Where Does My Heart Beat Now- Chapter 22

*Author's Note: Gaelic phrases & meanings from this chapter... Póg mo thóin Éireannach= Kiss My Irish A*s (pronounce it like pogue muh ho-in air-in-ach, as in "lock")

Chapter 22

Gabriel was lying twisted on the bed with his hip and part of his back resting on the cool sheets. The only sound in the room was his gentle snoring. Every now and then he would turn over to a more comfortable position. He deserved to get a little sleep after being awake for so long cleaning up storm damage and trying to pull angry cats out of trees.

“Oh, great merciful heavens! It hurts!” The scream echoed throughout the house.

Almost immediately he was out of the bed and running down the hall. The scene in front of him stopped him dead in his tracks, because Kate was doubled over in the middle of the living room with her arms wrapped around her belly. She gasped in pain before looking up to find her husband standing a few feet away, clearly stunned and worried.

Yes! He’s buying it! “Oh, Gabriel! I think I’m in labor! Ow! It hurts!”

“What?! You can’t be in labor. It’s way too early!”

“Get Daddy!” She moaned again and let out another scream. A faint popping could be heard, followed by a gush of fluid running down her legs. “Oh, hurry! I think my water just broke!”

Gabriel bolted through the living room until he nearly crashed into Corey, who was heading for the door with his medical bag, “Corey! Kate’s water just broke and she’s in a lot of pain!”

“That’s not good,” he quickly exited the kitchen, but shouted back, “Gabriel, get me some towels and a warm blanket!”

“Okay!” Gabriel was on the verge of having a heart attack. By the time he returned to the living room with the towels and blanket, Kate was already on the floor with her legs propped up, her father getting different things together. She seemed to be in a terrible amount of pain from the way she clenched her teeth and clung to Sean’s hand.

“Ah, thank you, Gabriel. I’ll take it from here,” Corey took the clean towels and set them beside his bag before pulling on a pair of latex gloves, “Okay, Kate. You’re actually ready to push.”

Her husband stepped back to stand beside his mother and watched anxiously, “Is she all right? There aren’t any problems, are there?”

“Alright, sweetheart… go ahead and push.”

Kate squeezed Sean’s hand tighter as she forced her lower body muscles to relax as she pushed. A few times she moaned, but went right back to pushing.

“That’s a good girl. You’re almost done,” Corey coaxed.

With a final yelp, Kate collapsed on her back and watched as her father picked up the ‘baby’ to show the others. When Gabriel saw it, he wasn’t sure how to respond.

“What the f-,” he started to say, but stopped. What the hell is going on?! That’s not a baby!”

The others burst out laughing, and Kate sat up, wiping away tears. Their trick had worked. She took the object from Corey and held it up, “Oh, boy! We got you good, honey! You should have seen your face!”

“You’re not in labor?”

“Nope!”

“Then what was with the fluid draining?” Gabriel was none too happy.

She laughed again before explaining, “I squeezed a water-filled balloon between my thighs”

“So all of this was a joke?”

“Exactly.”

He turned his back on them and stormed down the hallway, saying, “That was so not cool! You guys scared the s**t out me!” The tension in his voice made them feel bad for playing the trick on him, especially Sean.

“I feel terrible, now. I didn’t want to make him mad, just to have fun with him,” Sean’s face fell as he spoke.

Kate got up from the floor, as she felt a need to calm her husband after upsetting him. She walked down the hall until she came to their bedroom and stopped when she heard what sounded like crying. Oh, dear. I didn’t mean to make him cry. God, now I feel awful for hurting him. “Gabriel, honey… are you okay?” She hurried over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“Why would you do something like that, Kate? You know I’m very sensitive about stuff like that, especially after losing my first wife and baby. When you played that trick I was scared to death,” Gabriel rested his cheek against hers, “I don’t want anything to happen to our baby,” he sweetly kissed her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin.

“I’m so sorry, honey. I didn’t realize how much it would hurt you.”

“It’s all right,” his eyes glittered in the darkness, “I guess I reacted a little too strongly.”

Her voice was soft, but she was hesitant as she started to touch his arm, afraid that he might pull away from her, “I never meant to hurt you, Gabriel. I know you want everything to go well with the baby, but I’d also like to have a little freedom, if you understand.”

