Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) (18 page)

Becca
swatted at her. “What are you doing?”

“It
smells so good.”
Olivia grinned like a lovesick teen.

“Oh my
God, Liv, you are terrible. Give me the coat, I’ll hang it up,” Emma told her.
Olivia reluctantly handed over the coat. She hung up Wyatt’s coat, and then
took a seat at the table with
Becca
and Olivia. “I wish I
knew what to say to Gabe. He’s hurting so much over Tim.”

“Jake’s
upset too, but he’s not as bad as Gabe. It will get better,”
Becca
said.

“I hope
so,
Becca
. I really hope so,” Emma
murmured.

* * * *

Gabe was
in the arena working with a horse when Sam w
alked in.
He hadn’t seen him since Tim’s funeral, which was two weeks ago. He dismounted
and walked over to him, giving him a nod of his head.

“I just
got the results of Tim’s cause of death. It was just as we
figured,
a gunshot wound to the chest…” Sam se
emed to hesitate.

“If
you’ve got something to say, Sam, say it.”

Sam
tipped his hat back on his head. “I don’t think Tim was the intended target.”

“What do
you mean by that? Tim was the only one out in the pasture. Who else could it
have been?” Gabe asked,
even as a bad feeling
descended on him.

Sam
looked him straight in the eye. “I think you were the intended target, Gabe.”

“What?
Why would you think that?” He took his hat off and ran his hand through his
already messed hair.

“Think
about it. You and Tim
are the same height and build.
You both have dark hair and mustaches. The shooter may have thought it was you
out there. It makes sense if this person shot Emma first, he may have made you
the next target.”

Gabe
could feel the blood drain from his face. He
moved to
the wall, put his back to it, and slid down to the floor. He glanced up at Sam
when he squatted down in front of him.

“I
didn’t mean to upset you but the more I thought about it, the more it makes
sense. Why would anyone want to kill Tim?”

Gabe s
tared at him as if he might find the answer in Sam’s eyes.
“Why would anyone want to kill me?”

Sam
frowned and shook his head. “Which brings us back to the first question, why
would anyone want to kill Emma? It’s possible he’s targeting both of you for
som
e reason, and Tim was in the wrong place at the
wrong time.”

He knew
in his gut Sam was probably right. “It brings us right back to square one,
doesn’t it?”

Sam
nodded and stood. “I’m not sure what this is about, but you and Emma need to be
careful. Don’t
go anywhere alone. Definitely, no
riding alone, you hear? Hell, you don’t need to be out riding right now anyway.
Stay close to home. I think this guy might be following you. He followed Emma
from a distance, and then he followed Tim thinking it was you. W
e don’t know what he has against you, but I’m determined to
find out.”

Gabe
stood and put his hand out to Sam who accepted it. They shook hands. He knew
Sam was more than capable of doing his job. “Sam, about what I said…”

“Forget
it, Gabe. You were upset.
I get that. No problem.”
Sam put his fingers to his hat and left. They were still friends and Gabe was
grateful for that.

He tried
to get back to work but what Sam had said bothered him immensely. Gabe wondered
if the shooter thought he’d killed him. If n
ot, would
he try again? Why would someone want him or Emma dead? Neither of them had any
enemies, at least none they knew about anyway. All they’d ever done was gotten
married. It made no sense. He put up the horse he’d been training, and headed
toward the
house and his wife. He needed to be close
to his wife.

* * * *

Christmas was only two
weeks away, and one of the presents Emma had ordered for Gabe hadn’t arrived
yet. She was beginning to panic over it. “I need that for Christmas, Junior.
It’s really i
mportant.” She stood on one side of the
counter at the feed store, glaring at the young man standing behind it.

“I-I, uh, I know that,
Emma but it ain’t come in yet.”

“Hasn’t come in yet,”
she said, correcting him.

Junior frowned at her.
“That’s what I sai
d. It ain’t come in yet.”

She sighed and
resisted rolling her eyes.
“Never
mind.
Can you call them and see if they shipped it yet? I’m just getting antsy.”

Junior nodded. “Yes,
ma’am, though I don’t know what antsy is.”

Emma bit her lip to
keep from laughi
ng. Junior wasn’t the sharpest tool
in the shed, but he was a sweetheart. He was only twenty years old and already
been tossed too many times by angry bulls. She waited as he made the phone
call. She glanced over her shoulder toward the door when she heard
it open and the welcome chimes jingle. Ryder Wolfe
entered, bringing a bit of cold air with him. She allowed her gaze to roam over
yet another fine specimen of man living in Clifton. A blush heated her cheeks
and she chastised herself. Her hormones must b
e going
crazy. She was a married woman, for heaven’s sake. She snorted. Olivia would
tell her that although it was true, she wasn’t dead and a gorgeous man was a
gorgeous man. He strolled toward her.

“Hi, Emma, how are
you?” Ryder asked in a deep sexy voice, which made her pulse speed up.
Stop
it Emma! You’re married!

