Or mostly stifling them.
“That’s the missing uncle? The one who left all those years ago?”
“Mark. Yes. I guess Becky’s having her baby, and he’s come out to…” Dana lost the flow of her thought for a moment.
He’s come for me wasn’t remotely on the list of things she was about to say. But that’s what he said he was there to do.
Dear Lord.
She forced herself to smile at her daughter-in-law. “He’s come for a visit. Which is going to be interesting.”
“Sounds kind of like that Chinese curse—may you live in interesting times,” Laurel said dryly.
Oh, boy. “Pretty much exactly like that,” Dana agreed.
What was a woman supposed to do with the knowledge that, after thirty-five years, one of her classmates and the younger brother of the man she’d been married to for ages, claimed to love her?
Good thing she had enough chores to distract herself until the evening. Somehow, she’d find a way to wrap her brain around this.
Mark was home. He said that he loved her.
Dana shook her head and fell into distractions like a gladiator heading into the ring.
12
After nearly three years of living with her mother-in-law, Laurel knew better than to poke when Dana pulled on her stone face.
Colemans knew how to keep secrets.
But after nearly three years of living full time with two Colemans and being totally immersed in Coleman-landia, not to mention all the years growing up as best friend to Rafe, Laurel also knew there were ways of getting results that didn’t involve trying to move unmovable stones.
As quickly as possible, she grabbed the couple of items that needed to go to her sister-in-law’s house. “I’m going to run these over to Allison. Need me to take anything else?”
A slightly dazed and distracted Dana shook her head. “I’ll get supper started while you’re gone.”
The only reason Laurel didn’t spin out of the driveway was because too much snow packed down the gravel. After fishtailing onto the secondary highway, she slowed enough to stay out of the ditch, because that would make all of her plans far more complicated.
Even while she drove, though, she used Bluetooth to put through a call in search of the first answers.
“Hey, Ms. Coleman, how are things on Angel land?” Jaxi teased.
“I need intel, stat.” Laurel got straight to the point. “Uncle Mark. Why would he and my mother-in-law be acting all awkward around each other?”
A split second of silence hung on the air before Jaxi gasped. “You saw him?”
“In Becky’s house, and Dana has never been so flustered.” Laurel slowed and checked the three-way stop before illegally rolling through the intersection. No one drove these roads but Colemans in the first place, but it was probably a good thing that cousin Anna no longer delighted in handing out tickets to her family like Halloween candy. “I know he’s been gone forever, but I didn’t think there was any really bad blood between the brothers. And I certainly didn’t know of anything that would make my mother-in-law rattled enough to be anything other than a bit surprised.”
“My father-in-law has talked about it. After Mark left, there were a few hot tempers the first time he came for a visit, but it’s been years. Mike’s been in contact with him off and on. Everything I’ve heard or seen since makes me suspect Mark would be welcomed back with open arms. Especially after everything he did for Becky.”
“That’s what I thought, but Dana never once mentioned that part. Which is strange, which is why I’m calling you.” Laurel took the turn onto Allison and Gabe’s driveway. “Okay, keep this quiet for now. I’ll let you know if I figure out anything else. Oh, and Becky’s at the hospital. You heard anything yet?”
“Nothing, but I bet I can get an update.”
“Text me,” Laurel said. “I’m at Allison’s.”
“Later, sweetie.”
Talking to the source of all information Coleman-related had been simultaneously useful and piqued Laurel’s curiosity even further.
Why had Dana acted so strangely? Especially considering the most recent thing Mark had done was give Becky a fresh start after escaping a bad situation.
Laurel marched in Allison’s front door, kicked off her boots, and headed straight to the kitchen. “I got your stuff, and I want to gossip.”
Her sister-in-law’s dark eyes sparkled with mischief as she rose from where she’d been sitting on the couch, baby in her lap and four-year-old Micah stacking toys on the coffee table. “It’s good to know you’ve finally been totally corrupted.”
“Ha. If you think this is a recent event, you obviously weren’t paying attention back when Rafe and I were constantly seated outside the principal’s office.” Allison went to put Ariel in the playpen at the edge of the kitchen, but Laurel held out her arms. “Here. Give her to me. Auntie needs some lovin’.”
The little girl’s blondish curls stuck up every direction, and Laurel settled the one-year-old in her lap and smoothed her fingers through the soft tangles.
Allison went to unpack the groceries. “Who’s the topic of gossip?”
“Mom. Our mom—Dana. Oops.” Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and Laurel wiggled to grab it. “That should be an update from Jaxi.”
Allison had her phone out as well. “I got it. Baby girl for Becky and Trevor. I’m so glad for them.”
“Me too.” A small knot inside her tightened, but Laurel pushed the feelings aside, squeezing Ariel a little closer and concentrating on how good the news was. “Becky deserves all the joy possible.”
“Agreed.” Allison put her fists on her hips. “Now, take a step back. You want to gossip about Mom? What did she do? You never gossip about Dana, which I figured meant you’ve got the constitution of a saint, considering you live together.”
“She doesn’t usually do anything that’s gossip-worthy,” Laurel admitted. “She’s wonderful, and I love her to pieces. Which is why I want to find out—has she ever mentioned Mark Coleman to you?”
“Becky’s Uncle Mark? I mean, Gabe’s uncle, but the one who helped Becky out?” Allison shrugged. “Sure. I mean his name came up in conversations even before he dropped Becky off at his place. And what with the Colemans working together now, we’re planning on using a bunch of his territory that met the organic standards to expand operations. Gabe tried to get in touch with him a bunch of times, but he’s been sending all correspondence through Trevor. And Trevor said Mark basically told us to do anything we want, he’s okay with it.”
Which was not remotely the direction Laurel wanted this gossip to go. “But has she ever mentioned Uncle Mark outside of owning Coleman land? Like some reason that she would have to blush around him?”
Allison jerked to a stop, the bag of nuts in her hands sliding to the counter with a crash. She turned, all her attention fully on Laurel. “Okay, so this wasn’t a hypothetical question. You saw Uncle Mark and Mom, and Mom was blushing?”
“Over at Becky’s. Mom kept trying to keep me out of the way, and the instant we were done, she scooted out of there like her pants were on fire. And she didn’t do more than give me his name.”