Page 40 of Guarded Knight (Echo Valley #3)

Café Luna is already half full when we walk in, the smell of espresso and warm pastries wrapping around me, a hug I didn’t know I needed. The girls rush ahead of us, arguing over who gets to sit next to Gabriel, which is ridiculous because we all know the answer.

“I’m sitting next to Uncle G!” Poppy declares, already tossing her jacket on the booth like she’s laying claim.

“I called it in the car,” Daisy huffs.

Gabriel lifts both hands like he’s stepping into a war zone. “I’m one man alone but I’m willing to sacrifice…” He reaches for a butter knife on a set table we pass. “One of you is going to have to cut me in half.”

He offers the knife to each one of the girls, and they refuse by shaking their heads while giggling like that’s the funniest thing they’ve ever heard.

Gabriel shuffles into a booth, and lets them climb in on either side of him like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Which, of course, it is. This man’s been half-uncle, half-human jungle gym since they were in diapers.

He’s so good with them. I’ve seen it before. From a distance. But now we’re being good with them together, and an ache builds behind my ribcage. This is normal life, and it seems like we could kick ass at it.

But also… if Gabriel does find his normal, if he can stop running, wouldn’t he want someone who could have kids?

I take a chair across from them, giving Xander the seat beside me. He’s watching everything—quiet, observant. Big-brothering.

Gabriel picks up a menu, and instantly, Poppy smashes into his side to tease him. “They don’t have any food for Grumpzillas here.”

He wiggles his fingers flashing a faux menacing expression and baring teeth. “Well, I guess you’ll taste good after eating those chocolate muffins.”

Then he tickles her, and she giggles again.

The girls love him. Always have. Even I have to compete for their attention around him, and while Gabriel and I weren’t talking, it bothered me a little. Now, it just feels like another beautiful thing we could share.

I’m smiling so hard watching them my cheeks hurt.

The waitress comes over and takes our order.

I’m not hungry yet. Maybe I won’t be until Xander leaves because I can’t stop thinking about how hard it will be to hide my feelings for G around him.

I shouldn’t have to. But now isn’t the time.

Firstly, Gabriel and I are feeling things out, secondly, Xander looks tired as hell, and no surprise, a new high-powered job and two girls to take care of on his own must be exhausting.

Xander taps the edge of the laminated menu on the table, and the waitress arrives. “Two chocolate muffins, two orange juices, a black coffee, and…” He gazes between me and Gabriel.

“Black coffee,” Gabriel answers.

I’m not hungry but I always drink. “A latte, an orange juice, and could I get a glass of water, too, please?”

The waitress nods and heads off.

“Glad to see you’re getting your fluids,” Xander says.

“Yeah, it’s a surprise I’m able to take care of myself. I’m only thirty-four.”

“Shoot me for caring,” he answers back, “I only have one little sister to annoy.”

Daisy whines. “I don’t have a little sister to annoy.”

Poppy interjects. “You said we could get a dog.”

Xander sighs, not like he doesn’t like the request, but more like he wishes he could grant it. He definitely can’t handle a dog, too.

Gabriel saves him.

“Dogs are a lot of responsibility,” he says, then lowers his voice like he’s letting them in on a secret. “You know what the first test is?”

Both girls lean in. “What?”

“You have to keep a house plant alive. For six whole months. No forgetting, no skipping watering days, no blaming your sister if it dies.”

Poppy’s features are stone-cold serious. “We could do that.”

Gabriel raises a brow. “Could you agree on one plant?”

They glance at each other. Suspicion flares.

Gabriel sits back with a grin. “The plant is the real test. If you can keep it alive together, then maybe you’re ready for a goldfish.”

Daisy huffs, but there’s no real disappointment. “What kind of plant?”

Gabriel lifts his coffee cup. “A cactus. They’re stubborn and dramatic. Like you two.”

That earns a giggle—and a glare from Poppy.

“You’re not funny,” she tells him.

He shrugs. “Tell that to my cactus.”

My chest tightens, not only because it’s sweet, though it is. But because I recognize this side of him. The quiet problem-solver, the man who gives without taking, who measures his worth in how well he cares for the people he loves.

He would probably love being a dad.

And I would have loved to be a mom.

My throat tightens. Cystic fibrosis means a lot of things, including that the odds aren’t in my favor. I don’t even have a period every month.

