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Ethan and Gabe came to Casey’s house to talk to her once she felt rested.
Ethan thanked her for helping Toby but she brushed it off, telling him how charming she found Toby to be and was glad to help. She had been sorry to lose her car but saving the little boy had been worth it. She was uncomfortable around Gabe but tried to act indifferent around him and ignore his presence, which wasn’t easy. He had matured with age. Gone was the youthful appearance and in its place was a man with granite like features and a serious demeanor. He still had the same masculine sex appeal he’d had years ago. And why did she dream he had held her hand in the hospital and talked to her with such loving emotion?
Ethan wanted a description of the men chasing them since Toby had become too emotionally upset when asked about that night and the men he had run into. He had nightmares over that experience, Ethan told her, looking sad about his nephew’s ordeal.
“I only saw the one man that banged on my window,” Karissa told them sitting on the couch with Casey and Roy, glad they were there for moral support. She told them the story of how she had come upon Toby running in the road and the men hitting her car. “He had short brown hair and a beard. Very tall and thin, late twenties maybe. He was really close to me so I’ll recognize him if I see him again. The second man I never saw clearly or what they were driving. It was raining hard and everything happened so fast. I’m just glad that is over with and I hope you catch them soon. I don’t understand what it was all about, deputy?”
“We think they are drug smugglers, Karissa. The sheriff in St. Clair warned us to be on the lookout for them. They hide the drugs by digging them in a hole until someone picks them up,” Ethan answered solemnly. He didn’t want to scare her but she needed to be aware of what was going on. “It was a blessing you got to Toby first that night. If you see them, call us right away but don’t confront them. They are dangerous men and our priority is to get them off our streets.”
Roy looked at Ethan with worry. “Drugs in Appledale? Are Karissa and Toby safe?”
Casey gasped and grabbed her sister’s hand, as if making sure she was there and safe. “Oh my God!”
“Don’t worry too much. It’s good to be cautious but we are going to get these guys out of our town,” Ethan assured them with confidence, standing up. “They’ll soon learn they set up camp in the wrong place.”
Karissa sat on the couch watching Gabe write notes down in his notebook. He had stayed quiet the whole time, letting Ethan do the talking. He had glanced her way once but his face was hard to read. Once upon a time he had been easy to read, but the years and his time in the military had made him a hard-looking man that didn’t show his emotions.
“Thanks again for your help, Karissa. We will find these guys and put them away,” Ethan promised her, shaking her hand gently and bringing her focus back to him instead of Gabe. Gabe nodded politely at her and Casey but didn’t say anything as he and Ethan got ready to leave.
Roy walked them out, talking about what had happened and Casey sat next to her sister. “Holy cow, honey. I could feel the heat burning between you and Gabe still even though you both ignored each other fabulously.”
“No way. I haven’t even spoken to him in seven or eight years,” Karissa denied huffily, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest defiantly. “And I don’t want to either.”
Casey hid her smug smile, putting a cover over her little sister and patting her hand in a comforting motion.
Gabe sat in the car lost in thought as Ethan drove back to the station, his mind on Karissa and how she still affected him physically even after all these years apart. His palms had been sweaty while he wrote his notes, just from listening to her soft, sexy voice, but he hadn’t had the courage to look into her eyes, afraid he’d see only anger in them. Memories of how things used to be between them had flitted through his mind like an old movie, making him want to smile, but he held it in.
“Have you tried talking to her?” Ethan asked quietly as he drove back to the station, interrupting Gabe’s thoughts. He knew the story of how Gabe had broken up with Karissa and told Gabe, “I really like her and not just because she saved Toby. She and Casey had it rough as kids, yet they both grew up to be good, strong women.”
“Yeah, I know, and the moment I heard she was back in town I made sure to run into her, but she kept on walking like she never knew me. She hates me and I can’t blame her. The least I can do is stay away from her and not hurt her anymore so she can settle down here without worry. From what Roy says, her ex in St. Louis didn’t treat her well at all and she was so stressed out when she arrived back in town. She was just now getting back to normal and now this happens. We need to get these guys, Ethan,” Gabe’s voice was filled with determination. Inside he was filled with sadness and remorse over Karissa. He wanted to find these drug dealers before things escalated, as they usually did when drugs got involved. It gave him a purpose so he wouldn’t spend all his time dwelling on what once was.
Ethan changed the subject, reminding Gabe that Harrison, his ex DEA friend was arriving in town today. “He’s going to stay at Aunt Mary’s place. It’ll be nice to see him again,” Ethan said. His aunt owned the Golden House bed and breakfast, the only place to stay in town besides the campground.
“With Harrison’s help we will get these guys. He has more experience in this area and he’ll be a big help to us. Ryan wants Harrison to give us advice on how to look for signs of these things going down for future reference, too. I want Appledale to stay a safe place to raise our families,” Ethan said, trying hard not to worry about the safety of their loved ones in this town. “We need to put a stop to this now before it grows out of control.”
Gabe nodded in agreement but stayed silent on the rest of the drive.
Chapter 6
It took another day for Karissa to feel strong enough to return to work. Everyone at Thorn’s welcomed her back and had a thousand questions about what had happened and she retold the story over and over, insisting she was not a hero just a regular person who helped someone in need.
Gabe’s younger brother, Logan, stopped by Thorns to see her and say hello. Logan had turned into a charming but flirty young man. He looked like a younger version of Gabe except Logan kept his dark black hair cut short.
“They have some leads on the men involved, so you don’t have to worry, Karissa. Our goal is to keep this town the safe place it has always been,” he assured her with confidence.
Karissa nodded with relief.
That Sunday she finally had a day off and Casey insisted Karissa go with them to a barbeque that Kari and her family were having. Karissa didn’t want the chance of running into Gabe again. So far she had done a good job of avoiding him but in this small town it would be impossible to do so forever. She might as well suck it up and talk to him and move on with settling down into this town.
Toby was so excited to see Karissa when she arrived with Casey, Roy, and the baby. He left his group of boys he was playing with and ran up to her to give her a big hug with one arm. Karissa was so glad to see him smiling and looking so well. “Thanks for the picture, Toby. I have it on my wa
ll in my bedroom.”
“I saved a special spot on my cast for you to sign, Karissa. You must have been tired ’cause you slept for lots of days.” He showed her his cast while talking excitedly. He went running inside the house to get a marker. “Don’t leave yet, Karissa.”
“I won’t,” she promised and turned to Kari who was smiling fondly at her energetic son. “He is so adorable, Kari, and so brave. I’m glad I found him that night and it all turned out good.”
Kari put her arm around Karissa’s shoulder leading her into the backyard of her parents’ house where everyone gathered for the cookout. There were so many people there. Some Karissa already knew and some she didn’t know yet.
