Christmas on 4th Street (Fool's Gold Romance) Read online

  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.”

  “I’m sure that will be a good thing.”

  “We’re continuing our planning for a search-and-rescue team,” she added. “I’ve been thinking about it for years, but what happened last week has made the need even more apparent. Getting the necessary funding will be a challenge, but we’re up to it.” She glanced at him. “Your parents are staying in town.”

  “I just saw some of the real-estate listings they’re considering.”

  “And you?”

  “I’m leaving.”

  “May I ask why?”

  Because...because... Gabriel stared into his coffee, as if the answers were there. “I have to go back to the army.”

  “Oh. I thought you’d fulfilled your time.”

  “Yes. I’m up for reenlistment.”

  “But you haven’t made your decision yet,” she said. “You’re still considering your options.”

  He wasn’t sure if she was asking him or telling him. Both options were slightly unsettling. Mayor Marsha seemed to know far too much about him, and he couldn’t figure out how. Noelle would have mentioned any conversation with the mayor, and he couldn’t see either of his parents chatting with her. Or maybe he could.

  “Felicia will be pregnant soon,” the mayor continued. “Gideon having a baby. That will be a show.”

  Gabriel chuckled. “The two of them could be very intense parents.”

  “Carter keeps them grounded. He’s a strong soul. He’s going to be an extraordinary young man. I would imagine in your line of work, you see the dark side of life. The thin thread that can be cut at any moment.”

  The shift in conversation caught him off-guard. “It’s tenuous,” he admitted. “One second a soldier is standing there, laughing, and the next, he’s in pieces. You never get used to it.”

  “No one could,” she murmured. “It’s not like that here. We have our tragedies. There are accidents and people die. But we are a community in every sense of the word. In Fool’s Gold, people belong. We work together to keep those on the fringes from slipping through the cracks. We’re not always successful, but we keep trying.”

  She picked up her mug. “You’re familiar with Noelle’s past?”

  “Yes,” he said, wondering how Mayor Marsha had found out.

  “I admire her courage. She went through so much and survived, yet found herself abandoned by the very person who was supposed to love her. A lesser person would have been crushed, but she pulled herself together and started over. I have great respect for her.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Then stay and prove that there is a happy ending for both of you.”

  He stiffened, the gentle attack surprising but strangely effective.

  She took a sip, then put down her mug and reached for her large handbag. She opened it and pulled out a manila envelope.

  “These are for you,” she said.

  The conversational shifts had left him reeling. He couldn’t think of what to say, so he opened the envelope and was shocked to find dozens of cards and letters, all addressed to him. They were from former patients—soldiers he’d kept from dying in those first critical hours. There were drawings from their kids and pictures. Men and women, some scarred and missing limbs, but smiling and happy. Home, where they belonged.

  He flipped through the cards, reading words of thanks and gratitude. Notes reminded him of forgotten moments, of a kind word or a promise that he wouldn’t let that particular soldier die, so not to give up.

  He looked at the old woman sitting across from him. “How did you get these?”

  “I have my ways. You don’t get to be my age without meeting a few people.” She rose and shrugged into her coat. “We need you, Gabriel. Not just for your skills, but because of who you are as a man. Fool’s Gold needs you, but just as important, you need us. You belong here. Take a step of faith. I promise it will be well rewarded.”

  * * *

  Noelle wrote down the information. “Got it,” she said with a grin. “Tell her I’m thrilled.”

  She hung up and put her cell phone on the kitchen counter, then turned to Gabriel
. “Pia had her baby. A boy named Ryder. They’re both doing great and—” She laughed. “You have no idea who I’m talking about, do you?”

  “Not a clue,” he admitted. “But if you’re happy, I’m happy.”

  True words, he thought as she moved toward him, stepping over kittens as she went. They were all wide-eyed and running around the house now. Seven kittens, two mother cats and dozens of boxes from his online shopping binge a week or so ago competed for space in her small house.

  Noelle reached him and plopped herself on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lightly kissed him. “You’re such a guy.”

  “So you’re not going to believe I used to be a woman?”

