Rocky Mountain Angel (23 page)

“I didn’t mean that. I know you want to stay on the ranch. And I’m working on fixing it so we can really make a go of it.”

“You said that a couple years back. Things haven’t gotten much better.”

Gabe knew. To his regret. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t trying, and the kid needed to know that as well.

“Move over the garage. Make a few meals yourself. Ben is…” Jerk, asshole, bastard—none of the words were the right ones. True, but not the right ones for this time and conversation. “Ben is damn difficult, but he does the job at hand. At some point in the future, who the hell knows, but there might be a miracle and he’ll change.”

Rafe snorted. “Into the Easter bunny? Or the tooth fairy? Because him changing sounds like a damn fairy tale.”

Gabe agreed which made it all the worse. “Move out. I told you that before. Did you talk to Mom?”

“No.”

“Did you haul your shit into the place and settle in?”

“No.”

Gabe pulled to a stop and faced his brother squarely. “Then stop complaining. Either it’s bad enough you want to change it, or you’re just flapping your jaw to flap your jaw. Don’t be like Ben.”

Rafe’s face flushed red. “Fuck you. I’m not like him.”

Gabe understood the response all too well. “No, you’re not. So stop acting like him. Change the things you don’t like. Got it?”

His brother leaned back and eased off the dirty stare. “I get it. You’re still an asshole.”

Gabe laughed.

It was late before he parked the tractor. Rafe took off so he would make it to the dinner table in time, but Gabe carried on to make up for his lazy morning.

He was on the way home before he checked his phone to discover Allison had left him a message. It didn’t sound good, and he put through the return call regretful he’d missed her the first time.

She spoke softly. Tired maybe. “Hey, Gabe.”

“Hey, yourself. What’s this you said about not coming home night?”

“Everyone is crashing here. We need a little family time. Mom told them.”

Relief and concern flashed simultaneously. “Ah, hell. How’d that go?”

Allison sighed. “It went.”

“How you doing?”

“Better now than earlier. And nowhere near as good as this morning.” Her sadness and frustration came through loud and clear. “I feel guilty for thinking about how much fun this morning was, but damn, at the same time thinking back sure has been a good mental break from the other things we’re dealing with.”

“You don’t need to feel guilty.” Gabe pulled into his driveway, noting the empty parking space beside the house. “You want me to bring you anything?”

“You don’t need to. I’ll be fine.”

Of course he didn’t need to. But he wanted to. More than that, he wanted to be with her and help support her right now. The revelation was more powerful than the one he’d had that morning. She’d been sneaking under his skin, and it wasn’t just the good things he wanted to enjoy.

Allison’s voice perked up again. Patently fake. “You go ahead and hit the Coleman gathering at Traders. Say hi to everyone from me, give Puss in Boots a cuddle and I’ll see you on Saturday.”

They spoke for a few more minutes, but the entire time Gabe was making plans. Bullshit on going out drinking with the guys when she needed him.

Gabe shoved open the door, and stomped into his house, kind of pissed that she would even suggest that he ignore her like that. Fine if the Parkers wanted family time, but wouldn’t her family think it strange if he wasn’t there? Absentee fiancé—her mom at least would imagine something was up.

He pulled to a stop at the sight of Cassidy sitting smack dab in the middle of the kitchen. The young man looked up slowly from the book he had spread on the table. Puss in Boots, as usual, had managed to find a lap to curl up in.

Cassidy’s blond hair was wet from a shower, the bruises on his face colouring up to a variety of rich blues and purples. The split on his lower lip nicely highlighted by the swelling. But he was vertical. Vertical was good.

“You look a hell of a lot better than the last time I saw you.” Gabe stepped in closer and held out his hand. “Gabe Coleman.”

Cassidy carefully put the kitten on the floor before rising and accepting the handshake. “Thanks for offering sanctuary.”

“No problem.”

