Allison and Gabe shared a secret smile—Rafe’s embarrassment was the final bit of tension lifter they needed.
At the end of the evening when Gabe grabbed his keys to drive his brother home, Rafe reluctantly passed a sleeping Puss in Boots back to Allison. “Hey, you guys headed to Traders tomorrow night for the Coleman gathering?”
Gabe wasn’t sure. “Why? You want a ride?”
Rafe fussed with his jean-jacket lapel. “Just thinking, you guys should probably go, right? If you’d like, I could come over to make sure the cat’s okay. Just, if it would help.”
The urge to tease his brother was tempered by the sense of relief in his own gut. Damn, he wasn’t going to leave the little thing alone until he knew it was going to be okay.
He was as tenderhearted as his brother…
Allison finished tucking Puss into the box they’d turned into a bed, and came over to wrap her arms around his brother. “You are a genius. Thank you so much for offering, that would be wonderful.”
Rafe’s surprised expression switched to happiness. “No problem. I’ll come over after we eat.”
Allison let him free. “Why don’t you come for dinner again? Whenever you’re done chores.”
Her welcoming his brother back made Gabe strangely content.
By the time dinner was done on Friday, he was doubly glad of Rafe’s suggestion. Not because he was worried about the kitten as much anymore—Puss in Boots seemed to have made a complete recovery, even playing with Gabe’s sock-covered feet under the dinner table while they ate.
It was good to have the kid around, though. Made things a little less awkward as he and Allison prepared to head out. Rafe even walked outside with them, chatting nonstop to Allison the entire time.
“We shouldn’t be too late,” Gabe managed to cut in. He worried for a minute that Rafe would suggest sleeping over, but the kid was totally wrapped up in the cat he held against his chest.
“No worries. I’m going to watch TV.”
When Gabe opened his truck door and pressed his palm against her lower back, guiding her forward, Allison rolled her eyes. “I could use the other side.”
Rafe laughed. “Gabe told me once he’s a lazy gentleman. Saves him having to come around the truck if he takes you in and out his side.”
“Whatever. Shut up, Rafe.” Gabe helped her in and tried not to stare at her ass as she settled into the center seat.
She didn’t protest snuggling up tight in the cab. Maybe having Rafe standing outside the door waving them off made it easier to pretend there was an excuse for her to be pressed close to Gabe. He wasn’t going to complain, that was for damn sure. After everything, including dealing with the kitten, having a touch of physical distraction was a good thing.
They were only halfway down the driveway when Allison spoke.
“You sure you want to go out?”
He wanted it, for more reasons than to keep his mind off his father and his worries. “Friday night at Traders is like the Coleman blood bond. It’s as good a place as any to do the final round of introducing you as part of the group.”
She leaned back and sighed. “I’m ready for the telling-people part to be over. It’s taken way more energy than I expected.”
A comfortable silence surrounded them. The road into town passed quickly, the warmth of her thigh against his helping him relax. He did need tonight. They both did, for many reasons.
He parked next to one of the Coleman trucks, glancing around to see exactly who was going to be on the inquisition squad for the evening. “Shit, we got a crowd.”
“What do you mean?” Allison peered out the window, obviously trying to figure out what he’d noticed.
He pointed. “We got a full showing of the family. There’s a good dozen trucks, and they’ve probably doubled up to get here. You ready to run the gauntlet?”
The tension that had haunted her since their reunion had faded over the last week. The acceptance of her mom to Allison’s return, and a few good nights’ sleep seemed to have done wonders in helping her recover her spirit. The woman who accepted his hand as he helped her out of the truck was closer to the one he recalled from so long ago.
He remembered liking her. Liking her a lot.
She grinned and tilted her head again, the flirty look she pulled on so easily appearing. “Your family is fun. And I want to dance. I don’t have to be over at Mom’s until around ten o’clock tomorrow, so let’s get some Friday night relaxing in.”
He twined his fingers with hers and led her through the doors.
Something was different tonight. Less like deception, more as if this was a real date.
Only he had to watch out for that—she hadn’t said anything about changing the status quo. Sure, they’d shared a couple kisses, and damn if seeing her staring at him in the shower yesterday hadn’t made his heart skip a beat or two.
But Allison had always had that streak of mischief. He squeezed her fingers and pulled her toward the back of the bar, pleased things were going well enough she was able to relax and be herself.
It wasn’t anything to do with him. He had to remember that.
A cheer rose as they stepped into view of the clan’s usual section. Allison’s grasp in his tightened before she slipped her arm around his waist and glanced up. “Holy. Shit.”
“I warned you.”
She blew out a quick breath before shaking her head slightly. “Into the lair I go…”
He laughed, holding her close as he led them to one of the tables and pulled out chairs.
“Oh no, she’s not sitting way over there.” The girl cousins at the next table overrode his seating decisions and surrounded Allison like a swarm of puppies with a new toy. Allison stared over her shoulder at him, her expression filled with laughter as she was led to the side and plopped down with great ceremony in the middle of a group of six ladies.
“You may as well give up all thoughts of getting any time with her tonight.” Joel passed over a beer and motioned to the empty chair in front of him. “Congrats, by the way.”
Gabe dipped his chin. “What’s happening tonight? Anything special on the agenda?”
His younger cousin leaned back his chair and gestured with his bottle as he spoke. “Pool table—Travis is grinding everyone into the ground. Don’t know how he can see straight with that shiner he’s got, but he’s already won over fifty bucks each from Steve and Trevor. My big brothers have been shanghaied to the dance floor by their women. Jesse isn’t back from his trip to Red Deer yet—he called to say he’s still about thirty minutes out. Other than that, it looks as if Karen and Tamara are determined to interrogate your woman. You will have no secrets left whatsoever by the end of the evening.”
Gabe leaned back to catch Allison’s eye, just to make sure she was still comfortable. The brief glimpse he got showed her smiling widely, laughing at something someone said. She looked as if she was handling his kin no problem.
Relaxing back in his chair was exactly what he needed for a while. The area around them was filled with cousins and friends. Wild, noisy and perfect.
He’d missed this when he’d left.
“That’s a very serious face for someone with a bottle in their hand,” Joel teased.
Gabe considered. Out of all the boisterous lot, Daniel and Joel from the Six Pack side were the closest to him in temperament. Daniel was happily married now, and usually too busy running after his adopted boys to spend tons of time with Gabe anymore. Even at eight years younger Joel would probably understand.
“Thinking about the time I lived away from Rocky. I worked hard and met some nice folks, but in the five years something was always missing. This whole nosy, noisy clan gets under your skin, and it was tough being away, no matter how annoying everyone can be.”