Vivian Arend - Rocky Mountain Angel

Tamara giggled. “He’s gonna…”

Allison held her finger to her lips before giving up and grinning. “You are so bad.”

“Which is why you like me. Go on, pick another shot.”

Allison eyed the tray as if it might explode.

“Let Gabe pick one for you,” Karen suggested.

That suggestion was greeted with a lot more enthusiasm. Whatever the hell they were up to, Gabe would go along with it if he could keep an eye on Allison. He reached forward for a creamy brown shooter.

“No, not that one,” Allison gasped.

Gabe jerked his hand back. “Why not?”

She flushed so red. “Already had one of those.”

“Oh yeah, she did.”

He shook his head and ignored the jokes and nudges going on. Instead he picked up a nearly white drink with whipped cream on the top and handed it to Allison. “You let them know if you want to stop, okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine. This is fun.”

Across the table Lisa tipped back a shot, swallowed, then slammed the glass upside down in front of her. All the women leaned forward. Lisa covered her face as her friend nabbed the small piece of paper stuck to the bottom and read it out loud. “Passed Out Naked on the Bathroom Floor.”

Oh jeez. Now Gabe knew what they were doing. “Dirty shots?”

“Aren’t most of them dirty?” Karen asked. “Go on, pick one. If you dare.”

He glanced at Allison, wondering which shot she’d had that put that blush on her cheeks. It was mostly harmless fun, though. “What the hell.”

Gabe selected one and tossed it back, hoping he had managed to pick something not too terrible. The alcohol went down smoothly, too many fruit juices along with it for his taste. He tipped the glass over.

“Read it,” the chorus demanded.

“Really? Fine.” He leaned over and checked the shot name. Ah shit. “Sex on My Face.”

It took a while for the laughter to slow. He took the teasing with a grin. “Here I thought the male Colemans were the dirty perverts of the group, but I can tell I was wrong.”

When he went to stand, Allison caught at his hand. “Don’t forget you promised to take me dancing.”

Loud protests greeted her suggestion. Gabe raised his hands in submission. “Tell you what, I’ll come back in a bit.”

“She’s got to have the shot you picked for her before you go,” Tamara warned.

Allison gave Tamara a dirty look. “You know something.”

Tamara opened her eyes wide. “Me? I’m truly innocent.”

“Right—you were the one to order the drinks.” Karen poked her sister good-naturedly.

Allison shook her head, but she took the shot, passing the empty glass to Gabe. He turned it over.

Angel’s Kiss.

He glanced at his cousin to discover Tamara grinning from ear to ear. She waggled her brows suggestively, tilting her head toward Allison.

“That was a setup. I don’t know how you did it, but that was a total setup.”

“Hey, be happy you didn’t pull the Suck, Bang and Blow.”

“Troublemaker.” Gabe cupped Allison’s chin carefully and pressed his lips to hers. He meant to make it a quick, easy kiss, nothing too showy for the group of rowdies watching keenly.

Only she slipped her arms around his neck, and her mouth edged open, and next thing he knew his tongue had slipped in to taste the sweet remainder of her shot. Or maybe it wasn’t the shot. Maybe it was just her. She tangled her fingers in his hair, and he could have happily sat there on his knees kissing her for the rest of the evening.

The taunting when he did pull away was to be expected. He ignored them all and stared into Allison’s eyes. “You have fun. I’ll come get you in a bit to dance.”

After Gabe left, her third and final shot had been one with the unfortunate name of Bull Rider. Still, it had to be the alcohol dancing in her veins that made her face feel so heated when Gabe returned to claim her and take her out on the dance floor. The slow music was exactly what she needed so she could catch her breath.

Except being in his arms, swaying slowly, was making it tough to breathe for all sorts of other reasons.

She rested her cheek on his chest and gave in to the urge to relax as she let him lead. “I think I’m more tired than I knew.”

Gabe chuckled. “I think you’re more drunk than you know.”

“Three shots, that’s all I had,” she protested.

“Fine. It’s not the alcohol. It’s all the stress from the past week. Taking an evening off and relaxing—you’re feeling it.”

They moved together easily and she had to agree. “Kind of like after exams when everyone succumbs to the flu.”

