Page 35 of Protected By the Mountain Man

But the thing was, her birthday was in the spring. Gabe thinking that far ahead meant something. It stirred something warm inside me, a mixture of hope and fear tangled up with guilt over what had happened with Ben.

But watching Gabe, the way he looked out for Livy, I couldn't deny the truth that buzzed like a live wire in my chest—I was falling for him. The three of us…we could be something real, a family.

“Go on inside, kiddo,” I told Livy, tousling her hair. “I'll help Gabe with the rest.”

“Okay!” She dashed off, and I descended the porch steps, trying to ignore the flutter in my stomach when Gabe turned his attention to me.

“Mostly horse feed today,” he said, nodding toward the back of the truck where sacks were stacked high. “You sure you don’t want me to handle it?”

“Hey—I was queen of 4-H, remember?” I smirked. “Let’s get to it.”

We hauled the bags from the pickup, hoisting them onto our shoulders and carrying them to the barn. The work was silent—back and forth from truck to barn, until the truck was empty and the storage room was full.

“Thanks, Gabe,” I said as we stood among the neat rows of feed bags. “For everything, but especially for how good you've been with Livy. She's…she's been better since you've been around.”

He shrugged, brushing dust from his jeans. “She reminds me a little of myself. I used to be shy like that too…before everything.”

Shit…it was easy to forget, but yeah—he had been like that. When we were little kids, he’d been shy and nerdy. He loved comic books and action figures, would always talk our ears off about anything and everything that interested him.

Then his mom passed…and he changed a lot.

It had never occurred to me that maybe he saw that in Livy—that he wanted to protect her from turning out the way he had.

“You…” I paused, frowning. “What really happened to you, Gabe? I remember playing as little kids, and then you just…you got big, and mean.”

He shook his head, looking away like the memories still hurt. “I was bullied. It happens. Kids can be cruel, you know? And after my mom died, things at home weren't exactly sunshine and rainbows. Dad…well, he wasn't the nurturing type.”

He gave a humorless chuckle, his hands finding their way into his pockets.

I didn’t know what to say.

“Grow up too fast, and it warps you,” he continued, his voice softer now. “Turns you into something you're not, makes you do things…things you regret.”

“God, that's what I'm worried about with Livy,” I murmured. “I don't want her to get…mean, you know? Because she's had to grow up too quick with everything that's happened.”

Gabe turned back to me then, his expression earnest. He stepped closer, and for a moment, his height and build made me feel small—not in a bad way, but in a way that reminded me of how he'd stood between us and danger that night. “Kat, Livy's gonna be okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Absolutely.” The corners of his mouth lifted in a slight smile. “Because she has you. And you…” He paused, his eyes locking onto mine, “you're one of the best people I know.”

I snorted, trying to shrug it off. “Right.”

“I mean it, Kat.” His voice dropped, a warm timbre that seemed to echo around the barn. “You're fun, you're kind…and you’re a badass, taking care of this ranch and Livy all on your own. What more could you ask for in a woman?”

I bit my lip. “You mean that?”

Gabe closed the gap between us with slow, deliberate steps. A hint of stubble shadowed his jaw, giving him that rugged, mountain-man vibe that I hated to admit stirred something in me.

“I mean it all,” he said, voice low and steady. “And I didn't even add that you're gorgeous, too.”

His compliment hit me like the first sip of whiskey—sharp and warm all at once. Gorgeous wasn't a word I heard often, not covered in dust or hay most days.

But from Gabe, it sounded like gospel truth.

I swallowed hard, the sound loud in the quiet of the barn. Gabe's eyes followed the motion, a hint of hunger flashing through them. He was so close now I could count the whiskers on his chin, see the gold flecks in his green eyes.

Then he reached out…and touched my face.

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