Openingthe door, she smiled politely at the shocked man. "Hi, can I helpyou?"
"Whothe hell are you?" The gruff East Texas accent fit perfectly with whatSalene imagined when she pictured Gabriel's father. Even though some of thephotos were a few years old, she was able to immediately recognize the old man.
"Myname is Salene, Salene Agnew." She extended her hand, but the dog at hisside took that as an invitation for affection.
Smilingshe bent down to pet the beautiful white dog. The friendly beast was quitemassive, he or she looked like a mix between a lab and a husky, except with nomarkings just ghost white.
"Mmmm,I see my boy wasted no time," he murmured appreciatively. Looking up fromthe dog Salene was shocked to see the older man's eyes sweeping over her breastin her bent position. Standing up immediately she stepped back a little."Well anyways tell that boy I am dropping off Bishop for a while."
"WaitI…" She attempted to stop him so he could explain further or at least shecould explain, but the older man was already hopping into his pickup truck.
Closingthe door, she turned and smiled at Bishop, who wagged his tail in return.Remembering the business card, she found earlier in the office she went to grabit. Dialing the number Salene gave her name to the bubbly sounding secretaryand waited on hold for a few seconds.
"Whatdo you want Salene?" The gravelly voice sounded even deeper on the phonesomehow. It should be illegal for asshole's to have such nice voices, shethought as she scratched behind Bishop's ears.
"Iam sorry for calling you at work. Your dad or I hope that was your dad sinceyou two look alike." She rambled nervously, "well anyways he droppedoff his dog, but I cannot find any dog food anywhere."
Gabrielgroaned deeply. "Fine I will pick up some on my way home." He pausedas he just thought of something. "Wait, what did you tell my dad?"
Ignoringthe edge to his tone, she answered. "I did not get to tell him anything,after he leered down my blouse he just left, leaving me here with Bishop."
Mumblingand oath under his breath he growled. "Fine. Anything else?"
"No,that is it." The line disconnected immediately. "Asshole" shemumbled to no one.
"Comeon Bishop let's tackle the library next."
OrganizingBreslin's office wasn't ideal but after filling out nearly thirty jobapplications in one sitting she decided she had enough soul draining activityfor one day. The library, soon to be office, was in desperate need of dustingand some furniture polish on the endless rows of built-in shelves.
Afteran hour and a half of cleaning and occasional play breaks with Bishop, Salenewas ready to tackle the endless boxes of law books. Opening the thick spines tothe blue and gold hardbacks, she was a little surprised to find themsecondhand. From what Amber had told her in the past, Gabriel was a spoiledrich kid whose dad only bought the newest and the best of things for his son.Pursing her lips in thought Salene looked out the window towards the largebackyard. The man she saw earlier today didn't really exude that type of "spoiling"father figure Amber depicted.
Theman she saw was dressed very laid-back as if he were going fishing or going tothe local sports bar for drinks. The dirty pickup truck he climbed into had thename of the construction company he owned and the outward signs that he usedthe truck daily. Although that did not change the fact that both father and sonwere through and through asses.
Justthinking of Gabriel made her recall his threat in the garage. It was easy toforget that he was such a large man at times. Normally Salene was so consumedby her loathing of him she forgot to actually look at the six foot plus man infront of her. The heat that radiated off of him that night seared itself intoher memory. Large shoulders had blocked her view while one arm corded withtaught muscles caged her against the trailer. At that moment Salene honestlyfelt a trickle of fear permeate through her heart. It was sobering and veryalarming to realize the amount of power Gabriel possessed. Not just in makingthe decision to temporarily house her but the power to hurt her if he so chose.It was a cold and deeply primal feminine fear when it came to comparingphysical strength to a man.
Annoyedat the revelation, she began chucking the heavy books onto the shelf not caringabout the noise they made as they slammed into the back wall. The warm wet lickto the back of her knee made her jump. Looking down she saw Bishop giving her aworried look along with his comforting lick.
"Awwwyou are such a sweet boy," she cooed as she scratched behind both ears."Don't worry I am fine."
Eventually,she had most of the boxes unpacked, and the shelves filled. Using thestepladder she hoisted the missing volume she had been searching for to the topshelf.
Soreand slightly annoyed. "Who the hell wants to become a lawyer anyway?"Salene grumbled aloud, sliding the book into place.
"Idid," the deep voice that rumbled behind her nearly sent her tumbling offthe ladder in fright.
Grippingthe shelf for support she turned her head with a scowl to see Gabriel standingnear the door petting Bishop.
"DammitBreslin, are you trying to kill me?" She yelled, slowly stepping down tothe second step on the teetering ladder.
Thefierce look he gave her as his eyes traveled the length of her body made herfeel self-conscious. Today she was wearing some purple yoga capris and amatching yellow and purple V-neck top. The harsh green eyes scanning her figuremade her regret the formfitting workout attire.
"Whydo women expect not to be leered at when you wear outfits that can beconsidered a second skin?” The angry condescension in his tone went straight toher nerves. With one hand on her hip and the other still gripping the shelfSalene stood tall on the ladder looking down at him in anger.
"Thatis the most ignorant thing I have ever heard you say, Breslin. Please tell meyou truly do not value women so little that you believe that women shouldconform to a conservative dress style to prevent the actions of lecherousmen?" Her shock out grew her anger as she stared at him, Salene had tobelieve somewhere in the huge Neanderthal there was a modern thinking mansomewhere. "One day I am sure you will have a beautiful, strong littlegirl surely you would not hold her to these prehistoric standards."
Groaningin frustration Gabriel scratched at his blonde trimmed beard as he looked awaysearching for a comeback.
Greeneyes cut back towards her. "If I had a daughter she would…" Hestopped midway as his eyes grew large focusing on something above her head.
