by Vivian Arend
The words were still escaping and she was already in the air. She flung her arms around him, clutching his shoulders as he carried her to the bedroom and beyond.
He lowered her to the floor in the shower stall, reached behind her and flipped on the taps. The cold water hit her back the same second his lips covered hers, and her gasp of surprise was lost.
It seemed his hands were everywhere at once. Skimming over her breasts, between her legs. Briefly touching as he stripped away their underwear. She returned the favour, and stroked and played as well, letting her palms roam over the solid lines of his form. He twisted them until water cascaded over their heads, pouring over their faces as they gasped for air.
As suddenly as he’d begun, he jerked the taps off and lifted her again, his cock caught between them as he stared her in the eyes. “That takes care of the hair. Now you’re damn well going to get everything you asked for.”
The pounding in her blood screamed bring it on.
He dropped her to the mattress, water droplets still clinging to their skin. He wasn’t gentle, flipping her over onto her belly and dragging her to the edge of the bed. The crinkle of a condom wrapper being ripped open was followed by his hands touching her intimately, a finger slipping into her core.
“You’re wet. Ready for me?”
“Always.”
His cock nudged her opening, the broad head stretching her. Gabe leaned over her and thrust in.
She screamed. His name? Some other word? She wasn’t sure because what followed felt so damn good she got lost in sensation. He fucked her hard, pounding against her ass, fingers clutching tightly. He put his teeth to her shoulder, and for a second she thought he really was going to bite down like a stallion rutting on his partner.
Excitement rose so rapidly she cried out, rocking back to meet him with equal fervour, his frantic gasps and groans adding to her enjoyment.
This is what she did to him. This is what she inspired in the man. Desperate need, urgent desire.
Pleasure bloomed in her core, and she jerked under him, his hard chest pressed to her back even as his hips continued to pulse. He caught her hands in his, linking their fingers, meshing them together as he rested his forehead at the base of her neck and jolted out his release.
Hearts pounding, blood racing. His weight pressing her against the mattress.
Allison let out a long, slow breath as soon as she could do more than gasp. “Holy. Shit.”
Gabe chuckled as he peeled himself off her and helped her crawl more fully onto the bed, collapsing beside her. “I can’t seem to get enough of you, woman.”
“Never knew getting a haircut turned you on so much, Angel Boy.”
He stroked his fingers over her naked shoulder as he settled them skin-to-skin. “You cut off my curls—I lost all strength to resist.”
“I’m Delilah, now?”
He lifted her chin. “You’re mine. That’s what you are.”
The kiss that followed said the same thing as the words, and wild lovemaking. That she was his seemed so incredible. Impossible.
But the hope of forever hovered, and she was nearly ready to grasp hold of the truth.
Maisey had become frail. Fragile.
Allison kissed her mom’s cheek and mouthed “I’ll be right back” at him before slipping from the room.
Gabe stared into space. He should be trying to find a solution to his problem, but he was so damn tired. Hopelessness had a way of wearing a man down. No matter how much they’d managed to accomplish over the summer, the numbers just weren’t there. In less than a week he had to square up things with the bank, and winning the bet looked impossible.
Ben had taken to showing up every day, not saying anything, still doing the tasks Gabe left written on the board in the barn. Always taking extra time to get in Gabe’s face and wordlessly accuse him of being a failure. Gabe was so fucking close to losing the battle, and he had run out of ideas at this point of what could make the final difference.
“Gabe?”
He shot to his feet and stood beside Maisey. “You need something?”
She smiled wearily. “You’re always ready to do things, aren’t you? I like that about you.”
Gabe took her hand, holding it carefully. Parchment-like skin stretched over her thin bones. “Be pretty boring to sit all the time, I’m thinking. You want me to take you drag racing down the halls in your wheelchair?”
Her laughter came, thinner, more brittle, but still full of joy. “I think I’ll stay here. But I do want to talk to you before my daughter comes back.”
