Caleb snorted. “You won’t win that argument, Gabe.”
He sent Caleb the kind of glare he reserved for psychotic criminals.
Caleb raised his hands. “I get the message. We’re in a stressful situation and we’re doing the best we can. Do you want me to take Sherlock back to my place?”
Gabe glanced at the furry black shadow sound asleep on the sofa. “I’ll take him. Can you take some of Natalie’s art supplies in your truck?”
“Sure.”
Natalie stood. “I might as well show you what I need.” Her blue eyes focused on Gabe. “I hope we’re doing the right thing.”
“Staying here would be worse.” And for the first time, he was one hundred percent sure they were doing the right thing.
* * *
Kathleen foldedher clothes and placed them in her suitcase. “I don’t understand why someone would be stalking Gabe.”
“Neither do I, but Gabe and Caleb think it’s best if we leave the cottage.” Natalie hadn’t told her mom the whole truth about why they were leaving. She didn’t need to know about the warehouse or that the chance of something else happening was extremely high.
“How long are you staying with Caleb?”
“No more than a few days.”
Kathleen stopped packing. “How will you know it’s safe to return to the cottage?”
Natalie had been wondering the same thing. “When the police arrest the stalker or at least identify him.”
Kathleen pursed her lips. “That doesn’t give me much comfort. Come home with me to Indianapolis. We have to pack your paintings and art supplies, anyway. We could leave them in their boxes and ship them to my house.”
“I want to stay in Sapphire Bay,” Natalie said.
“Why?”
“I belong here. I love everything about living in a small town.”
“Including the person who posted the article on social media?”
Natalie handed her mom a jacket. “It was Mabel. She didn’t know I wanted to stay out of the spotlight.”
Kathleen frowned. “I’ve known Mabel for years. She should have asked if it was all right. How would she feel if someone broke into the general store and posted information all over the Internet? And what about Gabe? He doesn’t need any distractions and neither do you.”
“Have you read his stories?”
Kathleen picked up a book from beside the bed. “I’m reading the first one now. I can hardly put it down.” She added it to her suitcase, then looked around the room. “I think that’s everything. Do you need a hand with your art supplies?”
“Caleb and I have packed most of what I need. I just need to take my photographs with me.”
“Let’s do that now.” Kathleen closed her suitcase and extended the handle.
They left the bag by the door and walked into Natalie’s studio. Without the canvas on the easel or the paints spread across her work table, the room looked bare.
“How’s Gabe?” her mom asked.
Natalie took the pins out of the photos on the board. “He’s good at hiding how he’s feeling, but he’s worried.”
“I don’t blame him. You hear horror stories about what some stalkers do to their victims.”
Natalie bit her bottom lip. She’d seen the same TV shows as her mom and it scared her, too. “The police know what they’re doing.”