“Travis had to work. He said he’d be back later to drive me to my truck.” Cassidy rubbed his jaw carefully. “Sorry about bleeding on your sheets. I’ll leave some money for—”

“Don’t need to do that.” Gabe stared at the other man for a moment, distracted enough to be tempted to go beyond his policy of not asking more information than was offered. Cassidy had to be barely twenty-five and he was built like a bloody tank. It really must have been a fight to get him as messed up as he was.

Cassidy’s smile twisted. “I still look like shit, don’t I?”

“Worked-over shit,” Gabe admitted. “You feel okay?”

“No, but I don’t feel like I’m dying anymore. I’ll take that as a positive sign.”

How do you know Travis? What the hell happened? All the questions he wanted to ask, Gabe shoved down. None of it was his damn business, and over the years he’d had more than enough experience stifling his curiosity. “You need anything you let me know. There’re a couple of frozen dinners you can microwave if you’d like.”

He ignored his guest and hurried through his shower, packing a bag for the night. Grabbing a nightgown for Allison seemed strange on all kinds of levels. She hadn’t been wearing anything for the past week since they usually fell asleep right after wearing themselves out with sex. He’d been waking her up to take her again in the morning. It was heavenly to have nothing but warm woman in his arms before he was even fully awake, the smooth curves of her filling his hands, her softness against his rising cock.

She might have an issue with being naked in her mom’s house, though, so he dipped into her drawer.

That was the second weird part. Going through her underwear made him feel like some kind of perverted stalker. He’d have to take the depraved title and stamp it on his head after he grabbed a pair of panties that seemed to have too many straps for a thong. He held the garment up and twisted until he figured it out.

Holy shit.

He tucked his find into the bag before he could change his mind.

His brain was tangled between wanting to see her to make sure she was fine, and needing to bend her over something and thrust in deep. She was driving him insane, and she wasn’t even in the room.

Gabe stopped in the doorway of the bedroom. Cassidy had his head resting in his hands, body slumped forward as if totally exhausted.

Damn it anyway. Gabe snapped to an instant decision. If it was the wrong one, he’d take the damages out of Travis’s hide for having brought Cassidy to the house in the first place.

“Cassidy.”

The blond lifted his head, glassy-eyed stare pulling into focus after only a few seconds. “Yes, sir.”

Gabe dropped his bag by the front door before opening the freezer and pulling out one of the dinners. “I’m heating you up a meal. You go on and crash here for the night.”

Cassidy went to shake his head, stopping immediately with his fingers pressed to his forehead. “Fuck, that hurt.”

Gabe snorted. “Yeah, you might be better to get a solid night’s sleep before you try anything else on for size.”

“I can’t take advantage of you like that.”

“Hell, you won’t be. You’ll be doing me a favour—I’ve got an emergency and have to be gone all night. Allison’s kitten will need some attention. Other than him, you’ll have the place to yourself. His food bowl and water are over by the fridge. Pull the door shut when you leave in the morning, and we’re square.”

Cassidy lifted his gaze to meet Gabe’s, brilliant green shining back from his blackened eyes. “Damn decent of you.”

“Pay it forward.” Gabe grabbed a bottle of Tylenol out of the cupboard and plopped it on the table. “If you need them. Otherwise, stay out of trouble. Maybe we’ll see you around sometime.”

Cassidy smiled cautiously. “Maybe you will. You’re a good man, Gabe Coleman. I won’t forget this.”

Gabe grabbed his bag and left.

Chapter Seventeen

Elle poked her head around the doorway to mock whisper, “You going to tell me why you smelt like dirt earlier today?”

“You want me to share secrets when you’re trying to get out of dishes? Forget it.” Allison slipped another plate into the dishwasher.

Paul had gone to the Timberline alone and left them to a girls-only evening, at least until he organized for closing and could return. Maisey lay down on the couch after dinner to rest, and the house had stilled to nothing but the light sounds of the clock ticking and the wind against the eaves.

