Small-Town Moms (11 page)

“I
think we've gotten off on the wrong foot,” Olivia said, coming to meet Gabe when he got out of his truck. The woman didn't even give him time enough to set his boots on solid ground.

He tipped his hat back, his patience wearing thin. “I made myself clear when I talked to you on the phone. If there was any ‘getting off on the wrong foot,' I'd say it didn't come from misunderstanding my wishes.”

She bit her lip and stared at him. He got the feeling that biting her lip wasn't from indecision or worry, but more to keep her mouth shut. Clearly she would love to expound on her reasons for being here, but she was thinking it wasn't wise to do so.

“Oh, there you are,” his mother said, poking her head out the door. “Dinner is served. I'd begun to think you'd flown the country.”

He was going to have to sit down at the table with her. The idea sent an uneasiness coursing through him. “If this wasn't my home, I might have thought about it.”

Georgetta stepped out onto the porch. “Gabe McKennon, I'm ashamed of you.”

“I think I'll go check on the children and wash up,” Olivia said, not even glancing his way as she strode inside the house.

“I simply do not know what to do with you.” His mother's exasperation rode shotgun as she glared at him. “I've taught you better than this. Yes, Dawn treated you badly, but that is no call for you to continue to behave in this manner. Up until this point I've been proud to call you my son, but this behavior is out of line and unacceptable.”

He'd never had his mother tell him she was disappointed in him. Even though she had instigated this entire bad situation, the idea stung. “There is nothing good that can come of this.”

“I believe there is a lot of good that can come out of it.”

“I heard down at the diner that you've been holed up in the corner with Norma Sue and her bunch.” He gave a warning hike of one of his brows. “I honest to goodness hope you haven't got some misguided notion that she and I would come near being a matchup. If you're stepping out on that limb, Mother, then we're going to have real trouble.” His temperature escalated at the idea.

“Gabe. This is Dawn's long-lost sister. There is no danger here. She is a nice woman who happens to have lost her very dear husband whom she loved very much. Olivia is not her sister.”

He didn't tell his mother that he had other things to worry about besides whether she acted like her sister. It was the mother instinct that had her coming all the way out here to find Wes that had him worried. If she found out his secret, he was convinced more than ever that she would try to gain custody of his son. Nowadays who knew what the courts would do in a situation like
this? Fear like nothing he'd ever known gripped him even as he told himself he was being irrational. But when it came to his son, he was taking no chances.

“You coming in?” Georgetta asked, holding the door. “Wes had a great afternoon, if that relieves any of those stress lines etched about your eyes. He's crazy about Olivia.”

He couldn't move as his mother let the door close behind her. What was she doing? Looking up at the blue May sky, he asked the Lord to give him some help. It wasn't as though he'd done a lot of asking for anything over the past couple of years. He hadn't wasted time praying for Dawn to come to her senses and return home. He'd seen the writing on the wall in her note. She'd used him with little remorse. He'd have been crazy to want her back after the way she'd behaved. Though he wouldn't have wished her dead—no, never that—but he had wished her to stay away.

Stalking up the steps, he took a deep breath and pulled open the door. Laughter burst out from the dining area, and Olivia's was unmistakable as it lifted above the others. The sound sent a shiver of awareness through him that took him by surprise, freezing him mid-step in the hallway. He didn't have to see the scene to know what he would find when he rounded that corner. It was the sound of laughter followed by teasing banter about Wes being a pint-sized cowboy…it was the sound of family.

It angered him that he thought of it that way. He had a family, and it didn't need to include a woman.

 

“Daddy, Daddy!” Wes shrieked, jumping from his chair to rush toward Gabe. He threw his arms around
his dad's legs, who immediately picked him up and gave him a bear hug.

Olivia couldn't deny the hard tug at her heart as memories of Trudy doing the same thing to Justin hit the center of her heart. If she'd wondered at how loved her nephew was, she didn't have to wonder any longer. For all his difficult ways, Gabe loved his son and wasn't afraid to show it.

Burying his face in Wes's chest, Gabe sniffed. “You smell like a turtle.”

“Is that good?” Wes giggled, squirming when Gabe tickled him. “I like um a lot.”

“I don't have a problem with you smelling that way. Your grandmother is probably ready to get you into a bathtub as soon as dinner is over, though.”

“How'd you know she done told me that?”

Gabe chuckled. “She was my momma long before she was your grandmother. She stuck me in plenty of soapy bathwater when I was your age.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” Wes looked at Trudy. “Trudy don't smell like me. Why is that?”

Trudy looked indignant. “I'm not a boy. Girls don't smell.”

At her daughter's words Olivia had to laugh. “Girls like to take baths more. That may be the answer.”

Georgetta sat down beside Trudy. “Where Wes is concerned, everyone likes to take more baths than he does…but when Gabe was a boy, he was the same way.”

Setting Wes down, Gabe mumbled something about washing his hands and then left the room. Olivia found herself wondering what he was thinking. He was a mixture of unrelenting brick wall and caring father. There was more in between the lines that made up the man, but
it was these first apparent aspects of him that intrigued her. He was his child's protector, and for some unfathomable reason, he felt Wes needed protecting from her. This idea kept coming back to her. Georgetta had said he was afraid she might be like her sister. She wished she could understand that.

