Operation Breathless Read Online Free PDF Page B

detail once we parted.”
    Friends and couples had begun to pair up, so Gabe had taken advantage of the opportunity to approach Susanna and speak privately to the woman he would forever think of as Lovely Lady.
    Lightly, carefully, he touched the pendant. “I know my sister’s work. I also know when she designs custom pieces like the one you’re wearing, she keeps a record of the purchase.”
    “Not if it was a gift,” Susanna challenged, watching him carefully.
    Gabe slid a hand against her elbow and gave a directing nod toward a pathway that cut through the yard. “Feel like a walk?” To his delight, she joined him without much hesitation.
    Before they stepped away from the crowd and firelight, Gabe looked down at her. He settled a hand against her lower back. “The fact that it’s a gift would have only made it easier to find you. Pia doesn’t give away her pieces arbitrarily, as I’m sure you already know.”
    Susanna didn’t reply to that, so Gabe continued. “I fully intended to find you again—either through Pia or at Wellsprings.” He paused there, deliberately. And he smiled at her. “Did you honestly think I’d let you get away?”
    “The evidence would suggest.”
    Gabe guided their steps toward the walkway. She stayed close as they traversed the cobbled path, but folded her arms across her midsection. She seemed so much shyer now.
    “About those details you mentioned? The ones you thought I might forget? Trust me. I haven’t forgotten a thing about our encounter.”
    Her gaze darted upward. A gust of wind caught the ends of her hair and set them rippling. “But you walked away.”
    “Did I?” He clenched a fist to keep from reaching up and gently tucking the wisps back into place behind her ear. He refused to impose beyond comfort and propriety. He didn’t want her to ever think he’d take advantage of her emotions, and the complete openness she had bestowed upon him like a gift.
    Her brows furrowed. “I’ll have to get back to you on that.”
    “Fair enough.”
    Silence rode by. “What will you do while you’re on leave?”
    Gabe had actually been thinking about that—ever since walking Axle at the park. “The idea of volunteering at Wellsprings of Grace is appealing. Could you use the help?”
    “Wh…what…?”
    He moved his hand from her back to her elbow as they meandered toward a two-person swing that hung from the thick, overhead branch of an ancient oak tree.
    “I’m not just asking because of the kiss, Susanna, so don’t worry. Actually, I was talking with Ryne Calvert during dinner—during which you artfully arranged yourself at the end of the picnic table with Pia at the other side so I couldn’t infringe.”
    Susanna shot him an affronted, innocent look.
    Gabe grinned at that and continued on. “Anyway, he works at—”
    “Angel Falls High School. He’s a resource officer who intervenes at the first signs of a teenager wandering off the straight and narrow.”
    “Mm-hmm. He seems like a great guy. Former cop with the Angel Falls PD from what I hear.”
    “He makes me feel very protected. He’s also someone I work closely with as he identifies problem cases and refers them to the center.”
    Gabe nodded. “Just think of it. Now you have two cops nearby. Kind of like bookends of security.”
    As hoped, his quip made Susanna laugh. “I’ll be living in a veritable fortress. My parents will be thrilled.”
    “Let’s sit down.” He gestured toward the swing and held the thick metal chains in place while she settled. Gabe joined her and set them in motion. “The point is, I want to make use of myself while I’m here.”
    “For a month.” She sounded tentative on that count, a bit sad perhaps?
    “A month. Maybe longer, maybe shorter. Remember, I need to talk to God about that.”
    As they floated back and forth on the swing, the aroma of her perfume, something floral, yet hinting at spice, carried to him, but only in subtle, intriguing amounts—so much