The Lawman's Yuletide Baby Read online

  What could he say and not sound like a total curmudgeon? “I’d love it.”

  “And then we can do hot dogs and stuff at our house if the weather stays nice,” Tee exclaimed. “Right, Mom? You’re here on the weekends now, and if the guys haul all Coach’s stuff, we can make food for them, just like Grandma does whenever we do things. She always makes it so special to help.”

  “Your grandma has a way of putting a shine on life like no other woman I’ve ever known. Except possibly your Aunt Kimberly,” Corinne conceded. “Tee, that sounds like a great idea. If it’s all right with Coach.”

  “What kind of guy would refuse an offer of help and food?” He gave Tee a half hug, then dropped his arm. “Sounds like a plan. And now.” He turned back to the Realtor. “I’ve got to head home and get ready for work. I’m on the late shift today.”

  “Like at night?” Tee asked.

  He nodded. “We switch things up. I don’t do nights as much as I used to, but I told them I’d help out as needed from now through December.” He didn’t mention that he grabbed whatever hours he could late in the year. Working didn’t just keep him busy during the deluge of holiday forums embraced by their sweet, small town. It kept him sane. “We’ve got a couple of guys who needed day shifts. And one who just had a baby, so he’s out for a couple of weeks. I think they were in your unit, actually.” He lifted his eyes to Corinne. “Jason and Shelly Montgomery. Shelly had some problems, and was in the hospital for the last four weeks, then the baby was in the NICU for a few weeks. But now everyone is home, no one is sleeping and life is good.”

  “I heard they were a very nice couple. I didn’t know Jason was a trooper.”

  That surprised him, because the baseball parents seemed to open up to Corinne, and then he put two and two together. “Of course, the new job. Off the floor. So you wouldn’t get to know people the same way. Well.” He stepped back. “Gotta go. I’ll see you guys at tomorrow night’s game.”

  “Last game of fall ball,” said Tee. “And then we blast right into the holidays. This will be our first Christmas on the water! Maybe we can decorate the dock and everything, like Grandpa used to do!”

  Callan reached out and pumped Gabe’s hand. “This is great, Coach! Really great! I can’t believe it!”

  It wasn’t great. It was the opposite of great because Gabe Cutler didn’t do holidays. He didn’t do family gatherings or twinkle lights, and if he could disengage himself from endless loops of sappy carols, he’d do it in a heartbeat. Holidays forced him to think about what he’d lost.

  And now he’d be next door to twinkle lights–loving Tee and her intrinsic optimism.

  Corinne was watching him. Her brows shifted together in concern. Because he’d slipped and let his dark side show?

  Maybe.

  But then she hid that emotion and began backpedaling to her place. “Kids, let’s go so Coach can get to work. We’ve got homework and laundry waiting for us.”

  “And then can we take the boat out?” Tee gazed at the water with longing. “You said we could this weekend. You promised.”

  Corinne tapped her watch. “All depends on time, kid. Let’s roll.”

  Callan strode back toward the house.

  Tee slumped her shoulders. “I don’t know why we live on a lake when we can’t ever do anything on the lake.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Corinne reached to put an arm around Tee’s shoulders.

  The girl shrugged her off, chin down.

  Corinne looked at Tee, then him, then lifted her hands. “Welcome to the neighborhood, Gabe, where moods change faster than the weather, and that’s mighty fast around here.”

  She was right. Weather on the water could be unpredictable. That’s one of the things he loved about it.

  Would Gracie have loved the water like he did?

  He’d never know. He’d never know her favorite color, her favorite song, her favorite dolls because she was gone too soon.

  He wanted to remind Corinne how precious life was. He wanted to encourage her to leave the stupid laundry and fire up that outboard. The changing seasons meant fewer trips on the water.

  He kept quiet on purpose.

  She knew the pros and cons, just like he did. She’d also loved and lost, and didn’t need his advice. And after working together on the intertown baseball league, and then the festival committee, he was pretty sure she wouldn’t take his advice, anyway.