“I do, and I’ll try my hardest to stop being so protective of you. I don’t want to lose you because of my foolish behavior.”

The room became quiet in the moments that followed; except for the ticking of the Robert E. Lee clock hanging on the wall beside the windows. After a while, Gabriel felt Kate lay her hand over his and rest her head on his shoulder. Now that they understood each other they could relax again and enjoy the rest of the evening.

“Oh, I wish the baby would hurry up and grow so she can come out. Why does pregnancy have to be so long?” She mused.

He gently kissed her head and said, “I don’t know, baby. Just be patient, that day will come.”

Kate thought of something that the two of them could do together the next day since the weather was supposed to be nice, “Gabe, how about we go riding tomorrow?”

We’ve just got Bo, and Yankee won’t let anyone ride him besides Dad… So, who are you planning to ride?”

“Well, I found this pretty buckskin gelding online the other day, and as far as I know he’s still for sale. I think his name is Buster. He’s a nice-looking horse… I wonder why they’re selling him.”

Maybe he’s called Buster for a reason, “How much do they want for him?”

“It doesn’t matter, because I will be buying him since he will be my horse.”

“Honey, let me buy him. That way you can save your money for the baby’s room. Besides, I want to check him over first in case they are hiding something; I know what to look for. You want a sound horse, especially when you want them to ride a certain way or do tricks like Bo.”

“Gabriel, I’ve got a gut feeling about this horse,” her rambling halted when she felt a bit queasy, and she quickly jumped up and ran for the bathroom, leaving her husband staring awkwardly after her. She returned a few minutes later, wiping her mouth on a hand towel, “I think the worst of the morning sickness has finally caught up with me.”

“But it’s not morning.”

“Well, whatever pregnancy sickness this is. Gosh, I’m so ready for this to be over with. I just want to get this baby out.”

He pulled her onto his lap, resting his chin on her shoulder, “You’re only in your second trimester… or something like that. Just wait.”

“I have been, and you have no idea what it’s like having to get up every thirty minutes in the middle of the night to go pee. It gets very old.”

“Actually, I do know what it’s like,” Gabriel smirked, “Whisky will go straight through ya. I should know, and that’s one reason I’ve cut back. Trust me; bouncing along on a horse with your junk slamming against the saddle does nothing for your bladder.”

She decided to give up since it was obvious that she wasn’t going to win, “Touché, but just wait until I get further along… and you thought your general was a b***h.”

“Nah, I don’t think you’re capable of being a b***h. Not my sweet girl,” he squeezed her tightly until she was trying to get away. After looking down at her he replied, “You okay?”

“Choking!” Once she was released, Kate playfully walloped him across the shoulder, “Did you forget that I’m pregnant, you over-stuffed teddy bear?”

“But I’m your over-stuffed teddy bear.”

“Right. Plus, you make a fantastic personal space heater, however you just about burned me up last night before we had to go to the shelter.”

Gabriel pinched the apple of her cheek before squeezing her against the side of his body, “What can I say, a mhuirnín? I’m just warm-hearted.”

Kate snorted, “Smartass.”

“Thank you. That’s one thing I’m good at.”

The clock on the wall chimed the tune of ‘Dixie’ when the hands fell on ten o’ clock, alerting the two of the new hour. Gabriel had been awake for almost twenty-four hours straight, but he wasn’t feeling tired any more since he had someone to talk to. If anything, he was eager to know if his wife would be interested in a scavenger hunt that was planned for the next day in town. It would be a fun way of bonding.

“Kate, tomorrow is Jefferson’s annual fall 1860’s scavenger hunt. Would you like to be my partner?” He asked.

Her face lit up, “Sure! That would be fun.”

“Then, we better get you that horse.”

 

Early the next morning, Gabriel and Kate were standing alongside the owner of the buckskin gelding, watching as the horse pranced around them on its lead rope; he appeared full of spirit by the way he tossed his head and whinnied loudly at the group.

Gabriel turned to his wife and cocked an eyebrow, “This is the horse you want? He’s kind of wild,” he turned to the owner, “What’d you do, get him right off the range?”

The older gentleman spat out a mouthful of tobacco juice and slapped the gelding’s withers, “Nah, he’s just high spirited… Needs a lady to tame him. Other than that, he’s a great horse.”

“Is he broke?”

