Allison shrugged. “You are a good man, Gabe. That’s all.”
Which was an answer, but not much of one. “Thanks.”
He held out his hand and she eyed him with suspicion.
“Get used to it. I’m a romantic son of a gun, or so I’ve been told. If we’re not holding hands or cuddling up, people will wonder.”
She stuck her fingers into his, still warm from the washing. He ignored everything else and tugged her after him.
When she would have walked to her car, he changed her direction, bringing her to the driver side of his truck.
“I can drive, Gabe.”
“I noticed. Get in.” He opened the door and stood motionless as she stared at him.
“You going to be this bossy the entire time?”
“What? I’m opening the door like a gentleman. Nothing bossy about that.”
Allison rolled her eyes before she followed his order and crawled up, shuffling past the steering wheel to the passenger seat.
He did up his seat belt without saying anything, but he didn’t put the truck into gear. Just sat there. Waited.
She was a smart thing. He was sure he didn’t need to give her any more directions.
“Gabe, you planning on heading over there soon? Your mom must be waiting for us.”
“She’ll be busy around the house, don’t you worry.”
Allison leaned on the side door, opened her mouth to say something else. Her gaze dropped to the empty space between them. The groan that escaped her was damn amusing.
She unclipped and slid to the center seat, her thigh nice and warm where it rested alongside his. “Like I said, bossy.”
Gabe slipped the truck into gear and backed out of his parking spot. “Just making sure we don’t do anything stupid to spill the beans. It’s not as if sitting beside me is going to give you cooties or something.”
She leaned back and sighed. “Nope. And you’re right. The only time couples sit on the opposite side of the cab is when they’ve had a fight.”
He laughed. “We used to tease the guys about how much action they were going to get based on how close their girls sat after a night out on the town. My cousin Steve got the worst ragging after he bought a truck with bucket seats in the front. He could never win after that.”
“You Coleman crew can be nasty.”
“Not even counting the stick-shift jokes.” The burst of laughter from her made Gabe smile. That’s what he wanted to hear. Get her mind off what she was doing for a while, because even though they were pulling a fast one, it didn’t mean they had to live like some kind of robots for the next however many months.
Allison was going to need some laughter in her life.
The short trip to his parents’ house they talked about the other Coleman cousins—who was doing what and who was still in the area. She’d known the entire clan, so it wasn’t difficult to get her caught up.
“You don’t have to see the lot of them until July first. Coleman Canada Day picnic. We’ll hit Traders Pub to meet the cousins before then, though.”
Allison nodded, but her attention was focused on the house as they pulled up front. “It looks pretty much the same as I remember.”
He stopped her when she would have slid over and crawled out the passenger door, instead pulling her after him. “When have you been here?”
“Outside? A few times when there was some sporting event and we came over to give Michael a ride…”
They both froze. Just for a second before Gabe pushed the memories aside and tugged her from the cab. “Right. Paul and Michael played basketball together. Or one of those sports, right?”
She was on the ground, right up close to him, but his body was so tight that she could have been anyone. Didn’t matter that she still smelt like apple blossoms, or that they were damn near hugging.
Michael’s grinning face flashed before his eyes, his younger brother’s cocky and devil-may-care expression imprinted on Gabe’s very soul.
A pair of soft hands cupped his cheeks as Allison tilted his head down and their eyes met. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you.”
A million things reminded him of his missing brother, if he’d let the pain come. A million things, and his father. “It’s okay. We’re just fine.”
He pulled himself together, pulled on the façade and wrapped his pain up tight where it couldn’t sneak out. “Nothing to be sorry for. I don’t want you watching what you say around me. I’m not some china doll you have to worry about breaking.”
He started them toward the house, concentrating hard on not letting it show how much he hurt. It was Allison who slipped her fingers into his, squeezing tight.
God, if she apologized again he was going to be walking into his mama’s house while bawling like a damn baby.
“When does Rafe get home?” she asked instead, and a bit of his tension drained away.
“Usually around four if he takes the bus. Should just be my ma right now.”
She nodded. They paused on the top of the steps, the wobbly fourth board pissing him off. He’d offered to repair it, but he’d been stupid enough to make the suggestion in front of Ben. Now he was forced to wait for the man to get around to fixing the problem so that his ma wouldn’t take the brunt of his father’s complaining.
Allison looked a little flustered. “Do we knock?”
He laughed. “She’d have my ears if we get all formal on her.”
Gabe opened the door and leaned his head in. “Ma, we’re here.”
They stepped into the entranceway. The long line of hooks on the wall was so familiar, the worn linoleum underfoot. Inside was his mother’s domain, as much as it could be, and everything sparkled. Scrubbed and cleaned within an inch of its life. Dana Coleman didn’t tolerate her bit of the world to be messy.
He was hanging up Allison’s coat when his ma came into view.
She wiped her hands on a towel, gaze skimming over him to land on Allison. She pulled to a stop, her polite visitor’s smile leaping into place. “Allison Parker. You have grown up now, haven’t you?”
“Mrs. Coleman.” Allison held out a hand and his ma shook it firmly, her gaze darting over Allison’s shoulder to meet his own. She raised both eyebrows high, as if asking what the heck was going on.
Gabe’s unease shifted into something far different. “You need help with anything, Ma?”
She shook her head and led them into the house. “No, I’ve got a pot of tea on, and some fresh-baked cookies. Everything is in the back, though. Just let me grab it and bring it out here.”
“Don’t make more work for yourself. I don’t mind sitting in the kitchen.” Allison followed hard on Dana’s heels.
“She’s right, the kitchen is nice. Smells like heaven.”
His ma paused in the doorway, obviously fighting her compulsion to seat guests in the living room. She frowned at him, and he smiled, ready to reassure her.
Allison’s gasp distracted them both, as did her long awww as she pressed past Dana and headed straight for the box tucked up against the wall.
“Looks like we’re sitting in the kitchen, Ma.”
“Looks like it.” Dana smiled but her questioning gaze continued to bounce between him and Allison.
The woman had apparently forgotten to feel shy around his mother. All her attention was focused on the swirling mass of furry kittens tucked inside the cardboard shelter. “They’re adorable. Can I touch them?”
“Ma?”
Dana bustled about, setting another cup on the table and pulling out a few more baked goodies. “Go ahead. The mother died, and I found the little things just yesterday. Almost starved. They seem to have recovered nicely, though.”
Allison needed no additional coaxing. She dropped to the floor and crossed her legs. In no time flat she had one of the dark brown bodies cradled against her cheek. “Oh, she’s so soft. How old are they?”