“What’s up?” Gabe pulled his chair over with a foot and settled where Maisey could see him.
“She’s stubborn.”
“I wonder who she gets that from?”
Maisey lifted her hand and shook her finger in his face. “Stop sweet-talking me and listen.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I know she’s worked hard over the years to become independent. And I’m proud of her. But I want to give her a gift, like I gave Elle and Paul, and she’s been refusing me.”
Gabe leaned forward. “That sounds strange. When did Allison ever turn you down?”
“Now.” Maisey sighed heavily. “It’s not as if I can take things with me, Gabe. You know that.”
Her sense of humour had grown on him. “Well, not unless you’ve got special arrangements made the rest of us don’t know about.”
She smiled then gestured beside the bed. “In the file. That stubborn girl of mine has argued with me twice, but I’m smart enough to get what I want.”
Gabe followed her pointing finger and pulled out an envelope addressed to Allison. He slipped the thin parchment open to discover an astonishing large cheque.
“Maisey, what the hell is this?” Manners totally forgotten.
She raised a hand, palm toward him. “Hear me out. It’s for Allison. I know the children will get money when I’m gone, but that’s not the same. This is from me. I want to give each of my children something for them to use as they please, and I want to do it while I’m still the one in charge of the giving. The other two accepted it, why can’t Allison?”
He opened his mouth to protest, then stopped.
What she said made perfect sense. A cheque now, or a lump sum from the estate down the road—it didn’t seem to make much difference to him, but if it was important to her, why not? He’d gone out of his way to fast track a wedding partly to make this woman happy.
Why on earth would he argue with her now over something so basic as money, as shocking as the amount might be?
“You’re right. It’s your money and you can do what you want with it.”
Maisey’s eyes gleamed. For a second he spotted the mischievous streak he’d always loved about Allison. Seems she came by it honestly.
“You are a fine young man.” Maisey leaned back on her pillows and smiled contentedly.
“You’re only saying that because I’m wrapped around your little finger right where you’ve got all the men in your life.” Gabe cradled her hand again, scared to squeeze for fear of hurting her.
“And don’t tell her about it until after I’m gone,” she commanded.
Only Maisey would go there so boldly. It wasn’t his first choice, but would keeping this secret really hurt anything? “I promise to keep the money safe in trust until Allison is ready to receive it.”
Maisey nodded absently. “Now, let me rest. It’s so hard keeping up with you children.”
Gabe remained where he was as she closed her eyes and fell silent. He didn’t want to pull away because she had him trapped, fingers now literally wrapped around his.
Generous, loving…he was so glad he’d gotten to have this woman as a part of his life, even for a brief while. Another kind of family—extended family by choice, not blood.
The ache inside was going to kill him. So much history was tied up in his own extended family—the Six Pack, the Whiskey Creek, and the Moonshine clans all brought somethin
g unique to the mix.
He didn’t want to lose his bet. It would be like letting down the entire family, not just his ma and Rafe.
He didn’t want to lose what he had growing with Allison. One minute he was certain she was ready to confess how she felt about him, the next moment the occasion slipped away.
He was stuck in the middle of a rocky place and an impossible decision, and it seemed there was no choice he could make that would be the right one.
One way or another, he had to do something he was going to hate like hell.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Allison leaned her head against the windowpane. Not even the warmth of Puss in Boots in her arms could force her gloom away. The rain streaking down the other side of the glass echoed her mood perfectly.
Mom was fading, but not so quickly it made any sense to spend every moment in the hospital waiting for the final curtain to fall. Every night since the Labour Day weekend, Gabe had dragged her home when Maisey fell asleep. And every night Allison said her final goodbyes in case it was the last time.
Morning didn’t dawn bright and clear in her heart, so the rain they’d woken to on this Wednesday seemed appropriate. Gabe grumbled about the weather, then left to start his day, promising to take a break and meet her for lunch.
