by Tina Leonard
He shook his head. “Nah. It was only a BB. Pete ran your father down and Ben said he’d just been shooting at a duck. I didn’t see any ducks, but whatever.” He looked at her with some sympathy. “Maybe there’s a way you know of that we can calm him down, get him to stop acting like he’s out of his tree.”
“I appreciate you trying to be understanding, but I don’t know what Ben’s problem is. We haven’t been close since the day I got married.” Instinctively, she lifted her chin. It was still a memory that hurt. “I’m not sure why he’d want to hurt you, though.”
“He was just trying to get attention.” Gabriel shrugged. “Pete paid him some.”
“Pete? How many of you are at the ranch now?”
“Three.”
She smiled. “That leaves just one more. Guess your father knew what he was doing.”
That rankled. “Go on in before the kids start looking for you. I’m going to read the newspaper.”
She sighed, wearing a slightly annoyed expression. “I have a phone. I’ll call you if Ben comes back. How’s that? You go on home and visit with your brothers, the way your father intended.”
He squinted at her. “How do you know what my dad intended?”
She shrugged. “Josiah wasn’t exactly quiet about how much he missed his sons being around.”
That seemed strange. He’d pretty much run them off when they were old enough to be gone.
“Do you think your father really stole from my father the way Ben claims?”
Gabriel considered that. “I don’t know what to believe. And I’m not sure it really matters.”
“It matters to Ben.”
“Are you taking sides?”
She shook her head. “Merely stating a fact.”
“Even if my father did steal from him, that doesn’t mean he has the right to knock out your window and take a shot at me.”
“I didn’t say it did. I simply said that he certainly feels wronged.”
“Yeah, well.” He wished she’d get on another topic that was friendlier to both of them, and a little easier. Getting a laugh or a smile out of Laura was rare. The shame of it was, he liked looking at her so much. He wished she’d stop cornering him all the time so he could just sit and stare at her full lips and blue eyes. Right now she was wearing a white blouse and a blue skirt that looked cool and feminine. He liked the whole modest thing she had going on. “Well, I’d best turn in,” he said, before he started hungering for something he couldn’t have.
“Turn in?”
“Get some shut-eye.” He settled the newspaper over his face. “I’ve got some chores to take care of early in the morning.”
“Nothing is going to happen. You really don’t have to stay.”
He slid the newspaper off and met her gaze, not to be polite but because he wanted an excuse to look at her. “I know it won’t, not as long as I’m sitting in your driveway.”
“You’re the most stubborn man I ever met.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Have it your way.” She turned away, and without any guilt he watched her fanny sashay to the house and up the steps.
He knew he shouldn’t look. A gentleman wouldn’t.
Damn.
Chapter Six
One hour after he’d read the sports section, the business section and the larger community section of Union Junction’s newspaper—a one-page epistle—Gabriel was surprised when the passenger-side door of his truck opened and Laura slid into the seat.
“Hello,” he said cautiously.
She gave him a determined look. “Why did you kiss me?”
He didn’t have an easy answer for that question; he’d pondered it and come up empty. The only reason he could think of was that the old rascal inside him had risen up and acted impulsively. “Paid for it, I guess. Just cashed in a bit late.”
She nodded at his reply. “Gabriel, I can’t have you sitting in my drive every night. It’s only six o’clock now, and here you are already. It’s not good for me.”
“The neighbors will talk?”
“You and I both know that was just an excuse.”
“So what’s the real reason you don’t want me around?”
She took a deep breath, met his gaze. “I just might fall for you, just like your father probably planned.”
His jaw slackened. “Excuse me if I didn’t see that one coming.”
“Neither did I. But I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I realized my heart is just a bit too tender right now. You know, a woman gets lonely. She gets scared at times. And if there’s a big, strong man in her driveway, she could just get used to that.”
“You’re talking in the third person, which means you’re not referring to yourself, which means you’re likely telling me a story.” He frowned at her. “What’s the real thing you’re trying to tell me?”
