Page 40 of Daybreak

“For you…anything, anytime,” he said. “See you back at the church.”

The tension she’d been feeling was gone. She knew from childhood that when Gunner Kingston made a promise, he kept it, and she suspected he was going to make an impression on Carl Warwick he wasn’t going to forget.

Chapter 8

Gunner called his dad to tell him where he was going, then got to the church ahead of the family and waited in the car until after they’d all gone inside.

The dining hall was filled with people milling about and keeping the trail hot between the bathrooms before sitting down to eat. He paused in the doorway, searching the crowd, and spotted her almost immediately. It was already obvious that Carl was in her personal space and using every excuse he could to touch her.

It was Gunner’s first introduction to a “get your hands off my woman” feeling. Even if she wasn’t, he realized how much he wanted her to be.

“To hell with that,” he muttered and headed toward them with single intent, then walked up to her as if Carl wasn’t even there, slid his hand beneath the hair on her neck, and kissed the side of her cheek. “Sorry I’m late, darlin’. I had to make sure Dad and Pearl got home. Come sit and cool off. I’ll get you something cold to drink and some food.”

“I’m just glad you’re here. The cold drink sounds wonderful. Not so sure about the food,” she said.

Carl had yet to close his mouth. The man was huge and disgustingly handsome, and even worse, seemed to have an in with Holly he knew nothing about.

“Holly, aren’t you going to introduce us?” Carl asked.

Gunner turned as if seeing him for the first time and introduced himself. “Gunner Kingston, and you are?”

“Uh… Carl Warwick. Holly and I are cousins.”

Gunner nodded. “Cousins. Nice to meet you,” he said and ushered Holly to a table where Garrett and his mother, Trudy, were already seated. “Sit here, honey. I’ll get your plate; save me a seat.”

As soon as he walked away, Trudy reached for Holly’s hand. “Are you okay? You’re too pale.”

“Just exhausted, Granny. I invited Gunner to eat with us. When are Alicia and Carl leaving?”

“After the dinner. They packed and loaded up their car this morning.”

“Thank God,” Holly whispered. “Carl is a bit much.”

Trudy’s eyes widened. “Was he bothering you?”

“Not anymore,” Holly said and grinned. “Gunner made sure of that.”

“Oh, good grief. I’m sorry, baby. You should have said something,” Trudy hissed.

Holly shrugged. “Daddy doesn’t need the grief.”

Trudy sighed. “I understand. Carl was spoiled rotten. He’s nearly thirty and still lives at home with his mother, for God’s sake.”

* * *

Carl was still in shock from the big man’s sudden presence and followed him to the buffet.

“So where are you from?” Carl asked.

“Here… Crossroads, same as Holly,” Gunner said and picked up a plate.

Carl frowned. “So, you live here.”

“No, I live in Dallas. I’m a homicide detective with the Dallas PD. What do you do for a living?” he asked.

“Uh… I…” And at that moment, Carl’s mother waved him down. “Oh, excuse me. I’m being paged,” he said, pointing toward his mother, who had her arm in the air, waving at him, and then he scurried off without answering.

“And that’s the end of that,” Gunner muttered.