Her beaming face said she wasn’t faking it, and Allison smiled back. The heat from Gabe’s body encircled her and held her up as well, and if Paul’s scowl only eased a tiny bit, well, she’d just have to give him time. It was a shock, but the pleasure her mom showed made it all worthwhile.
Elle passed the breadbasket to Gabe. “Are you planning on coming to work for the restaurant as well?”
Gabe snorted before turning the sound into a cough. “No. Allison working here is enough. I’ve got the ranch to keep me busy.”
Paul’s lips twitched, but he didn’t say anything.
Elle brought forward the topic of menus, and Allison got involved with her mom and sis in the usual brainstorming for new ideas. Their chef was good, but also loved the hands-on direction they gave, and together the combination had always been something to be proud of.
It was only after their meals had been delivered she realized the guys weren’t doing a lot of talking. Gabe was listening in on her conversation, but Paul seemed too busy glaring daggers at Gabe to contribute much of anything.
Just what she needed, grief from her younger brother.
Not
. If this hadn’t been a sham, his actions would have pissed her off even more. The jerk should know better than to stick in his oar that far.
Allison made sure to pull Gabe back into the rest of the discussion as best she could, but by the time they were done eating, she’d had enough.
“I’ll grab the truck and bring it to the door.” Gabe pressed a quick kiss on her cheek then rose. He nodded politely to her mother, winked at Elle who responded with a reluctant grin.
He tipped his hat forward and stared Paul down for a second before leaving without another word.
Allison sighed, ignoring the tingling where he’d touched his lips against her cheek. Good old family togetherness. She’d thrown a lot at them tonight, so she wasn’t about to push it.
Paul escorted her to the door, though, something obviously on his mind.
She held back far enough Elle and their mom were out the door and out of hearing range before turning and raising her brows. “What’s your problem?”
“Why him?”
She knew it. “So it’s Gabe in particular you have an issue with?” Maybe if she let him voice his concerns he’d relax. “Does he have a woman on the side I don’t know about? You don’t think he’s good enough for me? What?”
His nostrils flared as he drew a long breath. “Maybe it sounds stupid. And yeah, you surprised me with your announcement. But the Angel Colemans? I don’t have issues with Gabe himself. He’s been given the raw end of the deal in many ways as far as I know, but—”
His disapproval had simmered down and showed now as sheer frustration.
“I’m listening.” Allison finished buttoning her coat and waited as patiently as she could.
“If you really care about him, fine. But I heard they’re having money troubles lately, and all of a sudden he’s engaged to you? Face it, Ally, we are one of the wealthier families in town. Sorry if it makes warning signs go off, but I don’t like it.”
Allison wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed tight, the laughter escaping her completely real and relieved. “Is that what you’re worried about? That he’s marrying me for money? Oh, Paul, trust me, that is not at all in the picture.”
Maybe it was the fact she wasn’t lying that helped her sound extra convincing, but his shoulders eased slightly, and he smirked. “It does sound a little cloak and dagger when I say it out loud, but come on, I’m your only brother. If I don’t guard you from the dragons of the world, who will?”
She stepped back and nodded. “I can probably slay them on my own, but I understand better why you were grumpy. It’s fine. Gabe’s okay. Give it some time, and you’ll see. He’s so not about the money thing I can’t even begin to explain it.”
The door opened and Gabe’s smiling face appeared, the dark brown of his cowboy hat contrasting with his blond hair. She moved forward automatically to take his hand.
“Give me a call,” Paul suggested. “We can get together for…”
Allison peeked over her shoulder to discover her brother wasn’t talking to her, but staring directly at the cowboy at her side.
Paul cleared his throat. “We could have a beer or something. Catch up a little.”
Gabe blinked in surprise, but managed to pull it together quickly. “Sure.”
Allison pressed her shoulder against Gabe’s and they headed out. Elle had already taken their mom home, and it was quiet on the street as Gabe led her to the truck.
He helped her in on his side, and this time she didn’t even think to protest. Just stopped in the middle, buckled up and then closed her eyes and wondered what in the world they’d gotten themselves into.
They were halfway home before Gabe broke the silence. “That was a particular sort of hell I don’t want to have to do all over again. Shit.”
Allison laughed. “Don’t you mean ‘What the hell were we thinking?’”
“That too. Hell of a night. Hell of a day.”
Allison leaned her head on his shoulder and let the laughter take her. “Oh my God, did you see Paul’s face? I thought he was going to blow a blood vessel. And you know why?”
“Figured you’d gotten the reason for the stick up his ass. That invitation to join him for a beer was not what I expected. Did you kick him in the balls while I was gone and tell him to behave?”
“No, he explained he was worried you were marrying me for my bank account.
Idiot
. If he knew I was the one who had harassed you…”
Oh Lord. It had been a long day, but at least the worst was over. She could concentrate on getting back into the swing of things at the restaurant and being there for Mom.
Somehow try to secretly prepare the family for having their heart torn away.
Chapter Seven
Gabe splashed cold water on his face before soaking a washcloth and applying it to the back of his neck. Allison’s toothbrush rested in a glass, and a neat little fancy black case sat on the side of the counter. After a couple days of seeing them there, his eyes didn’t jerk to the side in shock as much. Now it was more in amusement.
Subtle signs they were sharing the house showed up everywhere.
A damp towel hanging where usually only his would be. Extra footwear stacked by the bench on the porch, and how anyone could possibly need that many shoes, he had no idea.
Still, she was trying damn hard to not spread out and take over. There was way less of a mess than his brother usually managed to produce after he’d been around for no more than a single night.
