Chapter 25

25

Heather was tense. It was hard to miss. And there was strain around Gunnar's eyes. It took every bit of restraint Powell had to keep from going to him and seeing what she had to do to fix it. She was used to him having the humor in his eyes. That had been one of the main things that had convinced her he wasn't entirely a baboon after they'd first met.

The man was good at making people laugh, at putting them at ease. At making people believe things would be okay. He was the most beautiful man she had ever met—but he was also probably the kindest. She would always believe that.

That kindness was what had always drawn her the most. He was far nicer than she was, Powell suspected.

The humor and how compassionate he had been after the choir hall shooting had always stuck with her. Shelby had told her what details she could. Gunnar had helped save Shelby that day. No matter the personal cost. He still had the scars where he'd almost torn his arm to bits getting over the barbed wire fence that day.

She hadn't realized Daniel was there in Wyoming too.

Daniel immediately went to Mac and Alex—they'd been friends for years.

She'd always liked Daniel. He had been one of Haldyn's closest friends for longer than even Powell had, even though Powell had known of him her entire life. And there had been that crush she'd had on him for about two months when she'd been twenty-two or so. It had gone nowhere. They wouldn't have gelled well together at all. Especially back then.

Daniel had a slightly chauvinistic streak that he didn't hide as well as he thought he did. It drove her crazy. But she hated to see how alone he was. To see the darkness around his eyes that he probably didn't realize showed. At heart, Daniel was one of the best men she knew.

She didn't like to see her friends hurting.

Heather took the baby from Mac. She was obviously flustered and stressed. "I'm so sorry. I tried to get here as fast as I could?—"

"Hey, don't sweat it," Mac said actually kindly to Heather or something. Far cry from how he'd been with her last night. Maybe a screaming baby had dulled her brother's bad attitude? Ember Coleson could get loud when her tummy was empty, that was for sure. "We'll just blame Daniel for everything."

Heather turned around until she had the baby settled. Cara held out the thin blanket, and Heather arranged it over her daughter lightly. Powell was really trying to take notes here. She'd never really interacted with babies for a long period of time. The crying stopped as the baby got what she needed. "I don't know how long the blanket will last. But there is no way I'm boob-shotting some of those guys that were in there. They'd enjoy it just too much."

"I think she's more tired than hungry, Aunt Heather. She's been a little fussy. And chewing on her fingers like crazy," Cara said, Frankie on her hip. "And I think she's getting warm."

"Great."

"Neighbor Alex, baby Ember is nursing again. She finally quiet. Finally," Frankie said.

Frankie really liked Neighbor Alex. She'd climbed all over him whenever he'd been around. The kid was reserving judgment on Mac. Frankie was the most hilarious three-year-old Powell had ever met. She'd practically grilled Ariella about the baby in Ariella's stomach and whether that baby was a spawn. Then she'd asked if Ariella knew how Marc had put the baby inside her belly that day. And if the baby was her cousin, too.

Ariella had assured her she did know, and the baby would be Frankie's cousin no matter what.

This was a very smart little girl, well advanced for her age.

Apparently, that was a Coleson thing too.

Of course, it was; it was what Eastman had wanted from their family to begin with. Genius babies.

"I think she's getting her first tooth." Heather shot them all a rueful grin. "Don't ask me how I can tell."

Um, ouch. That sounded really painful.

"It's because all alien spawn have fangs," Cara said, then grinned back. They had the same smile. The same one Ariella had. And Frankie and the baby. All three women strongly resembled each other. Height and weight varied, but that was about it. Cara and Ariella looked like delicate, softer versions of the intensity that was Heather. "I thought you already figured that out. How was your meeting?"

"Better than watching paint dry, but not by much. Some of the company was very pretty, though. If you like guy cops. Which I most certainly do not—Gun and Mig excluded."

"I am very hungry, Mommy. Like baby sister," Frankie said exaggeratedly in her little lisp. "Can I eats tato wedgies again now, please?"

"You want those again? You are going to turn into a potato, Francisca Bonita Coleson," Heather told her little girl, who just giggled, looking like a mini-version of Heather. "Mommy's little potato—but with Grandma Bonnie's beautiful brown eyes."

Frankie giggled and batted those beautiful brown eyes right there at her mother.

