny, I don’t date troublemakers and this is the third fight you’ve been in this month. One more and Tom won’t even let you in the door anymore.”
“I’ll change my ways right now, darling, if you say yes.” He put one hand over his heart and held the towel to his nose, making Tom laugh and Gabe glare hard at him.
“Give it up, Danny, trouble is your middle name,” Karissa told him with a friendly smile then looked at Gabe and Logan. “Hey, officers.”
Gabe smiled at her, feeling like a tongue-tied school boy. “Hey, Karissa. You doing okay?”
She shrugged, looking at the two men who had been fighting. “Just a typical night here at Funville. Better get back to work. See you guys around.”
Logan and Gabe put the two men in the car and Gabe went back inside to get Tom to sign the complaint statement. Karissa was wiping the bar down and Gabe walked up to her, feeling more nervous than he had in a long time.
“Want to have lunch one day this week and catch up?” he asked, trying to sound casual and not too eager. “You said we could be friends and I am interested in what you’ve been doing these last years. We always had a good friendship going, didn’t we?”
Karissa gave him a thoughtful look as if trying to decide how to answer. They used to spend hours on their camping trips discussing everything from family views to world views. “As friends only?”
“Of course.” He lied with what he hoped was a believable smile. All was fair in love and war, at least he thought he had read that somewhere before. Oh well, it sounded good to him. He’d do whatever he could to get into Karissa’s good graces once again and slowly try to win her back. This time he knew what he wanted and he wouldn’t give up so easily.
“Okay.” She surprised him with a yes. “Call me at Casey’s.” She gave him the number and walked away to finish her work.