by Debbie Mason
“No, we’re going to roast s’mores over the fire,” Gabe said. He had to come up with something good or Teddy would put up a fuss. And there was no way he was letting Abby within ten feet of his youngest again. “Come on, let’s see if the twins are back. Maybe Oliver and Brooks will want to have s’mores with us.”
“Aw, do you hear that, guys? The Maitlands and Buchanans are having a nice family outing today. By the way, Chief, my followers shared a clip from our interview, and you’re trending as hashtag HighlandFallsHotCop on social media.”
“That’s great. Thanks a lot,” he muttered, but Abby must’ve missed the sarcasm because she shared his thanks with her followers.
“Aren’t you glad you suggested we come?” Mallory said as they walked outside with Teddy between them. Unlike Abby, he picked up on the sarcasm in Mallory’s voice.
As they approached Hunter, who’d drawn a crowd with his wood carving, Gabe said, “Any chance you can hide your wife’s phone?”
Hunter smiled. “You’re not the first one who’s asked me that today.” He glanced at Mallory. “So did your dad.”
Teddy’s eyes went wide. “You have a dad?”
She nodded. “Yes, I do.”
“Her dad’s right over there.” Hunter lifted his chin at a booth across the way. “He makes glass ornaments. You should check them out. They’re pretty cool. Oliver and Brooks just headed over there.”
“Come on, Mallory. Let’s go.”
“Okay,” she said, reluctantly letting Teddy lead her away. He had a feeling if Oliver and Brooks weren’t already deep in conversation with her father, she would’ve done whatever she had to to distract Teddy. Even if it meant tracking down Abby.
Gabe hung back as Hunter talked to some potential customers and someone he’d served with in Afghanistan. Hunter glanced at him when the others had moved away. “You planning on giving me hell?”
“No, just wondering what that was all about. You gotta know it’s not easy for her being around her old man.”
“Yeah, and you know as well as I do that the two of them have to talk or you wouldn’t have ordered Boyd and Owen to do community service at the senior center. Mallory outmaneuvered you on that one, didn’t she?” He laughed, brushing wood shavings off the carving before looking up at Gabe. “Boyd’s hurting, and so is she. He’s a good man, Gabe. He hasn’t touched a drop of moonshine since Mallory came to town last summer. Hasn’t made any either. Got back to him that he was being used to embarrass her.”
“You know, that’s the most I think I’ve ever heard you say at one time,” Gabe said.
“Yeah, well, you can blame Abby.”
“Blame me for what?” She appeared at Gabe’s side. “Hey, where’s Wolf and Bella?”
“Mallory’s stepsons have them,” Hunter said.
“Cute. Where are they?” She looked around, and her mouth dropped. “Mal’s talking to her dad. Oh my gosh.”
Her phone went up, and Gabe covered her hand with his and pulled it down. “No. If you want to go over and be supportive, fine. But your phone stays in your pocket.”
She smiled and cocked her head. “I was right, wasn’t I? You are totally falling for my best friend.” She patted his arm. “Don’t worry, she’s head over heels for you, even if she doesn’t know it yet.”
She headed for the booth but turned back. “I put the family of three deer on hold for you. They’ll look perfect in Mallory’s front yard.” At what must’ve been his blank look, she shook her head. “For her appearance on my channel tomorrow. I know the case social services had against her is technically closed, but I don’t trust Kayla McPherson as far as I could throw her. I mean, you saw how she was at Monday’s meeting. Anyway, it’s a good cause so buy my best friend the deer. She’ll love them, and if you could put up some Christmas lights, that would be awesome.”
Gabe stared after her, then gave his head a slight shake. “How much for the deer?”
“No charge. Just don’t tell anyone else. I’ve got thirty orders for these things already.” He watched Abby with a smile on his face. Then he said to Gabe, “You know, she’s doing this to boost Mallory’s popularity, but from where I’m sitting, the person whose reputation could use a boost is yours. What did you do to Dot and her friends?”
“It’s got nothing to do with me. It’s your buddy Owen who’s the problem. He’s at the station so often they think I pushed him out.”