But I’m thinking way too far down the road with this. G and I haven’t even decided what we are, but one thing is fairly certain. We won’t be parents together. Maybe I’m stealing more from him than I think.

That thought sticks, sharp and heavy. When I’m gone, if I’m lucky, we’ll both be fifty or so. Gabriel wouldn’t start a family then.

Suddenly, insecurity flares in my gut, filling it with ugly questions.

Xander and Gabriel start catching up about Xander’s job while Gabriel plays X’s and O’s with Daisy.

My brother and G go way back. Will Xander hearing about this change their relationship? They need each other. Xander is a closed book and doesn’t confide in many people, and G is a carbon copy. Will I put a rift between them?

I know my brother, he will think this is the worst time in the world for me to be getting involved with someone, given I’m being stalked.

Xander will be worried about me being hurt, maybe even be angry at G, thinking he crossed the line at the worst possible time, that he should be focused on the danger…

Maybe I should have insisted we keep it a secret back in the bedroom.

The drinks and muffins arrive, and Gabriel dramatically whips open the girls’ napkins to place them on their laps. “Senorita…”

“Gracias, gran monstruo,” Poppy says with a sassy smile on her face.

Gabriel’s smile is shocked and bright. “Hey, when did you learn that?”

Xander sips his coffee. “When I first asked you to get them speaking Spanish, I didn’t think they’d get so into it. Thanks to you, I’ve had to start Duolingo myself just to make sure they aren’t scheming behind my back.” Xander points his finger between the girls with narrow, suspicious eyes.

“Nunca,” they reply in unison.

“You say never? You’d never scheme?” Xander blows on the top of his mug, trying to hide his amused, loving smile. “Lies. You two can’t be trusted.”

Daisy takes a huge bite of her muffin and lets the crumbs fall. “Mmm…”

Gabriel pretends to try and steal Poppy’s muffin, and Xander considers him. A quiet, assessing look that cuts deeper than his words.

Xander already knows. He really does.

My heart stumbles.

There was no winning this morning, not if Gabriel came down the stairs after me or walked through the front door after abseiling the side of his property.

Xander. Knows. All. It’s a big brother thing and it’s always both equal parts infuriating and reassuring.

Right now, I’m not sure which one it is.

With the girls deeply occupied by chocolate chips and crumbly cake, Xander shifts his focus.

“So, where are things at now? Where are we going with this…” Xander eyes the girls and speaks in code about the situation, “…coyote problem you have on the ranch.”

Poppy opens her eyes wide. “Cuuute. You have coyotes?”

Xander inhales deeply, and it’s obvious it will be hard to have this conversation here, but he’s concerned about the stalker situation, and I get it. I am too now, more than ever.

Gabriel replies. “We set the traps, caught them, and will detain them for a bit. Harmless.”

Xander rubs hard between his eyes. “You’re serious?”

“Unfortunately. They weren’t the ones chasing the sheep.”

Daisy scrunches her face. “You have a sheep farm? I thought it was horses.”

Thankfully, she doesn’t wait or care for an answer because her muffin calls again.

Xander addresses Gabriel, instead of me, again, and it boils my blood.

“So the new lead is what?”

“My boss,” I say, sharper than I meant to.

Xander glances at me, fleeting, unreadable, and then turns right back to Gabriel.

“So what’s the plan for whatever is chasing the sheep? It’s starting to look like a shitshow.” Xander leans back in his chair.

“Dollar,” Poppy murmurs through a mouthful of muffin and gestures her hand as if her dad needs to cough up his swear fine.

Xander doesn’t take his eyes off Gabriel, reaches for his wallet, and hands Poppy a dollar. “G, I have to leave later and I need to know there’s a plan.”

That does it. My jaw tightens. “Why are you talking to him, Xan? And not me?”

He doesn’t flinch. “Because it’s his job.”

“No,” I shoot back. “It’s my life. You don’t get to outsource that.”

“I’m not outsourcing anything,” he replies calmly. “I’m trusting someone who actually knows what they’re doing.”

Gabriel shifts in his seat. “We’re on the same team, guys.”

But Xander isn’t done. He folds his hands and studies Gabriel like a man who already knows the answer but wants to hear it anyway.

