Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) (26 page)

“You
didn’t kill Gabe Stone, Harris. You killed Tim Larson, a man who had nothing to
do with you or your brother,” Sam told hi
m through
the bullhorn.

“I did
too kill Gabe Stone. I saw him, and I killed him,” Charles Harris screamed down
at Sam. “And I’m going to take out more of his family and friends, before the
day is over.”

Gabe
knew he had to do something to help end this. If
the
man knew the truth perhaps, he’d give it up so without giving it any further
thought, he stepped out of the door. “You didn’t kill me, you stupid son of a
bitch. You killed a good man for no fucking reason,” he yelled up toward the
church tower. He he
ard Emma scream his name from
inside the reception.

“Get
back in there, Gabe,” Sam yelled as a shot hit the door beside Gabe’s head,
making him duck and take a step back.

“This is
a trick. I know I killed him,” Harris shouted out in frustration.

“You
didn’
t kill my husband, you idiot,” Emma shouted from
beside Gabe, where she’d suddenly appeared. He wrapped his arms around her and
pulled her back inside the building.

“Are you
out of your fucking mind?” he shouted at her, not caring hundreds of pairs of
eyes
were on them.

Emma
shrugged. “I figured you were so I thought I might as well be too.”

He took
her by the arm and dragged her back to the table where he thought he’d left her
in safety. He put his hand on her head and pushed her under it. “Do. Not.
Move,”
he growled at her. Their eyes met and they
glared at each other. He shook his head, leaned down on one knee, and kissed
her hard then stood, and went back to the door. Sam was still trying to talk
Harris down.

“Give
up, Harris. This can end the easy way or the hard way,” Sam said through the
bullhorn. He watched Sam jump behind his cruiser when a shot ran out and a slug
hit the car. He saw Sam curse more than heard it. “I’m giving you one more
chance, Harris. I
won’t let you hurt any more people
in my town,” Sam told the man in the church tower. More shots rang out. “Do
what you have to Wyatt, but I’d like him alive,” Sam said into the two-way
radio he’d asked a deputy to hand him.

The next
shot that rang out cam
e from the roof of the Town
Hall, after which no more shots came from Harris’ direction. It was silent.
Gabe watched as Sam ran across the street to the front door of the church and
disappeared inside with several deputies behind him. A few minutes later,
Sam stood in the opening in the tower of the church.

“You got
him, Wyatt. Good shot, man, he’s still alive,” Sam yelled across the street to
the roof of the Town Hall.

Gabe
sighed and walked back inside. He announced in a calm voice that it was all
over. H
e pulled out a chair and sat down, placing his
clenched fists on the table. Emma pulled a chair beside him and sat, putting
her hands over his. He jerked them back from her touch and immediately knew
from the look on her face he had hurt her. “I’m sorry,”
he told her wishing he could take back the hurt and all of the bad events
of the day. Jake and
Becca
walked hand in hand over to the
table and sat down with Emma and him.

“Definitely
a reception we’ll never forget,” Jake said as he put his arm around
Becca
.

“You got
that shit right.” Gabe sighed.

“What’s
wrong with you?” Jake asked him. Gabe didn’t answer him because he was
distracted when Wyatt and Sam walked into the room together. He gritted his
teeth in an attempt to bite back his words. Sam noticed the
way he glared at him and frowned as he approached the
table.

“Problem,
Gabe?” Sam asked as he folded his arms across his broad chest.

“Why is
it you always have to get Wyatt to do your dirty work?” Gabe stood, narrowing
his eyes at Sam.

“Christ!
Because h
e’s the best there is, Gabe.” Sam shook his
head. “I’d have him as a full-time deputy if I could.” Sam stepped closer to
him, ready to take him on. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d come to
fisticuffs over a disagreement and probably wouldn’t be the las
t. “How many people do you think would have died if Wyatt
hadn’t stepped in and made short work of things?” The two men stood staring at
each while everyone seemed to hold their breath before Sam finally shook his
head and strode
away,
leaving him to sit b
ack down, anger still fueling his resentment.

“He’s
right, Gabe. Wyatt knows what he’s doing. He saved a lot of people today,” Emma
said softly.

He
turned on her, his narrowed eyes meeting her surprised gaze. “It’s not your
brother out there risking his li
fe.” He watched as
Emma stood up and stared down at him with glistening eyes before walking toward
the doors and disappearing through them.

“What
the hell is wrong with you?” Jake asked him.

Gabe
took a deep breath and readied himself for yet another verba
l attack. “She thinks it’s great what Wyatt did.”

Jake
looked surprised. “I do too. We all do. What’s your problem?”

“I hate
that it’s Wyatt who sticks his neck out every time.”

“He’s a
sniper, Gabe. It’s what he does, and he’s the best. He wouldn’t put hi
mself in a position to get hurt. He does it because he
knows he can.” Jake glared at him as if Gabe had no idea what his little
brother was capable of doing with a rifle.

He
suddenly realized he was wrong. He stood up and stared down at his brother. “I
hat
e it when you’re right,” he growled before heading
toward the door through which his wife had disappeared. Gabe knew he was going
to have to do some major groveling.

Chapter Fourteen

Emma
blinked back the tears in her eyes as she headed out the door
of the Town Hall. Taking a deep breath, she hurried toward
where she knew Gabe had parked the truck. She climbed into the passenger side
and folded her arms across her chest. She heard Gabe get in the driver’s side
but refused to look at him. She heard him
sigh.

