Christmas on 4th Street (Fool's Gold #12.5)

Now he turned toward the driveway, but no car appeared. Damn.

He wanted to see her, he realized. Not just for the way she would be a buffer between himself and his parents, but because she would make him laugh. She would poke fun at him and breeze in and out with a graceful sway of her narrow hips. She would be endlessly patient, as she often was at the store. She didn’t care that some old lady took nearly an hour to pick out two ornaments with a combined value of less than ten dollars. She wanted every customer to be happy, whatever it took.

Integrity, he thought, finishing his coffee. She had integrity. And long legs, he mused, thinking how good they would feel wrapped around him as he—

Gabriel slammed the door on that line of thinking. No, he told himself firmly. That wasn’t going to happen. For one thing, Noelle was sweet and soft and not the kind of woman who thought sex was a game. For another, there were no secrets in Fool’s Gold. He’d figured that out the first day. If he slept with her, everyone would know. Then he would be gone and she would be left with the consequences. He liked her so he didn’t want to hurt her.

He heard footsteps on the porch behind him. He was hoping the person joining him was his brother. Or even Felicia. He could handle the company of either. He doubted Carter was up yet, otherwise he would take the kid.

But no, he thought as his father settled next to him. His luck wasn’t that good.

“Here,” his dad said, handing over a travel mug. “If you’re going to be fool enough to sit out here, you need to keep warm. Your other coffee will be cold by now.”

“Thanks.”

“You waiting on a woman?”

He was, but didn’t want to have the conversation. It would mean explaining why and that would take both of them places they didn’t want to go. His father had spent his life in the military but had seen little actual combat. It was a timing thing. While Gabriel hadn’t been under live fire, except when the field hospitals were attacked, he’d been plenty close to what went on. Gideon had lived it, of course.

Regardless, their father would feel he was one of them and want to talk about it. Gabriel had never been able to figure out what to say.

“Just enjoying the morning,” he told his father.

Norm nodded. “Beautiful country.”

“So it seems.”

“I heard you had a job in town.”

Gabriel opened the travel mug and drank the hot coffee. Warmth filled his stomach. “Just for the holidays.”

“Retail?”

From the tone it was obvious his father thought retail was as distasteful as having to clean up the local dog park.

“I like it.”

His old man turned to him. “You can’t mean that. You’re a soldier.”

“I’m a doctor and I’m not suggesting a career change. I have a lot of time on my hands. This is good, honest work. Different. Seeing people all excited about the holidays reminds me what the fight is about.”

Most of the words were true, he thought with some surprise. He didn’t have enough to fill his day and the store was unexpectedly pleasant.

“Just don’t get any ideas,” his father grumbled.

“About?”

Gabriel knew it was wrong to bait his father, but did it anyway, even as he continued to watch the driveway.

“Leaving. You’re staying in.”

“You asking or telling?”

“Leaving’s not an option,” Norm told him. “You owe them.”

“I’ve paid that debt. I gave the army what they asked in return for my education.”

“It’s not enough. This isn’t about the letter of the law, it’s about the spirit. You have to do the right thing, boy. That’s how you were raised.”

Gabriel drew in a breath, then faced his father. “You’re saying I can’t leave.”

“Yes. Stay and get your twenty. You’ll still be young enough to get some fancy hospital job and earn your millions.” Each word dripped with distaste.

“You think it’s about the money?”

“What else? It’s like those jet jockeys who take their training to some airline. Disgusting. They should stay in until they’re released. Leaving isn’t right.”

“You think service isn’t a choice? It’s indentured servitude, with pay and medical? Once you sign up, you’re in for life.”

“That’s how it should be,” his father told him. “If you’re thinking of leaving before your twenty, you’re dishonoring this family. I should have known you’d be like this. You never understood the importance of what was right. Never understood the history you’d been born into. When I was your age—”

Whichever of the stories he’d been about to launch into was cut short when Noelle drove around the corner. She managed to stay in the middle of the driveway, right until the end. Gabriel saw the triumph in her blue eyes. Then she hit the brakes a bit too hard and went sliding.