She looked at him, silent.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you don’t strike me as the kind of woman who falls for a man who gives her a light smooch.”
Laura sighed. “All right. I am telling you a bit of a story.”
“Why?”
“So you’ll leave.” She shook her head. “I really, really want you to go away.”
He was slightly hurt. “All you had to do was ask.”
“I have been asking, but you’re ignoring me. You’ll do whatever you want to, all the time.”
“Sorry. Guess I’ve been on my own all my life.”
“Do not try to win pity from me.”
He heard her softening and it cheered him. “You didn’t have to get my hopes up like that, with all that business about falling for me.” Two could play at
her game.
She gave him a long stare. “Gabriel, I doubt your hopes were up.”
“You never know. I have sensitive feelings.”
She looked out the window toward the house, making no comment.
“So you were trying to scare me off with all that business about falling for me. It was just reverse psychology.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Obviously it didn’t work.”
“It did work a little,” he said. “I know now that you’ve been thinking about my kiss. Pretty good for a guy who only got a one-second pass at your lips. Imagine how much more unforgettable I’d be if you’d give me, say, a full hour—”
She got out of the truck and stomped inside. He laughed softly to himself. Maybe she did want him.
If that was the case, he’d probably not say no.
But the children… He was not father material, he knew that. And Laura was not a one-night kind of woman.
Sighing, he turned on his truck, and against his better judgment, acceded to her wishes by leaving her alone. He didn’t like it, but she was right: he was too stubborn for his own good.
* * *
“THOUGHT YOU WERE SPENDING the night out,” Dane said, glancing up from the game of chess he and Pete were playing. “It’s only six-thirty.”
“I was. Sensing that I’m not entirely welcome at the Adams homestead, I decided to come back home and bother you.” Gabriel felt restless. He prowled the kitchen looking for something to eat, but he wasn’t hungry. Wasn’t thirsty. Just had energy to spare.
“She ran you off?” Pete laughed. “To think we used to be such ladies’ men, and now we sit here playing checkers.”
“Chess,” Dane said.
“Whatever. Check.”
Dane squinted at the board. “I will be damned. How did you do that?”
Pete leaned back and looked at Gabriel while Dane pondered his next move. “Now what?”
“She thinks we’re all square and that we don’t owe her anything.” Gabriel figured Laura was right. He wouldn’t want anybody trying to take care of him, either. He remembered how he’d felt when all the ladies had rushed his house with goodies—he hadn’t wanted that at the time. How Laura felt was not that unreasonable.
“Well, while we’re all here, we probably ought to discuss
what we’re going to do about this shack.” Pete looked at him. “Don’t you think?”
Since Laura didn’t need him, it was probably best. She’d really stung him with that drama about how she might fall for him. Part of him had really jumped when she’d started that spiel, and to his surprise, he’d found himself listening eagerly. To find out she’d just been creating a tale to run him off really wounded his pride. “Guess so.”
Dane glanced up as the chess clock dinged. He punched the button down. “Your turn. By the way, Gabriel, you realize you’re falling into Pop’s plot.”
“So how’s Suzy?” Gabriel asked. “The girl you’re supposed to rescue?”
Pete frowned. “Pop didn’t send me a letter about anyone. Why’d you guys get one?”
“Be glad.” Gabriel sat down. “Or you could have Dane’s Suzy.”
“Yeah,” Dane said. “That’d be awesome.”
“So back to this shack of Pop’s,” Pete said. “We’re going to have to hire some people to work it. I’m thinking Ben might be a good first choice.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Gabriel demanded.
Pete shrugged. “Best to keep your enemy firmly tucked up against your bosom.”
Gabriel blinked, not liking the idea at all. “I don’t need Ben around here. He’s a lazy drunk.”
“Maybe he needs a fair chance.” Dane moved a rook on the board and looked satisfied.