“I’m
sorry,” Gabe said in a low voice. She felt his hand on her hair. He tugged on
the strands. She jerked her head away from his hand and refused to look at him.
He tugged on her hair again and this time she swung out a hand to slap him
away.

“Stop
it, Gabe. It’s not going to work this time.” She turned to
face him. “You’re wrong about what happened.”

“I know
that, Emma. That’s why I’m apologizing.” Gabe reached for her hair again. She
slapped his hand away. He looked at her in surprise.

She was
ver
y angry with him and his cute apologies weren’t
going to work, not this time. “Take me home. Now,” she hissed at him.

Gabe
must have realized she really meant it this time because he dropped his hand,
turned in his seat, and started the truck’s engine. The
y rode home in silence. As soon as the truck stopped near the back door,
she was out of the truck. She entered the kitchen and went directly to the
living room, not really knowing why she was so angry. Gabe had apologized and
she needed to accept it, but h
e’d embarrassed her by
yelling at her in front of everyone. Of course, she’d also thought Harris had
completely ruined the reception but as she was leaving, she’d heard the music
start up and people were starting to dance again. Soon
Becca
and Jake would b
e leaving for their honeymoon in Hawaii. She was pleased
because it seemed nothing was going to ruin their day.

“Hi Stacy.
How did it go?” She smiled at the young woman who had
descended the stairs and was now standing in the doorway to the living room.

“G
reat. She’s so precious, Emma. I didn’t have any trouble at
all,” Stacy announced with a smile. “She’s sleeping like an angel.”

Emma
grinned in response, but let her smile fade when Gabe walked past Stacy into
the living room. He stopped in front of her an
d
leaned in, wrapping his arms around her and whispered the words “I’m sorry”
into her ear. She leaned into him and nodded, letting him know she had let her
anger go. Gabe spun her slightly so they faced Stacy.

“Hi Stacy.
How’s my beautiful daughter?” Gabe
smiled at the young woman and she noticed how Stacy blushed. Emma knew
how she felt. She still blushed when Gabe spoke to her.

“Stacy
thinks our daughter is precious and of course, she is.” She looked over her
shoulder at him. “I’m going up to see her. St
acy,
thank you so much for everything.”

Stacy
nodded and as Emma climbed the stairs. She heard Gabe trying to convince the
young woman to accept payment for babysitting, but Stacy refused. She heard the
kitchen door open and close. Minutes later, she heard
Gabe coming up the stairs. He entered the nursery, stood beside her at the
crib, and stared down at their daughter. Emma smiled when he gently put his
hand on Sophie’s stomach. “I can’t believe how fast she’s growing. It seems
like we just brought her hom
e,” he whispered.

“She’s a
month old already. It just flew by.” She gazed down at their daughter, still
amazed she was here with them.

“It
won’t be long and she’ll be walking and then running.” Gabe smiled.

Emma
softly laughed. “I know. Her life will flash
before
our eyes.” She blinked back tears at the thought of her beautiful daughter
growing up and venturing off to lead a life of her own.

Gabe
wrapped his arms around her. “You’re right.” He kissed her on the forehead and
she closed her eyes at the sensat
ion. “I didn’t know
it was possible to love someone this much.” He shook his head and pressed his
cheek against her hair. “I love her so much.”

“I do
too,” she whispered, wishing he could declare a love for her the way he did his
daughter.

“Come
on. We’ve
had a long day. Let’s get some sleep.” Gabe
led her from the bedroom and down the hall to their room. They each undressed
and crawled between the sheets. Gabe pulled her against him, pressed a
goodnight kiss against her lips, but nothing more. It had been
a long day and soon they fell asleep.

* * * *

Emma sat
at the table waiting for Gabe to come in from the barn. She’d decided to
finally put her heart out there and tell him she loved him. If he didn’t return
the feeling and say he loved her, too, she’d j
ust
have to live with it. It was difficult for her to believe he could act the way
he did and not care in some way. She knew he loved Sophie but wanted him to
love her too. His love for Sophie was a start. They had the bond created by
their daughter, but s
he wanted more. The doctor had
told her last week at her appointment she could have sex again, but she’d put
off telling Gabe because he would come in dead on his feet and collapse into
bed. This was ridiculous, she thought as she pushed her coffee cup awa
y from her. She wanted her husband and didn’t have the guts
to let him know.

Sophie’s
cry came over the monitor. Emma left the kitchen to go feed her. She picked her
daughter up from her crib and took a seat in the rocking chair Gabe had bought
for her. Sh
e sat quietly while she fed Sophie,
reveling in the beauty of her daughter. When she finished she held Sophie, and
rocked her while talking to her softly. So engrossed in her daughter, she
hadn’t heard Gabe come upstairs. She glanced toward the door to see
him standing there, leaning against the doorjamb. He
smiled as he pushed himself away from it and sauntered toward her. He squatted
down in front of her. “I’ll never get tired of watching you breastfeed our
daughter.” He ran his hand over Sophie’s head, r
uffling
the dark hair.

“I know,
but I also know you like feeding her.” She smiled at him, wanting to ruffle his
dark hair the same way he had done their daughter’s downy fuzz.

Gabe
laughed. “Yes, I do. She looks up at me with those blue eyes and I just mel
t,” he said, gazing into her own eyes and making her
insides melt with unspoken desire.