 “Yep! I reckon you could hop right on him and go.”

Gabriel turned to his wife, considering the horse, “Kate, do you think you can ride him?”

 She was almost offended by his comment, “Honey, I grew up around horses. I know what I’m doing.”

Before thinking about his decision, Gabriel fished out his checkbook and pen from his jacket pocket, “So, what are you asking for… What’s his name?”

“Buster,” the owner replied, “and he’s six hundred.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“He was originally a thousand, but I had to drop his price.”

I wonder why, he thought sarcastically while signing the check and finishing with a flourish, “Well, Kate… looks like you have a horse, now. I wonder how Bo’s going to react when he sees him.”

Kate raised her eyebrow, “Why do you say that?”

“His stallion side comes out when he’s around a new horse, especially when it’s a male.”

 

Jefferson’s Otstott Park was bustling with many groups of people on horseback, waiting for the scavenger hunt to begin. They stopped their talking when the mayor stood at the railing inside the white gazebo in the center of the square, and raised his hands.

“This is going to be an exciting day, my friends. It’s time for our annual 1860’s scavenger hunt!” He paused to let the crowd cheer, “And if you remember, most of you always end up racing after the dynamic duo, Gabriel Dawson and Sean Howitzer, when it comes to bringing all of the items back here. If I recall, last year they actually did a little sabotaging at the General Store. Remember the taffy, boys?”

Sean looked away from the mayor and started to whistle innocently, and Gabriel said, “What taffy?”

The mayor continued, “Anyway, this year Gabriel’s teaming up with his beautiful wife, Kate. Now, General Mayo is going to explain the rules.”

Everyone applauded as the 1^st Texas Cavalry’s general made his way up to the gazebo and cleared his throat, “As you probably know, this is Civil War themed. You and your partner will ride throughout the town looking for items on the list you will be getting in a moment. You will get the item with your color ribbon on it and put it in your saddlebag. Obviously, the first team back with all of their items with the correct color ribbon wins.

“Now, there won’t be any running into another team, fighting, tripping, blackmail, trickery, and absolutely no taffy sabotaging… Gabriel.”

After all the teams had their lists and color, Gabriel and Kate’s being green, they lined up beside the tall clock in the square and listened to the general when he went on to talk.

“The items are hidden throughout the town. There are clues on your list to help you find them. When you hear the cannon fire that means it’s over. Alright, get ready people, this is it… and watch out for Gabriel and Sean, they might have taffy on them.”

Kate chuckled while looking over the list, a corset, two percussion caps, a housewife, cavalry insignia, and a pistol… Why do we need a pistol? When she looked over in Gabriel’s direction something shiny caught her eye, “Gabriel, why do you have your sword with you?”

He cleared his throat, and kept his voice low when he leaned over to speak, “I overheard one of the guys say that Nick broke out of jail the other night after lights out and they haven’t found him yet. My guess is that he’s going to make his way back here; he’s still after me, Kate, and now you. I can’t just let this pass. I’ve got to protect you any way I can.”

The sound of the cannon going off startled the two of them, and they realized the game had begun. They flew down the cobblestone street after the rest of the competition, including Sean and Ava, before Kate pulled out the list and started to read the first clue.

“‘To find your corset, seek out the building that has been visited by a famous movie director, but pick the correct one.’”

Gabriel thought about it before yelling, The Excelsior! Go to the Excelsior House!”

“Why not the Jefferson?”

“Wrong hotel! Stephen Spielberg signed the guest book in the Excelsior! I should know… I’ve seen it.”

A few minutes later they skidded to a stop in front of the long, white hotel and quickly tied their horses to the railing before running into the building. The hotel’s manager smiled while holding up a basket of rolled up corsets with different colored ribbons tied around them.

“What color are you two?” She asked.

“Green!” Gabriel and Kate shouted together.

Once outside again, they mounted up, and then checked the list for the next item, seeing that it was the percussion caps. Kate stuffed the list back into the saddlebag before kicking Buster in the sides; she knew exactly where to go without having to consult in her husband. She’d been to the seamstress’s shop too many times not to know that was what the clue was referring to. Already, she was far ahead of her husband and could see the seamstress’s on the corner with its red brick walls and tall windows draped with a soft pink chiffon material.