  “Probably not. Although you certainly know how to shop.”

  “I might have gone a little overboard.”

  “You think?”

  She rose. He released her reluctantly, wanting to feel her next to him. Time was moving more quickly every day. It was already the 22nd. He was scheduled to leave before New Year’s. What had been weeks was now days and soon it would be hours.

  “All right,” she said. “We need to get organized. The best way to do this is to set up wrapping stations. It takes more time up front, but then the whole process will go more quickly. I’ll clear the table for actual wrapping. We’ll do ribbon in the kitchen and then stack the presents on my desk in the office.”

  She reached down and scooped up one of the kittens. “All the better to keep little paws and claws away from anything tempting.” She stroked the kitten as she spoke.

  She turned back to him. “Start going through the boxes. Get everything sorted by size. There are gift cards over there.” She pointed with her free hand. “You can write those first so we’ll know who gets what present.”

  She carried the kitten into the small office and came back with her laptop. She set it by the sink and logged on to her email program. “Oh, look. Word is spreading about Pia’s baby.”

  He still had no clue who Pia was, but liked that Noelle was excited for her. Mayor Marsha had been right—this town looked out for its own.

  His conversation with the older woman still left him feeling unsettled. She knew too much, and he couldn’t figure out where she got her information. But rather than trying to figure it out, he’d decided to instead simply enjoy the cards.

  “There’s a picture!”

  He looked up and saw Noelle pointing to the screen. He rose and walked over to see the grainy picture of the newborn. His skin was red, his eyes tightly closed. But he was beautiful. New life, Gabriel thought.

  Noelle handed him the kitten. “I have to go to the bathroom. Yell if any more pictures come in.”

  He took the kitten. “You’ll be gone thirty seconds,” he teased. “You can’t go that long without knowing if there’s a new picture?”

  She planted her hands on her hips. “Do you or do you not want help wrapping all your presents?”

  He chuckled. “I’ll yell if another one comes in.”

  “Thank you.”

  He watched her walk away, enjoying the sway of her hips and the careful way she stepped over all the obstructions—both living and inanimate. Her place was a mess and it was mostly his fault, he thought. Once they got the packages wrapped, he would drive them up to his brother’s. He’d also been thinking he should ask Gideon to put out the word on the older kittens. They were starting to eat regular food, which meant they would soon be old enough to be adopted. He knew Noelle was thinking of keeping the two mother cats, but there was no way she could handle them and the kittens, too.

  Her computer pinged. He turned back and saw an email had come in. He clicked on it, thinking he would see another picture of the newborn, only to be confronted with three stark sentences.

  Dr. Nelson confirmed it. The cancer is back and it’s bad. I wish there was better news.

  Gabriel’s vision sharpened to a single pinpoint of light. All he saw was the email. The words blurred, then sharpened and he understood immediately what had happened. The AML had returned. While it was unlikely, it could happen. What he hadn’t known was that she’d been worried and had been checked out by someone. She hadn’t said a word.

  His gut twisted, even as his mind denied the obvious truth. He thought about all she’d been through already. Of the picture she’d shown him and her talking about nearly dying. He thought about everything she’d lost and how she’d just figured out how to have a new life. She was happy, he thought bitterly, furious at the unfairness of the situation. She didn’t deserve this.

  Friends would rally, he knew. The town would be there for her, but that wasn’t the same as family. As having someone she could depend on.

  “Any news?”

  He turned and saw her walking back into the living room. She looked fine. Alert, healthy. Her color was good and it was all a lie.

  “Marry me,” he said, not sure where the words had come from, but meaning them. “Marry me. I’ll stay. I’ll take care of you. I can handle it, Noelle. I won’t leave. I’m not Jeremy. You can trust me to stay.”

  Her brows drew together. “What on earth are you talking about?”

  “You don’t have to pretend. I saw the email. You’ve been to a doctor.”

  “What? No, I haven’t.”

  “It’s right here,” he said, pointing to the computer. “I want to help. I want to be here for you.”

