Blood Strangers: Behind Closed Doors: Family Secrets

by Hinze, Vicki

  The look on his face grew tender. “It meant the most to you.”

  It did. “How did you get it?”

  “A minor case of breaking and entering. You really should not leave a key in one of those rocks at the foot of the stairs to your front door, Gabby. Everyone knows about those rocks, and it was the only one around.”

  “But the alarm?”

  “A little bypass on the system. I reset it when I left.”

  She sniffed again, swiped at her tears with her napkin. “You are definitely a man of many talents.” She stood and hugged him hard, then stepped back. “Thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome.” He lifted his arms. “You look pretty happy.”

  “Oh, I am.”

  He smiled. “Then I believe that means I won the bet.”

  She set the box aside, stood and walked into his waiting arms. “And that means I owe you a kiss.”

  “A real one, not a peck. Your neighbor’s dog threatened to come across the fence at me.”

  “Bruiser is not a friendly pup.”

  “He’s not a pup. He’s a Great Dane nearly the size of a small horse, and he could rip my head off.”

  “Probably could.” She kissed him deeply, then pulled back and kissed him again, losing herself in sensation.

  “Two kisses. For that, I’d risk Bruiser again. Anything else you want from there?”

  “Afraid not,” she said softly. “Everything I want is right here.”

  The look in his eyes warmed. “I knew it’d be like this between us.”

  Gabby let him see the truth in her own eyes. “I hoped it would be.”

  “I’m glad to know that.” He hugged her to him. A long second later, he pulled away. “Really glad.” He cupped her face in his hands. “On that high note, I need to go.”

  “Okay.” Her disappointment must have showed.

  “I have to be on Main Street at 9:30 in the morning.”

  “Ah, so you’ve been recruited, too.” The smile in her heart touched her eyes.

  “Every year,” he confessed. “I help Pastor Ruther set up the podium for the blessing of the fleet.” Plumber stepped away and retrieved his jacket from the chair at the breakfast bar. “What time do you have to be there?”

  “Nine-thirty. I’m helping Kelly and Lys put some fencing on the dock. Kelly’s worried the little ones could step off and into the water.”

  “That’s because when she was a little one, she did.”

  “You went in after her.”

  “Actually, I did.” He shivered. “That water was so cold.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  He paused. “Want to ride in together?”

  “Sure.”

  “That’ll work.” Plumber shrugged into his jacket. “I’ll be here at 9:15.”

  That confused her. “Where are you staying?”

  “In the farmhouse next door.”

  “Of course. I’ll walk over.”

  He started toward the door.

  “By the way,” she said. “Who do I owe for the Malibu?”

  “No one. The Mustang took care of it.”

  “But the Mustang was totaled in the crash.” Now, she was really confused.

  “I couldn’t do it,” he confessed, doing his best to look sheepish. “You loved that car.”

  She had. But that mattering to him surprised her. “So, what car crashed in the accident where I died?”

  “A Mustang.”

  He’d switched the vehicles. That explained how it had gotten to Florida so fast. “And Medros’s goons inspected it and thought it was mine?”

  He nodded. “Simple change of VIN plate, tags, and such.”

  The troops had gone to a lot of extra trouble. She almost felt guilty about that. Almost. But guilt paled compared to knowing her Mustang survived even if she hadn’t. “Where’s my Mustang?”

  He smiled enigmatically. “Safely tucked away for another day.”

  A little laugh escaped her. “All I can say is, if a body has to die to live, you and the troops are definitely the people to have on your side, making it happen.”

  He winked. “For the troops, it’s anything for our Gate Keeper.”

  Plumber had excluded himself. She didn’t know what to think about that.

  “For me, it’s anything for you.” He winked at her then walked toward the door and said over his shoulder. “Lock it.”

  She walked over and locked the door, grinning like an idiot, happier than she’d ever been in her life.

  Amazing. Just amazing. Who could have imagined that life after death—okay, life after fake death—could be so good? So full of promise for everything her heart ever had desired?

  It was a miracle.

  Her Grandmother’s book of soap recipes and her Mustang spared and safe?

  More miracles.

  And Shadow Watcher—er, Plumber?

  Okay, hands down, a fistful of miracles.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Tuesday, December 15, 9:00 a.m.

  Gabby had tested her first batch of soaps twice and they’d made the cut. She inserted them in the sample packaging she had ordered and dropped them into colorful Christmas gift bags. The brownies she’d loaded into Christmas tins and stacked them on the end of the breakfast bar.

  Rushing to get a second cup of coffee down before 9:10, she rinsed the cup at the sink, put on her hat, coat and gloves and scooped up the goodies, then headed for the door. As she reached for the doorknob, she heard someone knocking. Startled, she juggled the tins and spilled them onto the side-table to keep from dropping them. How long would it take to stop jumping out of her skin every time someone came to the door?

  “Gabby, it’s me.”

  Plumber. Her heart got out of her throat and back into her chest where it belonged. She opened the door. “Good morning.”

  “I’m early.”

