“I’d like that. Thanks.” The sheer happiness on the other man’s face made Gabe feel bad for not having issued an invitation sooner.
When it was time to call it a day, Gabe gestured to the shower room they’d added when they’d built the new barn. “You can get cleaned up in there. Side cupboard will hold some T-shirts that should fit you. The cousins have left clothes here over the years, so it’s a bit of a free-for-all. I can grab you a shirt once you come in the house.”
“Will do.” Mark held out his hand.
It wasn’t the usual end-of-the-day ritual, but at the same time it made sense. Gabe reached out and offered a solid handshake. “It was good working with you.”
Once again Mark’s appreciation shone through. “I’m glad. Me too.”
Gabe wandered over to the house, a little bit of nostalgia messing with the what if’s in his brain.
Which meant he was all the way into his and Allison’s bedroom, headed for the shower, when he paused, turned around, and went back to look. “Allison? I was going to ask if you could set the table for one more, but you’ve already set it for five.”
She whirled from the stove where she was stirring something that smelled amazing. “Laurel and Dana’s thing got cancelled, so I told them to join us.”
“Oh, shit.”
Allison’s eyes widened. Both of them glanced over at Micah, who was tossing toys back into the playpen as Ariel happily threw them out.
“Sorry. Both for the swear and the fact that I invited Uncle Mark to join us for dinner.”
“Oh, shit.”
Allison slapped a hand over her mouth. Gabe snickered.
Then she shrugged. “It was going to happen sometime. At least this is a safe setting.” She gave him a quick glance. “Still, shower fast. I do not want to deal with this by myself, and Laurel said they’d be here in under ten minutes.”
The temptation to linger under the hot water was there, only Gabe wouldn’t do that to Allison or to his mom. He was dressed and ready to greet them when they arrived.
Dana accepted his hug then headed for the most important people in the room, scooping Ariel out of her playpen and pressing kisses all over her face.
Rafe grinned as he caught Laurel against him. “Nice surprise.”
Her cheeks were flushed when he brought her back to vertical.
Gabe was about to warn them all about the final guest when a knock sounded on the door.
“I’ll get it.” Laurel danced over, pulling it open. “Oh. It’s you.”
It was only because Gabe was watching that he saw his sister-in-law blush beet red, which was a thing he only saw when she’d been caught in a lie.
Uncle Mark’s deep chuckle sounded. “Mind if I come in? It’s a little cold to let the breeze in.”
Laurel snapped to attention. She glanced over her shoulder as if looking for assistance. Her gaze darted over Dana then landed on Gabe.
He took pity on her, marching forward and holding out a hand. “Uncle Mark. Come in. We’ve got a few more for dinner than I expected, but Allison always cooks enough for an army, so we’ll be okay.”
“Good to know.” His gaze had shot straight to Dana, but he spoke to Allison. “Smells wonderful in here.”
“Lima beans and liver, or so Gabe claims,” Rafe said as he came forward and shook Mark’s hand as well. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Just water.” Mark knelt to say hello to Micah, who had made his way over and was tugging at his jeans. “Hello, young man.”
Micah lifted his arms, and as if it was the most natural thing in the world, Mark picked him up. He held the toddler with an easy confidence.
Meanwhile, Gabe had been sneaking peeks at his mom. After the initial widening of her eyes, she had turned to absolute calm. A kind of peacefulness that said nothing could touch her.
He hated it with everything in him. That was how she had reacted when Ben had been acting out. She’d gone cold. Not icy as if annoyed, but silent like a lifeless winter day. Making sure she didn’t draw any attention to herself, to ensure whatever it was that had set Ben off didn’t get repeated.
Gabe went straight to her and took her hands, speaking quietly. “If this doesn’t work for you, tell me. Because family or not, this is your place first.”
Dana lost some of her quiet, her lips curling upward and her head tilting slightly. She raised a hand and patted his cheek as if he were no bigger than Micah. “You really are my angel boy, aren’t you?”
“I can be the devil if that’s what you need,” he promised.
But she smiled, shaking her head. “I was surprised, but this is not wrong. You said it. Mark’s family, and he deserves a chance to find where he fits.”
By the time everything was on the table and all the chairs were occupied, including the highchair that somehow found its way beside Laurel, some of the tension in the room had faded.
Rafe shared a story about their cousin-in-law Cassidy being distracted enough that they’d found him surrounded by an entire nest of kittens. Allison mentioned something that happened with her brother down at the restaurant, which led to Gabe bringing up an item to put on the agenda for growing come the spring.
It was an easy conversation, family-filled and bright.
Dana turned to Mark. “Tell us a bit about your time away. My boys say you’re back on the schedule, but you never wanted to ranch.”
“Did a lot while I was gone. Some of it was fun, some of it was sheer work.” Their uncle wiped a napkin over his mouth and considered. “Truth is, when I said I didn’t want to ranch anymore, it was for a lot of reasons, but none of them were really about the work itself.”
“You drove a truck for a while.” Laurel was making faces the way people do when feeding babies. She waited until Ariel had a mouthful, caught the overspill, and fed it to her again before lifting her gaze to Mark’s. “When you found Becky.”
“That was pretty much the last job I did, yeah.” He stared at the ceiling for a minute. “Driving was a quiet trade. Just one man, although I listened to a lot of radio and audio. Took some online classes even. A librarian at one of the places I lived put together some courses for me one time. It wasn’t anything that gave me a degree to hang on the wall, but I know a little about a lot of things.”
“What was your favourite job?” Allison asked.
“Worked in a nursery,” he said instantly.
Rafe frowned. “Like a greenhouse?”
Mark laughed. “Like in a place with a whole bunch of these little varmints.” He caught Micah, who was in the process of wiggling off his chair, headed for the ground. He put Gabe’s son back in place then handed him his fork. “Your mama said beans first.”
“Shit,” Micah said politely, then poked his fork into his beans, and filled his mouth.
Gabe and Allison bit their lips and tried not to howl with laughter as Dana shook her head and stared at the ceiling as if looking for strength. Thankfully, the moment passed without further comment.
“How did you get a job in a nursery?” Dana asked in a quiet voice.
“Went to school. I’ve got an early childhood teacher’s certificate.” He looked across at Ariel. “They’re precious—kids. Teaching seemed like a way to make a difference.”