Gabe nodded, shifting his weight off of his aching leg. “Yeah, she’s good.”
When Tom turned away to deal with the other arriving deputies, Elle pulled open the screen door and pegged Gabe with a no-nonsense look. “So,” she said, “would you like to come in? And by that I mean, ‘Get your ass inside and explain what the hell is going on.’”
“How could I refuse such a kind request?” Gabe mumbled, limping past her. “But we’ll have to wait for Tom. I only know the CliffsNotes version.”
A few minutes later, he was sitting in Elle’s kitchen with a cup of coffee, trying to keep his hand from shaking as he lifted the cup to his lips. Gabe wasn’t sure if it was the pain affecting him or his fear for Elle’s safety. Either way, he wasn’t going anywhere in the near future.
As soon as Tom joined them, looking a little drained and out of sorts himself, he filled them in on Billy Monroe, not sparing any of the gory details. Elle dropped into the chair next to Gabe’s and shook her head.
“Poor Billy,” she murmured. It was only then Gabe realized she’d been crying before they’d arrived, her eyes still a little red and puffy.
“I got this, Tom,” Gabe said, jerking his chin toward Elle. “I’m going to need to stick around for a few before I drive home anyway. I’ll keep Elle company for a little while, check the place out, make sure she’ll be fine before I leave.” He glanced at Elle, “As long as that’s okay with you.”
She blinked at him for a moment as if trying to figure out a response. Finally, she shrugged. “Uh…yeah. Sure. I guess that’s fine.”
Gabe stayed at the table while she escorted Tom to the door but started to get up when she came back into the kitchen.
She motioned for him to sit back down. “I appreciate you guys racing here to check in on me, but as you can see, I’m fine.”
“Why didn’t you answer when Tom called you?” he asked, taking another sip of his coffee. He offered her a wry grin. “Could’ve saved you the hassle of us barging in.”
“I’d turned my ringer off,” she said softly, her voice catching a little. “I was going through some pictures and didn’t exactly feel like talking to anyone.”
He frowned at her a little. “Not happy memories, I take it?”
She attempted a smile that he supposed was meant to be brave, but her chin trembled a little when she explained, “It’s the anniversary of my family’s death.”
Gabe cursed under his breath, feeling like a total ass. “I’m sorry, Elle. I didn’t know.” He drained the last of his coffee and got to his feet. “I’ll take a quick look at the perimeter on my way out.”
“Gabe!” she called after him as he limped toward her front door. “Gabe, wait!” She took a step toward him, her hand reaching out as if she might touch him, but then she let her arm fall back to her side. “Please…don’t go.”
Gabe held her gaze for a long moment, trying to determine if her offer was sincere or if she was just being polite. Even though he was still on the fence, he gave her a terse nod and took a step toward her, wincing a little.
“Here,” she said, taking hold of his arm and pulling it around her shoulders. “Is that better?”
He gulped, willing his body not to respond to the nearness of her, to the warmth of her arm wrapped around his waist, and cleared his throat a little before peering down into that enchanting, emerald gaze.
Holy hell.
Having her this close, pressed against his side, lending him her strength, felt a hell of a lot better than he cared to admit. Reflexively, his arm tightened around her shoulders, bringing her in closer.
Chapter 13
Elle’s heart hammered in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe. Or maybe the difficulty breathing had something to do with the intensity of a certain aqua gaze boring into hers. Or the hard muscles of his chest beneath her fingertips where her hand lightly rested. Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that she could feel his heart hammering, too.
Oh God. Not good. Not good at all.
Why, oh why had she bailed on that shopping trip with her aunt?
She’d witnessed Gabe putting the moves on women over the years and had lost track of how many times she’d rolled her eyes in those moments, wondering how the silly, giggling bubbleheads could fall for such a transparent act.