She smiled at him.
“I’m doing wonderful. How are you, Ryder?”

“Great. How’s that
Paint of yours doing?”

She beamed at the
mention of Bea
uty. “She’s so beautiful. I named her
Beauty. I’m so glad you and Gabe got together on that.”

Ryder chuckled. “She
came from good stock and my stallion. I knew she was going to be gorgeous. As
soon as Gabe saw her, he wanted her for you.”

She smiled at him
, and turned back toward the counter when Junior hung up
the phone. “They said they done sent it, Emma. I ain’t got
no
idea when it will be here for sure, but
they said it would be here before Christmas.”

“They already sent it
and I have no idea,” Ryder sa
id, correcting the young
man’s grammar.

Junior looked at him
with a confused expression.
“‘Bout
what, Ryder?”

Emma covered the
giggle threatening to burst forth but couldn’t contain it when she heard Ryder
mutter under his breath. “That boy’s been tossed t
oo
many times by angry bulls.” He winked at Emma, shook his head, and bid her
goodbye. She watched him walk away with that sexy cowboy swagger unique to men
who tame horses.

Turning back toward
Junior, she told him if it hadn’t arrived in a few more days,
she would be back. She saw him gulp. It wasn’t really his
fault but it made her feel better knowing he was worried about making her
angry. Done with that frustration, she hurried out of the feed store and headed
across the street to the diner where she was
meeting
Becca
and Olivia for lunch. When she entered
the diner, the patrons hollered out hello to her. Emma waved back, nodding to a
few, and smiling at most as she made her way to the booth where
Becca
and Olivia sat. She slid in next to
Becca
. “Sorry I’
m
late. I had to check on something.”

She picked up the menu
and scanned it. Setting it down, she glanced around and her heart stopped when
she saw the strange man who made her nervous sitting in the back again. He was
staring at her with narrowed eyes. “T
hat man is here
again,” Emma hissed in a low voice.

Neither
Becca
nor Olivia looked around. “We know. We
saw him when we came in. I don’t like him. He’s creepy,” Olivia said.

“Have you told Gabe
about him, Emma?”
Becca
asked.

“No. I hadn’t really
thought a
bout it. Do you think I should? Have you
told Jake?”

Becca
shook her head. “No, I didn’t have a reason before but
with you being shot, and now Tim killed, I think it’s too much a coincidence
this man is in town at the same time.” She shivered. “It could be
nothing, but who in Clifton would want to hurt you or
Tim?”

“Sam thinks whoever
killed Tim thought he was shooting at Gabe.” Emma’s voice cracked. Olivia laid
her hand over hers. Emma smiled at her as best she could.

“With the B and B
being closed, I don’t like you being there alone, Liv,”
Becca
said.

“It’s kind of creepy
with all the silence, but no way am I staying with either of you.” Olivia shook
her head. “I’m not listening to you have sex with hot guys when I don
’t have one.”

Emma glanced at
Becca
, who started laughing. Olivia snorted,
and then they all laughed together. They ordered their lunches and Emma tried
to keep her mind off the man in the back. When he stood to leave, she noticed
but made a point not to l
ook his way. She shuddered
with worry. “I’m going to tell Gabe about him, and I think we should tell Sam
too.”

“
Ooooh
, the sexy sheriff, I’d like to tell him a few things,”
Olivia said with a naughty chuckle.
Becca
swatted at her arm. “What? He’s gorgeous,
and those blue eyes. Oh yes, he’s very yummy.”

Emma grinned at her.
“You thought Ryder was gorgeous too, and look where that got you.”

“Ryder is gorgeous. We
just didn’t feel any spark so we’re remaining friends,” Olivia explained.

They finished lunch,
an
d then decided to go do some Christmas shopping.
Later, inside the only boutique shop in town, Emma was looking at sexy teddies
when
Becca
held a green silk teddy up and asked,
“Do you think Jake would like this?”

“Jake wears lingerie?”
Olivia asked with a
pretense of innocence. Emma burst
out laughing.

Becca
threw it at Olivia. “You can be such a smart-ass.” She
laughed. “I meant would he like me in it?”

“In case of fire, you
mean?” Olivia chuckled.

Emma shook her head in
confusion. “I don’t get it.”

“It m
eans she’d be naked and if a fire broke out, she could put
that on,” Olivia explained making Emma grin knowingly.

“I seriously don’t
know why I’m looking. I’ll look like a cow in a few more months.” She pouted,
pushing the beautiful teddies aside.

“Christm
as is only two weeks away and believe me, you can still fit
in one now,”
Becca
said with a naughty grin.

Emma nodded.
Becca
was right so she picked out a blue one,
which matched her eyes.
Becca
purchased the green one and although
Olivia had no one to wear
one for, she picked out an
amethyst one, which matched her eyes perfectly. She shrugged when
Becca
looked it over. “You never know. I
might find me a cowboy that likes purple.” Olivia grinned and winked.

Chapter Ten