Page 14 of The Guardian

The kids were walking then they slowed down and stared at the carpet underneath their feet.

I paused behind them. Peering down I felt amazed as well. This had to be the thickest carpet I had ever seen.

Gabriela stopped walking and asked, “It is beautiful, si?” She now looked back and forth down the hallways as if to make sure no one else was there. Then she slipped one sandal off then the other. Barefoot, she squeezed her toes and sighed happily, “It feels so good.” Nodding at the teens, she urged them to follow her example.

They both immediately looked over at me.

I gave them a nod.

They then eagerly took their shoes off and slid through the soft carpeting as they both giggled.

I smiled at them and slipped my sandals off. Then I clenched my toes into the lush material and gasped at how it felt. “Fantastico!”

We all giggled like little kids.

I glanced over at Henry.

He stared at us and then laughed as his careful guarding expression seemed to slip.

I looked down to see that he wore boots… the lace up military kind. So, I could see why he didn’t follow suit, but he did seem to enjoy watching us do it.

We all enjoyed the toes on soft carpet dances as we openly laughed for several minutes.

Henry flipped around and aimed a gun at someone who had silently approached us.

The man held his hands up. “Whoa there, Sir Henry.”

Henry looked a bit surprised as he lowered his weapon then tucked it back into his jacket.

Gabriela glanced back and forth between the two men. “You two know each other?”

Henry slowly shook his head as if he didn’t want to say.

“Yes, we do,” the man told her as he gave us all a warm smile. His pronounced cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and severe dark brown eyes made him quite a handsome guy.

Gabriela smiled a bit. “How interesting.” She looked over at a very quiet Henry. “Have you been to New Orleans before?”

He nodded. “I lived in the French Quarter.”

I stared at him. He lived here before? This surprised me as he hadn’t said so when we made the trip here. Especially since Selena and Carlos told us about some of the interesting spots here to visit. Like the French Quarter and the old cemeteries that were actually tourist sites. But then again, he was our bodyguard and he stayed fairly quiet as he watched everything like a hawk. But he was Carlos’ friend too, so I feel like something would have been said about Carlos and Henry both living here.

“Oh,” Gabriela said as she laughed a bit. “I’m sorry. I didn’t make introductions. This is Michael, he is married to Alessia, my stepdaughter. He’s in charge of the house security too.”

Henry glared at him and took a step forward toward Michael.

Micheal stepped forward too.

They both faced each other. Unsmiling and wearing very serious expressions.

We all watched in fascination as we didn’t know what was happening.

“You aren’t a policeman anymore?” Henry finally spoke up as he stared at Michael.

Michael shook his head. “I left the force and married Sia. Best thing I ever did.”

“Which one? Leaving your dream job or marrying your dream girl?” Henry asked him as he raised an eyebrow at him.

The hall got quiet now as we all watched this odd meeting.