Oh dear. Angela rubbed her suddenly aching eyes, aware of Mark’s horrified look as he stared first at Gray and then Ella. As much as Angela hated giving up her free chauffeur, there was no way she could appear to condone this.
Angela gripped the door and pasted a smile on her stiff lips. “Thanks for stopping by, Ella. It was kind of you to take me today.” As Angela spoke, she slowly shuffled forward, pushing the door closed.
Ella backed away, stepping out onto the porch. “Sure. Just call if you need—”
“I will!” Angela shut the door.
“Grandma!” Gray had pushed himself from the wall and now glowered at her. “That was rude!”
“She said she couldn’t stay.”
He scowled as he passed her and opened the door, but Ella was already walking back to her car. He turned back to Angela. “There was no call for that.”
“I said goodbye first. Besides, I’m tired, and I’m sure she has somewhere to be.”
“Gray,” Mark said before his brother could reply, “don’t be hard on Grandma. You know what Mom would say about Ella being here. She’s not happy you’re seeing her.”
Gray’s jaw tightened. “What I do and don’t do is none of your business, or hers.”
Mark flushed. “Come on, Gray. You know Ella Dove is bad news. The last time you—”
“Don’t.”
“Gray, I—”
Gray turned on his heel and left.
Angela and Mark followed him to the porch. “Gray, don’t leave,” Angela ordered.
“We just don’t want you to make the same mistakes as before!” Mark said sharply. “Remember how she—”
“I remember everything.” Gray stopped on the bottom step and glared up at his brother. “You have no idea what really happened. None of you do. So back off.”
“Gray, don’t—” Mark started.
“No. You’re a great brother, but you’re not my dad.”
Mark stiffened. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Then don’t look.” With that, Gray left, calling to Ella, who was just now climbing into her car.
Mark started after him, but Angela grabbed his arm. “Let him go. You’ll just make him mad, and he’ll do something stupid.”
“It’s too late for that.” Mark scowled. “This isn’t going to end well. She’s toxic.”
To her surprise, Angela realized she didn’t agree with that. But now was not the time for an argument. “However it ends, he’s right. It’s his decision and not ours. He—”
Gray’s truck growled to life.
Mark cursed under his breath and went to the far edge of the porch so he could see the driveway. “He’s leaving. She’s following him in her car.”
“Then there’s nothing more we can do. Not now.” Angela felt as if all the stiffness had leaked out of her bones. She left Mark outside and made her way to the living room, where she sank onto the chaise.
Mark arrived a moment later, looking far more upset than he should have.
“Mark, leave it be. Gray can handle whatever happens.”
“You don’t know how he gets when—”
“Pah. I know. I might not have lived here long, but I’ve seen how he can get. Look, you might be right and they’re not good for each other. I don’t know. But it’s not our choice to make. It’s his.”
“Not good for each other?” Mark shot her an incredulous look. “Why would you think Gray wasn’t good for Ella? He’s everything she’s not—stable, reliable, kind.”
“Oh, please. She’s not a horrible person. She’s just not the right person for Gray.”
“We can agree on that, at least.” Mark blew out a sigh and dropped into the chair opposite the chaise. “Mom’s going to have a cow when she hears about this.”
Of course she will. Jules had blamed Angela for Gray’s encounter with Ella in the Hamptons. Will she blame me for this, too? Probably.
Angela glanced under her lashes at Mark. “I suppose you’ll tell your mother Ella was here.”
“She’s going to be furious.”
“She would be… if she knew about it.”
Mark’s startled gaze met hers. “You think we shouldn’t tell her.”
Angela nodded. “It won’t change anything, and it’ll upset her.”
“But—”
“Think about it, Mark. Your mom already knows Ella’s been seeing Gray.” Angela shrugged. “Mentioning that Ella was here, at the house, serves no purpose. None.”
He considered this for a moment and then gave a frustrated sigh. “You’re right; it won’t change a thing.”
Relieved, Angela rubbed her forehead where an ache was beginning to form.
Instantly, worry darkened Mark’s gaze. “What did the doctor say?”
“What doc— Oh. Him. He said I should rest, eat better…” She waved her hand. “That sort of thing.” She leaned her aching head against the high back of the chaise. “Why are you home so early? Is everything okay at the café?”
“It’s fine. We were slow this afternoon, so I left early. I was going to see if you’d like to take a drive and get some ice cream, but when I arrived, Gray was already here and said you were asleep. I was waiting for you to wake up to ask you.”
Angela would bet her bottom dollar that if she looked at her phone, she’d find texts and missed calls from Gray where he’d tried to let her know what was going on.
Mark dropped back in his chair, looking as wrung out as she felt. “I didn’t mean to make him mad.”
“He’s touchy where Ella’s concerned.”
Mark was quiet a minute but then sighed. “I understand what he sees in her. She’s funny and super confident, and she has a great laugh—there are a lot of good things about her. But he knows how she is. There is no happily-ever-after where Ella is concerned.”
“He’s intelligent. He’ll figure things out.” Angela pulled her cardigan closer.
“You’re cold.” He stood. “I’ll light a fire. Mom had me fill the firewood racks last week, so everything we need is right here.”
“Is it cold enough for a fire?”
He grinned, his eyes crinkling. “If we have to, we can turn the air-conditioning back on.” He went to the fireplace and in an amazingly short time had everything arranged. “There. That should do it.”
Angela came to stand beside him as he clicked a long lighter that had been resting in a box on the mantel. A small curl of smoke lifted from the paper he’d stuffed under some thin split wood. Sure enough, after a moment, the smoke thickened and then, with a pop, a blaze sparked to life. “The first fire of the fall,” she said.
“But not the last.” Mark replaced the lighter in the box. “We’ll let that grow for a minute and then add more wood.”
“You’re very talented at this.”
“Dad taught me. He was good at handyman stuff. You know, building fires, splitting wood, fixing broken lamps. That sort of thing.”