  Like her, he’d dressed in jeans and a heavy sweater under his coat. “Three minutes or so, but I’m ready.” She reached for the brownie tins on the little table.

  He wiggled a fingertip between the giftbags looped at her wrist to the tins. “What’s all this?”

  “Sample soaps and brownies.” She passed the stack of tins to him. “The soaps are promised, and I thought the workers might like a snack.”

  “The people here are going to love you,” he predicted. “One thing Christmas Covers love almost as much as the holidays is food.”

  She laughed. “Christmas Covers. Is that what the residents call themselves?”

  “Typically, it’s just Covers.”

  “That’s a clever way to differentiate between locals and tourists.”

  “I guess. Never really thought about it. Just grew up with it, you know?”

  She had no idea what that was like but nodded anyway.

  They locked up then went outside and climbed into his white Jeep. “Who did you promise the soaps?” he asked.

  Gabby clicked her seatbelt into place. “Alyce Crawley at the coffeeshop, Mimi Taylor—she crafts the best ornaments, doesn’t she?”

  “The kids love decorating their own. The adults, too, for that matter.” He cranked the engine and put the Jeep into Drive.

  “And Leigh Pace at Patchwork Needle.” Her quilts and quilted items were unusual and just gorgeous.

  “And the rest?” he asked. “I’m counting six bags.” He pulled onto the road to the business district and headed toward Main Street and the docks that were located at the foot of it.

  “The triple threat.” The Jeep hit a bump, and Gabby grabbed the door.

  “I’ll go with you to make the deliveries.”

  “I don’t want to slow you down.”

  Plumber shrugged. “You won’t.”

  The stores were less than a block apart, so the deliveries went swiftly. “I have an ulterior motive for going with you,” Plumber said. “I want to show you something.”

  “Okay.” Gabby had no idea what to expect. It seemed everyone here knew and liked him. A
ll three of the women, Alyce, Mimi and Leigh, had hugged and chastised him for staying gone so long this time. Alyce actually had told Gabby she needed to see to it he came home more often. That flustered Gabby. Why would Alyce think Gabby had any control over Plumber’s schedule or activities?

  At the corner of Main and First, across the street from the bank, he pulled to the curb. “We’re here.”

  Her heart pounded hard. He’d parked directly in front of the little store with the wide front window and the old-fashioned green door. She loved that storefront. On first sight, she had imagined Gabby’s Treasures there.

  “When you were talking about your store, this place came to mind. It’s empty. I thought you could take a look.” He walked right to the door and inserted an old skeleton key into the lock. “What would you think about opening Gabby’s Treasures here?”

  She stepped inside. A long wooden counter stretched halfway down the right side of the expanse. A few shelves hung stacked on the wall behind it, and the backside of the counter was all cabinets for storage. The rest of the shop was empty. White walls, tile floor—a blank slate. Almost breathless, Gabby said, “It’s on Main and First.”

  “You said in the business district,” Plumber reminded her, sounding uncertain. “Do you like it?”

  She paused and turned to face him, her emotions in riot. “This is the shop I dreamed on, Plumber.”

  “Nightmare or good dream?” He stuffed a hand into his jacket pocket. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “When I was here earlier, I stood on the sidewalk and looked in through the window, and I imagined exactly what I wanted my store to look like. I promised myself that one day I’d have a brick-and-mortar Gabby’s Treasures here.”

  “So, you do like it, then?” He relaxed and walked around the counter, then leaned against it and watched her walk around and dream some more.

  “It’s perfect.” She shimmied her delight. “I love it.”

  “I had a feeling you would. Well, I hoped you would.” He smiled. “It so happens I own it.”

  Gabby spun to face him. “You own this building?” Kelly had mentioned he owned a storefront, but not this one. Gabby’d had no idea.

  “This store, yes.”

  “And you’ll sell it to me?”

  “No, it’s not for sale, but I’ll give you a long-term or a short-term lease. Whatever you want.”

  Gabby squealed her delight and rounded the corner to hug him. “Thank you, Plumber.”

  “It’s good for me, too. Empty shops on Main Street make for lousy business. Everyone hates that.” He chuckled. “But I do love seeing you happy, Gabby.”

  “I am ecstatically happy.” She looked up at him. “Do you have a list of my dreams or something?”

  “Do you have a list of your dreams?”

  “I do now.” She cocked her head. “It’s as if you know what I want before I know it, and you somehow make it happen. I find that kind of odd.”

  “Some would call it being attuned to you.” He shrugged. “But I don’t mind odd, so long as you’re smiling when you say it.”

  She sobered and let him see her earnest sincerity. “No one has cared whether or not I smiled before, and certainly not if I dreamed. You do.” The certainty in that rested tenderly on her shoulders. “I’m grateful for you, Plumber.”

  “I’m grateful for you, too, Gabby.” He touched a hand to her cheek. “I’ve waited a long time for you.”

  She managed a shaky smile. “Thank you for that, too.”

  He smiled, then stepped back. “We’ll work out the details on this later. Right now, we have to go. Pastor Ruther is waiting, and he isn’t the most patient man in the world.”