“Daddy smelled like a turtle, too.” Wes's eyes were lit with admiration, as if smelling like a turtle was the ultimate.

“Me and you, kid,” Gabe said, coming back into the room and pulling out his chair. He was sitting next to Wes and directly across the rectangular table from Olivia. He met her gaze with steady, unrelenting eyes. She got the gist—he and Wes were a team, locked together by an unbreakable bond. A bond that had far more than turtle smells connecting them.

“Gabe, will you say grace?”

Georgetta's question broke the tense moment. Gabe hesitated, then nodded, bowed his head and thanked the Lord for their meal. After a moment's hesitation he thanked Him for the people around the table and asked the Lord to bless them also. Olivia was certain he'd struggled with asking the Lord to bless her and Trudy when they were unwelcomed.

“Trudy don't want to get on a horse,” Wes said the instant the prayer was over. He was looking seriously at his daddy. “I told her Pony Boy wouldn't hurt her. Tell her, Dad.”

Olivia's heart tugged at Wes's concern for Trudy. He'd been trying to coax her onto that pretty blond horse all afternoon. Olivia knew in her heart that Trudy would love to get on the horse and ride. But she was reluctant
to try. And since she didn't know how to ride, it would be dangerous.

“Pony Boy is gentle if you'd like to ride him. I wouldn't have a horse out there that could harm Wes or any other child.” Gabe's expression was sincere as he placed a small portion of steak on Wes's plate, then passed the platter to her.

Olivia gave him a grateful smile for the way he was speaking to Trudy. He might be a hard man, but he had a soft spot where children were concerned. And he had no idea the sorrow that was built up inside her child. As much as she'd tried to get through to Trudy, the grief she held locked inside her was growing. They'd seen a counselor for a while but she hated it, so they'd stopped. Olivia prayed that she would deal with it when the time was right for her. Until then, Olivia just had to wait.

It hurt deeply knowing her child was in pain and she couldn't help her. But Olivia had dealt with Justin's loss in her own way and in her own time. It wasn't as if there was a timetable for grief.

“I just like looking at them.” Trudy looked uncomfortable.

“And that's just fine.” Georgetta patted Trudy's arm. “I'm not much on riding them, either. So tell us what kind of things you two do back home where you live.”

Trudy toyed with her food, shrugged and remained quiet. Olivia felt the need to fill the silence. “We home-school the first part of each day during the year. And then we keep busy.”

“What do you do?” Wes asked, munching on his steak.

Olivia told about all the different organizations she worked with.

“If anyone needs a volunteer, my mom's the one to call,” Trudy added drily.

Olivia gave her a smile. “You name it, I'm on it. No isn't in my vocabulary. Is it, Trudy?”

“Nope. When Dad was alive you didn't do so much.”

“True.” What did she say to that? When Justin was alive she wasn't lonely. There was a void in her life that was no longer filled. And truth of the matter was, it would never be filled again. It didn't matter if she volunteered for every committee twice and then some. But at least she wasn't sitting home in a dark room crying…no, not anymore anyway.

For some reason her gaze was drawn to Gabe's in that instant. He was watching her—though the moment their eyes met, he let his slide nonchalantly to his plate. But not before she felt a flutter of her pulse at the intensity of his gaze.

The feeling happened so suddenly she dropped her fork…and lost her mind at the same time!

“T
hanks for your help,” Gabe called and waved as the four cowboys who'd helped him work cows drove away. The sun was beating down on him as he rode his horse across the pasture. Though the cattle he was taking to auction were now in the pen, ready to head out in the morning, he wanted to check on a weak spot in the fence he'd noticed earlier.

His mind, like it had done all day, immediately went back to the events of the day before. After dinner Gabe had excused himself and gone to his office to work. He'd stayed there until the house was quiet, and then he'd gone in to check on his sleeping son before he'd sneaked to his room like a thief in his own home.

How was he supposed to handle this? Not only the issues with Olivia, but there was Trudy. It was clear the girl had some issues of her own. Anyone with eyes could tell that Trudy was having trouble, and he thought it stemmed from her dad's death. He could be totally wrong, but since he'd walked in her shoes, it was almost like looking in a mirror. He knew his mom had caught on early. There was no way she wouldn't have, as keen
as she was in observing what bothered people. And there was Olivia. She was struggling, too—with all that going and joining she was doing there had to be a reason. Or maybe not. What was he doing thinking about it anyway? How many times over the last twenty-four hours had that question come up?

He was still asking himself the same thing later that evening after dinner. The woman was funny and bubbly, and his mother had been right…Wes was crazy about her.

After dinner he pretty much ran to the barn—he needed to feed Pony Boy, but he also needed some fresh air.

There was no way that he could be interested in the woman.

The idea hit him over dinner, and he couldn't shake it. This was the sister of Dawn. The woman he most needed to be leery of. The woman who very well could take the only thing in life that mattered from him. He was not interested in her.

