Hope flickered. “I have a book club meeting. This month’s selection is my choice, and it’s our Christmas party. Everyone will wonder when I don’t show up.”
“That’s good.”
“They’ll call me.”
“What will happen when you don’t answer?”
“Well …” Nic sighed. “They’ll probably think I’m out on an emergency. I don’t answer the phone when I’m working.”
“Okay, what about tomorrow? Is someone expecting you somewhere?”
“I have clinic hours. I have an eight o’clock appointment to take the stitches out of Steve Cartwright’s hand. The idiot boy cut it on a skinning knife. I always leave a note on the door if I’m called out into the field, and Steve’s mom knows that. She’ll worry when she doesn’t find one. Someone will see my truck parked here in the drive, and they’ll definitely look for me here.” She followed the thought process further and murmured, “Your Jeep is here, too, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
Great. Just great. Nic wanted to bury her head in her hands and groan. The drive was clearly visible from the front windows at the Bristlecone, and Glenda Hawkins was one of the worst gossips in town. She would put two and two together and come up with a romantic assignation.
Gabe must have followed the direction of her thoughts. “That gonna be a problem for you?”
“Maybe the book club might come looking for me. They know I wouldn’t miss this month’s meeting. I had to fight for this pick.”
“What was it?”
“My pick?”
“Yeah.”
She hesitated, then named a classic historical romance novel from the 1970s and prepared to defend herself from derision. But once again Gabe Callahan surprised her. With a hint of wistfulness in his voice, he said, “My mom used to devour romance novels. She’d read two or three a week. I remember one weekend when my folks took us to Six Flags and to see a Rangers baseball game. My dad wouldn’t go near a roller coaster, but my mom was a roller coaster fiend. She made me and my brothers ride with her. That was cool. What wasn’t cool was standing in line with her while she had her head buried in a romance novel. If that wasn’t bad enough, she even read at the baseball game.”
“I think I’d like your mom,” Nic said.
“She died the following year.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, Gabe.”
“Yeah, well, that was a long time ago.” He paused and turned the tables on her. “Tell me about your family. Someone mentioned your uncle was the town dentist?”
She wished the light was better so that she could read his expression. Was this an attempt to steer the conversation away from himself or was he truly interested? She suspected the former.
“Yes,” she replied, following his lead. “I was born in Missouri, but my mom and I moved here when I was nine to be close to her sister and her husband.”
“What about your dad?”
“I never really had a dad. My biological father was married, but not to my mom. He was part of our lives off and on until I was eight. That’s when he traded my mom in on a younger mistress.”
“That must have been hard.”
“Yeah. When they broke up, she had nothing. No financial support, no emotional support. Nothing. He turned his back on us. I haven’t seen him or spoken to him since.”
“What a jerk.”
“Yep.” Her mouth twisted in a wry smile. “Uncle David threatened to go after him with a baseball bat, but Aunt Janice talked him out of it. She was thrilled to have my mom living near her and away from my father. My aunt and uncle were great to me. They didn’t have children of their own, and they showered me with love and attention. I had a great life here. It’s been a joy to come home again.”
“Good for you.” Gabe glanced toward the door. “We probably should look for that flashlight. We may be here awhile.”
He was right. Nic could hardly see anything, and it wasn’t even full dark outside yet. She dropped down onto her hands and knees and began to feel her way around. “It can’t be too far away.”
The cold from the basement floor seeped into her bones and caused her to consider how uncomfortable the coming night might be. Cold. Dark. No food.
No bathroom.
Immediately she felt the urge to pee. “This isn’t good, Gabe.”
A circle of light appeared. He’d found the flashlight. “It’s not that bad. We have shelter. We won’t freeze to death. I have a nine o’clock appointment here tomorrow morning, so somebody