“Did you two cook this up while I was at Laura’s? I think you’re trying to get me killed or something.” Gabriel shrugged. “Not that he could get at me. I never knew a man with such bad aim.”
Pete nodded. “You’d be safer with him around drawing a paycheck.”
“Okay,” Gabriel said slowly, “so Ben manages to work one square inch of this ranch. We’ll need other hands.”
“So are you agreeing?” Dane asked.
“I guess. I can always beat him like a piñata if he acts up.”
“No beating the help,” Pete said. “That will not win you points with Laura.”
“I’ll never have points with Laura.” As he said it, Gabriel realized it was true, though he hadn’t meant to sound so down about it. “We’re on different sides of the world, so far apart we’ll never run into each other.”
His brothers went back to their heated rivalry on the chessboard, the subject closed now that they’d gotten their way about hiring Ben. Gabriel grimaced—what a dumb idea that was. But they were his older brothers, and he’d just get voted down anyway. Life was always hell on the baby.
The notion made him think about Laura and her baby. He wondered if Perrin was suffering from an upset stomach tonight, he wondered if Penny was sleeping soundly tucked in her bed. For that matter, he’d love to know if Laura was sleeping soundly tucked in her bed, then decided that train of thought was fruitless. “Just going to get me in trouble,” he murmured, and Pete glanced up.
“What?” his brother asked.
“Nothing,” Gabriel said. “See you two troublemakers in the morning.”
“Checkmate,” Dane said triumphantly, and Gabriel left them arguing over who was the better chess player. They’d both checkmated him, and what he couldn’t fathom was why.
* * *
TEN YEARS AGO, THEY HAD been out at a rodeo, all four boys. Pop did not approve of sneaking out, and he despised rodeos with a vengeance. He was determined to keep everyone under his roof, and therefore under his thumb. This came under the heading of good parenting.
The boys chafed, resenting their father’s strict rules.
Later, they would think he was pretty reasonable, but then, they deployed every tactic possible to get away from him. Gabriel just wanted to be with his older brothers—he was sixteen, and that seemed reasonable. The boys wouldn’t have gone if they hadn’t believed they were safe. Jack would never have done anything to harm any of them; he was their hero. Since he was the oldest, Jack took his responsibilities seriously, and yet, Pop considered him a drifter with no purpose in life. Jack hung around rodeos, played his guitar at night, loved the girls a little too eagerly.
Pop had told Jack he belonged in the military when he turned eighteen, and that really began the divide between them. Pop wanted his sons’ lives to have a purpose. Jack would not be allowed to live the wild lifestyle of rodeo.
Though Jack was supposed to be helping Pop on the ranch, he’d been riding bulls for years. The brothers never told on him. They decided to sneak out one night and watch him in a town two hours away. Jack had drawn a bull named Ace of Death, a bull in the running for being a registered bounty bull. A rider with big dreams and the determination to stick with it, Jack had looked forward to the challenge.
Six seconds and a fractured spine later, the boys had rushed behind the ambulance, following Jack to the hospital. They got T-boned at an intersection, and though it hadn’t been their fault and nobody was hurt, all the brothers had been in for Josiah Morgan’s anger. He hadn’t spared it. He blamed Jack for luring his brothers out, blamed Pete and Dane for allowing Gabriel to go, blamed Gabriel for not telling his father what the older boys were planning.
Pop’s anger had been a terrible thing to witness.
Gabriel shook his head, telling himself that going back down memory lane wasn’t a good idea. Better to live in the present.
He turned and headed back toward his brothers. “When are you going to offer Ben a job?”
“Offer it yourself. He’s sitting on the back porch,” Dane said.
“Why?” Gabriel wasn’t eager to speak to the cantankerous old man.
“He’s lonely,” Pete said. “He’s been quiet as a mouse.”
“I don’t want any part of this scheme.” Gabriel scratched his head. “I don’t think you two know what you’re doing. He broke Laura’s window, you do remember that?”