Snatching the bucket from the nail in the feed room, he stormed out to the pens and scooped up a bucket full of sweet feed. Pony Boy nickered with enthusiasm. The horse was as old as Methuselah and that being the case he had to have extra feed just to keep weight on him. But the dear old horse was perfect for Wes to learn to ride because he was so gentle. One day when Wes was older he'd bring a younger horse around, but not before Wes was old enough to know exactly what he was doing. Horses were dangerous, and Trudy had every reason to be wary of them if she didn't know anything about them. He knew from experience that even the most knowledgeable could make mistakes. Caution was not something
to take lightly where horses were concerned. His own dad had made a mistake and startled an injured mare when Gabe was ten. She'd kicked him with both feet and knocked him into the gate. He'd been dead before the ambulance had arrived. The memory and pain still affected him. He'd loved his dad like Wes loved him… Gabe's throat tightened at the thought.

“Are you angry about me still being here?” He swung around at the sound of the soft voice behind him. Olivia stood just inside the barn. The evening sun was setting behind her, and it made her look like she was illuminated in brilliant gold. Small dust particles played about her in the golden light. She made a beautiful image there, and he had to catch his breath. When had he been so affected by a woman? Not in a long, long time. He didn't like that it was this one getting to him after all this time.

“I guess you have a right to know your nephew.”

She gave a small smile. “Thank you for realizing that.”

Moving to the stall, he dumped the bucket of feed into the trough. His skin prickled with awareness when Olivia moved closer.

“He's fairly old, isn't he?”

“Yes. You know horses?”

She gave a small laugh. “Not that much. I just sensed he was an old soul when I was watching him yesterday.”

Coming out of the stall, he closed the gate. Pony Boy stuck his nose over the gate, wanting attention. “He's a good horse.” Gabe rubbed him between the eyes. “I wouldn't have him around if he was dangerous. If Trudy wants to ride, this would be the one.”

Olivia moved to stand beside him, then placed her hand just below his and rubbed the old horse's nose. He thought she was going to say something but remained silent instead.

She stood near enough for him to smell a light floral scent that drew him. He pulled back just before he leaned her direction and inhaled.

What are you doing?

“Your other sister—where is she?” He asked, saying the first thing that came to his mind. It had been four years since he'd been attracted to Dawn—and deceived by the power of that attraction. Looking at Olivia, his gut twisted, thinking how fickle he was. After all that Dawn had done to him, he couldn't fathom why looking at her sister, who resembled Dawn so closely, would draw him. It was as if he was a glutton for punishment.

Olivia pulled her hand away, turning toward him, her amber eyes troubled. “She went to find Dawn's other child, Lilly, and now she and Lilly's uncle are getting married. I still can't believe it. I mean, Maegan seemed so level-headed, and yet she meets this man—and before I can get my car gassed for the drive out here, she's engaged. I'm still a little troubled by that.”

And with reason. Gabe frowned as red flags started waving on that one. His mother had said that just because they were sisters didn't mean they would be the same. He sidestepped, putting more space between him and Olivia. This revelation gave validity to his fear about bad family traits. “I'm glad to hear Lilly is doing good. I've worried about her.”

“They're extremely happy, though, and Maegan called and can't wait for me to come visit. Of course, she has plans to come here and meet Wes, too.”

“I'm sure my mother has already issued the invitation.”

She crossed her arms and smiled. “Not that I'm aware of. I can understand some anger toward Dawn, but why do you dislike us so much? We've done nothing to you. We simply want to get to know our nephew and be a part of his life.”

“And I'm seeing that I'll have to let that happen, to an extent. I already had located Lilly and planned for him to meet her.”

“I'm glad for that,” she said. “He enjoyed today. There was nothing wrong about today, except your behavior.”

“That's your opinion.”

Her brows dipped. “Gabe, I don't get you.”

“Don't have to. If you'll excuse me, I need to finish my chores.”

She stared hard, then, with a slight shake of her head, she walked away. He watched her round the corner and disappear. Only then did he breathe.

Two days down and nineteen more to go. It was going to be a long three weeks.

 

Olivia enjoyed the next three days. They were full of fun—when Gabe wasn't around. Georgetta took them into town and they ate lunch at Sam's, a quaint diner. They met several of the residents of Mule Hollow. The town was painted colorfully, and the people seemed just as colorful. There was Sam, the spunky owner, and the two hard-of-hearing checker players sitting at the front table of the diner. There was also a group of women around her age who were having fun eating
lunch together when they arrived. She felt like they were women she would enjoy getting to know.

Still, tension filled the air when Gabe was around. At dinner each evening, she tried to ignore the fact that he was simply tolerating them. She refused to have his attitude ruin their visit, and so she kept her spirits up and made the time around the table together as fun and lively as possible.

Gabe might be counting the days until she and Trudy climbed into their truck and headed back home. But Olivia couldn't worry about that too long. She had a little boy she'd fallen in love with, and she was having a wonderful time teasing, talking and playing with him.