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Gabe handed her his phone. “Do it.”
With a tired sigh, she pressed the numbers, relieved when Jasmine answered on the first ring. Teenagers kept later hours than a mother of triplets.
After hearing of the situation, Jasmine gasped, “Are you all right?”
“Yes, but I’d rather not be alone until the sheriff talks to Vincent.”
“Oh, Brooke, I’m sorry. I wish Cade’s side of the family…” Her voice trailed off. Given who his grandfather was, the mention of Cade Clayton wasn’t appropriate right now. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Okay?”
Brooke hung up and returned the phone to Gabe. “Now you can go home and get some rest.”
Gabe pocketed the cell. “Trying to get rid of me?”
He’d been wonderful tonight. “Not even close. But you’re exhausted, Gabe. I see it in your eyes. You have enough on your plate without adding a crazy neighbor.”
He crouched in front of her and took her hands in his. “None of this is your fault. I admit I thought you were a little scatterbrained at first—locking yourself out of the house and all—but what happened here tonight is real.”
“You have your own problems at the Lucky Lady.” She frowned, remembering something. “I forgot to tell you earlier. Kylie Jones heard you’re closing the mine. Is that true?”
Looking surprised, he said, “Not at all. I wonder where that rumor got started?”
“Something about the dangerous incidents. The mine was unsafe.”
Brow furrowed, Gabe studied the backs of her hands. “That’s not good news. If people in town view the mine as unsafe, we’ll have more staffing woes, more grief from the environmentalists.”
“The rumor mill thrives on bad news or scintillating stories.”
He looked up. “Such as our lurid affair?”
“You’re taking this a lot more calmly than I did,” she said.
The sparkle in his eyes and quirk of his lip said he was teasing. “A man might consider it a compliment that a beautiful woman would find him that alluring.”
She pulled her hands away and whacked his arm. “I don’t do affairs.”
“That makes two of us.” He pulled her hands back to him, the twinkling eyes growing a shade darker. “But I am a man, and you are attractive.”
“Gabe.” Her pulse kicked up. Minutes ago she was exhausted and sad. Now her blood hummed. “I—”
He touched her bottom lip with one finger. “Shh. Don’t say anything sweet or I might give in to the temptation I’ve been fighting all evening.”
Brooke was not a child. She knew what she was doing and what she wanted. She wanted Gabe to forget his self-control and kiss her.
She wrapped her hand around that one finger balanced on her lip. Softly, she asked, “What temptation?”
His palms, hard and rough from work but gentle as velvet, found the side of her face and drew her closer. “I was afraid for you tonight. Scared out of my mind. If someone hurt you…”
Brooke’s heart raced. Absorbing the sensations of his nearness, her lips curved in invitation. He sighed and moved closer. His warm breath sent a shiver along the sensitive skin. “I knew you were trouble the minute I saw you hanging from that window.”
Brooke laughed softly. “Why don’t you stop talking and kiss me?”
He blinked. “Bad idea.”
But he kissed her anyway.
A bright light went off inside Brooke’s chest. The heat and tenderness of Gabe’s kiss flooded her senses. He smelled good, like the mountain forest and a clear stream. She reveled in his touch, fully aware she was falling and wasn’t the least bit sorry. He kissed her once and then shifted to draw her into his arms and kiss her again.
The knock at the front door made them both jump.
Bemused and wishing she hadn’t phoned a friend, Brooke pushed gently at Gabe’s chest. “Jasmine.”
Gabe groaned, tapped his forehead to hers and let her go. When she rose, he rose with her, squeezed her hand and went to the door.
Jasmine entered. “Oh, I didn’t know you had company.”
“Gabe stayed with me until you arrived.”
“That’s what neighbors are for.” His eyes twinkled but he took his cue and stepped onto the porch. “I’ll go. If you need anything, call.”