  * * *

  Noelle felt as if she’d walked into the middle of a movie where everyone knew the plot but her. Gabriel looked shell-shocked, but clear-eyed. She would guess he didn’t have a head injury. But still. Something was really wrong with the man.

  While she was thrilled at the proposal, something about it wasn’t right. He said he would marry her, but made no mention of loving her. Why would he suddenly want to marry her?

  He would stay with her? What on earth was he—

  She groaned. “I heard from Tammy,” she said quietly, then pushed past him to stand in front of the computer. The message was brief and to the point.

  Tears filled her eyes. She brushed them away and took a deep breath, then faced Gabriel.

  “It’s not me. Tammy is a friend of mine. We met in the hospital. Obviously, her cancer is back. She was never very strong. This is going to go fast. She wanted me to know.”

  There were calls she needed to make, she thought. A visit to plan. Tammy lived in San Francisco. She could go over for a few days. Tammy had a large family who would be with her, but Noelle would need to give her that last hug.

  She shook her head, then turned to Gabriel, who was staring at her as if he couldn’t bring himself to believe her. “I’m fine,” she said firmly. “Not sick at all. You don’t have to propose. I’m not dying.”

  “You’re sure?”

  A simple question that cut like a knife.

  “I’m sure.”

  He drew in a breath. “I thought, well, you know what I thought.”

  They stared at each other, then both looked away. What had once been comfortable was suddenly awkward.

  He’d felt pity, she realized. He knew she was pretty much alone in the world, so he’d offered to be there for her. Not out of love, though. He’d never said he loved her.

  She saw the truth then, about both of them. She squared her shoulders and prepared to put it on the line.

  “I’m too strong for you,” she said flatly. “I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. I suppose I was blinded by your good looks and charm. And how you made me feel. I appreciate what we’ve had together. You’re a great guy, but you’re not the one for me.”

  She drew in a breath. “I deserve someone who wants to be with me for the next eighty years, not just eight weeks. It’s not about dying, because you’re right. We could all go tomorrow. But what if we don’t? What if I live to be a hundred? I want to be with a man who would celebrate that.”

  Gabriel stared at her, uncomprehending. “I wanted to help,” he said quietly. “I would have taken care of you.”
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  “I don’t need that,” she told him. “I can handle whatever happens. I’ve proven that. I’ve lived through things you can’t imagine. I am taking chances every day and I deserve someone who will take those chances with me.” She gathered her courage. “I look at a sunrise and I see promise. You look at a sunrise and count the hours until sunset. Life is a gift and we need to accept it with gratitude and a full heart. I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t believe that with me.”

  “I would have stayed,” he said haltingly.

  “I know. But for the wrong reasons.”

  “I’m not ready to leave you.”

  “Do you love me?”

  He took a single step back and that was enough.

  “Goodbye, Gabriel.”

  Chapter 15

  The twenty-third passed quickly. The store was busy, which helped Noelle not to think. She hurt more than she’d thought possible. Losing Gabriel was even more painful than losing Jeremy had been. But no matter the giant hole in her heart, she knew she’d made the right decision. She was all in and she needed to be with someone who was willing to be the same. Gabriel wasn’t willing to take a leap of faith and she couldn’t be the only one in the relationship who was.

  But all the logic in the world didn’t keep her from missing him, she thought as she walked home. Worse, people had stopped by to ask about him, wanting to thank him for his help or wish him a merry Christmas. Noelle hadn’t wanted to go into details, so she’d said he was with his family. An explanation easily accepted in a town like Fool’s Gold.

  Now as she turned up her walkway, she told herself she would be fine. It was just a matter of time. She would fall out of love with him eventually. In the meantime, she could take pride in making the right decision, even though it was hard. He’d wanted to do the right thing, even if was for the wrong reason. She appreciated the effort, but it wasn’t enough.

  She walked into her tiny house, flipping on lights as she went. The cats raced to greet her. She petted as many as she could reach, then went into the kitchen to start their dinner service. After everyone had been fed, she cleaned up the litter box. She’d barely finished washing her hands when her doorbell rang.