Page 11 of Tempting Fate
Try to remember that, idiot.
He turned to go to the kitchen and bumped into Rhys. “Hey, Chief. What’s shaking?”
“All’s quiet on the Western front.” He motioned at the stairs. “Stay away from her. She’s bad news.” And with that, he moved on to join a group of old dudes who everyone called the Nugget Mafia.
Gabe had always gotten a kick out of that. To him, Owen, the mayor, and the rest of their cadre were more like a barbershop quartet. Then again, he was from Jersey, home to real wise guys.
“Where’s Raylene?” Logan took the glass from Gabe and stuck it on the counter.
“Uh, she wasn’t feeling well and went upstairs.”
“I’ll go up, see how she’s doing.” He started to walk away, but Gabe grabbed him by the shoulder.
“Let her be, man. This is…a lot, Jenk. People here have long memories.”
“Yeah, well, she left a lasting impression. But she’s changed. She’s really trying.”
Gabe wondered. Helping her late father set up an innocent man on a murder rap was pretty unforgivable in his book. But she was Logan’s blood, and Logan was Gabe’s brother from another mother.
“She’ll be fine,” he told Logan. “I’ll handle Raylene. You focus on the wedding and Annie.”
Logan’s face lit up. It usually did at the mere mention of his fiancée. The man was smitten.
The party wound down and, as Gabe had predicted, people started heading out not long after Raylene went to bed. Most of the folks in Nugget were either ranchers, farmers, railroad workers, or business owners. It was that whole early to bed, early to rise thing, which took some getting used to. Then again, Reno was only forty-five minutes away.
He helped clean up and took off to his duplex apartment in town. He rented the place, a no-frills cabin that had been divided into two separate one-bedroom apartments, from the police chief and his wife, Maddy. The other apartment was vacant for the time being, so it was nice and quiet. Sometimes too quiet.
He pulled down the driveway and did a three-point turn so his SUV faced the road. That way, if he had to go in a hurry, he could rocket out of there. A habit he’d picked up in the military. The minute he walked in, he jacked up the heat. It had to be twenty degrees, meaning there was a good chance of snow. Luckily, the wedding would be indoors.
It was too early to sleep and too late to do anything else, at least in this town. Gabe plopped down on the couch, propped his feet up on the coffee table, and channel surfed. There was nothing good on. He wound up watching a program about a couple who’d won the lottery. They were shopping for homes in Tuscaloosa.
Around two in the morning, he fell asleep in front of the TV and was up by nine to take his run. Afterwards, he headed to the Ponderosa for breakfast.
“No snow yet.” Sophie, one of the owners, led him to a table near the fireplace.
“Nope, but it’s coming. I can feel it.”
“Great party last night.”
“Sure was.” Only a rehearsal dinner and a wedding left to go, then Gabe could hang up his party hat.
A few tables down, Gabe spotted Clay, Emily, their baby and two boys, and the girl, Hope—now Harper—having breakfast. He nudged his head their way. “How’s that going?”
“Baby steps, but I think there’s progress. She’s finding her way, not easy for a thirteen-year-old whose whole life has been turned upside down.”
All Gabe knew was that she’d been abducted when she was six. Over Christmas, the FBI found her, safe and sound, living with a woman who’d died shortly after the discovery. He and Logan had just come back from an overseas assignment and had missed much of the news reports about it, but he’d gotten some of the story from Annie.
“I can’t imagine,” he said. “I hear the ex-husband bought a place here.”
“Over at Sierra Heights. He and his wife are planning to live here part-time so Harper doesn’t have to travel back and forth to the Bay Area. Emily is over the moon about it.”
Gabe wondered if the same went for Clay. Being part of a blended family, he knew firsthand the travails of divorce. The good news was that he, his steps, and half brothers and sisters all loved each other like crazy.
“That’s good,” he said. “I’m guessing the kid could use some stability.”
Sophie nodded in agreement. “You want coffee?”
“Yes, please. And eggs over easy, bacon, and those biscuits Tater makes.”