“Right. Don’t worry, I’ll get you home okay.”

A yawn snuck out and she barely covered her mouth in time. “I think my plans for kicking up my heels for a few hours of dancing needs to be revised.”

“We can head out anytime you’d like. There’s someone here most Fridays, and if you don’t have things happening with your mom, I don’t mind bringing you.”

She bit her lip for a second. “It feels wrong. Laughing and dancing knowing that…”

“Allison, don’t.” He stopped right in the middle of the dance floor and lifted her chin until she had to look in his eyes. “Don’t do that to yourself. Your mom is so happy you are here, and she’s not going to begrudge you enjoying yourself and having a few laughs.”

“I guess, only—”

“No only. It’s true.” He tugged her off of the main floor, bringing her back into his arms more like a hug of reassurance than actual dancing. He spoke softly. “You came to give to Maisey, to help her. You need to stay healthy so you can be there for her. Don’t sacrifice your happiness thinking that’s what she wants. Because it’s not true.”

Allison squeezed him tight, nodding her agreement. “You’re right.”

They danced for a few minutes, the music pouring over them gently, others moving around in an easy rhythm.

The room was a little blurry through her tears and she wiped them away as discreetly as she could.

“Gabe?”

“Yeah?” He pulled back and gazed over her face, concern in his expression.

“Thank you.”

He tweaked her nose and motioned toward the door. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

Gabe squeezed Allison’s shoulder before leaning over to grab her plate, stacking it with his and making tracks for the clean-up area. The laughter of the Coleman Canada Day gathering that surrounded him was part of why he’d worked so damn hard to come back. To make things work for his family—so they could continue to be a part of the extended family. He scraped the dishes and brought them around the corner to where a makeshift kitchen had been established for washing.

The Six Pack twins were elbow deep in clean up. “Did you lose a bet?” Gabe asked.

“Shut up,” Jesse snapped.

Gabe snorted. “You did. You must have, or you two would be so long gone by now we wouldn’t even see your dust.”

Joel kept drying but jerked his head toward his twin. “This one had the bright idea to gamble with the girls. Offered both our services without even asking me.”

“Well, that part is nothing new. Who’d you bet with?”

Jesse didn’t answer, just groaned as their cousin Karen carried in another huge armload and deposited the mess to the side. She blew them a kiss and sauntered off.

Joel raised his brows and stared in disgust at the never-ending pile of plates and utensils. “Dammit, Jesse, I’ll say it again. If you’re going to make a wager, at least don’t make it a stupid one. Horses? You’re brainless enough to include horses in a bet with Karen involved?”

“She wasn’t there when I made the bet. It’s the rest of the girls who pulled a fast one on me,” Jesse complained. “How was I to know she was around the corner?”

Joel snapped his towel and Jesse shouted as he dodged. Gabe walked toward the barns still laughing at their antics and feeling good about the entire day.

This evening they would spend time with Maisey—he’d promised to do the heavy lifting for a couple of clean-up projects. After there would be fireworks and more time to sit and be with Allison.

He pushed open the barn door and ambled cautiously toward the stalls. His Uncle Mike had a couple of new animals he wanted to see.

After about a month around each other, he and Allison had fallen into a comfortable routine. They’d had no further little misadventures in terms of naked surprises, or kissing, or dirty shots for that matter, and he should have been happy.

The deception was going well. Why did it feel as if something was missing?

The horses nickered softly at his approach, and he slowed his steps. They’d been purchased for a good price, and had the potential to be fine animals one day, but it would take time to train and gentle them along.

He paused far enough away the horses stopped their rambling, and instead looked him over with curiosity.

“You are a pretty girl.” Gabe smiled as the filly on the right dipped her head as if in response. “Oh, you like being sweet-talked, don’t you?”

The stallion in the next stall snorted, wanting attention, and Gabe took a step closer, still moving smoothly. Keeping himself confident and strong, sending out all the positive vibes he could.

Horses were the mind readers of the animal world at times like this.

“They are beautiful animals, aren’t they?”

Gabe twisted his head slowly to see his Uncle Mike approach from the back of the barn.

“You found yourself some wonderful additions to the ranch,” Gabe admitted, speaking softly. “I’m a little jealous.”