He still held her, an enduring rock in an ocean of tears. Despite the way she’d yelled at him.

She flinched. “I’m—I’m so sorry. I need to go. Let me go, Gabe, I didn’t mean to act like…” There was no word for her behavior.

“Like someone who felt betrayed?” She felt him rub his cheek against the top of her head before he let her pull back. Keeping a hand on her arm, he grabbed a couple of tissues from a box on his desk and snagged her backpack. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

As he walked her out, he paused at the reception desk. “Regina, I’m on the beeper for emergencies. Anything else, I’ll deal with tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.”

Audrey frowned. No, this wasn’t right. “You shouldn’t—”

“Goldilocks, you’re not going to win this argument.”

Ah, yes, that was obvious.

Silently, she let him guide her out the back door and into his Jeep. His vehicle? “I can drive myself.”

“No. You can’t.” His jaw set.

When he drove past the turnoff to her cabin, she sat up.

“Gabe, where are we going?”

“My place. We’re going to get this straightened out.” He glanced at her, and a corner of his mouth tipped up. “Don’t look so worried. I left the rubber mallets and handcuffs at the station.”

She choked on a half-hysterical laugh.

Slowing, he turned onto a small, nearly invisible, dirt road. A few minutes later, the heavy forest opened into a cleared area. Four…no, five…two-story log cabins sat in a semi-circle with the open side facing the long expanse of lake. “I thought Bull lived here,” she said blankly.

“He does. So do I—and Caz, too.” Gabe pulled into the leftmost house’s garage.

After they got out, he stopped at the inside door, toed off his boots, and waited until she removed her shoes. Then he led her up three steps and into a narrow hallway between two small bedrooms. Crossing under stairs that rose to the floor above, they emerged into a huge room that opened all the way to the vaulted ceiling. Immense front windows gave an incredible view of the lake.

“You have a beautiful place.”

“Thank you.” He waited as she looked around.

The rest of the house was beautiful, too. Off-white finished walls contrasted with the dark wood beams making up the ceiling. The window trim was finished logs.

On the left, the chocolate leather-and-suede sectional faced a massive stone fireplace with a black insert. She imagined cozy evenings in front of a crackling fire.

A wide flat-screen television hung over the fireplace mantel. Sturdy carved end tables and an equally hefty coffee table indicated a big man’s home.

To her right, a brown granite-topped island separated the kitchen from the dining area under the front windows.