Page 107 of Guarded Knight

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, “…coyoteproblem 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.