Beth will be happy to see me, again, Kate thought as she yanked open the door, surprising the older woman behind the counter, “Hi, Beth. I’m looking for percussion caps, whatever those are.”

“Ah, where’s Gabriel? I’m assuming he’s your partner, right?”

The bell above the door rang when it opened and Gabriel stepped in panting and his hand still on the metal handle. He straightened and replied, “Damn, girl! You were moving like a bat outta Hell! We don’t need to go that fast.”

“Hello, Gabriel. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. I bet you’re excited about seeing that baby of yours, aren’t you?”

“I’m more than excited, Beth.”

While Kate chatted with the seamstress, he searched around the shop for the caps, always listening in on their conversation in case they said anything interesting or concerning him. It’s nice that she has Beth to talk to. They really get along well. He happened to look down at the basket of ribbons and saw the gold caps sparkling in the light, “Ah! Found the percussion caps!”

Kate bounded over to where Gabriel was standing to see what percussion caps were, “Those are strange-looking. Where do they go?”

“On the n****e.”

“What?!” Her eyes widened.

“The n****e of the gun,” Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose, “Don’t turn perverted on me.”

A few minutes later the two of them were galloping toward their next item when Gabriel pulled Bo up and reached for his sword, preparing to dismount. Something made him uneasy, but he wasn’t sure as to what it was. He jumped down and grabbed onto Kate’s reigns after she had trotted back to him, making her worry.

“What’s wrong, honey?” She asked.

Gabriel helped her down from the saddle, pushing her behind him while gripping the hilt of his pistol, which he just happened to have on him. He popped the cylinder out and loaded several rounds of bullets.

“Blanks?”

After snapping the cylinder back in place, he replied, “Not quite. These are real rounds.”

An eerie feeling swept over Kate as she watched her husband take a few steps forward with the pistol pointed up. He knew something that she didn’t, and it worried her. What does he see? It must be dangerous if he’s got his pistol loaded, she noticed that her legs were shaking, probably from nervousness. On instinct, her hands moved up to cover the bulge her belly made.

“Get down, Kate!” Gabriel yelled before lowering the barrel of the pistol and pulling the trigger. A loud crack disturbed the air, followed by another crack from the opposite direction.

 The wooden barrel near Kate flew back several feet with a large bullet hole in the side of it, startling her. She watched from behind a brick wall as Gabriel returned the fire, but missed whatever he was shooting at. Eventually, his opponent stepped out from behind a building, and she gasped; Nick stood about fifty yards away from Gabriel with a nasty sneer on his face, Oh, God! Why does this have to be happening?

“Well, well. Isn’t this a wonderful day to have a scavenger hunt? I didn’t know I’d be hunting you, Gabriel,” Nick took a few steps closer to Gabriel, “You know… I’m still scarred after what that little wife of yours did to me.”

Gabriel started to say something, but was cut off when Kate strode angrily past him with the sword held firmly in her hand, “And I’ll do it again, you-.”

“Kate! Are you crazy?!” Gabriel grabbed her arm, pulling her back toward him.

“I’m going to kill him, Gabriel. I swear I will,” she was seething while her husband held onto her, “D****t, Gabriel! Let me go! I’m gonna kill that son of a b***h!”

Damn! She is seriously pissed. I can barely hold onto her, Gabriel was almost pulled over from Kate trying to break free from his grasp. After a while, he wrapped his arm around her chest, restraining her, and growled in her ear, “Pick your battles… and this is not one of them.”

“Let me go so I can stick this between his eyes,” her eyes blazed, “He’s pissed me off for the last time, and he’s going to pay. Now, LET ME GO! I’ll break your arm if I have to!”

During the argument, Kate and Gabriel never even noticed that Nick had closed the distance between them. He stood in front of them and sneered while pulling back the hammer on his pistol. His eyes moved over them before he started laughing wickedly.

“Ah, it looks like you have screwed her. Now she’s nothing more than a s**t, and since she’s carrying a little heathen she’ll be of no use to you. Why stay with someone who’s broken?”

“Broken?!” Kate finally broke free from her husband and got in Nick’s face, “The only person who’s broken is you. You’re nothing but a heartless wretch.”

Gabriel pulled her back and said, “That ‘little heathen’ is my baby, and I’m proud that Kate’s pregnant. After losing Susan and my first child you should know that I’m excited to have this one.”