"They can come too. We can get cookies when we done with tato wedgies." Frankie nodded, like she was giving permission. She reached for Alex. She liked him. "Neighbor Alex said he give me two cookies if I close my eyes when he kisses cousin Cara."

Then again, maybe it was a matter of child-greed and bribery.

"Oh, he did, did he?" Heather asked. "And did Neighbor Alex kiss cousin Cara?"

"No. Pow told him he had be good, or he get in big, big trouble," Frankie said. Powell absolutely adored the kid.

"She tells all, doesn't she?" Alex asked as they headed toward the dining room.

"Colesons speak the truth. Even the littlest ones," Heather told Alex. "Keep that in mind, Neighbor Alex."

Powell listened to them talking around her. But her focus was on Gunnar. He was so tense. Unlike she was used to seeing him.

The man seemed so alone sometimes. Like he was with the other guys of Major Crimes, but on the outside now. In ways he wasn't before.

She stepped over to him. "Are you okay?"

He surprised her by slipping his arm around her waist. Lifting her close. Her hands spread over his perfectly muscled chest.

He smelled good. Perfect. And never had she wanted to cuddle against a man like she did him. No matter who was watching.

"It was just a lot more complicated and crowded than I thought it would be. Are you feeling okay? Not sick? What did you do all morning?" His fingers slipped into her hair, cupped her cheek. He pulled her even closer.

She loved it when he touched her. She could be touched by him for a lifetime. Powell shivered at the feelings that one single thought evoked.

"I'm okay. Alex and I mostly stayed here with Cara and the girls to kill time. Brandt and Mac went back to Brandt's place for a while. To go over some paperwork Brandt has and talk about something Mac was worrying over, but Alex and I stayed here. I really didn't want to leave Cara alone. She's good at taking care of the girls, but I think she was getting a bit overwhelmed or overstimulated in the lobby. She usually only takes care of them for a few hours at a time, she said. And it's always in their home. Familiar surroundings are best for her, I've noticed."

"I don't know how many more hours it's going to be," he told her. "Promise me you'll stay with your brothers—and Cara. The idea of an extra bodyguard nearby right now keeps me sane."

"Ariella had guards around too, but she went upstairs rather early to nap and video chat with her kids before she came down again. I'm not leaving the hotel. We may take Frankie down to the game room later. There are kids' activities down there, Charlotte's aunt said. They also have movies for the projector, something about a McBubbles movie? I think it's that movie with Quade Davis. He's supposed to be here tonight, someone said. He's going to read the younger kids a story, I believe." She waited until the rest of their group had moved a little bit ahead. "Is Heather okay? She has a look in her eyes."

"She and Dan are really butting heads. She's reacting with hostility, and, hell, I don't really know what's going on in his head. He hasn't been the same since the night Haldyn and Hope were hurt and we learned what Wilson had done to Heather. Now I think he's conflicted—he doesn't know how to deal with her. Or what to do next."

"He looks at Heather. Like he used to look at Haldyn. I saw that the night Haldyn was shot." Powell had just watched everyone that night. To distract herself from the fear. To try to figure out why it had happened in the first place. She still wasn't entirely sure she'd figured it all out.

"Like how?"

"I think he's very attracted to her, and may be feeling very protective. But since she's on your team too, he doesn't know how to treat her professionally while still being attracted to her personally. I think Dan had more trouble separating those two things with Haldyn than he realized. And that's why they never got together. I think he was possibly subconsciously protecting Haldyn from himself too. He has some hang-ups from his parents' varied relationships, I think. Haldyn told me they were all highly dysfunctional. Mac said the same thing."

"Possibly." Gunnar pulled her closer and waved the rest of the group on. "We'll catch up with you all in a minute."

Her brothers eyed him suspiciously. She didn't think her brothers were really that clueless. They had to know something had happened between her and Gunnar. Or was happening, maybe?

Her brothers would find that out for sure in a few weeks. Or maybe when her kid was five? Telling her brothers ranked right up there with the top ten scariest things she had ever done. No denying that.

Her brothers were the top barbarians of all. She was convinced of that more and more every time they were together. They would tear Gunnar apart on some sort of brother principle or something.

She needed to think. There would be a best way to tell them. She just had to figure out what it was.

Maybe when her mother was there to protect her? Distract them?

In the meantime, Gunnar's arms were around her, and they felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be right now.

Powell just pressed closer for the short time that she could.