  She wasn’t cool or judgmental or obnoxious, but she kept her guard in place.

  Uptight people tended to annoy him because he’d grown up surrounded by them. His mother’s family lived their lives tightly wound about everything from religion to politics to food choices.

  And yet, with all they had, all the blessings abounding, they were never satisfied. Never content. His mother wasn’t like that. Neither was Gabe.

  He’d lost his contentment through his own fault. But it bothered him when folks didn’t understand the blessings of a child. Any child. And how, if he had it to do all over again, he’d make whatever sacrifice needed to keep a kid safe and happy and content.

  So you’d give Tee a phone? Even though you know better?

  He wouldn’t, he realized, as Tee stomped into her house. He’d do exactly what Corinne was doing, but he’d hate every single stinkin’ minute of it.

  But it would never be an issue because he’d had his chance once and blew it. And that was that.

  And here he was, next door to a woman who kept a cool distance in what she did. Not exactly an ice queen, but not all that warm, either.

  The sale was complete.

  The deed had changed hands. He’d have to make the best of it. So would she.

  Corinne resisted change. She wasn’t a fighter, but she quietly blocked it in her own way.

  Did she know how blessed she was to have those two kids? He couldn’t look at Tee and not remember Gracie. And a fine kid like Callan, hardworking and devoted to playing ball. A young man, ready to explore so much of the world around him.

  Not your business.

  He knew that. And it wouldn’t become his business, no matter how pretty those blue eyes were when she looked his way.

  He’d made a promise when he laid his baby girl into the ground, a pledge he intended to keep. He’d been given the gold ring once and lost it by his lack of attention.

  He’d laid flowers on her grave and promised God he’d never take that chance again, and he meant every word, but when Corinne Gallagher waved from her back deck, his fickle heart tried to pry itself open.

  He slammed it shut.

  He’d had it all once and ruined it. He had absolutely no right to wish for more than what he had now. A great job keeping people safe, a small boat and a house on the water.

  A house that seemed pretty empty compared with the busy family living next door.

  Chapter Two

  Gabe had just finished packing dozens of boxes when his landline phone rang the following Saturday. He almost tripped getting through the confusing maze, but when he saw his mother’s number in the display, he grabbed the call quickly. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”

  “Gabe. Do you have a minute?”

  Worry wrenched her voice. He was pretty sure she was crying, and he was nearly four hours away with a moving crew on the way, but if she needed him, he’d hop in the car and head toward Albany because Linda Cutler had gone the distance for him too many times to count. And with his mother’s crazy, mixed-up, dysfunctional family, Gabe knew he’d been blessed to be on the normal end of the spectrum. “Of course I do. Take your time. I’m right here.”

  “I know. I just...” She breathed out a sigh. “Aunt Maureen just got off the phone with me, screaming about life’s injustices, and how unfair things are. She’s blaming the police and the world for everything that went
wrong with Adrianna. I tried to calm her down, but it didn’t work. She hung up on me, but not before she called me unkind names.”

  “I’m sure she’s hurting, but that’s no reason to take it out on you. I’m sorry, Mom. You know Aunt Maureen. It’s always someone else’s fault.” His narrow-minded aunt had recently buried the daughter she’d disowned years before. Adrianna had gotten herself into a mess of trouble as a teen, then again as a young adult. She’d done time, and her parents made sure that everyone knew they wanted nothing to do with their wayward child.

  She’d died in a convenience store robbery gone bad, a tragic end to a life filled with flawed choices.

  “My sister is mean, Gabe. Just plain mean, and it’s got nothing to do with her faith or her church, it’s her. No wonder that poor girl went rogue. And now look what it’s all come to.”