With another laugh, Nick crossed his arms over his chest and said, “Funny you should mention Susan. It’s strange that such a healthy woman would die so young, including her baby, and all while giving birth.”

“What do you mean, Nick?”

“I never thought that bottle of blood thinner and the rat poison anti-coagulant I mixed into her drink a few weeks before she died would actually work. I guess it affected the baby, too.”

A sickening feeling in the pit of Gabriel’s stomach overwhelmed him as the horrifying truth sank in. So, Susan died because she lost too much blood, and that was from her blood not being able to clot… and the poison had gone through her system to enter the baby’s body, killing her; it all made since. There was no reason for her to die. I could still have her and my baby, “You murdered Susan and my baby girl. If anyone’s going to kill you, it’s gonna be me!” He pointed the pistol right at Nick’s head and prepared to fire, but not before Kate ripped it from his hand and bashed Nick over the head with the hilt of the pistol, “Kate!”

She turned the pistol over so that the barrel was pointing directly at Nick. Her hand was shaking slightly from fear and nervousness, Come on, Kate. Just pull the damn trigger and end this nightmare, “Gabriel, I’m going to pull this trigger and rid us of this murderer,” He’s hurt you too many times, and it’s time for it to end.

Nick moaned from being hit in the head while trying to get back to his feet, but not before he was staring down the dark barrel of Gabriel’s pistol, “Just kill me now. I’d rather be dead than go back to jail or prison,” he glanced down at the ground, but when he looked back up at them the intent to kill again burned in his eyes like a raging fire, “I never liked you, Gabriel. Your life was just too perfect. You had the gorgeous wife and so many friends… and when you told us that you had a baby on the way, it was just too much for me. I couldn’t stand seeing you so damn happy. That’s when I decided to turn your world into a living hell. I almost succeeded on several occasions. If you had just killed yourself when you thought about it, I would have been deliriously happy and I wouldn’t be looking at you right now, but no. Sean had to drag your depressed a*s up to Washington, where you met this b***h.”

“Gabriel… what do I do? I want to shoot him, but I don’t want to be accused of killing someone,” Kate was sick of hearing the garbage coming out of Nick’s mouth, and was fighting the urge to bury the hilt of the pistol deep in his skull.

Her husband laid his hand on her shoulder and shook his head, “Honey, he’s committed the murder of two people. Not to mention, he’s tried on numerous occasions to kill us. He deserves this fate.”

“But it seems so wrong to kill out of vengeance.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Gabriel noticed Nick raise his gun up at Kate while she had her back turned and pull back on the hammer, “KATE, MOVE!” He knocked her out of the way just as a gun fired, but it wasn’t Nick’s. When he looked back up, his enemy was flat on the ground with a bullet through his chest, “What in the hell?” As he turned around to see where the shot had come from, he saw Sean return his own Colt back to its holster, rage in his eyes, “Sean?”

“Dude, how many times am I’m gonna have to come and save your a*s?” His friend strode over to the scene and kicked Nick’s foot, “He looks dead to me. I sure hope I don’t go to jail for this,” he then turned back to Gabriel and said, “Next time, don’t be a p***y and just pull the damn trigger. You’ve got testicles for a reason.”

“I thought those were for making babies… or looks, I haven’t decided yet,” Gabriel joked.

“Seriously. Leave it to you to be all macho and ‘oh, I’m going to kill that son of a b***h’, but it never fails, you always hesitate. By God, Kate practically pistol-whipped him while you just stood there. That girl’s got more balls than you, and she’s the one who’s pregnant!”

After the police had cleared the scene of the body and questioned all witnesses of what had happened, the three of them mounted back in their saddles to finish the hunt. Thankfully, Sean wasn’t going to be brought up on any charges since he was using self defense against Nick. Even after everything that had taken place that afternoon, Kate and Gabriel returned to the gazebo after retrieving all of their items. They managed to make it back a few seconds before Sean and Ava, which meant that they had won. Kate was still a little traumatized by the shoot out, but she knew that she no longer had to worry about always looking out for Nick.

Now, all Kate has to do is enjoy the rest of her pregnancy, Gabriel thought while watching his wife conversing cheerfully with some of the other couples. Her pregnant tummy was very visible, and made him smile. A noise behind him caught his attention, and when he turned around, Sean was leaning against Bo with his arms crossed over his chest, “What’s up?”

