Galen's Gemma - Dale Mayer Page 0,61
was still with Gemma was because Gemma had said that she was the child’s guardian.
As they stood outside, tired and exhausted, Galen looked at the receding taillights of the law enforcement vehicles. Then turned to Gemma. “You’ll look after her?” Galen asked.
She looked at him steadily, and he knew that she would.
He smiled and nodded. “Then I know she’ll be okay.”
She gave him a bright smile. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. It’s one thing to be an aunt but another thing altogether being a parent.”
“Particularly the parent of a little girl who has been through a lot of trauma,” Zack said. He walked over and smacked Galen on the shoulder. “Man, you sure leave a lot of bodies behind.”
“Not me,” Galen said. “Generally I’m a neat and tidy guy.”
Tim joined them, obviously happy the place was clearing out. He looked down at the little girl and Gemma. “So now what?” he asked Gemma.
She smiled at Tim and said, “Well, now that the chaos is over, would you allow us to stay for a day or two to recover?”
He considered her for a long moment, studied the others, and finally spoke. “No more fights? No more weapons? No more shootings?” They all nodded. “Fine,” he said. “Two more days, that’s what I’ll agree to.” He looked down at the little girl and reached out a hand. “Did you know we’ve got kittens?”
Her eyes lit up. “Baby kittens?”
“Yes. Born just this morning, if you want to come see them.”
She immediately put her hand into his.
He looked at them. “Enjoy your time.”
“Will do.”
Zack laughed and said, “Well, I’m pretty sure what that meant,” he said. “I’ll go get some rest. I’ll take the cabin with the bloodstains. You guys take the other one.” He walked into the little cabin where Gemma had been earlier.
Galen looked at her. “Do you want to lie down? You must be exhausted.”
“I’m tired, wound up, frustrated, angry, devastated, sad, and, at the same time, incredibly overjoyed that it’s over.”
He walked her into the other cabin and right back to the bedroom in the rear.
“What about here?” he asked. “Can you rest here?”
She smiled, wrapped her arms around his neck, and said, “You really don’t want to waste the time that we’ve been given by sleeping, do you?”
He looked around and said, “Was that deliberate?”
She chuckled. “For a smart guy, you’re pretty obtuse sometimes.”
“Seriously?”
She reached up, put her lips softly against his, and whispered, “Seriously.” She knew he was shocked, but she’d understood Zack’s meaning and knew that Tim was giving them time alone. She would take whatever time alone she could get, now that she’d have a little one with her all the time.
When she kissed him, she wasn’t kissing him to make the best use of their time but to let him know that she cared. As she finally pulled back, she hooked her arms around his neck. “Did I say thank you?”
He wrapped his arms around her and tucked her up close. “No need,” he whispered. “I came as backup to Zack, and apparently we were both your backup. Though I have to admit that you did a pretty damn good job right from the beginning.” He reached out and kissed her again. “I came over expecting to investigate some problem in the brewery, not to find you’d already got wind of something dangerous and had spirited away your sister and niece.”
“Too bad I wasn’t willing to see what my sister was truly like.”
“Not sure anyone could have seen that,” he whispered, holding her close.
“It’ll be a mess to clean up.”
“Yes, it will. More so to shield Becky from the worst of it.”
She nodded. “I’ll move back to the USA too,” she said. “Becky needs a new home to make new memories, while we build her a whole new life. She wants a pool. Maybe I can find a house with a pool. And I’ll shift my job, so I can stay home and can work remotely, now that I have her full-time.”
“I agree with that,” he said. “Perfect.”
“And maybe you’d like to consider being part of her life going forward?”
“I would be honored,” he said gently.
She knew that he meant it. “And maybe part of mine?” she whispered, gently rubbing her nose against his.
“I am so looking forward to that,” he said with a chuckle. His hands slid up under Gemma’s shirt, coming to rest against her ribs.
“I’m not the Lolita my sister is,” she said half hesitantly.
His eyebrows shot up. “Thank God for