“Yeah, he hasn’t really taken to retirement. But this should keep him busy until the—” Hunter got up from the stool he’d been sitting on. “Okay, so Mallory’s reputation might need some rehabilitation after all.”
Gabe was just about to ask him what he was talking about when he heard a woman yelling and turned to see Mallory standing between Oliver and another kid. The woman who was yelling was none other than Dot McFee. Gabe didn’t recognize the broad-shouldered teenager with the buzz cut, but from Dot’s reaction, it had to be her grandson Dirk. There were a couple guys behind him wearing football jerseys that seemed to validate Gabe’s hunch.
“You need a hand?” Hunter asked.
“Appreciate the offer, but I think I can handle it. If I can’t, I should hand in my badge. I’ll be back for the deer, and I’ll make a donation to the Liz Findlay Foundation,” he said, then jogged over to where the standoff continued.
“Your grandson pushed my son, Dot. I got in the middle of them to de-escalate the situation. I put up my hands, and Dirk walked into them. I didn’t touch him or shove him on purpose.”
“We’ll see about that. Here comes the chief now.”
Oh great. Dot was probably going to try to get him to arrest Mallory again. Except she was looking past him. He glanced over his shoulder to see she’d been talking about the former chief of police.
“What’s going on here?” Owen said, moseying on over with the twins in tow.
Gabe decided to keep his mouth shut and see where this went. He had a feeling it might actually go his way for a change. Owen had appointed himself and Boyd as Mallory’s secret Santas, so it’s not like he’d take Dot’s side against hers. Gabe tried to share that with Mallory in a silent eye exchange, but she was staring at Dot.
“You can’t seriously be standing within a couple feet of Gabe—you know, the actual police chief—and think you can have Owen intervene,” Mallory said.
Gabe’s hopes of the situation de-escalating just went out the window. He didn’t realize exactly how far out the window they’d gone until Mallory added, “The man who you’ve spent the last several months deriding and campaigning to get rid of—he’s not just some small-town cop with no experience, you know. He was a big-city homicide detective, and he gave up the job that he loved and a job that he was incredibly good at for his sons. Maybe you should think about his boys when you—”
“Doc, it’s okay. I appreciate what—”
“I am not finished. She has no idea that she’s putting your boys at risk. None at all. Except from what I’ve seen, she probably wouldn’t care. All she cares about is putting Owen back in office. Well, have I got news for you. Your precious Owen, who you think can do no wrong, he—”
Gabe moved in and took Mallory by the arm in hopes of leading her away before she made everything a whole lot worse. “Doc, you don’t want to go—”
She shook off his hand without looking at him. “Owen shot Gabe. That’s right, he shot the chief of police, and Gabe’s been protecting him all along.”
Owen took off his cowboy hat and rubbed his head. “Now wait a minute. You’re making it sound like I shot him on purpose.”
“You shot my dad?” Dylan and Cody said at almost the same time, their eyes narrowed and their hands balled at their sides.
Worried what they might do, Gabe said, “Boys, come—” he began, and then felt a small hand slip into his. “Why did he shoot you? I thought he was one of the good guys,” Teddy said, his bottom lip trembling.
Mallory gasped and met his gaze. Putting a hand over her mouth,
she closed her eyes and shook her head as though just realizing what she’d done in the heat of the moment.
Boyd came out from his booth. “It wasn’t Owen who shot your dad, boys. It was me. And I’m very sorry. I never meant to hurt him. Me and Owen were fighting, and the gun went off. You know I never intended to hurt you, Chief Buchanan, but my daughter is right.” He put his hands together and raised them to chest level. “You should arrest me.”
“Probably drunk on his moonshine,” Dot scoffed, crossing her arms.
“Put your damn hands down, Boyd. I was as much responsible for shooting Gabe as you. We were behaving like a pair of old fools, fighting with a loaded shotgun between us. We’re just lucky no one got killed.” Owen turned to Dot. “You keep your yap closed. No call for casting aspersions against Boyd. He’s been off the juice for months now.”
