was so damn strong right then. To become bitter and cold like his father would be preferable to the pain eating him inside.
He moved the kittens back to the sack to carry them to be buried somewhere. One after another he lay them gently next to each other, swear words filling his mind along with the frustration and confusion.
One twitched.
He paused, lifting the soggy black body and placing it carefully in his palm. He gently rubbed up the creature’s chest and neck, like he would a newborn lamb to remove the mucus after it was born. He didn’t dare let the flicker of hope inside grow too fast.
It was like watching a candle on a gusty windowsill quivering to stay lit. The kitten’s chest moved again, and when its tiny mouth opened in a pitiful meow, Gabe bit his lip to stop from shouting out loud.
He tucked the little thing inside his shirt against his body, close enough that even with him soaking wet there was heat. It cuddled in and planted its paws on his skin, needle-sharp claws popping out to poke him, and he didn’t give a shit that he was being used as a pincushion.
It was a hell of a lot harder to one-handed finish the grisly task of caring for the kittens who hadn’t made it, but he was too grateful and too spent to care how long it took or how awkward it was. The tiny creature nestled against his ribs was like a miniature spot of hope.
Fuck his father. The man had told him again and again he was worthless. Why Gabe continued to try had always been for his own reasons. For his ma and brother. For his own soul—to keep alive the good things he knew about himself in spite of whatever Ben said.
He wouldn’t let the bitterness Ben kept dumping on him leach into his soul anymore.
There with the sunshine coming down like in some great cathedral, Gabe had his own revelation. He was done fighting Ben’s way. He was going to win this damn war between them, and he was going to use his own methods to get there.
And heaven help Ben if he wasn’t able to accept that.
Allison wasn’t exactly fussing—it was a teenager joining them for dinner for Pete’s sake. But she knew that of all the people who might see through what she and Gabe were doing, his kid brother was the most likely.
So she’d made sure she stopped working at the restaurant with enough time to get back to Gabe’s cabin to double-check things before Rafe arrived.
Kissing her mom goodbye for the night and seeing her bright smile was encouraging and lightened Allison’s spirits. So far Maisey seemed to be healthy enough. There were no signs of the disease sweeping through her body, but the expected deterioration could begin at anytime, and Allison snatched up every good moment for all she was worth.
There wasn’t much to do to get ready once she did get home—and wasn’t that a strange way to start thinking of Gabe’s place? It was a safe spot, though, after not even a week.
She finished setting the table then suddenly realized something.
She slipped into her bedroom and nabbed her things. It was a little weird to waltz into Gabe’s room and deliberately put her clothes there. It wasn’t as if she had to shove her nightclothes under the pillow, but her robe hung on the hook next to the bathroom, and she dropped her makeup kit on the dresser top.
She had to grab her pillow from the spare room and place it at the head of the bed, and this unexpected sensation snuck over her.
Kissing him the other day wasn’t something she should be remembering in such minute detail. The firmness of his lips, the pressure of his hands on her hips.
They were getting along fine, and she had been mean to tease him so hard. And mean to tease herself because with things working out with Mom, at least temporarily, there was a whole bunch too much time to think about how hot and achy Gabe made her.
She lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. After their talk the other day, she felt she could offer the Coleman ranch advice. That alone made it
He moved the kittens back to the sack to carry them to be buried somewhere. One after another he lay them gently next to each other, swear words filling his mind along with the frustration and confusion.
One twitched.
He paused, lifting the soggy black body and placing it carefully in his palm. He gently rubbed up the creature’s chest and neck, like he would a newborn lamb to remove the mucus after it was born. He didn’t dare let the flicker of hope inside grow too fast.
It was like watching a candle on a gusty windowsill quivering to stay lit. The kitten’s chest moved again, and when its tiny mouth opened in a pitiful meow, Gabe bit his lip to stop from shouting out loud.
He tucked the little thing inside his shirt against his body, close enough that even with him soaking wet there was heat. It cuddled in and planted its paws on his skin, needle-sharp claws popping out to poke him, and he didn’t give a shit that he was being used as a pincushion.
It was a hell of a lot harder to one-handed finish the grisly task of caring for the kittens who hadn’t made it, but he was too grateful and too spent to care how long it took or how awkward it was. The tiny creature nestled against his ribs was like a miniature spot of hope.
Fuck his father. The man had told him again and again he was worthless. Why Gabe continued to try had always been for his own reasons. For his ma and brother. For his own soul—to keep alive the good things he knew about himself in spite of whatever Ben said.
He wouldn’t let the bitterness Ben kept dumping on him leach into his soul anymore.
There with the sunshine coming down like in some great cathedral, Gabe had his own revelation. He was done fighting Ben’s way. He was going to win this damn war between them, and he was going to use his own methods to get there.
And heaven help Ben if he wasn’t able to accept that.
Allison wasn’t exactly fussing—it was a teenager joining them for dinner for Pete’s sake. But she knew that of all the people who might see through what she and Gabe were doing, his kid brother was the most likely.
So she’d made sure she stopped working at the restaurant with enough time to get back to Gabe’s cabin to double-check things before Rafe arrived.
Kissing her mom goodbye for the night and seeing her bright smile was encouraging and lightened Allison’s spirits. So far Maisey seemed to be healthy enough. There were no signs of the disease sweeping through her body, but the expected deterioration could begin at anytime, and Allison snatched up every good moment for all she was worth.
There wasn’t much to do to get ready once she did get home—and wasn’t that a strange way to start thinking of Gabe’s place? It was a safe spot, though, after not even a week.
She finished setting the table then suddenly realized something.
She slipped into her bedroom and nabbed her things. It was a little weird to waltz into Gabe’s room and deliberately put her clothes there. It wasn’t as if she had to shove her nightclothes under the pillow, but her robe hung on the hook next to the bathroom, and she dropped her makeup kit on the dresser top.
She had to grab her pillow from the spare room and place it at the head of the bed, and this unexpected sensation snuck over her.
Kissing him the other day wasn’t something she should be remembering in such minute detail. The firmness of his lips, the pressure of his hands on her hips.
They were getting along fine, and she had been mean to tease him so hard. And mean to tease herself because with things working out with Mom, at least temporarily, there was a whole bunch too much time to think about how hot and achy Gabe made her.
She lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. After their talk the other day, she felt she could offer the Coleman ranch advice. That alone made it
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