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“I’m so glad you’re okay now, Karissa. Toby has done nothing but talk about how you saved him that night. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry but I can’t help it. When I think of what could have happened to my baby—” Her voice broke with tears and she swallowed hard, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue she got out of her blue jean shorts.
Karissa hugged Kari compassionately. “I really didn’t do much but I’m glad I was there at the right time. It must have been fate for me to be running late that day. Toby is so bright and such a sweet boy. You must be so proud of him.”
Nancy, Kari and Ethan’s mother, handed Karissa a glass of iced tea. She hugged Karissa gently in greeting. “Welcome back to Appledale, sweetie, never a dull moment around here. Casey must be so thrilled to have you back home. She has missed you so much over the years, we all have.”
“I hope so since she’s stuck with me for a while.” Karissa laughed, taking the glass of cold iced tea. Her car had been unsavable so now she had to save up money for a car then worry about moving out. “I had to be around for Jonathon, too. I don’t want to miss one day of his growing up.”
Toby came running back out with a marker and she sat down on a lawn chair and added her name with all the other names written on his cast. “Look at all these names, Toby, you have a lot of friends, huh?”
He giggled and nodded happily. “Uncle Ethan found my bike but I promised never ever to go in the woods by myself even if I’m mad at Kenny and I think that won’t be a hard promise to keep. I had bad dreams.” He looked down as if confessing something bad.
Gabe was standing behind Karissa’s chair but she hadn’t noticed him. He had been planning to at least be polite and say hello to her when he heard Toby and Karissa’s conversation and he didn’t want to interrupt so he waited.
Karissa leaned down and gave the little boy a big hug, brushing his bangs out of his adorable face. “Hey, it’s okay, Toby, it was a very scary night for both of us but you were so brave and strong. I had lots of bad dreams, too.”
“My mommy sat up all night with me. Even Kenny was really nice to me for a whole day,” he said looking up at her. “Did your sister stay up with you, Karissa, so you wouldn’t be all alone?”
Karissa laughed and couldn’t resist hugging him again before he ran off. She shook her head no. “She just had a baby who needs all her attention at night.”
Gabe’s heart clenched painfully at the thought of her waking up scared and alone, he would gladly be there for her if she would only let him. He closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath. He pasted a polite smile on his face and walked up to them. “Hey, kid, can I sign this cast too or is it by special invitation only?”
Toby smiled brightly and hugged Gabe with glee. “You can sign it, Uncle Gabe. I haven’t seen you much lately.” He handed Gabe the marker and Gabe sat next to Karissa.
“I’ve been working a lot lately but I came to check on my little buddy.”
“To catch the bad guys right?” Toby nodded confidently then looked at Karissa with an encouraging smile. “Don’t be scared no more, Uncle Gabe will put them in jail forever. Isn’t that right?”
Gabe nodded in agreement and signed his name next to Karissa’s. Toby ran off to play leaving the two adults sitting in an awkward silence, not knowing what to say to each other after so many years apart.
“I know you hate me, Karissa, but please promise me if you see those two men again or feel scared you’ll call me, anytime.” His gaze lingered on her soft curves in snug-fitting blue jean shorts and a pink tank top and pink flip-flops, her silky, long hair flowing down her back.
* * * *
Karissa looked over at Gabe. He still stole her breath away as he always had. Her heart jumped at the sight of him sitting so close to her and she could smell his woodsy cologne. Gabe was still such a handsome man that her body obviously didn’t get the memo that this was the man that had broken her young heart. She looked into his dark brown eyes surrounded by long, dark lashes and his muscular body frame underneath a white T-shirt and she could feel the heat stirring in her stomach and her heart racing wildly like a beating drum. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in days, leaving dark stubble on his face, making him look dangerous and delicious. “I don’t hate you, Gabe, I was just angry and hurt. I guess it’s immature of me to keep holding a grudge. This is a small town and we’re bound to run into each other over and over again. Thanks for rescuing us that night by the way and for the flowers you sent me.”
