Page 34 of Tattered and Torn

Chris nods. “Good. Okay, good.” He checks his watch, and then he looks to the door. “I’d better get in there and grab some food before it’s all gone.” He takes a couple of steps toward the entrance, then stops and looks back at me. “Hey, if you don’t mind me asking, is there anything going on between you and Gabrielle? Anything I should know about?”

I shake my head. “Nope. Nothing at all.”

“Good.” He nods again. “I just wanted to ask, you know—to be sure. I wouldn’t want to step on anyone’s toes.” And then he jogs up to the entrance and disappears inside the building.

No. There’s nothing going on. Nothing at all.

I catch myself rubbing the center of my aching chest. I’ve never felt like this before. I’ve never wanted someone like I want Gabrielle.

Chris Nelson is Prince Charming. Why would Gabrielle be interested in the beast when she can have the prince?

Chapter 11 – Gabrielle

“So, how’d it go in Denver?” Hannah asks from behind the check-in desk. She looks hopeful. “Did you find everything you needed?”

“I did.” I hand her the itemized invoice. “I wrote a check for the deposit today. The balance will be due when they deliver and install everything.”

Her eyes widen a bit when she sees the final price, but she doesn’t balk. She knew how much this would likely cost. Instead, she nods. “Excellent. Did they say when they’d deliver everything?”

“In two weeks. That’s not bad.”

“Let me know if you need help with any prep work before then. We can all chip in and lend a hand. You don’t have to do it all alone.”

“Thank you—”

“Ladies, hello!”

We both look toward the sound of an eager male voice.

“Sheriff!” Hannah says. “What brings you here? I hope you’re not here to arrest someone.” She winks at me.

Chris chuckles. “Not a chance. I just thought I’d pop in for dinner.” He meets my gaze directly. “Hi, Gabrielle. It’s good to see you again. Burke told me about your trip to Denver. I hope it went well.”

I nod. “It did. We’re getting a brand new commercial kitchen installed in a couple of weeks.”

“Glad to hear it.” He points down the hall. “I’d better grab some food before it’s all gone. Any chance there’s some of that apple crisp left?”

“I’m afraid not,” I tell him. “I’ll have to get more apples.”

“You should.” He takes a few steps, then pauses and looks back. “Have you had dinner yet, Gabrielle?”

I have to give him credit for his tenacity. “I haven’t. But John and I ate a late lunch in Denver, and I’m stuffed. I’ll probably skip dinner altogether.”

He nods. “Well, then, I guess I’ll see you later.” He tips the brim of his uniform hat. “Ladies.”

Hannah gives him a little wave. “See you later, Chris.” She watches him until he disappears from sight. “He’s been coming around here an awful lot lately.”

“Who has?” Killian asks as he comes out of the back office holding a stack of papers.

“Chris,” she says. “He was here yesterday, and he’s here again today.”

“I can tell you exactly why he keeps comin’ here,” Killian says, nodding at me. “He’s taken a fancy to our new kitchen manager.”

I laugh. “Oh, I sincerely doubt that.” I try to sound shocked at the idea.

Killian shows the papers in his hand to Hannah. “Where are we keeping the invoices for horse feed?”

“I made a folder in the filing cabinet. It’s listed under ‘feed.’”

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