Rough Justice (Cainsville 5.5)

"It's about time," a voice snapped, and he looked up to see Grace herself, a boggart in a wizened old lady glamour.

Grace stood on the doorstep, her

arms crossed, sunken-eyed glower on Gabriel.

"Taking your sweet time, Gwynn?"

He refrained from telling her not to call him that. One did not give Grace that kind of ammunition.

"Rose said you were out drinking. I presume that explains the smirk on your face crossing the road."

"I don't drink."

"Well, maybe you should start. Might help you deal with this." She waved inside her building. "Alcohol might help us all deal with this."

Gabriel fought a sigh. He'd done well, lifting his mood with memories of meeting Olivia. It couldn't last, though. Even before he reached the doorstep, he could hear Seanna screaming.

He tried not to wince, but Grace noticed, harrumphing as she ushered him in. "Never thought you were a glutton for punishment, Gabriel Walsh."

He glanced over.

"Oh, don't give me that look. You know how I feel about this. You need to stop coming when Rose calls. Better yet, Rose needs to stop calling you to come."

"I've told her to. Insisted on it. Rose doesn't deserve to bear the brunt of this. Nor do the fae here. It is a place of refuge for them. Of peace and rest." He nodded toward the screams. "That is hardly conducive to rest."

"She's like a baby throwing a tantrum. Ignore it, and she'll stop."

"Remind me how many babies you've raised, Grace?"

"One, actually. Which is more than you. More than Rose has, too."

He opened the stairwell door.

"Liv still doesn't know, does she?" Grace called after him.

He didn't answer.

"I should tell her. You know I should."

He turned and looked down the stairs at her. Just looked.

Grace crossed her arms. She didn't say anything, though. She knew better. Just as she knew better than to tell Olivia.

"I don't want to upset her," he said as he resumed climbing the stairs.

"Because she'll be so much less upset when she finds out you've been keeping this from her," Grace called up after him. "She will find out. You know that."

He kept climbing.

"For such a smart man, you can be a damned fool, Gabriel Walsh."

He walked through the stairwell door and continued on until it shut behind him. Then he paused.

Grace was right. Olivia would find out, and she would be furious. He'd fallen into this trap before. Over and over again he'd fallen into it. In the beginning, when he'd lied to Olivia or betrayed her, he'd told himself it was for her, when really, it had just been convenient for him. Gradually, that shifted, and he would do what he was doing now, not lying per se, but failing to tell her something significant because he really did hope to shield her.

One would think he'd have learned his lesson by now. He loved Olivia. He respected her. The absolute last thing he wanted was to damage their relationship.

And yet here he was, making another choice that could do exactly that. A damned fool indeed.