  She was right. His mom’s younger sister had a sharp tongue and always held a grudge. She and his uncle had little regard for Christ’s instruction on forgiveness. “Aunt Maureen is probably second-guessing her actions, Mom—maybe wishing she hadn’t thrown Adrianna out of the house, or been so strict with her.”

  “Or she’s blaming everyone but herself for her family problems.”

  That sounded more like it. “Do you want me to come down there? I can. I’ve got the next two days off.” He didn’t mention that he was supposed to be moving because she’d refuse his help if she thought she was inconveniencing him.

  She’d blessed him from the day he was born, or at least as far back as he could remember. She’d been a single mom at a time when being a single mother wasn’t overtly accepted, but she’d been great. And still was.

  And through it all, her sister Maureen had held Linda’s mistakes up like a banner, making sure everyone knew that Linda lived a life of bad choices.

  But in the end, Gabe had turned out just fine and Maureen’s two daughters had brought nothing but trouble on themselves. That had always infuriated his fire-and-brimstone aunt. “Why did you take her call?”

  “Because she just lost her daughter.”

  Gabe would have done the same. “Do you want to come up here for a visit?”

  “No, I just needed to vent. Maureen is just...” She paused, then drew a deep breath. “Well, you know. She needs to lay this at someone else’s door, and that finger of blame will never fall back on her. Maybe if she’d shown those girls a little kindness, a little understanding—” She paused again. “No use rehashing all of that. And you’re right, if she calls again, I’ll let it go to voice mail. I’m working overtime this weekend, so that will gain me some distance.”

  His mother worked at a manufacturing facility outside Albany. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yes, I just needed someone to talk to. It’s been a rough couple of months down here, and losing Adrianna like that has stirred some old pots.”

  “Aunt Maureen and Uncle Blake had choices, Mom. So did Adrianna.”

  “I know. And I knew I could only do so much when their mother was dead set against anyone helping those girls out, but it weighs on me, Gabe, knowing Adrianna longed for help and thought no one would provide it.”

  Guilt.

  It was an emotion he knew well. Too well. “We pray, Mom. And we keep our eyes open for other ways to help people. Like you taught me all along.” The noise of pickup trucks pulling into the driveway made him turn. “You sure you don’t want me to head down there? I can be there by lunchtime.”

  “I’m sure. Just glad you don’t mind talking with your mom now and again.”

  “Mind?” He laughed because throughout his times of trouble, Linda Cutler had been the calm voice of faith, hope and reason. “I love it, Mom. And I love you.”

  He pictured her smile in the softer note in her voice. “I love you, too. Bye, honey.”

  He hung up, knowing she’d be okay, but it wasn’t easy to dodge angry family members, especially when proximity allowed them access.

  That was another reason he’d moved four hours northwest when everything fell apart. Distance from his mother’s family wasn’t a choice, it had been a lifesaving measure.

  The first two trucks rolled to a stop, and half a dozen boys and men aimed for his door. He swung it wide in welcome.

  He might not have family here, but between the troopers and the baseball team, his needs were covered.

  By ten o’clock they were on their way to 2312 Lakeshore Drive with the first wave of belongings.

  He thought it would take all day to move things.

  He was wrong.

  A single guy who worked long hours and coached three seasons of baseball didn’t accumulate a lot of stuff.

  They pulled the trucks into the lakefront driveway one at a time. Tee spotted them and raced across the narrow yards, hurdling the short privet hedge on the property line. “Can I help?”

  He spotted Corinne’s bemused expression next door. Hands up, she gestured to the tables and chairs she’d been setting out and then her daughter. “You help here,” he told her. “I’ll go help your mother move the tables.”

  “Oops.” Looking a little guilty, Tee spun and waved. “Sorry, Mom!”

  “I’ll bet she is,” Corinne noted as Gabe drew closer. “She’d much rather help the team than be stuck helping her mother.”

  “Pretty normal, I expect. But I can help her mother,” Gabe added as he lifted one of the tables. “Tell me where you want them and I’ll get them in order for you.”