Owen glanced at Gabe, rubbing the side of his face as he looked around at the crowd of people. “And stop petitioning the mayor to get rid of him, Dot. I don’t want the job, and he’d be damn fine at it if you’d give him half a chance.” He waved his cowboy hat at the crowd, shooing them away. “What are you all doing standing around? Show’s over. Go enjoy yourself. That goes for you, too, boys. And I don’t wanna hear that you and your friends have been giving Oliver here a hard time, Dirk. The Maitland boys are new to town. Highland Falls prides itself on making strangers feel like they’ve come home. Isn’t that right, Dot?”
She sniffed and lifted her chin. “Sounds to me like you’ve been drinking Boyd’s shine, chi—Owen Campbell. Come on, boys. There’s a tree farm in the next county.” She raised her voice. “Trees are much nicer at Evergreen Tree Farm.” She flounced off with her grandson and his friends following behind.
Owen watched her walk away, turning the brim of his hat between his fingers. “Sorry, Gabe. I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten with Dot. I’ll go by tomorrow, smooth things over with her. She won’t give you any more trouble. You have my word.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that, Owen.” Gabe glanced at Mallory as she came to stand beside him.
“I…” She bit her bottom lip, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I was just so mad that boy was bullying Oliver, and I hadn’t known about it, and then when Dot started bullying you, Gabe, something inside me just snapped. I was worried you were going to lose your job, and your mother-in-law would have an excuse to take the boys. I—” She looked around and bowed her head at the shocked expressions on their audience’s faces. “What’s wrong with me?”
“You’re exhausted, for one.” He rubbed her shoulder. “It’s okay, Doc. Can’t say I’m a fan of airing my dirty laundry in front of a crowd. But in the end, you probably did me a favor.”
Her father approached with a box in his hand and crouched in front of Teddy and the twins, who’d moved to stand beside Gabe. “Dylan, Cody, and Teddy, I’m really sorry that I hurt your daddy.” He opened the box. It was a beautiful handblown Christmas ornament. “I don’t have much, but I thought you might like this for your tree. If you can think of something I can do to make this right between us, I’d appreciate you telling me.”
Owen came to stand beside Boyd, reaching down to give his once-best-friend’s shoulder a squeeze. “Same goes for me. Boyd’s taking all the blame, but I’m as much at fault as him. So, if there’s anything we can do for you kids to make it better, you let us know—you hear?”
“We’ll think about it,” Cody and Dylan said at almost the same time, then looked up at Gabe.
He nudged his head at the two older men and the twins offered their hands. Boyd and Owen looked relieved at their offer of forgiveness. Teddy surprised him by staying silent. His little peacemaker didn’t seem quite ready to forgive and forget as he cradled the gift box to his chest.
All of them watched as Teddy’s gaze moved from Boyd to Owen. “Okay, we’ll forgive you for hurting my dad. But you have to promise not to hurt him again and not to let anyone else hurt him.”
The two older men nodded solemnly. “You got a deal, son,” Boyd said.
“I’m not done,” Teddy said, and Boyd and Owen shared a look. “You gotta put up Christmas lights at Mallory’s house and you have to make it look really special because she’s going to be on Abby’s YouTube channel, and we want everyone to like her and to see how good a mom she is.”
“We can do that,” Owen said slowly, glancing at Mallory as though doubtful she’d let them on her property.
Teddy nodded and then turned his attention to Boyd. “And you need to promise to be a good dad to Mallory and a good Pop Pop to Oliver and Brooks, cuz they don’t have any family, and they need one.”
“I haven’t been a good daddy to Mallory, son. But if she’d let me, I’d like to try and change that. And I’ll do my best to be a good Pop Pop to Oliver and Brooks. Because you’re right, Teddy: everyone needs a family.” He turned to Owen and held out his hand. “And everyone needs a friend who has their back, even if they didn’t see it at the time.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Mallory sat cross-legged on the middle of her bed, tapping under her eyes with her fingers. After her embarrassing outburst at the tree farm today, she was desperate to find a solution for her insomnia. She’d been on the Internet for over an hour when she came across a forum for insomniacs. Several women swore that they’d tapped their insomnia away, and several others said CBT—cognitive behavioral therapy—had worked for them.