The front door slammed against the wall, frightening Puss into jumping free and hiding under the couch. Allison jerked from her musings, wondering what had Gabe so riled. Shock turned to dismay when Ben Coleman stumbled around the corner from the porch.
“Where’s that goddamn son of bitch?” he snarled, water dripping from his slicker, his wet hair plastered over his forehead and halfway covering his eyes.
He looked mad. Insane-type mad, and Allison backed away, edging into the living area. “He headed to the ranch early. Said something about the harvester. Look in the barns maybe?”
She wanted him out of her house. At the best of times Ben was frightening. This version of the man terrified the living daylights out of her.
Ben stopped in the kitchen area, looking her over with disgust. “You’re so satisfied, aren’t you? All smug that you two pulled one over on me.”
If she’d ever wanted Gabe to walk in unexpected, this would be the moment. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Ben, let’s go to your house and we can find him. You can talk to—”
“He used you, you know. Nothing changes about that one. Just like he’s always been. Untrustworthy, unreliable.”
Gabe unreliable? Good grief, if she weren’t shaking from having Ben glowering at her she would have laughed at the idea.
“He’s not here,” she repeated. Allison pointed to the door, praying Ben would take the hint.
He stepped a little closer and her heart skipped a beat. “You give him the money, girl?”
Allison hesitated. “What money?”
Ben’s face lit with a twisted kind of delight. “What money, she says. Oh, so did the boy fuck you over without your knowledge? Doesn’t surprise me one bit. Bet that’s why he started up with you in the first place, planning to take advantage of your bank account.”
Her mind whirled as she tried to figure out what he was talking about. If anyone had taken advantage of anyone at the start, it was her using Gabe. “Ben. If you want to discuss the ranch and money, you need to find your son. I’m not involved in that part. I gave him suggestions for changes, and I helped with applications—”
“And he helped himself to your money and paid off the goddamn bet.”
She froze. “A bet?”
“That he could turn this shit-hole of a ranch around with your help. Your help, indeed. It’s not information he married you for.”
Something inside went icy cold. The rain outside could have turned to snow for how frigid it was in the room. “He is turning the ranch around. The changes that have been approved, and all the plans he’s got in place, are incredible. Within five years the Angel Coleman section will be a fully organic operation.”
“Five years? He didn’t have that long. He had until this week. Tuesday, he waltzed into the fucking bank and cleared everything off, and I know that’s fucking impossible. Where the hell did he get the money?” Ben kicked the nearest chair, sending the heavy wooden object flying into the table.
Allison looked around for an escape route. “I don’t know. Ask the person who can help you, because I don’t know.”
Ben stomped a couple paces forward, grabbing the back of another chair. His knuckles turned white. His voice one step up from a growl. “I don’t want to talk to him, or see him. Just the sight of him makes me sick. Told him that years ago when he killed his brother, and every fucking day since he was stupid enough to come back and I—”
“What?” Absolute fury flared inside at his words; the fear and the cold vanished in a blaze of anger. She might be confused over the bet, and the money, and whatever the hell else Ben was going on about, but this? She understood completely and wouldn’t accept. “Shut up. You shut up, right now, Ben Coleman. My God, you really said that to your son? Gabe did not kill Michael.”
Ben snapped his mouth closed, features twisted in anger, and threw the chair he held to the side. It crashed to the floor, and Allison cursed herself for being all kinds of a fool. Trapped in a house with a man she didn’t trust. Great time to go off like a crazy woman.
Still, rage gave her balls. She snapped up her arm to point at the door. “Get out. Get out of my house.”
“If you had any sense you’d dump the bastard. He’s used you.”
“And I used him. It’s called a relationship. Something you don’t know anything about.”
She wanted to go on. To rant at him. To scream. That he’d actually accused Gabe of killing Michael, and continued to torment him for this long was incredibly perverse and hugely wrong. This is what Gabe had come back to? What he’d put up with to save his family from the man’s poison?
