The Deputy's Unexpected Family. Patricia Johns

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СКАЧАТЬ dashed into the back room and spotted the untouched box high on a shelf. She breathed a prayer of thanks. God must have put His hand over that dress...and she was grateful. Everything else could be replaced. How was that for some perspective?

      The bell from the front door jingled, and she heard the tramping of heavy feet.

      “Miss Kemp?” a deep male voice reverberated through the store, and Harper turned back toward the retail space. The police had arrived.

      “I’m here,” she said, stepping back out. “Thanks for—”

      The words evaporated on her tongue. The officer standing in the middle of the mess was tall, muscled and had the same direct gray gaze she remembered from years ago when they were teenagers dreaming of their futures in this town... It was Gabe Banks.

      “Hey—” His tone softened. “Long time.”

      “Very long time,” she agreed, then smiled feebly. “What are you doing here?”

      “You reported a robbery.” He raised one eyebrow.

      “I mean in Comfort Creek. I thought you were in Fort Collins.” One possibility bloomed in her mind—that he had somehow found out about four-year-old Zoey. There were enough people in this town who would have pieced it together...

      Gabe’s expression grew more guarded, then he shrugged. “Sensitivity training. What else? Comfort Creek has me for two weeks.”

      “Oh.” That was reasonable. Comfort Creek saw a constant influx of officers doing sensitivity training. What had Gabe done to garner this honor?

      “So...” Gabe pulled out a pad of paper. “What happened here?”

      “I have no idea,” she said. “I just arrived, found it like this and called 911.”

      “Any idea how much was taken?” he asked.

      “Not yet. I’m still kind of in shock.”

      He took a few notes, poked his head back outside the door and appeared to be doing his job for a few minutes while Harper stood where he’d left her, feeling in the way in her own shop.

      “I heard about Andrea’s passing,” he said as he came back inside. “I’m sorry. She was...special. And I know how close you two were.”

      Special. That’s how Gabe referred to a woman he’d dated for a year? Maybe he didn’t feel like he had a right to sympathy for the passing of his ex-girlfriend he hadn’t seen or spoken to in the last five years. And maybe he was right about that.

      “We really were,” she said. “I miss her. So does Zoey.”

      “That’s her daughter?” Gabe clarified.

      Harper nodded. “Zoey’s four. I’m her guardian now.”

      Gabe shot her a sympathetic smile, then glanced away. Andrea had never told Gabe the truth about Zoey.

      “Did anyone tell you about the father?” she asked cautiously.

      “My grandmother said that she was on the rebound after me,” he replied. “Grandma was a little more judgmental than that, but that was the gist of it.”

      A flat-out lie, but it was the story Andrea had put around.

      “Well, Zoey is a sweetheart,” Harper said. “We’re doing all right, but it’s hard with Andrea gone.”

      “Yeah, I can imagine.” A couple of beats passed between them—an awkward pause.

      “Anyway,” Harper said, clearing her throat. “Back to the robbery.”

      “When did you find this?” he asked, professional reserve back in place.

      “This morning when I came in. Ten minutes ago,” she replied. “With all the patrol on these streets, I’m surprised no one noticed it earlier.” She paused, a thought suddenly occurring to her. Gabe was here on disciplinary action—how much authority did he really have? She was tired, had a lot to deal with today, obviously, and didn’t have time to waste.

      “Are you supposed to be taking cases?” she asked with a slight frown. “I mean, will I have to repeat this all over again with another officer?”

      Gabe shot her a flat look. “Yes, I can take cases. Dispatch assigned me. You want to take that up with the chief? Get a less ornery officer, or something? I’m not here because I’m bad at my job. I’m here for being mouthy with my boss.”

      She smiled wanly. “I was just checking.”

      “So, we’re okay here, then?” he said, tucking a thumb in his belt. “Because if you’d rather have some other cop take over, I’m sure I can go patrol the school zones or something.”

      She heard the sarcasm in that gravelly tone, and she felt heat in her cheeks. He’d always been like this—brash, opinionated and stubborn as all get-out.

      “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” she said. It might be time to let some old resentments go. “It’s been a rough day so far, so maybe cut me some slack.”

      He eyed her for a moment, then scanned the scene. “We’ll take fingerprints. I’m not expecting to get too much, though. I noticed both the phone and alarm lines were cut outside.”

      “That would explain why my alarm didn’t go off.”

      “This was no smash and grab,” Gabe confirmed. “This was planned.”

      “In the best-patrolled town in Colorado,” she said.

      Gabe didn’t answer. His boots crunched over broken glass as he headed toward the display case. “We’ll need a complete list of anything missing. Descriptions would be good, pictures if you have them. We’ll be watching pawn shops and online sale sites. Whatever they took, they’ll be selling.”

      Harper felt her eyes mist. The immensity of the damage and the work ahead of her to clean up was just starting to sink in. She’d have to call her dad—the owner of the store—and tell him what happened, too...

      “How much cash was in the register?” Gabe asked.

      “Just change—I made the deposit last night,” she replied. “There was about a hundred and sixty dollars in the drawer.”

      “Approximately how much was the merchandise worth in the case?” he asked.

      “Five or six thousand. Those were all Swarovski crystals.”

      “Was there anything under this case?” Gabe asked from across the room, and Harper looked up with a start. The veil—her grandmother’s wedding veil that Heidi was going to use for her wedding...that Harper hoped to wear one day for her own wedding...

      “Yes,” she said. “A pink box...shoebox size. It’s not there?”

      She crossed the room to where Gabe squatted next to the display case. The space beneath it was empty, and a lump rose in her throat.

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