At this point, Mallory was up for anything. But there were no CBT practitioners in the area, and the more she looked into EFT, emotional freedom techniques, or tapping, as it was more commonly known, she understood from a scientific standpoint how it might work. The technique was based on several different alternative therapies—acupuncture, neurolinguistic programming, and energy medicine.
She’d downloaded the app on her phone and was now trying to tap her cortisol levels to a manageable quantity. While tapping on the acupuncture points, she gave voice to her fears and emotional triggers as the woman on the app had instructed.
Words like guilt, shame, unwanted, and unloved kept coming out of her mouth. She thought the guilt and shame came from not being able to save Harry, although the shame probably went hand in hand with the feelings of being unloved and unwanted.
Except right now, as she tapped those feelings out, she saw her father’s face when he apologized to Gabe’s boys, when he promised to be a better father to her and a Pop Pop to Oliver and Brooks. Time had stood still for a moment, and the little girl she’d remembered that morning as she twirled in the freshly falling snow had turned to look at her. Listen, she’d said. Do you hear him? she’d asked. You were wrong; he loved you.
“Mallory, hurry! It’s Teddy.” Brooks pounded on her bedroom door.
She scrubbed her damp cheeks, grabbed her phone, and jumped off the bed. She opened the door to Brooks, Dylan, and Cody standing in the hall, clearly panicked. “What’s wrong?”
“Dad said to come get you. Teddy can’t breathe. Hurry.” Cody grabbed her hand. “We have to hurry.”
“Okay, calm down,” she said, even though her heart had begun to race. Bringing her phone to her ear, she ran back into her bedroom to grab her bag. “Gabe.”
“Doc, you gotta get over here. He’s bad.”
“I’m coming. I just need to grab a few things. Have you used his rescue inhaler?”
“Yes, but it expired last week.” He swore. “How could I not—”
“It’s okay. They may lose some of their strength over time but they can be used for up to a year after they’ve expired. Do you use a spacer with his inhaler? It makes a difference.”
“I don’t know where it is.”
“I’ve got one. Get Teddy in—” She broke off, hearing Oliver tell Gabe that he’d started the shower. He must’ve run over there as soon as Cody and Dylan came to the door. “That’s good, the steam should help. I’m coming now,” she said, sliding on her boots. “
Do you have a humidifier?”
“I think so. It’s okay, honey. Yes, Mallory’s coming. She’s coming right now.”
“Brooks, sweetie, go get the humidifier from under the bathroom sink and bring it over, okay?” she said, her voice tight from holding back a swell of emotion that came from Teddy asking for her.
Brooks nodded. “Is he going to be okay, Mal?”
“He’s going to be just fine.” She prayed it wasn’t a lie as she ran out the door and raced across the snow-covered driveway to Gabe’s. The fact that Teddy could speak, even though he was struggling to breathe, brought some relief. She couldn’t bring herself to ask Gabe if Teddy’s lips or fingernails were pale or, God forbid, had turned blue. A cursory examination would give her the answer. If she didn’t like what she saw, she’d call 911 immediately.
Dylan held open the door for her as he fought back tears. Cody had already raced inside. She gave Dylan a quick hug. “He’s going to be okay, sweetie,” she said, then ran down the hall to the steam-filled bathroom right behind Cody.
She patted Oliver’s back, proud of him for racing to Teddy and Gabe’s aid. Her eyes went to Gabe, who sat on the floor with Teddy. The little boy was wearing a pair of red fleece pajamas and was sitting between Gabe’s legs with his head resting on Gabe’s chest.
She knelt down in front of them and smiled as she took out her stethoscope, putting it around her neck. “Did you know your daddy thinks this is my magic carpet bag? Just like the one that Mary Poppins has?”
“No,” Teddy said.
Even from where she knelt, she could hear the crackle and wheeze in his chest. “Well, he does. And you know what?” she said, taking Teddy’s wrist between her fingers to check his pulse, pleased to see that his nail beds were a healthy pink. “He’s right. I have a special machine that’s going to help you breathe right away. But first, let’s loosen your pajama top. Maybe just take it off, Gabe.” She’d been avoiding looking at him directly, knowing what she’d see. A father desperately worried about his baby boy. A man who’d already lost the mother of that child.
