Page 71 of Protected By the Mountain Man

“Looks good,” Gabe said, leaning on his shovel and surveying our handiwork.

“Thanks to my superior shoveling skills,” I quipped, earning an eye roll from him.

“Sure, Kat,” he said. “Keep telling yourself that.”

I wiped my brow, gloves leaving a damp streak across my forehead. Snow shimmered like crushed diamonds all around us; the world was quiet, save for the mooing of the cattle in the near pasture. Somehow, we’d managed to get them all…

…thanks to Gabe.

“Time to go,” I said, reluctant. The real world was calling—loudly.

“Kat…” Gabe hesitated, then closed the distance between us. He took my face in his hands, rough from work but gentle as ever. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I said. My heart hammered, my own words echoing back to me, warm and solid. We hadn’t talked about it since last night, and that whole thing had felt like a fever dream.

But now, in the light of day, it was real.

We shared a long look, then he kissed me—one of those soft, slow kisses that said everything. It was a promise, a goodbye, a plea for safety—all rolled into one.

“Be safe,” he murmured against my lips.

“Of course,” I replied, though my bravado faltered just a bit.

We climbed into our cars, Gabe into his truck and me into my SUV, engines rumbling to life. As I pulled away, I glanced in the rearview mirror. Gabe was watching me, and I raised a hand in farewell. Then I faced forward, my grip tight on the steering wheel.

Something about it felt startlingly final.

I didn’t know why…but I was about to find out.

The police station was cold, sterile, and quiet. Livy stood next to me, her face drawn tight with tension. She'd seen too much for her young years, and I cursed the need to drag her here.

“Ready?” Sheriff Callahan's voice snapped me from my thoughts.

“As we'll ever be,” I said.

Callahan sat us down in a private room and then he pulled out a file. He put two mugshots in front of us—two big guys with murder in their eyes. I studied the faces before us. Rough, grizzled, but…I couldn’t tell if it was them. With the masks they’d worn, I had no way of knowing.

“Anything?” Callahan's brow creased in hope or maybe impatience.

“Sorry, Sheriff,” I said. “They wore masks. I can’t tell.”

Callahan nodded, disappointment etched into the lines of his face. “Figured as much. But I got something else. Interrogation turned up a lead. They were paid. Someone wanted your house hit.”

Ice flooded my veins.

“By who?” Livy's voice was a thread, barely holding together.

“We're digging into it.” Callahan reassured her, but the hard set of his jaw told me he was worried too. I instantly knew who it was…Everett Jones. Or Nia George. It had to be one of them, right?

“I appreciate it, Sheriff,” I finally said. “Please keep looking, and call right away if anything else comes up, okay?”

We left the police station with terror lodged in our throats. Someone had it out for us…and our enemy list just kept getting longer.

“Check the house cameras,” Livy suggested when we climbed into the car. “I just want to make sure Bandit is okay.”

“Yeah.” My fingers flew over my phone, pulling up the live feed from our security system. If someone was targeting us, paranoia wasn’t just warranted—it was necessary.

The screen flickered to life, showing the front room. There was Bandit, sitting by the door. I checked the barn feeds as well, just to be safe, and all seemed well.

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