Felicity’s eyes met his, large blue pools of sadness.
“That’s what I’m seeing,” Carson confirmed. “She needs a better lock.”
Felicity’s chin tipped up. “I’ll buy one at the hardware store.”
Her voice was calmer than it had been an hour before when Honor and Willow dragged her into the security office. Gabe hadn’t been invited to that meeting, but voices carried through the walls, and he’d heard every word before Carson called him in to assist.
Carson turned to face them, dusting off his palms. “I know you’re not asking for our help, Felicity, but we’re giving it. We’re on the job now, so you contact me or Gabe.”
She opened her mouth and closed it again.
“All right. I have to get back for that meeting.” Carson looked at Gabe. “For the time being, you’re off ranch work and on security detail, at least until the rest of the team returns.”
“Copy.” The military response leapt off his lips before he could think about it.
Carson nodded once, then turned to Felicity. His tone gentled. With a wife, a sister and so many women living under the same roof, he’d probably learned how to talk to them.
“Hang in there, honey. We’ve got your six.”
Felicity blinked at him, eyes going wider, like she wasn’t used to people stepping in on her behalf.
“Thank you,” she managed quietly.
Carson left, and silence hovered over the shop.
Gabe turned to her. “Let’s head to the hardware store now. No point in delaying.”
It took her a moment to process what he said, then she nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”
She paused in the parking lot, wondering if the short walk would be good for her or tax her energy more.
In the end, she climbed behind the wheel of her SUV, and he slid in beside her. Even with the seat pushed all the way back, his knees still bumped the glove compartment.
He tried not to look like a giant in a toy car, but the quick smile that ghosted over her lips told him she’d noticed.
She started the engine. For a beat, she didn’t back out, just looked at him. He looked back. The air between them felt electrified. Suddenly, he was very aware he was alone with a beautiful woman for the first time in…hell, years.
Her lashes swept downward, as if she felt it too. Then she shifted into reverse. When she twisted to watch where she was going, he caught the sweet scent of her perfume.
He knew all too well that being around people, new, old, or in between, turned him into the most awkward version of himself. After his sister dragged him to that party, his nerves hummed for two days.
He didn’t feel any of that with Felicity. Even in the midst of the chaos that was her current life, she had the sort of presence that made his world…quieter.
She turned onto the street. “I know you left the ranch for a time. Were you around before or after the exit off the interstate closed?”
“Before. I didn’t know it was closed until I drove in yesterday and had to cut across back roads.”
She gestured at the empty streets. He didn’t see the streets, but he did notice how delicate her wrists were and that she wore a dainty ring on her pinky finger made of beads the color of a blue jay.
“You can see how it’s affected our town.”
Our town. As if he belonged here too.
Maybe he did.
He inflated his lungs and found it easier to release the air. “I admit, I didn’t come into town very much before. But the few times I did, there was a lot more traffic.”
She took a turn leading to the parking lot behind the hardware store. After she parked, he unwedged himself from the front seat and waited for her on the sidewalk so they could enter together.
