Safe from Harm (Protect & Serve #2)(31)

Elle’s lips twitched with amusement as she blew across the top of her hot chocolate. “I learned a long time ago that you’re going to tell me anyway, no matter how I answer that question.”

Charlotte winked at her. “You always were a smart girl.”

“Another trait that runs in the family,” Elle replied. “So this sage wisdom is…?”

Charlotte pressed her lips together for a moment before answering, “I think Gabe is a lot like his daddy. Mac had more than his fair share of pretty young women on his arm when we were younger. I’d love to say I was his only high school sweetheart, but that would be a lie. I was just the last. Mac was quite the charmer back in the day. Still is.”

Elle’s brows lifted. “Mac? He doesn’t exactly strike me as the romantic type.”

Charlotte leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand, a dreamy expression coming into her eyes. “You’d be surprised. Oh, it’s a side he doesn’t show to many, that’s for sure. But I would’ve married that man in a heartbeat had he asked.”

“But then he met Gabe’s mom,” Elle supplied.

Charlotte nodded. “Theresa was the kind of woman Mac needed at that time of his life. I would’ve made a terrible cop’s wife back then. I was far too reckless and headstrong, and valued my independence and freedom way too much to settle down and raise a family.”

Now it was Elle’s turn to scrutinize. “And now? What if Mac were to waltz in here and sweep you off your feet?”

Charlotte laughed. “First of all, Mac wouldn’t waltz anywhere. He’d kick in the door and barge right on in. And he wouldn’t take no for an answer if I turned him down. He’s persistent, that man.”

Elle shook her head. “Charlotte Mulaney, I think you’re just as much in love with Mac Dawson as you ever were. Does he know?”

Charlotte flushed to the roots of her hair. “He knows I care about him. When you’ve known each other as long as we have, some things just don’t need to be said.”

“Sure they do,” Elle argued. “Does he feel the same way?”

Charlotte’s expression clouded over for a moment before she forced a smile. “Oh, I’m sure he does, in his way. We never stopped being the best of friends, and we enjoy our time together. But I don’t know that he’ll ever get over losing Theresa.”

“She’s been gone a long time,” Elle pointed out. “Maybe he just doesn’t know how to tell you what he really feels.”

Charlotte laughed outright at this. “Oh, don’t be so sure. Mac has always known how to woo a girl. But we’re a little old for flowers and poetry at this point.”

“Mac? A poet?” Elle said, finding such a thing hard to believe.

Charlotte’s smile widened. “Someday I’ll drag out my memory box and show you a few of the verses he wrote for me.”

Elle shook her head. “Wow. I stand corrected.”

“My point is, I see the same qualities in Gabe,” Charlotte continued. “Of all the boys, he’s probably the most romantic. And by that, I don’t mean the other boys don’t know how to treat the women they love and make them feel special. I can tell that just by looking at how Joe and Sadie and Kyle and Abby are together. But Gabe…” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I think Gabe has an idealized vision of what love is supposed to be like. He saw how much Mac adored Theresa, saw everything he did to be there for her, to be the rock for their family when she was sick. I think he won’t settle for any less of a steadfast love.”

Elle scoffed as she took a sip of her cocoa. “You wouldn’t know it by how quickly he goes through women.”

Charlotte wagged a finger at her niece. “That’s where you’ve got it wrong, baby girl. Gabe doesn’t move on quickly because he’s fickle. He moves on because he realizes she’s not the one.”

Elle tucked away that little bit of intel to muse over later. Her aunt was one of the most insightful women Elle had ever known, but she was also biased when it came to the Dawson men. She’d been a surrogate aunt to them their entire lives, especially after their mother had died. And her affection for Mac certainly made her more lenient when it came to the foibles of his offspring. But the jury was definitely still out for Elle.

“And what about you?” she asked her aunt, eager to divert the subject away from her own interactions with the Dawson clan. “Do you ever regret that you never married and had children of your own?”

Charlotte shook her head. “Not in the least. You’re every bit a daughter to me as if I’d given birth to you myself. And as for marriage…” Here she paused and sighed. “Well, everything turned out as it was meant to.” She rose and came around to Elle, taking her face in her hands. “And I’m sure it will for you, too—whatever path you choose.”

Elle grinned as her aunt pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Thanks, Charlotte. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Charlotte pulled a face. “Oh, you’d do just fine. You’re a fighter, Elle. You always have been. And you’ll get through this mess with that son of a bitch Jeb Monroe, too. And as far as Gabe goes? Well, I certainly feel better knowing that he’s watching over you.”

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