The fighter chuckled. “No harm in trying.”
“I have a scalpel in my bag and an intimate knowledge of anatomy. You really want to get fresh with me?” Tamara was the one to laugh as the man sucked in a hiss of pain as she pulled the thread. “Yeah, poor baby. Concentrate on something other than your head.”
“I was trying,” the man complained.
Tamara didn’t look up from her task. “Go away, Gabe.”
“Going.” But he wasn’t leaving for good until he knew she was safely in her vehicle and headed home.
Gabe grabbed another beer as he casually followed Travis. They’d done this for long enough now he didn’t have to put up with at least one cousin telling him to fuck off. Travis knew the story. Gabe wouldn’t step in unless needed. And at the end of the night, after Travis had enough, Gabe would drag him to the truck and drive him home.
It wasn’t typical, but it was what it was. Gabe didn’t judge. Just did what had to be done.
He pulled himself onto the top of a platform area to the side and leaned on the wall. From here he could see the ring, see Travis clambering back through the ropes for round two of pain and punishment. Off to the right Tamara was finishing bandaging her fighter. Gabe took another pull from his drink and wondered if his life could possibly get any weirder.
He laughed at himself. Oh, yeah, it could. Because when his babysitting tonight was over, he would head home to a woman who planned on turning things upside down and sideways.
Kissing Allison—that had been both a good and a bad idea. Bad because it made him think of all the things he’d put aside over the past while. Trying to keep his family together, all the little bits he’d secretly been dealing with around the ranch.
Her lips were soft, almost innocent under his. Her body? Innocent miss she wasn’t, not with those curves and the way she’d pressed into him. Pretending to be with her and not getting to have more than public tastes of her mouth was going to suck.
But perhaps…
Travis staggered for a moment in the ring, and Gabe held his breath. His cousin’s right eye was swelling shut. Maybe there would be an earlier finish than usual to their evening.
Fists exploded out, rapid jabs flying like electric sparks from a welding gun. Travis’s opponent reeled backward and collapsed onto the ropes.
Far more vertical than the other man, Travis raised a fist in the air in triumph. He headed back to the corner to snatch up his water bottle and press a towel to his face.
Gabe sighed. No reprieve. A long night loomed ahead of him.
After everything was over, after he’d helped Allison, and once the ranch was producing the money they needed to stay afloat, then he could approach Allison for real.
But for now, she was just another lost sheep to care for. His gaze moved carefully over Travis, over Tamara. Gabe leaned his head on the wall and watched.
It was after one, and Gabe still wasn’t back. Allison pulled the packing tape off the bottom of the empty box and unfolded it, sliding the collapsed cardboard under her bed with the rest.
She looked around the room, trying to see if she’d spread out too much. There was surprisingly little when she’d actually decided what she needed to unpack. Clothes, her computer. Her ebook reader. The knickknacks and other parts of her stuff were stacked in the porch to be added to the items already stored in the shed. She didn’t need them here, not for the while she’d be around, and the less she intruded, the better.
Who was she kidding? She’d totally come in and taken over his life. Just being in his house was bad enough.
Allison stepped back into the main living area and flicked on the kettle.
She was writing notes, sipping on a cup of tea, when floorboards outside creaked softly a second before the door opened.
Gabe hung up his jean jacket, turned silently toward the main room. He spotted her and shook his head.
“I thought you’d be asleep for a long time by now.”
Allison hesitated. “I think napping so late threw me off. I’m tired, but I can’t sleep.”
“You’re also worrying yourself to death, ain’t you?”
She nodded. No reason to deny it.
Gabe stepped forward, long limbs eating up the distance between them so smoothly. He pulled out a chair and sat beside her at the table. “You settle in?”
“Feeling guilty the entire time. Not guilty enough to change my mind, though.”
Gabe patted her hand. “I didn’t think you would.” He drew the paper toward him. “I take it this is what you’ve got planned for us.”
“It’s simple.”
“That’s always best.” He read for a minute, nodding slowly. “You got it pretty much covered here, with the whole ‘it’s an engagement to see if it’s gonna work’. That makes sense, with us supposedly dating long distance until now.”
It would also help when they called it off down the road, after her—
Allison rushed ahead, refusing to let the thought fully form in her head. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”
He leaned back in his chair. “So, tomorrow?”
She nodded. “I’m going to try to catch my mom in the morning, by herself. I think that would be the way to start. Maybe by some miracle she’ll confess what’s wrong before I begin the hoax…”
Surprise registered on his face. “I hadn’t even considered that. Hopefully she’ll see you and change her mind. It’s possible.”
She spotted blood on his fingers. She caught him by the wrist, turning his palm up to see where it had come from. “Did you cut yourself?”
Gabe withdrew his hand and went to the sink. “It’s not mine. Sorry about that, thought I’d washed it off. I was…helping a friend, and he got a bloody nose. That’s all.”
She deliberately didn’t ask. Just sat and took another drink. The tea was lukewarm, and she gave up. Even with the discomfort in her body and mind, she had to get to bed.
Allison took her cup to the sink and suddenly realized her mistake in staying up until he returned. A long hot shower would help relax her, but no way would she suggest she take one tonight. He’d have to wait to go bed until she was done.
Just, no way.
He cleared his throat. Must have clued in where her thoughts had headed. “I didn’t build this place very comfortably for two. The extra bathroom isn’t done yet, so you go ahead and get ready. I’ll take the things in the porch out to the shed, if that’s okay.”
They went in two different directions. Allison hurried through preparations for bed, pulling the door closed to the guest room and crawling under the cold quilts. It seemed to take forever for her body heat to make the room warmer. She gave up and grabbed a pair of thick socks from the suitcase she’d propped on the desk. Crawling back into bed with the fuzzy softness on her feet, and a toque on her head might not have been a fashion statement, but it made her warmer and it worked enough that she finally fell into a restless sleep.
