“You’ve fucked me boneless,” Allison complained. Or boasted.
Gabe reluctantly withdrew and supported her as she found her balance on the porch. He dealt with the condom, not sure where to toss it, when Allison giggled faintly.
“Drop it over the railing and we’ll grab it in the morning.”
He did it, feeling a little stupid. “Make sure you remind me. I would hate for your mama to find that in the garden box.”
They laughed together, straightening and organizing their clothing. Gabe turned to allow her to walk ahead of him into the house. Instead she snuck her hand back in his. Painfully sharp hope smacked him, but he tried to ignore it.
It was too soon to say anything. But in terms of starting to let her know he wanted more than casual from her? It had been a positive day.
Chapter Eighteen
Day slipped into night. The next day followed, and the next. Allison was busier than she’d ever been. In spite of the sadness of watching her mom grow weaker, she daily found enjoyable moments.
More than enjoyable, they rocked.
She worked full out at the restaurant, filling the rest of her time at her mom’s or putting through calls to help arrange matters for Gabe and the ranch.
No matter what she was doing, though, the longing to be with Gabe remained. She didn’t want to avoid the other things, but spending time with the man?
Addictive. She’d stupidly fallen for her own deception.
Or had something changed?
He held her hand while they watched TV, Puss in Boots purring happily in Gabe’s lap. He sat with an arm around her shoulders as they talked with family or visited with Maisey. He hugged her at the drop of a hat, and it seemed he couldn’t get enough of kissing her, no matter what time of day it was.
The sex? Oh my God, the sex. Even thinking about how they carried on made her flush and tingle.
Her mom noticed her happy glow, and complimented them both on being so terribly in love. “His rough edges are getting worn smooth by caring for you,” she shared while Allison helped her one afternoon.
Allison hid her grin by turning to fill the kettle. Something was happening, but she didn’t have the nerve to come right out and ask him if the rules had changed on their charade. “He’s never been one of the wild ones, Mom. He’s hard working and decent.”
Maisey patted her arm and slowly moved into the next task she felt had to be done. Allison clung to the happy moments, like spotting bright jewels sparkling in the rough.
Gabe was hard working. Which meant he was out in the fields and with the animals in all the different weathers, at all hours. Summer had finally decided to stick around, heat-sweltering days followed by lovely cooler nights as the sun dipped behind the foothills. The little cabin they shared with Puss in Boots seemed to have a steady stream of visitors. Rafe stopped in often. Travis. The twins from the Six Pack Coleman side.
Every time someone visited, Gabe dropped what he was doing to help.
The third time he abandoned his dinner to up and give a helping hand Allison wanted to fuss at him. That she wanted to rant didn’t piss her off as much as the fact she had no right to tell him to make his family wait. Gabe helping others—it was just a part of who he was.
Like he’d helped her. How could she be upset with him about that? And the memory of her basically stomping in and begging him to cooperate made her feel guilty all over again.
Guilt mixed with a healthy dollop of longing.
Was it crazy she wanted more?
She’d thought hard about it all week, trying to decide when things had changed. If they really had changed, or if it was her imagination working overtime after the exhaustion of long days and short nights.
Deciding to be brave and straight out ask him was difficult, especially knowing her mom could be gone soon. Having things change between her and Gabe before that happened?
She couldn’t take the risk. After would be soon enough to discover if that look in his eyes was something more than wishful thinking on her part.
So she put her plans on hold and took each day in stride. Promising to enjoy every moment as much as possible with Gabe, as well as with her mom. Because she didn’t know when either would be snatched from her.
The bonfire before them shot sparks into the indigo-coloured sky. Allison rested against Gabe’s side and looked around. “It’s a beautiful night.”
“Too early yet for the Perseids, but come August we can go lie out on the hill side and watch them all night long.”
“Shooting stars?”
“Meteor shower. Hundreds of them.”
Oh, what she wouldn’t give for a hundred stars to wish on. To miraculously make her mother better. To know her siblings would recover from the coming heartbreak.
For Gabe to feel even a little bit about her the way she’d begun to feel about him.
He leaned back on the low cushion he’d brought along and sighed.
“What’s that for?” She spoke softly to avoid interrupting the rest of their company, although she didn’t really need to worry. The Friday-eve activity had broken into two this weekend. Some still met at the bar in town while the more hardy of the Colemans made the trip to the bluff overlooking the Baptiste River.
“Just relaxing. It’s been a long week.”
She agreed. They’d moved Mom to the main floor of the house, shifting Elle upstairs. Her sister didn’t want to take over the master bedroom, so ironically, she was back in her original space, sunshine flooding in at a horrible hour.
Allison had teased Elle about it, but the taunts had been bittersweet. Maisey couldn’t do the stairs comfortably anymore, although homecare visits meant remaining in the house was still possible for a little longer. The clock kept ticking.
She added her own sigh to Gabe’s, and when he dropped his arm around her, she rolled to cuddle against his chest and soak in the warmth and comfort of his body.
Guitar music began, Steve Coleman rocking lightly as he picked out a tune. His girlfriend sang along, her voice a little too high to complement his, but it wasn’t centre stage Nashville, or even the Stampede fairgrounds. It was the middle of the summer in the foothills of Alberta, and the out-of-tune mashup fit.
You did what you could, you enjoyed yourself.
Jesse threw back his head and howled. A series of yips answered back from the not-so-distant trees, and the crowd laughed.
Another joy of the country. You didn’t take yourself too seriously.
“Was that a commentary on me?” Steve taunted. “Because you notice the coyotes didn’t start in until you piped up.”
Jesse waved a hand, not letting go of the young lady he had under his arm. “I’m not the singer of the group, just thought we needed to speed things up a little. You were going to put me to sleep with your lullabies.”
“You don’t mind a reason to hit the sack, now do you?” Travis poked his brother.
Jesse shook his head, lifting the woman at his side and depositing her in his lap. “You know I don’t.”
His date giggled. She didn’t seem to mind that he had his hands on her right out in public.
Allison leaned harder into Gabe as the talk got raunchier. Some of it was funny, but maybe she was too old for this kind of fun. It was one thing to talk dirty while they were fooling around, but the public shit talk had lost its appeal.
She would have been happy to just stay home with Gabe. Get hot and sweaty with him and not—
Drat. Stay home with Gabe?
She was so gone.
Another truck pulled into the parking area, brakes screeching, door slamming loudly. Gabe leaned forward and Allison went with him, turning to see who was joining the group this late.