The Deputy's Unexpected Family

She hadn’t been blind to his charm and good looks back then—she’d just known better than to let herself fall for him, too. All the girls swooned over Gabe Banks. He’d been filled with flirtation and laughter in some moments, and then brooding and distanced in others. What teenage girl could resist such a “complicated” guy? Harper, that’s who.

“Well, you were right about that,” he said. “I wasn’t any good for her. So, no hard feelings.”

At least he recognized that much. Still, she found herself searching his features for Zoey—his eyes, the shape of his ears. Zoey looked a lot like Andrea, but she wasn’t an exact replica of her mother, either. She had dark hair like her dad, and the tiny cleft in her chin was Gabe’s, too. This was Zoey’s father, and she’d have to figure out her next move in that department. So far, she’d been focused on finding her balance as Zoey’s new mother, but she’d never been entirely comfortable with Andrea’s decision to keep Zoey a secret. Zoey would be asking about her father eventually, but Harper was now faced with a dilemma of her own: Should she tell Gabe about his daughter, or should she let it lie?

* * *

Gabe walked around Blessings Bridal collecting evidence and taking notes for the next hour. He’d never been inside this shop in all the years he lived in Comfort Creek, but he’d passed it often enough. Everyone knew the Kemps, and Blessings Bridal serviced all the brides in the surrounding small towns.

Eight other cops arrived to help—far more than needed, obviously, but there wasn’t anything else happening around Comfort Creek, and the temptation to lend a hand was too great for both the other officers and the locals. It took two officers at the outside door to keep curious locals moving along.

From where Gabe stood brushing for prints, he glanced over at Harper. She lingered in the doorway to the back room. Her red curls hung around her shoulders, and her gaze moved from officer to officer, watching them work. Her glasses were off again, and she had the end in her mouth. She was gorgeous, and Gabe pulled his gaze away from her, pushing back the thought.

“Gabe.” Officer Bryce Camden approached, and he rose to his feet, dropping the brush back into a protective plastic bag. He and Bryce knew each other from their days on the Fort Collins force. Gabe met Bryce beside a rack of wedding dresses that appeared to be untouched.

“Any of this look familiar?” Bryce asked.

Gabe glanced around. “It’s definitely not a smash and grab. The phone and security system lines were cut outside. Besides a few display dresses being trashed, these ones are untouched. They knew what they were aiming for. I’m guessing professionals.”

“I had three cases back in Fort Collins that match this MO,” Bryce said. “The cut lines, the small amount of trashing, as if for appearances, and a select amount of highly salable merchandise taken.”

“Anyone caught?” Gabe asked.

Bryce shook his head. “Still at large. But there were other sites hit across Fort Collins—always spread out, and a couple of months between each. They were careful.”

“Yeah, I remember that,” Gabe agreed, the details coming back to him. “I had one of those cases—a jewelry store.”

“They may be spreading to smaller communities where people aren’t quite as security conscious,” Bryce suggested.

It was a definite possibility, and Gabe’s mind clicked through what he could remember of those cases. None had been solved, and the first hit on every store hadn’t been too bad. In and out. Quick. A few things taken. The perps were scoping things out more than anything.

“They always came back for a second hit on every location,” Gabe said. “Within days or weeks. And that’s when they cleaned the place out. There was an old man who was shot, trying to defend his store that second time around.”

“I remember that.” Bryce nodded. “So if we’re looking at the same people, they’ll be back. I’m sure the chief will agree that we’ll need to keep a pretty close eye on the place for the next couple of weeks.”

Gabe signed the bottom of a form he was filling out as first on the scene, and glanced over toward Harper.

“I knew her—as kids. Teenagers. I dated her best friend,” Gabe said.

“Yeah?” Bryce nodded. “That might be useful. Why not offer to help out in the cleanup? Just...be here for a bit.”

Back in the day, Gabe would have jumped at the chance. He’d had a thing for Harper Kemp, but she’d been steps above him. She was smart, cute, had a plan for her future... And he’d been a messed-up teenager whose grandmother ran him down on a nightly basis. He’d asked her out once, and she’d turned him down flat. He hadn’t tried again.