  “You’ve got a whole house to arrange,” she scolded. “I can handle this.”

  Gabe moved the first table closer to the lake as he replied, “I’ve got bedroom stuff, kitchen stuff and living room stuff, which means half the rooms of the house will sit empty. I bet they can figure it out, Corinne. And my buddy Mack is over there with his wife, and when Susie MacIntosh takes charge, we all smile and nod and follow orders.”

  “My kind of gal.” Corinne started setting up folding chairs. “Should we start the fire now, if you guys don’t have to make too many more trips back to your old place?”

  “One more trip should do it, so that’s probably a good idea.” He settled the next table close to the first. “And if I’m setting these in the wrong spots, tell me. Don’t wait until I’m gone, then change them.”

  “Well, it’s a simple afternoon barbecue, so I’m pretty sure anywhere is good.”

  Her tone was easy, but it didn’t take a real smart guy to sense something amiss. “Listen, Corinne. I didn’t get a chance to talk to you after the committee meeting the other night.” He was working as the safety liaison for the upcoming Christkindl festival, a huge annual event that netted tens of thousands of dollars for the Police Benevolence Fund. The fund helped widows and children of fallen officers. As a widow, Corinne had headed the committee for half a dozen years, but the current committee had voted in some major changes she didn’t like. Changes he approved, which might make him persona non grata with his new neighbor.

  “Because you were mobbed by triumphant town retailers and I had to get home to the kids.”

  That was true, but law enforcement was schooled in undercurrents, and the one on this deck rivaled an East Coast riptide. “I don’t want you to think we were trying to undercut your position.”

  A momentary pause of her hands was her only outward reaction, which meant she was hiding her feelings, a move he recognized because he’d hidden his share. Watching her, he realized she was just as good as he was at disguising his true emotions. Maybe better. “When you, Lizzie and Maura took places on the committee, it meant we all needed to work together,” she replied in a soft, even voice. “Although neither Kate nor I was invited to the impromptu meeting you guys had on Tuesday.”

  It hadn’t been a meeting at all. He’d run into two other committee members at the Bayou Barbecue, and the two women had hijacked hi
s quiet supper with committee talk.

  “It wasn’t a meeting. I was having supper at Josie’s place. Lizzie and Maura came in and sat down, so we compared notes. Then I got a call on the south end of the lake, and Josie bagged my food for later. That’s all it was, pure coincidence.”

  “You don’t owe me explanations, Gabe.”

  He didn’t...but he did. Corinne had invested years in this festival because she’d buried a first responder, and he didn’t take that lightly. Nor should anyone else. “I do, because Lizzie made it sound like we held a prearranged meeting. It wasn’t anything of the kind.”

  “And yet there’s no reason it couldn’t be, is there, Gabe?” She paused again, watching him from the far side of the deck, holding a floral porch pillow in her hands. She looked...cautiously beautiful, if there was such a thing, and there must be, because he was seeing it, right now.

  No reason...

  “Of course there’s a reason. To go behind your back and usurp the time and effort you’ve put into this whole thing would be ludicrous. I can’t imagine someone doing that, and if they did, they’d have to answer to me. That’s not how things are done, Corinne. Not in police brotherhoods, anyway.”

  She watched him, still clutching the pillow, and when he was done with his little spiel, she still watched.

  And then she smiled, ever so slightly, as she set the pillow down.

  Her smile intrigued him.

  He wasn’t sure why, because she did absolutely nothing to try to intrigue him. In fact, she went out of her way to be carefully level and polite, like the model nurses you saw on TV.

  As she looked down, her lips quirked up, as if he’d pleased her.

  He wasn’t looking to please anyone. He’d won the race once. He’d had it all until he lost it, way too quick and far too easy.

  Yes, he was older. Smarter. But he was just as guilty now as he’d been when Gracie climbed into his SUV all those years ago. A stupid football party, parents, kids, pizza and beer...