Chapter Three
Gabe woke up to the scent of coffee. He’d slept hard for the first time in so many years, he couldn’t even count them. Years of college, medical school, and residency had trained him to sleep light and expect it to be short. He didn’t need to do that anymore. He was now sharing a practice with two other doctors and finally kept normal hours, except for the occasional emergency.
Nevertheless, his body hadn’t gotten the memo yet, and he tended to wake in the middle of the night with a start, unable to get back to sleep.
Well-rested, he finally lifted himself out of bed and pulled on shorts and a T-shirt. He grabbed his running shoes on the way out of the bedroom. It was early. He’d escaped the party before anyone had left last night and been asleep before ten o’clock. Now, the sun was barely up.
He tiptoed down the back stairs, avoiding the third one from the bottom, hoping not to disturb his parents if they were sleeping.
The scent of coffee filled his nostrils. Someone might be up, but just as easily the machine may have just percolated on its own at a set time.
As he rounded the corner, he stopped. His father leaned against the counter staring in his direction, a steaming mug in his hands and a grin on his face.
Did the man have a sixth sense? Gabe was sure he hadn’t made a single noise.
“Morning. Hope I didn’t wake you,” Gabe commented. Of course his dad had beaten him out of bed though.
“Going somewhere?” the imposing man asked as Gabe sat down to tie his shoes.
“A run. Figured I’d get a few human miles in and several wolf miles when I hit the trees.” And it was going to feel so good.
His father still stared at him. Gabe could actually feel the man’s gaze penetrating the top of his head as he tied his laces. He twitched, memories of the same sort of look from his father delving into his brain on many a morning when he’d been in high school and had come home past curfew. Somehow the man always knew what Gabe was up to.
Not this time. Surely.
“Care to tell me anything?” he asked.
Gabe paused, froze. He waited a beat and then lifted his face.
His father’s voice sounded eerily like it had when he’d been in trouble, but his face was filled with mirth. His eyes twinkled with laughter. What did he know?
“What?” He swallowed around the word. He wasn’t about to give up any information on his own. If the man knew something, he’d have to spit it out. But, how the hell . . . ?
“Seriously? Is that the way you want this to go? How long were you planning to keep it a secret?”
“Keep . . . what . . . a secret?” Fuck. Visions of a garden party flitted through his mind, making him flinch. He had to stifle a groan.
“Come on. I’m your father. Why the pretense? And what are you even doing here alone? I’m surprised you bothered to come home.” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t have.”
“Did I miss something?”
His Dad tipped his head to one side and lifted a brow. “Did I?” He paused a moment, his gaze roaming over Gabe from head to toe, scrutinizing him. “No. I think not. Gabriel Albertson, I saw the way you were looking at Kathleen Davis. Don’t try to play stupid. You stood for many long minutes half-listening to her father and his friends while your attention was focused on nothing but the man’s daughter. I watched your reaction to her and saw her squirming beneath your gaze. When she bolted from the room, you took off after her like she might escape the planet if you didn’t hurry.
“I remember that feeling. That look. That drive to follow at all costs. Your mother did that to me.”
Gabe gulped for air. “Does anyone else know?”
His father furrowed his brow. “I’m sure they do, but I didn’t discuss it with anyone except your mother. I didn’t expect to find you in the house when we got home. I was surprised you were here. Why?”
Now it was Gabe’s turn to be shocked. Why? Because I value my freedom, that’s why. People go to jail for such things. He stood and paced the kitchen, wishing he’d had two cups of that coffee behind his father before engaging in this conversation. “What the hell would you have had me do, Dad? Molest her? Because if I spent even one more second in the vicinity of that girl, that’s what would have happened. I’d have taken her on the spot, maybe not even given her the courtesy of finding a private place to claim her.”
Edward tipped his head even farther to one side. “I’m missing something. What’s the problem?”
“Don’t you think she’s a little young, Dad? Did that ever occur to you?”
“Kathleen? Sure, she’s young, but she’s older than your mother was when I met her. Why are you so worried about her age? You aren’t that old.” He snickered.