“Just a hunch, but I’m guessing this stopped being just a job a while ago.”

I stiffen.

Gabriel doesn’t.

Xander’s nostrils flare. “You really have a soft spot for those sheep, don’t you, buddy?” His jaw turns to stone.

Shit.

We’re doing this. Today. And here I was, hoping maybe we could tell Xander after closing the case, when there’s no more danger and just the sticky situationship.

Poppy and Daisy keep eating, oblivious, and I’m grateful for that.

Gabriel meets Xander’s gaze, steady and unflinching. “Yes, I do. Always have. You know that.”

No denial. No apology. My heart does a swan dive. He’s never admitted feelings for me to anyone but me. It makes it so real. But there’s also no turning back.

Xander looks at me, then back to Gabriel.

We both know him well. He’s not any more ready for that conversation than we are.

Not here anyway. We can’t go into it in front of the girls.

Even worse than Xander, I would hate for them to think that Auntie Lara and Grumpzilla were together only for it to fall apart. They’d be heartbroken.

Xander scratches his forehead for a moment, staring at the table, and when he returns to the conversation, it’s about the stalker again. “So, what now?”

Gabriel glances down at his coffee, then back up. “Now,” he offers me a brief kindred moment, “…now we will go after the moles.”

“Jesus…” Xan sips his coffee, “I’m starting to need a glossary for this conversation.”

Gabriel reassures him. “You know I have it covered. I have the sheep covered…”

Why do I have to be a goddamn sheep?

“… And we have GhostEye helping now. Rio has assigned some manpower. I’m not messing around, Young. I want this over as much as you do.’’

Xander nods, and his gaze flicks between us again. “And after that? You going to keep the sheep here? In Echo Valley?”

Gabriel and I don’t answer because we don’t have one.

Xander leans forward, elbows on the table. “Figure it out.”

That one hits. I feel it more than I hear it.

Then Poppy pipes up, oblivious. “If we pass the cactus test, can we get two dogs?”

Gabriel smiles. Just barely. “Goldfish next, nina.”

Xander doesn’t circle back round. Not yet. He just drinks his thick coffee while the girls argue about whether their test plant should have glitter in the pot.

I don’t even try to join in. Not when I know what’s coming next.

Because this isn’t the kind of thing Xander lets go. There’s going to be a conversation back at the ranch when the girls beg to see the horses. It’ll be one I’m not invited to.

Gabriel’s going to get pulled aside for the warning. The “don’t hurt my sister” speech. The all-knowing big brother stare down. And the worst part?

I won’t get to hear what’s said, and Gabriel and I have no idea where we stand. How can Gabriel defend us without knowing what he’s fighting for? Does he even want an us?

I wish we could keep this thing between Gabriel and me for a little longer. Just until I know what we are. Before anyone else gets to have an opinion. But that window’s officially closed. And no matter how cool Xander is pretending to be right now, I know him.

Casual is unacceptable when it comes to me.

It’s not that I think Gabriel can’t handle it; he can.

But I’m not sure I can. Not if Xander starts picking apart the parts of G I haven’t even figured out how to love yet.

I haven’t seen what he spoke about, not yet.

I don’t know how dark he gets. I only saw him the one time in the apartment, and he did… disappear.

Trauma turns some people into ghosts.

Like the one Gabriel became to us all for years.

I can’t stand the tension.

But Gabriel’s cell breaks it. He shifts and takes it out of his pocket and stares at the screen.

“What is it?” I ask, already bracing.

He turns the screen toward me.

A text from Rio with some big news.

RIO

KEVIN AND BELINDA ALSO RUN THREE OTHER CHARITIES UNDER FAKE IDENTITIES. THIS WOULD BE SERIOUS TIME. ENOUGH TO WANT TO SILENCE LARA. GET BACK AS SOON AS YOU CAN TO MAKE A PLAN.

The coffee goes bitter in my mouth.

Xander’s watching us. Gabriel’s phone is lit up with evidence that Kevin is more dangerous than I ever imagined. And my own heart is pounding, reckless and traitorous, because Gabriel told my brother without words that I’m his.

I wanted more time before the world knew. Before Xander had an opinion. Before danger had teeth. But time’s up.

Gabriel and I don’t even know what we are yet, and already we’re standing in the open with a target painted on both our backs.