Puss in Boots raced across the floor. Ben swung a foot that just missed the little thing as he scurried for safety.
Allison nearly lost it. Everything in her wanted to rush forward and hurt Ben. To punch and kick and cut him like he’d been cutting into Gabe’s soul over the years. Logic made her stand her ground and simply scream the word again. “Out.”
If he didn’t go voluntarily, she wasn’t sure what she’d do. Trying to dodge past him would be her only chance. Snatch up the kitten, and make a break for it. The rain against the window spattered in gusts, a syncopated sound. Not reassuring and calming like rain could be, but violent and hurtful. Destructive. Cold.
Eerily like the man in front of her.
Ben stared at her for a minute before glancing around the cabin, his face gone expressionless again. He turned to go.
A soaking wet Gabe burst in wearing no coat, only his drenched T-shirt, water dripping from the brim of his hat.
Ben jostled past his son in an attempt to leave.
Quick as a whip, Gabe snatched hold, the muscles in his biceps bulging as he fixed Ben in place. “Not so fast. What are you doing here?”
Ben jerked his arm, but Gabe held him. “Telling her the truth. That you’re a cheat and a thief and no better than a goddamn murderer.”
Allison stepped back as Gabe rushed forward, slamming Ben against the wall and pinning him in place. As glad as she was to see Gabe, this isn’t what she wanted. “Gabe, let him go. It’s not worth it.”
“He’s not worth it,” Gabe spat out, shoving his father toward the door as he released him.
She folded her arms around herself, holding in the shaking that wanted to take control. Gabe stepped to Allison’s side, keeping an eye on Ben the entire time.
He darted a glance over her, then placed himself protectively between them as he snapped at his father. “Rafe said you had a problem with me. If that’s so, then you talk to me. Not Ma, not Allison, not Rafe. You be a goddamn man and deal with me, you understand?”
“Because you’re calling all the shots now?” Ben taunted. “As soo
n as I tell my brothers how you won the bet, they’ll back me up on kicking your ass out of here.”
Gabe laughed. “You’re wrong. It’s all dealt with, square and proper. The bank is happy for the next year, and that’s what you dared me to do. Hell, it’s what you couldn’t bloody well do yourself.”
“That’s not true.”
“You hoped I’d fail so you could blame me, like you’ve blamed me for everything else that’s gone wrong over the years. Even Michael.”
Ben sputtered in anger. “Don’t you talk about him. Don’t you ever talk about him to me.”
“You talk about him all the time, don’t you? Reminding me I was supposed to be there to save him.” Gabe stepped forward, his cheeks flushed, hands fisted at his sides. “Well, I wasn’t and every day I regret it, but I wasn’t the one who told him to go out and have a good time. I wasn’t the one who slipped enough money into Michael’s pocket he could drink himself into a bloody stupor.”
Ben’s face went white, his hands trembling. “How did you know that?” he whispered.
“Michael called me.” Gabe snapped. “Already into the liquor. He teased me to come join him. Said he was flush with cash and he’d forgive me for being a stick in the mud. We could both have a blast on the money you’d given him.”
Oh God.
Gabe took a deep breath, dragging his hand through his hair. “That’s the end of it, Ben. I won’t meekly accept your taunts anymore. Michael’s death is not your fault, but it’s not mine either.”
Ben’s eyes reflected guilt even as anger twisted his features. The pain of what he must have felt would have made Allison more sympathetic if she hadn’t discovered the man had deliberately tormented Gabe for years.
As it was, Allison wanted to grab hold of Gabe and offer her support. Let him know he wasn’t alone. Wanted to hold him until all the pain had vanished.
Ben straightened, his gaze turning on Allison.
Gabe spoke softer. Slower, the calm man who she’d come to know so well pulling himself to the foreground. “It didn’t work, Ben. Your plan to get rid of me. I won. Admit it.”