“I’m working, I’m working.” Elle shook the salt and pepper shakers in her hands. “Heavy lifting going on here.”

“Heavy? Good grief, don’t give yourself a hernia. Besides, you’re too young for details on dirt.”

Her sister laughed out loud for a moment before cutting off, her smile fading rapidly.

Allison wiped her hands on her skirt and snuck across the room to grab Elle by the arms. “Oh, sweetie, don’t do that to yourself. It’s okay to laugh.”

“It hurts. Like I’m breaking something delicate, or walking into a solemn church service wearing a clown suit. How can I laugh when…?” She dropped her forehead against Allison’s shoulder and sighed.

Allison hugged her, petting Elle’s head the way she used to when they were younger. The ache inside throbbed like a living creature trying to break free. This was why she’d come back to Rocky. Why she had to be there for the family. She was so grateful to be in the right place to give to them.

“I get it. I really do. Remember, you just heard the news. That makes the pain sharp. I’ve known for longer and the cut doesn’t feel as raw, even though it still hurts. I guess I think Mom would prefer us to laugh than to be all mopey, right?”

Elle nodded as she stepped back. “You going to head out after dishes?”

Changing the topic. Well, it was going to take time for all of them to figure out what they had to do. Elle would deal with the grief in her own way.

“I called Gabe. I’ll stay here tonight.”

Elle turned on the taps to fill the sink with water, getting the pots ready for hand washing. “Really? You remember you don’t have a room here anymore.”

“Room thief.”

“Hey, I waited years to take over that space. You can sleep in the guest room.”

Yeah, she’d figured. “The sun is going to wake me at five in the morning.”

Elle pushed her toward the dishwater. “Which is why I switched into your old room so I wouldn’t have to get up early all summer long.”

Allison dug into the washing, passing the pots and lids over to her sister to dry. It was a bit of a time warp, back to their teen years. Not all the memories of that time were good, not with the long illness they’d faced with their dad. The little chores, though, like cleaning the house or doing the dishes. Those things felt comfortable and familiar. Something to fall back on to help the hurt fade.

Elle hip-checked her lightly. “Dirt. Spill.”

It took her a second to figure out what Elle was talking about. Allison grinned. “I’m not telling you the details. You go find your own cowboy.”

“If you won’t talk, it had to be sex outdoors. Or something sex-like.” Elle swung her towel in the air like she was roping a calf. “Yeehaw.”

“Oh jeez. Watch yourself, or you’ll put out an eye.”

“You and Gabe—it working out okay? Like you’d hoped?” Elle leaned on the counter. “When you announced you were engaged, I’ll admit it was a shock, but you seem pretty happy lately. You thinking this is really it?”

Allison was torn. Telling the story she’d been sticking to was possible, but there was more between her and Gabe than before. Secrets she wasn’t sure she wanted to even share with herself, let alone her sister.

Since it was only pretend on Gabe’s part. And wouldn’t falling in love with him be about the stupidest thing she could do?

“You’re not talking, sis. Stop daydreaming about his ass, and answer the question,” Elle said.

“Abs.” The word snuck out.

Elle raised a brow. “Abs?”

Allison gave up. It was safer to talk about the physical side of things than the turmoil of emotion in her heart and head. “The man has got the most incredible butt, yes. And arms. And shoulders. But goodness, you should see his stomach.”

“Six-pack and all, I bet,” Elle teased. “You need to take pictures and post them.”

“Hands off.” Allison shook her head. “Forget I said you should see him naked. You just daydream about other cowboys and leave mine alone.”

“So he’s good then?”

Allison twisted to give her sister the evil eye. “You really asking what I think you’re asking?”

“Does he know how to burn up the sheets? Yes, I’m really asking. Because I need to live vicariously—”

Elle shut her mouth with a snap.

Uh-oh
. “What about that reporter Mom said you’re seeing?”