LITMIR.BIZ

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cotton gloves. “Ma’am, how—”

      “Bess, please. Ma’am makes me sound so old, which I refuse to be.”

      “Bess, how did you get here?” Gabriel ignored the glares Ben was sending him.

      “Why, I just walked out of the building and headed for town. I like to shop and haven’t been in a while.”

      “Then let me take you home.” Gabriel turned away from Bess and whispered to Ben, “I think this was all a misunderstanding. I’m inclined to accept her word that she just forgot about the watch being in her pocket. Is that okay with you?”

      Ben pursed his lips, his eyes pinpoints.

      “She’s at least eighty. I can’t see locking her up, Ben.”

      The young man sighed. “Okay. This time. This better not happen again.”

      Gabriel escorted Bess Anderson to his squad car. While the elderly woman gave him a rundown of her afternoon outing, he drove her the few blocks to the Shady Oaks Nursing Home. As he walked her toward the main building, the director came out the front door, worry carved into her expression.

      “We’ve been looking all over the place for you, Bess. Is everything all right?”

      “My goodness, yes. I just had a lovely stroll into town, and this nice gentleman offered to bring me home.” Bess continued past the director.

      Gabriel shook his head as he watched the old woman disappear into the building. “Bess Anderson is certainly an interesting character, Susan.”

      “And a handful. She’s only been with us for a few weeks, and this is the second time she has walked away from the home. I don’t know how she gets out. Thank you for bringing her back. Do you want to come in for some tea? It’s almost four. We were about to have it in the main lounge.”

      “I’ll take a rain check. I have a date with a young man at the school. In fact, if I don’t get moving, I’ll be late.”

      Quickly Gabriel headed toward the elementary school. He pulled into a parking space just as the bell dismissed the children for the day. He climbed from the squad car and leaned against it, his arms folded across his chest, and waited for Peter Michaels to appear. Gabriel waved to several students coming out of the school, but he kept his gaze focused on the door. He wouldn’t put it past the boy to try to sneak away. Peter hadn’t been very happy this morning when Gabriel had deposited him in the principal’s office before having a brief word with the man.

      When the last student filed out of the school, Gabriel straightened and decided to head inside to see if Peter had given him the slip. He took two steps and stopped. Coming out of the building at a slow pace was the child in question. The sullen look on his face underscored the reluctance the boy felt.

      Gabriel relaxed against the car and waited. He had a lot of patience, and he had a feeling he would need every bit of it to get through to Peter.

      “Glad you could make it,” Gabriel said, and opened his car door.

      “This is dumb. I can walk home. It’s only two blocks.”

      “I told your mother I would give you a ride.”

      The boy’s frown deepened as he rounded the back of the sedan and climbed inside.

      Gabriel started the engine and slanted a look toward Peter. He stared straight ahead, defiance stamped in his features. No small talk on this trip, Gabriel thought, and backed out of the parking space.

      A few minutes later Gabriel pulled into Rose Bennett’s driveway, and Peter jumped from the car before Gabriel could even switch off the engine. The boy raced for the house and disappeared inside so fast that Gabriel had to admire the child’s quickness. He would be great on the baseball team. An idea formed and grew as Gabriel ambled to the house to pay his respects to Rose and maybe get to see Rebecca Michaels again.

      All day he had been unable to shake the image of her wide eyes as she had stared at him. Deep in their blue depths he had glimpsed a vulnerability that touched him to the core. He hated to see someone hurting, and Rebecca was definitely in pain.

      Even though Peter had left the front door open, Gabriel knocked on the screen, not wanting to ring the bell since her baby might be sleeping. He heard the sound of Rose’s cane tapping against the floor as she shuffled toward him.

      “My goodness, Gabriel, why are you standing out there? Come in. Are you through for the day?”

      “Yes, ma’am.”

      “I just made a fresh pot of coffee, and I know how much you like my brew.” Rose reached into the mailbox at the side of the door and retrieved several envelopes.

      “No one makes it quite like you.”

      He stepped inside and glanced about him at the warmth of the house. Rose was determined to bring the outdoors inside. In every room there were vases of cut flowers from her garden and pots filled with green plants. The house’s clean, fresh scent reminded him of a beautiful spring day.

      “Now, that will definitely get you a second cup. I was in the kitchen trying to decide what to fix for dinner. Since Rebecca’s moved in with her boys, we eat early. Why don’t you stay and eat with us tonight?”

      “I don’t—”

      Rose paused at the entrance to the kitchen, clasping both hands on the cane, her sharp, shrewd gaze directed at him. “I won’t take no for an answer, son. I know for a fact you usually go home at night and eat by yourself in that big empty house of yours. Tonight you can eat with me and my family.”

      “Put that way, I can’t refuse. I’ll stay on one condition. You let me help with dinner.” He enjoyed being a policeman in this Oklahoma town. The people had taken him into their hearts and made him feel a part of Oakview when he had moved here ten years before. They had comforted and shared in his pain, too. He would never forget their support.

      “I’ll let you share cleanup duty with my granddaughter. Cooking is one of my favorite things. Cleaning up isn’t.”

      “It’s a deal.”

      Gabriel sat at the kitchen table while Rose retrieved a blue mug from the cabinet and poured him some coffee. The aroma filled his nostrils, easing some of the day’s tension. There was something in Peter’s rebellious expression that concerned him, causing a warning to go off in his brain.

      “I noticed you brought Peter home,” Rose said, slipping a look at him while she stood at the stove and browned some ground beef. “Did he say anything to you?”

      “Not a word.”

      “That’s what I was afraid of. That child doesn’t say much, and when he does he’s always angry.”

      “Yep, that about sums up my experience with him.” Gabriel took a long sip of his coffee, relishing the delicious taste of the rich brew as it slid down his throat.

      “I’ve been trying to get him to church, but last Sunday I think he deliberately made himself throw up so he didn’t have to go. I don’t know what to do about him, and Rebecca is as lost as I am.” Rose placed the wooden spoon on the counter and began cutting up an onion.

      The aromas of cooking meat and fresh coffee reminded Gabriel of the home he used to have when his wife was alive. Now he usually heated up frozen dinners or grabbed something at the diner in town by the police station.

      “What’s he angry about?”

      “He didn’t want me to move to Oakview.”

      Gabriel peered over his shoulder at Rebecca, who stood in the doorway, that haunted look in her eyes again. His natural curiosity was aroused by this woman as he took in her petite build. Short brown hair framed an oval face, and her smooth, creamy complexion was devoid of any makeup. She wasn’t beautiful, but there was something pleasing about her appearance.

      “What did Peter say about skipping school?” Rose

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