Gabe hurried through his cleanup and back into the bedroom to get dressed. The biggest issue was morning and a single bathroom. He tried to be done and into the kitchen before she crawled out of bed. The schedule wasn’t perfect, but it was working.
He knocked briskly on her closed door before calling out cheerfully. “Your turn.”
A low groan was the only response.
Gabe chuckled all the way to the kitchen area as he got the coffee going.
He was in the middle of breaking eggs into a bowl when the door at the edge of the room finally cracked open and Allison shuffled out, pale green robe wrapped tightly around her.
“You can stop the whistling now. I’m awake. You evil, inhuman person.”
“Hate to see you sleeping away your morning off, is all.”
She held up one strategic finger a second before disappearing into the master bedroom. Gabe went back to making breakfast without worrying too much.
Morning and Allison didn’t get along. Less than a week waking up in the same house, and he’d already figured that out.
Maybe he should have let her sleep in a little, but he was too excited to wait. She’d been gone to the restaurant and doing things at her mom’s for the past two days, but she’d promised to spend the morning with him, taking a look over the land.
Finally he was going to find out if his dream of making this section viable for organic ranching was possible.
Loaded coffee mugs on the table, a stack of pancakes at the ready. Allison dropped into her chair and reached for the steaming liquid without a word.
Gabe kept quiet even though what he really wanted to do was pepper her with a million questions. He had all the information she’d given him way back when, but trying to figure out how to apply it had been tough. Rules change, situations change.
He took another pancake and tried not to look at his watch again.
Allison held out her cup and shook it slightly to get his attention. “Are we driving or riding?”
“I thought we’d ride.” He filled her cup then drained the rest into his own before setting the thermos aside. “You need me to take along anything? I’ll have the saddle bags, so collection bottles, soil samples, anything we need…”
“You are way too energetic. Stop it. No being bouncy before noon.”
Gabe snorted. “Bouncy?”
“Like one of those teeny tiny rubber balls.”
He wasn’t sure if this was an insult or a compliment. “You’re calling me bouncy.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Drop it, Gabe.”
Something evil twisted inside.
“
Like a bouncy ball?”
“Arghhh.” Allison hid behind her mug and ignored him.
He was done well before she was ready, horses saddled and seemingly as eager as him to head out into the fresh morning sunshine. Allison finally joined them, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, big sunglasses covering her eyes. She plopped her cowboy hat on and tilted it back, and the cream-colour edges set off her face like a picture frame.
“I didn’t have a key to lock the door,” she apologized.
He passed over Patches’s reins. “Don’t need one. You’re not living in Red Deer right now.”
He stayed close enough he could give her a hand if needed, but she was up and in the saddle effortlessly.
“Right. Unlocked doors. You wouldn’t believe how long it took to break myself of that habit.”
Gabe settled in comfortably. The familiar leather of his saddle was age worn and totally a part of his life on the ranch. He led the way out of the corral, the dogs racing around in crazy excited circles. Allison’s mount moved through the shuffling, yipping mass of canine excitement without a qualm, so he turned his attention upward to see how the rider was doing.
She was in the middle of a huge yawn, her hand rising from the reins to cover her mouth at the last second. She sat easily, body rocking gently as they took the trail to follow the extreme east boundary of the Angel land.
“You ride pretty good for a city slicker,” he teased.
She stuck out her tongue for a second then grinned. “I’ve been riding out in Red Deer. Not Patches—I didn’t want to haul the old girl too far from home, but there’s a couple great places that board horses and were always looking for help in exercising them. I got out at least a couple times a week.”
The trail narrowed, and he pulled in front to take her around the narrow gorge to the shallowest part of the creek. “We haven’t had a lot of runoff this year. The water table’s about as low as it’s been in the past ten years. Last year’s crops were lean because of the drought.”
“It wasn’t much better over most of the province. A few pockets got too much moisture—go figure—but it was a bad year all round.” She drew in a deep breath. “It’s hard to think of that right now, isn’t it? When there’s that smell of everything bursting out with new growth?”
She closed her eyes and the faintest hint of a smile teased her mouth. Gabe watched as a butterfly rose from the tall grasses to their left, its pale yellow wings barely visible against the deeper yellow of the old strawlike stalks. The little thing flitted up and past her face, circling and coming to land on the raised pommel of her saddle.
“Don’t move,” he said softly. “Open your eyes and look down.”
Her smile unfurled into full bloom as the butterfly took wing and escaped forward, dusting past Patches’s ears.
She turned to grin at him. “Nice. They’re a good sign, butterflies. Plus the frogs I hear going nuts at night outside your cabin.”
Gabe took her carefully through the rough terrain on the far side of the creek. “Right. If the ecosystem is in balance, there will be more butterflies. I remember reading that.”
“Is this part of the Angel land?”
He pointed to the side. “Everything on the west is ours. The creek is the dividing point on this side. It’s not a straight line, but when you’re splitting up land for the family, you don’t have to get out a ruler and set things in stone.”
“Who got this section?”
They topped the hill and he figured he probably didn’t need to answer.
Allison pulled to a stop beside him and sighed in admiration. “The Whiskey Creek clan do love their horses, don’t they?”
“Uncle George has got the touch when it comes to breeding. He’s not moving too fast, but he’s already managed to get a couple of their animals noticed in the stockyards.”
“Any studs?”
Gabe shook his head. “They need another generation, I think. It’s not an area I’ve been studying on—well, I’ve been working on the genetics part, but horses are outside my price range. My cousin Karen is the one who seems to be able to get them to do anything for her—she’s the magician around here.”