“I don’t blame you for having a grudge, Rissa,” he stated, using her old nickname, brushing off her thanks. He wanted a chance to explain the past before she started avoiding him again. It might be his only chance to speak his heart. “I was young and stubborn back then. I was having a rough time settling back into regular small-town life and instead of talking my feelings through with you I reenlisted without you knowing. Back then I thought everything had to be my way or no way. I am sorry I hurt you, though. I regret that most of all and you didn’t deserve it.”
Karissa didn’t want his pity. She’d tried very hard over the years to not think of Gabe or anything that reminded her of him—like this town. It hadn’t been easy, either. Gabe had always popped into her dreams. Maybe that’s why her relationship with Jordan had never been so good. She had closed off her heart, not wanting to feel the devastation she had felt when Gabe had left her. “It’s okay, Gabe, forget about it. It’s water under the bridge now and we both have moved on with our lives. Obviously we just weren’t meant to be a couple since we both want different things out of life.”
He wanted to deny that statement but he didn’t want to make her mad. One step at a time, he reminded himself. “Can we start over and be friends, please? Give me a chance to show you that I’m not a bad guy, just one who made mistakes.”
Karissa didn’t speak for a minute but she agreed by nodding her head. Surely she could handle being casual acquaintances with this man. She looked around the big yard filled with family and friends talking and kids running around laughing and playing. It was a hot summer day with clear skies and the smell of good food grilling. This was the life she had wanted once upon a time when she was still young and naïve. Gabe had been the main star in that particular fantasy, of them having a nice house and children who were loved by both parents and never scared, like her and Casey had always been as children. Toby waved to them as he ran by with a group of boys, including his brother, chasing a soccer ball, looking happy despite his cast on his arm.
“I’m so relieved he’s okay now. I worried he might be traumatized,” Karissa observed, waving back at Toby with a smile. “He was such a brave little boy that night, even with a broken arm. I know he wanted to break down and cry his heart out but he held it together and that helped me hang on, too. I’m not sure which one of us would have cried the loudest.”
Gabe chuckled but shook his head in denial. “You’re a strong woman, Karissa, I’ve always admired that quality about you. Toby was lucky you were the one to find him that night. Sorry about your car though, honey.”
Karissa shrugged, feeling a little sad about her car. “Thanks. I just have to work more hours and stay at Casey’s a little longer than I intended. Roy said my car was on its last leg anyway.”
“I was so terrified that night,” Gabe leaned toward her, aching to reach out and touch her for just one second. He knew her cheek would be silky smooth and she’d smell like fresh flowers. He knew her hair would feel like satin.
“Worried for Toby? I noticed he called you uncle. He talked about you and Ethan a lot that night. He kept telling me not to worry, his two strong uncles would save us.” She remembered Toby’s assurance with a smile.
Gabe didn’t tell her he had been worried for her. She probably wouldn’t appreciate it. “Ethan and I spent so many years in the same military unit. It made us as close as brothers. When we got out we came back home and Ryan hired us both on as deputies, and my younger brother Logan started not too long after that. It’s nice to work with people you trust with your life.”
“I missed the peacefulness of this town over the years,” she said, leaning back in the chair and lifting her face toward the sun, loving the feel of warmth hitting her face. “St. Louis is a big, fast-paced city with noise and traffic and lots of people running everywhere. You get used to it but this is so nice and relaxing.”
“Why did you stay away for so long?” he asked, openly admiring her since her eyes were closed against the bright sun. She was the epitome of a woman in his opinion. Soft and curvy in all the right places and perfect facial features including lush lips that he could look at and never get bored. He had looked for Karissa as soon as he got back to Appledale, ready to fall on his knees in front of her, and was disappointed to hear she had moved away years before. Casey wouldn’t tell him much and she gave him dirty looks whenever he saw her in town. So he had finally stopped asking.
