Page 49 of Protected By the Mountain Man

Good.

“Kat, I'm glad to see you're on your feet,” Sheriff Callahan started as he walked hesitantly toward us, his voice tinged with regret.

“No thanks to you,” I shot back.

He winced but nodded, taking it on the chin. “I'm genuinely sorry, Kat. I wanted to believe Silver Ridge was above this kind of violence. I thought better of our town and…it clouded my judgment.”

“Are you finally taking me seriously then?”

“Absolutely.” He met my gaze squarely now. “There's an ongoing investigation. We're looking at the barn burning, the home invasion, and Ben's murder as interconnected crimes.”

I held his gaze for a long moment, searching for the sincerity that had been lacking before. Finally finding it, I nodded once, sharply. “Good.”

A part of me wanted to keep grilling the Sheriff, make him squirm a bit more for brushing off my concerns about Ben's murder and the attacks on my property—but what would that solve? Instead, I turned to Gabe.

“Show me the barn?” I asked.

“Sure thing.” He offered his arm like an old-fashioned gentleman. “But watch your step, and mind your head with all the construction going on. You sure you don’t want me to carry you?”

I eyed him, knowing people would talk…

…but people were already talking. And gossip was better than a nail to the foot.

“Wouldn’t that be weird?” I asked.

He huffed out a laugh, then turned around and looked over his shoulder at me. “Come on, cowgirl. Climb on.”

The building site was buzzing, hammers clanging against nails, saws whirring through lumber. I felt a swell of something warm in my chest as Gabe navigated around tools and planks scattered across the ground, my legs dangling from where he held me piggyback. Every few steps, someone would stop their work to greet me, their faces flushed with effort and amusement.

“Hey there, Kat!” Lisa called out from where she was helping hoist up a support beam.

“Hi, Lisa. This is…wow,” I managed, my heart swelling at the sight of her, along with others—familiar and not—working together on my family's land.

“Kat, you don't have to thank us,” Chris Langley said, wiping sweat from his brow as he approached with a cooler of drinks for the volunteers.

“Well, you can’t stop me,” I shot back.

“Fair enough,” Chris chuckled, handing a bottle of water to a volunteer before turning back to his work.

As I passed more faces, giving nods and murmurs of gratitude, a figure descended from the roof, agile despite his size. He jumped the last few feet, landing with a soft thud. His hand reached out as he approached, a subtle smile splitting his beard.

“You must be the woman Gabe won't shut up about.”

I laughed. “Guilty as charged,” I said, taking his hand. Gabe set me down, a scowl briefly crossing his face.

“Kat, meet Clay Hawthorne,” Gabe said, the tone in his voice tighter than the grip he’d had on my legs moments ago. “He's a friend from up in the mountains.”

“Nice to meet you, Clay,” I said, trying not to read too much into Gabe's reaction.

“Likewise,” Clay replied, his eyes lingering just a beat too long for casual interest.

I cleared my throat, glancing between the two men. “I'll have to treat you all to dinner soon, given how much you're doing for me.”

Clay waved a dismissive hand. “It's nothing.”

“Still,” I insisted, feeling the weight of their labor on my shoulders, “it's the least I can do.”

Gabe relaxed slightly, giving me a nod. “We'll take you up on that, won't we, Clay?”

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