Restless enough that when she woke her eyes were filled with sand and she couldn’t stop yawning. The clock radio said six a.m. and she yawned again in protest.
The knock on the door was followed by Gabe’s soft question. “Awake enough for coffee?”
“Yes. A gallon, please.”
She’d have to give him money for groceries, or pick up some to replace what she’d be eating. All of her thoughts so mundane. Unimportant. Tiny little details of the morning that would all fade away once she got where she actually was going.
Allison squared her shoulders and got out of bed to face the start of the deception.
Chapter Five
Her mother’s face lit up for a moment before concern crowded in. “Hey. What are you doing here?”
Allison stepped into the familiar kitchen and wrapped her arms around Maisey, tucking her chin against her mom’s neck and breathing deeply.
The scent of family. The scent of home.
“I’m not allowed to stop in to say hi?”
“You didn’t even tell me you were coming.” Maisey squeezed one last time before releasing her and stepping back. Her gaze darted over Allison, probably noting the blue jeans and cotton shirt instead of her normal more businesslike clothing. “Look at you. You’re in town to visit one of your organic suppliers, aren’t you?”
Allison forced a grin. “Well, kind of. I have a ton to tell you. Are you headed into the restaurant this morning, or do you have time to talk?”
“Paul and Elle are working early today. I’ll go in for dinner and shut down.” Maisey pointed to the table and the coffee carafe. “And I always have time for you.”
Maintaining an excited, happy expression was difficult, but Allison thought she managed, sneaking peeks at her mother as she prepared a coffee. The drink was more to have something to do with her hands than because she was thirsty.
Maisey had grown thinner. The lines on her face were deep this morning, and the shoulder-length hair she usually kept dyed brown was streaked with the grey that had set in during her husband’s long illness.
Allison’s doubts eased even as her concern grew. Returning to Rocky was more than a whim—her mom needed her.
Maisey sat and raised a brow. “So, talk.”
Allison waited for a minute, hoping against hope her mother would be the first to crack. “Anything new in Rocky? How are all of you doing?”
Her mom paused then shrugged. “Paul was complaining about the tax forms, and Elle’s been seeing one of the newspaper reporters. New fellow to town. He’s nice enough, I suppose.”
Even wound up like a spring, Allison couldn’t stop the laugh from bursting out. “But he’s not from around here, is that it?”
Maisey looked guilty. “I did say he was nice.”
Allison pressed on. “And you? How have you been doing? It was a miserable winter.”
Her mom turned her gaze out the window and stared for a moment.
Was she going to spill the beans?
Come on, Mom, tell me. Share.
All her meager hope slipped away as Maisey did no more than sigh heavily then point at the tree outside. “It was a terrible winter. The last snowfall came after the tree was already budding out, and we lost a few limbs. Your father and I were married under that willow, you know. Sad to see it in such rough shape.”
Allison made a mental note to get a tree-pruner in to save the tree if possible. “And you? What’s new?”
Maisey waved off her attempt. “Now you, stop it. Tell me why you’re here on a workday.”
It was no use. The plan had to kick into gear, and now. She smiled as hard as she could, hoping her expression didn’t look as fake as it felt. “I have good news. I’m coming back to Rocky.”
Her mother stuttered to a stop with the coffee cup halfway to her lips. Her jaw dropped slightly. “No. I thought the company said there wasn’t enough business yet to set up a second office, especially not out this way.”
Allison shook her head. “It’s not for work, Mom. I’m moving back, because, well, I’ve been seeing someone, and we’re getting married.”
Coffee sloshed over the edge of Maisey’s cup as she placed it back on the table. “Married? I didn’t even know you were dating, and you’re getting married? What on earth?”
“Oh, Mom. I just…wait, I said that wrong. We’re engaged. We’re going to get married, only not this minute. At least, we think we want to get married, but it’s been tough, since he lives here, and with me working in Red Deer. So I decided since he can’t move, and I can, I’d come back to Rocky. While we double-check to make sure it’s what we want. The getting-married, I mean.”
Could she possibly do a worse job of this?
A small smile tickled the corner of her mom’s mouth, though. “You’re giddy. Who’s got you so flustered you can’t even tell me straight out that you’ve fallen in love?”
Allison flushed. She felt the instant heat on her cheeks and figured she must be beet red. “Gabe. Gabe Coleman.”
Maisey full-out grinned as she lifted a finger and shook it in her daughter’s face. “I told you he had a crush on you back in high school, but you never let on. You said it was nothing.”
And it had been. But hey, if her mom wanted to think this was destiny finishing its work? Allison set loose the reins and let the idea run.
“Well, it’s something now, enough I’ve come back.”
“Well, we’ll just have to find you a spot, then. Elle took over your old room when you left, but there’s always the guest room.”
The heat in her face continued to rage, but damn it, she was a grown woman. “I’m planning on moving in with Gabe.”
Maisey’s brow lifted, and Allison prepared for a lecture. When her dad had been alive such a thing would never have been considered appropriate.
She was tempted to return to the family home, but Gabe had made a valid point. She could spend as much time as she wanted to with her mom without him complaining, but staying nights at his place made their ruse more plausible without putting him out by always having to be with her.
“Well, you’re old enough to know your own mind, Allison. But you’re always welcome here.”
It was what she needed to hear, but her mouth must have been hanging open in shock because her mom laughed.
“Oh, sweetie, I know. It’s not what you expected, is it? But…” Maisey’s gaze darted out the window for a moment before coming back to land on her daughter, the touch soft as a hug. “Life’s too short. If you love Gabe and want to see if this is right for you, then you do what you have to. Only until you’re sure? Please don’t get pregnant.”