Christmas on 4th Street (Fool's Gold #12.5)(65)

Gabriel held on to his beer with both hands and reminded himself that this, too, would pass. Not so much dinner with his parents, which had been pretty okay. But his father’s change of heart. Because a kinder, gentler version of the man was more than a little tough to deal with.

The quieter voice was great, as was the genuine interest in what other people were doing. Enjoying the restaurant rather than complaining was good, too. But the ongoing flirtation with Gabriel’s mother was tough to take. Gabriel was glad his parents had a loving and passionate relationship. But jeez, he was their kid. He didn’t want to watch it happen in front of him.

“Stairs don’t matter now,” Karen told her husband. “But what about when you’re eighty?”

“We’re still going to—”

“Dad!” Gabriel said sharply. “Give me a break, okay?”

Norm leaned back in his chair and grinned. “You should be pleased to know the sports equipment is still—”

“Norman,” his wife said. “You’re embarrassing our son.”

“He’s a doctor. He knows about sex.”

Karen beamed at her husband and Gabriel waved at their server. He held up his beer bottle, grateful Margaritaville was close enough to Noelle’s house that he could walk. Maybe if he got drunk enough, he wouldn’t be able to follow the conversation.

A woman in her forties stopped by the table. She had dark hair and brown eyes. She smiled at him. “Dr. Boylan?”

“Yes.”

She touched his shoulder. “Thank you so much for your work on the mountain. My son was injured. Several fractures and some internal bleeding. You stabilized him so he could make it to surgery. He’s doing well and is expected to make a full recovery. His father and I are so grateful you were there.”

He rose and shook her hand. “You’re welcome. I’m happy to help. Thanks for letting me know he’s going to be all right.”

Her smile trembled as if she were fighting tears. “If you’re not too busy, maybe you could stop by the hospital. He’d like to thank you himself.”

Gabriel nodded, knowing the kid wouldn’t recognize him. He’d been one of the badly injured ones—unconscious the whole time.

The woman left, and Gabriel sat back down. His father grinned at him. “Look at that. You’re a superstar.”

“It’s different,” he said, staring after the woman. “I don’t usually get to hear what happened to my patients after they leave me.” When he’d been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, his job had been to get them stable enough to make it to a better hospital or for surgery. Even in Germany, he rarely dealt with any long-term care. He was on the front line and there weren’t updates on those who had been sent on.

Their server returned with his second beer, and his mother handed over a couple more listings they’d been to see. Life had returned to normal in Fool’s Gold.

* * *

After dinner, Gabriel said goodbye to his parents and started back for Noelle’s house. As he walked by Brew-haha, Mayor Marsha stepped out and greeted him.

“Just the man I was hoping to run into,” she said. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee? It’s late, but they offer decaf.”

Gabriel was tired and wanted to get home. He liked hanging out with the cat herd and looked forward to seeing Noelle. Still, the mayor was old enough to be his almost-grandmother and he’d been raised to be polite.

“Sure. Thank you.”

He followed her back into the coffee shop and settled across from her.

The mayor looked as she always did. A conservative suit, pearls, her hair up. He wondered what she’d been like forty years ago—when she’d been young and her life had stretched out before her.

“I’m sure you think you’ve been thanked enough for what you did, but I want to make sure you know how much we appreciate you stepping in to help after the avalanche,” she said.

“I’m glad I was here to help.”

The college-age server walked over with his coffee. The mayor sipped her latte.

“The town is growing. Over the past five years we’ve had a big upswing in the population. More young couples are settling here and having babies. Our demographics are improving.”

“Have you always lived here?” he asked.

“Born and raised.” Her blue eyes twinkled. “I’m California’s longest-serving mayor, you know.”

“I’d heard that. Congratulations.”

“I have a lot of years left in me. I think about retiring, but then what would I do with my time? I have a beautiful granddaughter and great-grandchildren. I’ve been blessed.”

“Which isn’t what you wanted to talk about,” he said gently, knowing they were going to get to the sales pitch soon.

“No, it’s not.” She smiled. “Did you meet the gentlemen from CDS?” she asked.

“The bodyguard school?” He nodded. “Ford and Angel were the ones to rescue my brother.”

“Yes. They’ve been an excellent addition to the community. Angel needs to let go of the pain of his past and fall in love again, but I’m hoping that will happen soon. We have a new PR firm moving to town. Score. The company is a partnership. Three former NFL football players will be moving here.” She sighed. “I know they’re going to make trouble, but eventually they’ll figure out how to fit in. On the bright side, they’ll be able to help our town advertise itself nationally.”