Angel's Rest(59)

“What did you do?” Sarah asked.

“I explained to him that I’d forgotten my return address label and I darted back inside.”

The picture coaxed a laugh from Nic and was the reason why she had a smile on her face when she reentered the gymnasium.

Her smile died when she spied the man leaning against the wall of folded-up bleachers on the east side of the gym.

Gabe.





ELEVEN





Gabe wore a gray suit, white shirt, and red tie. Seeing her, he straightened away from the wall. He looked somber and serious, and her stomach sank.

“Whoa,” Sage murmured behind Nic. “Be still my heart. He’s even sexier than Coach Romano.”

“Mm-hmm,” Sarah hummed. “He is a handsome polecat. I’ll give him that.”

“I’ll bet you the keys to my Honda Gold Wing that he’s here to propose,” Celeste declared. “You’ll excuse me if I say I told you so.”

Nic’s stomach took a nervous roll. “Don’t be silly. He’s probably bringing me contact information before he leaves town for good.”

“He’s carrying a rose,” Sage said. “I don’t think a man brings a woman a red rose to kiss her off.”

Sarah shook her head. “The roses are a freshman class fund-raiser. They probably tackled him coming inside. Still, he could have tossed it.”

Nic stood frozen in place, only marginally aware that her friends dropped back as Gabe approached. He carried a long-stemmed red rose tied with a red satin ribbon in his right hand, and when he stopped in front of her, he held it out to her. “Hi.”

“Hi.” She accepted the flower. “Thanks.”

When silence descended awkwardly between them, she twirled the rose between her fingers and thought, School gym. Red rose with a tacky ribbon. Awkward conversation while my best-friends-forever are watching. Junior high déjà vu. “I … um … didn’t expect to see you here tonight, Gabe.”

“Well, yeah.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Can we talk? I want to—”

He broke off abruptly and scowled at something behind Nic. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that said best friends had moved within listening distance. Celeste smiled, her eyes twinkling. Sage gave a little finger wave. Sarah winked at Nic, then shot Gabe her best dirty look.

Nic tried to shoo them away by making a sweeping motion with the back of her hand, but of course they didn’t budge.

Gabe sighed and asked, “Why don’t you give me a tour of the school?”

“Okay.” After requesting the key ring from Sarah, she led him toward the door she’d entered moments ago. He walked at her side, his hands in his pockets, a troubled expression on his face. Nic twirled the rose stem nervously with her fingers. “This is the high school wing.”

“Okay.” He didn’t bother glancing around.

In the dim light of the hallway outside of the biology lab, shadows accentuated the hard angles of his face. He had a fallen-angel look about him, and his declaration on Christmas Eve flitted through her mind. I’m feeling like the damned devil himself.

Nic drew in a lungful of formaldehyde-scented air and felt a little nauseated, so she continued to lead him up the hall and into another wing of the school until he paused in front of a bulletin board decorated with colored chalk drawings of Hummingbird Lake. He studied the students’ drawings for a few moments before saying, “I took a snowmobile out yesterday. Went up into the back country and eventually ended up at a spot that overlooked Eternity Springs.”

He fell silent then, and after a long moment, Nic felt compelled to speak just to fill the void. “You had perfect weather. Bet it was gorgeous.”

He nodded. “Six months ago I wouldn’t have seen it. Shoot, six months ago I might have juked the gas and driven the snowmobile right off the edge of the cliff. Yesterday it was different. I was different. I could see the beauty in the blue sky and the sunshine and the pristine snow. Eternity Springs looked like one of those Victorian villages that department stores sell at Christmastime.”

He turned his head and his solemn, brown-eyed gaze held hers. “This town has been good for me.”

She wanted to ask, Even considering the consequences? Instead, she kept it neutral by saying, “I think Celeste is on to something about the healing energy in our valley.”

Gabe shook his head. “See, that’s the thing. Being better and being healed are two different animals. That’s basically where I’m at.”