Free Ghosts by Heather Huffman Page A

attack.” Vance delivered the line in his typical deadpan way.
    Gabe nodded. Vance could see both amusement and concern written in the man’s eyes as he studied Vance a moment longer before leaning back.
    “You’re about to step in where Jessie left off, aren’t you?” Vance asked warily.
    “I’m not going to pretend to know what you’re going through. Not really. I mean, I can remember when Jessie and I first got together, when that scum Aleksander was after her, there was about an hour when I didn’t know if she was alive or dead. The not knowing was enough to make me forget to breathe. That’s about as close as I can get, man. So I’m not going to lie and say I understand your pain. I can’t even begin to grasp the depths of it.”
    “Good.”
    Gabe chewed his lip for a moment before plunging ahead. “But I do know that if Harmony were here, she’d kick your butt for not letting her go.”
    “I should have known I wouldn’t get off that easy.”
    “Is it bad to have people who love you enough to worry about you?” Gabe asked.
    “It didn’t turn out so great for Harmony.”
    “That wasn’t your fault.” Gabe’s voice grew firm.
    “Are you sure about that?” Vance wasn’t. Daily, he recounted the events leading up to her death. Daily, he thought of all the ways he could have stopped it.
    Gabe met Vance’s gaze without flinching. “I’ve read the reports. I’m positive it wasn’t your fault.”
    “Says the small-town cop,” Vance snorted.
    “Play that game if you want, but we both know I wasn’t always a small-town cop. You’re using the blame game to hide from life.”
    “Is Jessie done with the kids yet?” Vance was beginning to wish she’d been the one to give the lecture.
    Gabe threw his hands up in defeat. “Alright, I’ll stop.”
    Vance tried to soften his scowl. He knew Gabe and Jessie meant well. “Thanks.”
    “Now for the important question: Are you going to eat the last piece of bacon or not?”
    “How have you not gained a hundred pounds down here?”
    Gabe’s grin was wicked as he swiped Vance’s bacon. “What can I say? Jessie keeps me busy.”
    “I’m going to tell myself you mean building barns or something.”
    “Yep. Lots of barns.” Gabe’s chuckle told Vance there were no barns involved.
    Vance’s eye-roll was more about playing a part. In truth, he was happy Jessie had found the real deal. Not many did. Gabe was a good man and a good friend. True to his word, he let the subject drop.
    After breakfast, Gabe headed into work. Jessie was elbow-deep in her morning chores, so Vance took the opportunity to lose himself in the vast expanse of woods surrounding the couple’s home. As far removed as it now seemed, there was a time when he felt perfectly at home in the woods. The farmer had been the one to teach him to hunt and fish and camp. At the time, the old man probably hadn’t a clue how Vance would apply those skills—but then, Vance figured, most people probably don’t look at their children and imagine they’ll grow up to be operatives in the fight against the modern-day slave trade.
    Of course, the farmer wasn’t his dad. Vance’s dad had been a hulk of a man with more temper than brains. When he’d landed himself in jail for a third time, Vance’s mother had found her solution in a bottle of pills. He couldn’t say he’d been sad when the pair left his life. Relieved might be a better word to describe it, at least where his father was concerned. For a while, guilt had plagued him—guilt over not being able to save his mother. Somehow, somewhere along the way, that guilt had turned to anger at his mother for wallowing in the awfulness that permeated her life. It was her job to make things better for them both. Instead, she left Vance to deal with it alone. It had taken him a lot of years to forgive her for that.
    A twig snapped to his left, drawing his attention in time to see a white-tailed deer bound away. Even after all these years,