LITMIR.BIZ

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time to feel sorry for herself. Both Josh and Peter depended on her. Somehow she would hold this family together.

      When she entered the kitchen and saw Gabriel sitting at the head of the kitchen table, she came to a halt inside the doorway. He looked at home, holding Josh, supporting his small body in the curve of his arm. Her heart slowed, then began to race at the sight of him smiling at her son. Josh smiled at Gabriel. The large, muscular man dwarfed her son, but the picture of the two of them seemed so right that Rebecca blinked as if she had been caught daydreaming the impossible.

      For a few seconds Rebecca allowed herself to wonder how it would feel to have a man like Gabriel Stone supporting her emotionally, loving her children. She shook the thought from her mind. She could only depend on herself to keep this family together.

      Chapter Two

      “He wanted out of the swing when it stopped,” Gabriel said, looking at her.

      “Thank you for taking care of him,” she murmured, retrieving her son from Gabriel and putting Josh into his high chair, again propping him with pillows so he could sit up. He was starting to support his weight, but he was still having trouble maintaining his balance for any length of time.

      “There’s a child in the church choir with Down’s syndrome. He loves music.”

      “Josh does, too.” Rebecca snapped on his bib.

      Rose sat at the other end of the table, forcing Rebecca to take the chair next to Gabriel. “Let’s join hands. Gabriel, will you give the blessing?”

      Rebecca took Josh’s tiny hand and Gabriel’s larger one. The touch of Gabriel’s fingers about hers sent warmth up her arm. The link felt natural and right. That surprised her.

      “Heavenly Father, we come to this table to offer our thanks for this wonderful food. Please watch over us and give us the strength to deal with our problems.”

      The devotion in his voice gave Rebecca a sense of peace for the first time that day. She relished the blessing and wished she could feel that kind of love and faith again.

      While Rose spooned chili into a bowl, then passed it to Peter, Rebecca fed Josh his baby food, mashed bananas and roast beef, two of his favorites. She introduced another food, strained carrots. He made a face and spit the carrots out. She dabbed at the orange that ran down his chin.

      “Way to go, Josh. I hate carrots, too,” Peter said, the first enthusiasm he had shown all day.

      “So far, I haven’t been able to find too many vegetables he likes.” Rebecca tried another spoonful of carrots, which Josh immediately rejected.

      “Have you tried mixing the bananas with the carrots and seeing if he’ll eat that?” Gabriel set a chili bowl in front of Rebecca.

      “Well, no. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.” Rebecca dipped her spoon into the bananas and scooped some into the carrots. She wrinkled her nose at the mixture of light yellow and orange swirls.

      When she fed Josh some of the new mixture, he kept most of it in his mouth. She gave him another spoonful, and he ate that, too.

      “This might work with other vegetables, too. Thank you for the suggestion.” Rebecca looked toward Gabriel.

      His dark gaze caught hers and held it. “Anytime.”

      “Do you have any children?” she asked, realizing she knew nothing about this man and in many ways wished she did.

      “No. Judy and I always wanted a whole house full.” Pain flitted across his features for a few seconds before he managed to conceal his emotions.

      “Judy is your wife?” Rebecca glimpsed a wedding ring on his left hand.

      “She died three years ago.” He touched his wedding ring, twisting it on his finger. “We had hoped to start a family when we moved here. It never happened.”

      “But he’s determined to make up for that. He takes every child he can under his wing.” Rose sipped water, her eyes twinkling.

      Here was a man who had wanted children but didn’t have any while her husband hadn’t wanted to care for his two sons. Life wasn’t fair, Rebecca thought, a constriction in her throat making it impossible to say another word. She dropped her gaze and continued to feed Josh.

      A few minutes later Gabriel asked, “May I try that? You haven’t had a chance to eat any of this great chili yet.”

      Rebecca hid her surprise at his request. She had always been the one to feed Josh. It was her responsibility, and she hadn’t asked anyone else to do it. “I guess so.”

      “I’ve been watching you. I think I’ve got your technique down,” he said with a sparkle in his dark brown eyes.

      She blushed at the idea that he had been watching what she’d been doing. The thought unnerved her more than she cared to think about.

      “Eat while I finish up with this roast beef and banana-carrot combo.”

      Rebecca delved into the chili, filling her bowl with the delicious-smelling food. She was starved and hadn’t realized it until she started eating. While she savored her meal, she watched Gabriel make a game of feeding her son. Josh smiled and cooed. Why couldn’t this have been Craig enjoying his child?

      “You know, Peter,” Gabriel said while pretending to be a dive bomber coming in for a landing in Josh’s mouth, “I noticed how fast you were running into the house. Have you ever thought about being on a baseball team?”

      “Nope. I have better things to do after school.”

      “It does require a lot of time. It takes quite a commitment for a young man.”

      The challenge in Gabriel’s voice dared Peter to accept. Her eldest straightened, his eyes becoming pinpoints. Peter didn’t say anything, but he studied the police chief as though he wasn’t quite sure what to make of the man.

      At the end of the meal Gabriel wiped Josh’s mouth. “Rose, that’s the best food I’ve had in a long time. Thank you for inviting me to dinner.”

      “You’re welcome.” Rose gripped her cane and struggled to her feet. “Josh, Peter and I are going to retire to the living room while you two clean up. Peter, will you carry him for me?”

      “Sure, Granny.” Peter carefully picked up Josh and followed his great-grandmother out of the room. “It’s time for us to practice, Josh, my man.”

      Rebecca started taking dishes to the sink. “You don’t have to help. I can take care of this mess if you need to leave.”

      “No. I told Rose I would help, and I always follow through on what I say.” Gabriel brought several bowls and glasses to the counter.

      While she rinsed the dishes, he put them into the dishwasher. They worked side by side in a silence that Rebecca didn’t find awkward. A sense of teamwork eased any tension she experienced from his nearness. She usually felt the need to fill the void in a conversation with chitchat, but for some reason she didn’t with Gabriel. Another surprise, she thought.

      When she was through with the dishes, she noticed that it was dark outside the window over the sink. She reached to pull the shade down at the same time Gabriel turned toward her. Their arms grazed. Again that sense of warmth fanned from his touch. Startled by the brief contact, she flinched.

      “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bump into you,” he said with a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes, lending an appealing attraction to his tanned features.

      “No problem.” Rebecca yanked on the cord to lower the shade, then wrung out the washcloth to wipe the table and counters.

      She felt Gabriel’s gaze on her while she worked. The thought of him watching her made her heart beat faster. The silence between them hummed with alarming undercurrents. Her battered emotions were too raw for anything but friendship between them, if even that.

      “I’m

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