Gabriel Brown: Collection of Short Alaskan Bush People Fan Fics

Just Right

When you walked into the wall of muscle that was Gabriel Brown, you thought at first you had walked into an actual wall.

"Ooof!" Your head connected solidly with his chin. Your hands, which had been holding your cell phone in front of you, smashed back into your chest as your body slammed into his. "Owwww!" You yelled.

You felt as two meaty arms wrapped around your back, steadying you. You stiffened, startled.

"Hey! Let go of me!" You tried to wiggle out of the embrace.

"Sorry." The deep male voice was surprisingly soft as he released his grip.
You looked up and your heart thudded in your chest for a second. He was so handsome. Big blue eyes full of concern peered back at you.
"You can punch me if you want to." He offered seriously.

His dark hair was impossibly curly, fluffed around his head with the ends barely contained in a short ponytail.  Sporting a set of the maddest mutton-chop sideburns you had ever seen, he was without a doubt the cutest guy you had laid eyes on in a long time.

Before you moved to Alaska, you had dated a few guys who were either too serious or too crazy. Or the worst, too shallow.  You couldn't even count how many times you had tried to probe beyond the 'hello' with a man, only to find there was not much of substance there. Their answers to your questions were always the same, as if they had read the same 'how to date' book. By the end of the evening you didn't know anything more about them except what their practiced speech allowed.

Their hair was always predictable; not too long, not too short, not too wild and not too conservative. They all dressed in a similar uniform of wrinkled jeans and a loose t-shirt. And why was the t-shirt always loose? What were they trying to hide? After getting a couple of them undressed, you could answer that question, too. They were trying to hide soft abs and a lifetime of soft living.

You wanted so much to be captivated by a conversation and intrigued by a man who didn't do things exactly by the book. So as you looked more at this man who at first glance didn't fit the usual mold, you thought, "Wouldn't it be a great thing if this cutie was not too serious, too crazy or too shallow? What if this guy could laugh out loud at something silly but also cry with you when you are hurt? What if this guy was 'just right'"? Oh, and being single would help, too.

By this time, the cute guy was turning pink and stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He was clearly embarrassed, and also seemed a little shy. You were pretty sure by then that he hadn't been trying to grope you, so you slid your cell phone back into your pocket and stuck out your hand for him to shake.

"Don't be sorry, I'm the one who wasn't paying attention." You smiled.
"It's OK." He grinned a little and you saw a smile sweeter than you could have ever imagined. "I'm Gabriel Brown." He introduced himself and squeezed your hand slightly.

"Please don't be married, please don't be married..." You chanted to yourself as you tried to keep from staring down at his left hand.

"Are you married?" You asked pointedly and saw the pink reappear on his face. You never were very good at being subtle.
"No... Not yet."
"Would you like to be?" You teased, hoping to set him at ease.
"Uhhhh." His mouth dropped open and you realized you may have made things worse.
"I was just kidding." You laughed. Sorta. Giving him a pat on his muscular arm, you dropped your eyes from his and gave him a second to think.

It took him a few seconds to recover and with your head down, you took that time to check out the rest of him. The plaid button-down shirt that barely contained his tight muscles, combined with the black leather vest made him look like a very sophisticated lumberjack. He looked like a man who was used to hard work, or at the very least, hard work-outs. By the time your eyes had begun to travel further down, he had found his voice again.

"Do you live in town?" Gabriel asked.
"I do." You replied.

You contemplated your strategy as he nodded his head at your short answer. He was thinking of his next question. Normally you didn't play games with men. You had long ago gotten tired of playing coy games that left both people confused and unsatisfied. But if Gabriel was really as shy as he seemed to be, you felt you should let him come after you. Too many times you had chased down a quiet man only to find out he just didn't have the nerve to tell you to get lost. You smiled sweetly at him and waited.

"Sooo..." He smiled as he drug out the word.

You knew then that he was struggling with what to say next. You wondered for a minute if maybe you should give him a little more encouragement. Not encouragement like grabbing him by his tight butt and dragging him off to bed with you. Well... at least not yet.

"Sooo..." You mimicked. "Do you live in town?" A simple question. Or so you thought.
"No. But sometimes, yes. It depends."

You stared unblinking at him for so long that his eyes began to dart from side to side.

"What kinda weird answer is that?" You snapped as gently as you could.
"The truth." He shrugged and grinned, showing a sweet little gap in his front teeth.
"Alright, Gabriel. I need more details." You folded your arms across your chest. This was getting interesting.

He tilted his head to one side, deciding if he wanted to share more. You wouldn't push him, but you hoped he would take a chance on trusting you and tell you more.

"OK," He decided. "My family and I live outside of town. My dad hasn't been doing too well lately, so sometimes we stay in town to be closer to the doctors."

It wasn't a very long explanation, but it told you so much. His family must be very close to each other if they all come to town to be with his dad. His hesitancy to talk too freely about them also told you that he was protective of them.

You glanced up at Gabriel and realized you wanted to know more about him. You let your eyes travel back over his distinctive hair and sideburns. Then you took in his shirt-vest combo and fitted jeans. There was nothing shallow or predictable about him. He had his own look and style and in just a few words, he had intrigued you more than any man you had ever met. His smile tugged at your heart and you knew what your next move would be.

"Would you like to take me to lunch?" You asked suddenly and actually found yourself blushing a little at your boldness.

"Yes." He nodded with an even bigger smile.

Your mind filtered through the few standard places in town that men normally would take you to eat. Besides the place that sold pizza and hamburgers, there was a small café that sold seafood. You prepared yourself to sound excited and happy at whichever one he chose.

"My mom is fixing lunch. I was on my way there. Do you like venison?"

Trying to mentally switch gears at his offer, you nodded your head, yes. A venison lunch?  With his mom? Your mind filled with questions. Who was this guy and how many more surprises were in store for you?

"Great." He exclaimed happily. "Let's head down to the dock. In the skiff it should only take us about an hour to get to our island." Gabriel began walking, turning back only for a moment to let you catch up.

"Hey." He looked at you suddenly with a very sly look. "Where do you take a sick boat?"

You blinked up at him in surprise and it took you a second to realize he was telling you a joke. "I don't know." You played along.

"To the Doc! Get it? The dock?" He waggled his eyebrows and laughed at his own joke and your heart tumbled in your chest. He was sexy and adorable and you couldn't believe your luck.

As you walked along beside him he began to loosen up more and tell you silly joke after silly joke. By the time you made it to the dock your sides were hurting and tears were streaming down your face.

You looked over at Gabriel Brown. He was definitely not shallow and he was certainly not predictable. He was exactly who you had been looking for.

He was just right.