  She’d noticed and been warned about that. “Just tell me I can afford this place,” she said, walking toward the front window, already imagining a table for four there with flowers and a teapot on it. There would always be hot tea at Gabby’s Treasures. She could barely contain her excitement.

  “Absolutely, you can.” He smiled and opened the door.

  Reluctant to go, she stepped out onto the sidewalk and looked back. In her mind, she saw a rectangular brass sign on the wall beside the door with Gabby’s Treasures etched into it. “This is . . .” She couldn’t find the words.

  “What?” Plumber locked up then fell into step beside her.

  “Overwhelming.” Her voice sounded husky, frail. Was it possible for your heart to feel this full?

  “When you do what you love in a place you love, and you build a life you love, things have a way of falling into place.”

  “But it’s all so perfect.” She stopped on the sidewalk. “Perfect happens to other people. It doesn’t happen to me.”

  “Didn’t.” He lifted his eyebrows, challenging her. “It does now.”

  Because of him. “You overwhelm me.”

  “You matter to me, Gabby.” They walked down to the pier.

  “You matter to me, too.” In the distance, Gabby saw Lys and Sara, pulling a roll of fencing out of the backend of a van with Sara Blossoms written on its side. “I’m late.”

  “So am I,” Plumber said. “But it was worth it. See you in a bit.”

  “Take some brownies to the guys. It’ll put them in a forgiving mood.”

  “Good idea.” He grabbed two tins and took off in a sprint toward a clearing where Pastor Ruther and a small gaggle of men stood talking.

  Gabby walked on and spoke to Lys. “Hey, I thought you had a poacher to catch.”

  “Kelly had an emergency,” Lys said. “Some report she has to get done before she can come down here, so I’m helping Sara. Besides, it’s almost Christmas.”

  Gabby passed her a tin of brownies and read between the lines. Lys didn’t want to lockup anyone this close to Christmas.

  Sara snagged a tin. “Mine, right?”

  “Absolutely.” Gabby grinned. “I know your sweet tooth is in overdrive all the time.”

  “I love your brownies. You’ve got to sell them at Gabby’s Treasures.” Sara opened the tin and bit into one.

  “These are for Kelly. No snitching, Sara.” Gabby set Kelly’s tin in the open backend of the van. “So, what should I do?”

  “First things first.” Lys parked a hand on her hip. “You can answer a question everyone in Christmas Cove wants answered.”

  Sara swatted at her. “You’re as subtle as mud, Lys.”

  “What? I want to know, I ask. And I refuse to be lectured to by a woman with brownie crumbs all down the front of her shirt.” Lys dipped her chin. “Gabby doesn’t have to answer.”

  “Answer what?” Gabby asked her.

  “Are you and Plumber a thing, or what?” Lys shrugged. “You clearly have known each other a while.”

  “About five years. Maybe a little longer.” It’d been five years and two months. Exactly.

  “I told you.” Lys turned to Sara.

  “But you were in an abusive relationship,” Sara said. “I assumed, with your husband.”

  Gabby’s face heated. “I’ve never been married,” she said, refusing to lie to her friends.

  “Plumber hasn’t either,” Lys said. “Which has dismayed many a woman around here, and their mothers.”

  “I told you a long time ago he was in love with someone from away.” Sara’s eyes sparkled. “It’s been you all along.”

  Gabby laughed, nervous at being put on the spot. “I don't think so.”

  “So, you do or do not have a thing?” Lys tugged at a roll of fencing and dropped it to the ground, then leaned it against the van’s bumper.

  “To be honest, I’m not sure. We care about each other. Beyond that, I don’t know.”

  “They do.” Sara looked knowingly at Lys. “Plumber has never brought anyone here before, and he’s never gotten serious about anyone for as long as I’ve known him.”

  “How long have you known him?” Gabby asked, relieved to hear he wasn’t married and this insightful tidbit from Sara.

  “His whole life.”<
br />
  “Fair warning,” Lys said. “We saw the way he looks at you. He’s all in. If you’re not serious about him, don’t play games.”

  “I don’t play games,” Gabby assured her. She did have a thing for Plumber, and unless her instincts were totally off, he had one for her, too. But that was something he’d have to reveal to them when and if he saw fit. “I wouldn’t know where to begin playing games.”

  “All right, then.” Lys looked beyond Gabby’s shoulder. Her expression turned tense. “Uh-oh.”

  Gabby instinctively turned to see what was wrong.

  A flustered Kelly was running down the middle of the street toward them. “Where’s Plumber?”

  “What’s wrong, Kelly?” Lys asked.

  “The Chief laid down the law. If I don't get this report uploaded to the system in the next thirty minutes, he’s going to fire me. That’s what’s wrong.”

  “It’s been due for a week.”

  “I know that, Sara. I’ve been busy getting the cottage ready.”

  Gabby had created problems for her. “I’m sorry, Kelly.”

  “So, if you’ve got thirty minutes, what are you doing here?” Leave it to Lys to cut through the clutter.

  Kelly looked a shade shy of panic. “Something fritzed out in the computer and it keeps eating my report, which is why I need Plumber.”