“Are you just determined to make Kate widow?” Sean questioned.

“Póg mo thóin Éireannach,” Gabriel rolled his eyes.

“Did you just tell me to suck your left nut?”

“Sure. Let’s go with that.”

“I would, but I’m not gay. Although, I’m sure Kate would enjoy it, yes?”

Gabriel slapped Bo’s hindquarters, making the horse step away from Sean, “Nah. She prefers more traditional sex,” he snorted, “I don’t think she could have gotten pregnant from sucking on my testicles.”

“Traditional? Man, Ava always tries something different, no matter how ridiculous it may be.”

“Why are we even discussing this?” Gabriel had started to remove Bo’s tack and load it into the trailer.

At that particular moment Kate showed up with a grin on her face, and stood beside her husband, eager to hear what they were talking about. However, it probably wasn’t the best time to listen in to their conversation.

“Hey, you’re the one who has the Trinity knot tattooed on your penis.”

“Whoa! What?!” Kate’s eyes widened in shock at what she had just heard.

 The two men turned to look at her, Sean with a wry grin on his face, clearly enjoying himself. He cocked his head to the side and replied, “You mean he hasn’t showed you, yet?”

“No, I guess I’ve never noticed it before. Why, should I have seen it?”

Gabriel broke in instantly, “It’s not actually on my penis. It’s near it. There’s a big difference, there.”

“Whatever. You still had your junk tattooed,” Sean just shook his head.

Once Kate found her voice she asked, “Why?”

“I was a tad drunk at the time… but it looks really cool, nonetheless,” Gabriel added with a sigh.

Kate started to laugh and had to wipe tears from her eyes. She held onto her belly as she bent over, “Now… I’ve got… to see… this tattoo.”

With a slap, Sean dropped his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder before replying, “That’s badass.”

Gabriel thought carefully about what he was going to say so as not to make the conversation worse. After a while the only comeback he could think of was, “Hey, it takes a man with real balls to tattoo his man business. I mean, it’s not like the Trinity knot’s huge, or anything. That s**t hurts.”

“Do your parents know about it, honey?”

“I would never show them to begin with. Besides, I think it makes me look even sexier,” he flashed a brilliant smile, “Wouldn’t you say so, Sean?”

His friend gave him an awkward look, “Gabe, I don’t get pleasure from looking at you in all of your glory, but I’m sure Kate does. Isn’t that right, baby doll?”

She was hard pressed to find words, “Um…”

“Quit hitting on my wife, Sean. Ava wouldn’t be too happy about that,” he decided to change the subject before it got any worse, “So, any idea on how Kate and I can fix up the baby’s room? I was thinking maybe paint the walls to look like the Battle of Gettysburg with a giant portrait of Robert E. Lee painted on one of them. Ooh, and maybe even-.”

“Ah, no. Our daughter’s room is not going to look like a battlefield. We want it to look like a normal nursery,” Kate folded her arms over her chest and became stern with her husband.

“What if it’s a boy?”

“Still. Normal. Like cute animals or teddy bears.”

Gabriel’s eye twitched, “Are you seriously my wife? Does it look like I do cute animals and stuff like that? Our daughter’s going to be a badass like her daddy. She’ll be right out there in the middle of all the fighting, you just watch,” he pulled his unloaded pistol out and started twirling it around on his finger, “So, no teddy bears or anything fluffy and cute.”

“But you’re fluffy and cute, Gabe,” Kate kissed his cheek before poking him in the side, making him wrench away, “If you don’t want to do anything cute, then what do you suggest? Just don’t pick anything too hardcore.”

“We’ll compromise. Paint the walls a light green and decorate in Civil War designs. How does that sound?”

“Deal,” she kissed his lips lovingly before pulling his hands to her belly, “I can feel her moving.”

Sean cocked an eyebrow, “Isn’t it a little early to be feeling the baby move? You’re what, four months?”

“Try five,” she corrected.

“Still. From what I’ve heard, most women don’t feel the baby until they’re six months.”

“Well, my girl’s special,” Gabriel hugged Kate tightly, “and so is our baby. That’s why I’m doing everything I can to keep them safe.”

Sean looked down at his watch and said, “I think some food sounds really good right now.”