Dane shrugged. “We can always fire him, Gabriel. It’s just best to keep him here—him and his little cap gun.”
They listened, hearing the sound of a car pull into the front yard. “Company,” Pete said. He peered out. “Looks like Ben has a caller.”
Gabriel frowned. “Who would come here to see him?”
“His daughter. And grandchildren, from the looks of things.” Dane eyed the black-and-white pieces on the board. “Couldn’t hurt to say hello.”
Gabriel peered out the window, watching Laura in a pretty sundress step around the back of the house, her two children in tow. “How does she know where he is?”
“We told her,” Dane said. “We, of course, wanted her opinion on how she would feel about us offering her father a job.”
“And when was I going to be consulted?” Gabriel began to have misgivings about how wise it was for the three of them to be occupying a house together.
“We thought you were at Laura’s,” Pete said reasonably as Gabriel resumed spying on Laura talking to her father. “We didn’t realize when you said you were going to Laura’s that you meant no farther than her driveway.”
“That’s sort of a metaphor, isn’t it?” Dane glanced at him, a sly twinkle in his eyes. “The princess won’t let the drawbridge down for fair knight.”
Pete snickered. “No Holy Grail for him.”
“Very funny.” Gabriel watched Laura sit down next to her father, gently introducing him to the children. “It seems rude to make them sit outside and visit.”
“Nah. They want some time to themselves. Probably like for you to stop staring like a Peeping Tom through the window. I’m getting a beer. You want one?” Pete asked Dane, ignoring Gabriel.
To his credit, Ben seemed thrilled to see the children. He sat up from his slouched position, touching first Penny’s hand, then Perrin’s. Laura stood back a pace from her father, cautious, yet seemingly hopeful. “Do you think broken families can forget the past?” Gabriel murmured, thinking about the bad feelings between Laura and her father.
“Jeez,” Pete said, “no one ever said we had to love each other or anything. We just have to live together. It’s one
year. No longer than being in a college dorm with a bad roommate.”
“Or being married to the wrong woman for a year,” Dane said. “Anyway, this house is big enough for three families.”
“And we could add on to it if things get really grim.” Pete glanced at Gabriel. “As long as we’re under this one roof, Pop never said how big the roof had to be.”
“We’re not adding on to anything. I meant if Laura and Ben could put their bad blood behind them, we can, too.” Gabriel wished he didn’t feel so odd man out all of a sudden. Like everybody in the room had been chosen for football and he was designated water boy. “I just don’t get the theory behind hiring Ben.”
“Every man needs a purpose.” Dane looked at him. “Go ask him. You’re the human resources director of this ranch.”
Gabriel looked at Laura through the slatted wood blinds. “And how did that become my responsibility?”
“You’re the baby. Plus, you have a yen for that woman and her children. Pop must have known you better than you know yourself.” Dane leaned back in the leather chair, staring up at the rough-beamed ceiling. “I’d almost be scared about Suzy, but I know myself better than that.”
“So when do you find out about the mysterious Suzy?” Gabriel put off going out to talk to Laura and Ben. They seemed calm together, maybe even enjoying each other’s company for the first time in God only knew how many years.
“Never.” Dane grinned, then high-fived his brother. “Dad only said we had to live in the house for a year. The letter asked if I’d take care of Suzy’s situation. I did, through a mediator.”
Gabriel had to admit it was a smooth move he hadn’t considered. “That was smart.”
“Watching you moon around after Laura hasn’t been pretty. If you got snagged so easily, it could happen to anyone. I had to measure my risk appetite, and I decided it was pretty low.”
“I have not been snagged.” Gabriel felt his ill humor returning.
“Then back away from the window,” Pete said. “I’m sure she can see you from behind those blinds.”
Laura probably could. She’d probably be unsurprised that he was keeping watch over her. He sighed, realized she also wouldn’t appreciate it and slid away from the window, feeling silly.
