Blackstone Ranger Charmer - Alicia Montgomery Page 0,11
played with the pearl necklace around her throat. “I mean … is Gabriel … did he find you?”
Her cheeks warmed, but then again, of course Rosie would know. She nodded, unsure what to say.
A small gasp escaped her lips. “And?”
Her brows knit together. “And what?”
“Did he say … anything?”
“I …” Where would she begin? “He said he wanted to talk, but I told him there was nothing to say.”
“Oh.” Rosie sounded deeply disappointed, and she shook her head. “I know it’s not my place to say anything, but if you need to talk—”
“I’m fine.” She turned around and grabbed two of the pecan pies that were waiting to be placed into the oven. “He’s just …” With a sigh, she put the pies in, then shut the door quickly.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Temperance?”
Jolting out of her thoughts, she pasted a smile on her face. “I’m fine, really. We should finish up those cherry pies,” she said, nodding at the empty shells.
“Of course,” Rosie began. “I’ll get the filling and—Gabriel?”
Gabriel?
Then the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Turning toward the door, her breath caught in her lungs as she saw him poking his head in the doorway, his dark bronze hair glinting with gold highlights in the early morning sun. It almost hurt to look at how handsome he was.
“Hey, Rosie,” he greeted. “I just wanted to say goodbye.”
Rosie’s auburn brows snapped together. “Goodbye?”
“Yeah.” Gabriel scooted inside. “I brought Temperance to work this morning—”
“Followed me,” she corrected.
“Followed her to work,” he conceded. “To make sure she was okay.”
Rosie’s eyes widened. “You followed her this morning … does that mean you stayed with her? All night?”
“What?” Mortification filled Temperance, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. “No!”
Gabriel frowned, then shook his head. “When I, uh, glanced at her time card yesterday, I saw she comes in real early. And it’s dark out at that time, and I didn’t want her driving alone,” he said. “So, I went to her place and followed her here. Then I stayed outside to make sure no one bothers her.”
“Huh.” Rosie and Gabriel exchanged glances, then she turned to Temperance. “I never really thought about it, but maybe I should be making sure you were okay here by yourself so early in the morning.”
“It’s all good,” she said, miffed. “I’ve been fine for the last couple of months. Blackstone is much safer than where I used to work in Chicago. I’ve only gotten mugged once in my life.”
“Once?” Gabriel exclaimed. “What do you mean once?”
She could have sworn she heard a snarl from him. “I was a teenager, flipping burgers at a fast-food place,” she said. “And I was out late when my manager asked me to stay after shift to clean up. It’s no biggie, I just gave up my purse when he waved a gun at me.”
“No biggie?” His hands stiffened at his sides. “What if something happened to you back then? And if you never made it here and—”
Rosie cleared her throat loudly. “Gabriel, doesn’t your shift start soon? It’s a long drive up the mountains.”
He looked conflicted, but nodded. “Yeah, I should go.” Reaching into his pocket, he offered a piece of paper to Temperance. “This is my number. Call me if you need anything.”
“I won’t need you for anything,” she scoffed.
His mouth flattened, but he grabbed her left hand and placed the scrap into her palm. The contact with his bare skin made gooseflesh rise on her arms, but she ignored it.
“I’ll see you later, Temperance,” he said, flashing her another smile.
“I—what do you mean, later?” But it was too late. He’d disappeared, the door slamming shut. Unsure what to do, she tossed the scrap of paper in the trash.
Feeling Rosie’s stare boring a hole in her back, she turned around and swallowed hard. “I can explain.” Actually, she couldn’t, because she was even more confused now.
“It’s none of my business, sweetie,” Rosie said as the corners of her mouth tugged up. “But I have to say, this is going to be interesting.”
Temperance groaned and wiped a flour-covered hand on her forehead. Maybe if I’m lucky, I won’t see him again. She did not like the way Gabriel made her feel when he was around. She wanted to squash all those butterflies in her stomach and ignore the way the backs of her knees tingled when he smiled at her. What would it be like to see that every day? To have him smile