Looking at Harper now with those sad green eyes and her arms crossed protectively over her chest, all those old feelings from years ago came flooding back. Harper never acted like she needed him—or any guy—but she still sparked that protective instinct inside of him. He wanted to offer something, and with this uniform—at least for the next two weeks—he could.

“I could go plainclothes and keep an eye out,” Gabe said. “We want to catch these guys, not just scare them off.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Bryce confirmed. “If we can be ready for their next hit, we might be able to take these guys in. Let me check in with the chief, and I’ll confirm if we’ve got a plan.”

Bryce pulled out his cell phone and walked a few feet away to make his call. Gabe shoved the form into his back pocket. He was here to do his time and then head back to Fort Collins. Period. It was humiliating enough to be back under these circumstances. However, catching a robbery gang might make his stay here less agonizing. He’d go back to Fort Collins as a success, instead of chastised.

“What’s going on?” Harper asked, coming up beside Gabe.

“We’re thinking that this looks similar to a few cases in Fort Collins,” Gabe replied.

“That’s good, right?” Harper brightened.

“Well...” He shrugged. “Not really. They have an MO of returning to the scene and hitting it again a little while later, after they’ve scoped the place out and have a better idea of what they’re aiming at.”

Harper paled. “I have a security system. It didn’t do much good.”

“Like I said, they’re pros,” Gabe said, and when he saw the nervousness flicker across her features, he realized that she needed reassurance, not more reason to be afraid.

“So what should I do?” Harper asked.

At that moment, Bryce headed across the store in their direction and gave Gabe a decisive nod. When he reached them, he said, “It’s a go.”

“What’s a ‘go’?” Harper asked, her attention swinging between them.

“We need a police presence around here for a little while to protect you, but it can’t be too obvious, ma’am,” Bryce replied. “Officer Banks will be here today, and he’ll keep an eye out for your safety and for any...unusual activity in the area.”

Harper froze for a moment, then shot Gabe a quizzical look, one eyebrow raised.

“It’s for your safety,” Gabe said with a small smile. “Besides, this is now about the chief’s orders.”

She’d probably prefer a different officer, maybe even Bryce—safely married and constantly gushing about his toddler daughter. Gabe had already heard more about that baby than he knew about any other kid at the moment, and he’d only been back in town for a day.

“We thought that since you know each other already, it might make things less awkward. Officer Banks has offered to help clean the place up once the paperwork is done.” Bryce’s lips turned up in a small, ironic smile.

“You did?” Harper’s expression softened.

“Yeah.”

“That’s really kind.” Harper sighed. “It would definitely help. Dad’s health hasn’t been great lately, and I’ve been dreading telling him about this. But if I can tell him that we’ve got a plainclothes officer at the store—”

“We’re just about done gathering evidence,” Bryce broke in. “So we’ll be out of your hair in a few minutes. Officer Banks can take it from there.”

Bryce headed toward the front door, and Gabe glanced down at Harper. She was rigid, her spine ramrod straight and her lips pressed together in a thin line. Harper looked slowly up at him. “How much danger are we in, Gabe? Be honest.”

Her green eyes locked on to him, and he felt a surge of longing. It had been more than ten years since he’d had an unrequited crush on this woman, and one look from her still made him wish he could be some sort of superhero for her.

“Significantly less if I’m around.” He shot her a grin. “I’m trained to deal with this stuff. Trust me on that.”

Harper sighed. Did she recognize the difference between a messed-up teen and a fully trained police officer? He was particularly adept in hand-to-hand combat, and he was the best shot in Fort Collins. She was safe in his hands, and he was no longer that kid she couldn’t take seriously. He was every inch a man now.

“Let me keep an eye on the place, and you can focus on the stuff you need to take care of,” Gabe said, adding, “like Andrea’s little girl.”

She nodded, then said softly, “Her name is Zoey.”