Page 61 of Touched By Destiny

“Richard, be serious,” Maribeth insisted. “You aren’t going to start carrying around a gun.”

“Why not?” Richard asked, flinging his fork to his plate as his perfectly arched brows drew together in a ferocious scowl.

Maribeth cocked her head to the side and stared at her cousin. “Maybe because you haven’t thought through where exactly you’d conceal the gun. Honey, look at your wardrobe. Where would you even put a holster?”

Since Richard was wearing a flowing black shirt with billowy sleeves and matching flared pants that hugged his hips like a second skin, Gabriel privately acknowledged Maribeth had a point.

“I’ll start wearing jackets,” Richard snapped.

“No one is going to stop you from doing what you want, but guns aren’t toys,” Clark said. “Nor are they a fashion accessory. If you want to learn, invest the time. But don’t do it just because you’re pissed that someone is following your brother.”

“I’ve thought about taking some martial arts classes,” David commented. Every head in the room turned to consider the quiet, reserved inspirit.

“You didn’t tell me that,” Rosalind replied. “If you want to do it, I think you should go for it.”

“I was scared to go by myself,” David said, his gaze dropping to his plate.

“Then I’ll go with you,” Richard promised. “We’ll do it together. You and I can add to the ass-kicking contingent of this family. We can’t expect Gabriel to save everyone. Someone comes at us, and we’ll kick them right in the fucking teeth.”

“I’ll totally cheer you guys on and watch you practice your cool new moves,” Maribeth said with a grin.

“Plus, we know Gabriel is going to save Eric and may forget about the rest of us,” David teased.

“So true,” Richard replied, picking up his fork to resume his meal.

Gabriel didn’t bother to refute their words. When it came down to choices, there was none in Gabriel’s mind. And it didn’t have shit to do with him being paid to be Eric’s bodyguard. There was no one higher on Gabriel’s list of people he cared about, and he’d stop at nothing to ensure Eric was safe.

“Did you get rid of that nasty spirit in all this chaos today?” Maribeth asked Eric.

“Yes, thankfully,” Eric replied. “He was testing me, and I wasn’t sure where we’d wind up driving tomorrow. But he must’ve sensed the urgency or something. I’m never sure how much of my emotions they can pick up when they can’t talk, but he rushed right through that portal.”

“Let’s hope your next spirit isn’t such a pest,” Rosalind said.

“Yeah, I really don’t mind having a few days off,” Eric commented. “Since Connor crossed through the portal, I’ve hada string of spirits that are thin fragments or this guy who wanted to play games. I don’t like getting frustrated with them, but sometimes it’s hard to stay patient. Clearing my head is probably a good thing. I’ll have to keep my shield up and keep reinforcing it, though, to keep the spirits quiet.”

“I promise I’m not going to ask you to stop aiding them forever,” Clark assured his son. “It helps that Gabriel memorized the plate on the car. The police won’t be able to help us at this point. Technically, these people haven’t done anything wrong, but our inspirits can keep an eye out for the vehicle. We’ll know if they’re loitering around the house or any of our properties.”

“Do you think we should let my dad know in case there’s anyone following him around?” Maribeth asked. “I know he’s in LA, but he comes to Vegas routinely now. And if they’re watching our family, they may already have figured out where he’s staying. I don’t want him in danger either.”

“I’ll call him after dinner,” Clark said. “I tried to get ahold of him earlier, but he didn’t answer.”

“Yeah, he was doing a second tour of a house,” Maribeth replied, then she grinned. “In fact, he put in a contract this afternoon. That’s why he wasn’t answering his phone. We spoke right before dinner. I just happened to catch him; I don’t think he’d checked his messages yet. But he told me that if he gets the house, he wants me to come to LA for a long weekend.”

“Oh, that’s awesome, Mari,” Eric commented. “I really hope he gets the house; do you think he’s finally doing better?”

“I do,” Maribeth said. “We’re talking a few times a week now. And this is the first time he’s invited me anywhere. I’d love to meet his friends. They’re obviously helping him tremendously, and he deserves so much happiness. I love to see it.”

“What a relief to finally see some spark of joy in him after all these years,” Rosalind remarked. “But will you be cautious?I know how important your father is to you, but I don’t want to see you hurt again. You know he’s had these spans of weeks or months where you’re in contact with him, then he disappears again.”

“I know,” Maribeth said, caution and sadness tempering the light in her brown gaze. “I really shouldn’t be getting my hopes up so high, but I swear, it feels different. He’s excited. I don’t remember hearing that in his voice before. Honestly? I think he might be seeing someone. One of his friends is a woman, and he’s really coy about her.”

“He may be worried about how you’ll react to finding out he’s seeing someone,” Clark commented. “Perhaps he’s concerned you’ll think he’s trying to replace your mother.”

Maribeth shook her head slowly. “It’s been twenty-five years since she died. I want him to be happy. If this new woman in his life is giving him joy, he has my blessing. I don’t even need to meet her to approve. Everyone deserves happiness, and all my life I’ve never seen that in his eyes. I wasn’t old enough to remember my parents together before my mom got sick. And my memories of her are so few and faded.”

“She got sick so fast,” Rosalind replied sorrowfully. “We barely found out she was sick, and she was already overwhelmed by the cancer. Oh, she fought so hard and so long. She wanted so badly to live for you. Every time I grew frustrated with you kids, I would think of her brave fight and let my annoyance go. I know she would’ve given anything to have the chance to deal with temper tantrums, teenage squabbles, and anything else you children could’ve thrown at her.”

“Mom makes us sound so dramatic,” Richard mused.

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