of Gabe’s personality that didn’t fit. Now she knew why.
Gabe set his mug down against the counter with a click. He followed Brandon’s route and rounded the long counter. Stopped when he got right in front of her. “So, that’s Brandon.”
And she liked him. Liked the kid and liked the dad. Too much. “Not a little kid.”
Gabe shook his head. “Not little at all.”
“You know what I think?”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m afraid to ask.”
It was the one thought that kept running through her head. Seeing Brandon and Gabe together. Walking through this house. “Your brother Rick is an asshole.”
A smile broke across Gabe’s face. “That deserves breakfast.” He tilted his head to the side. “Oatmeal?”
That was enough to kill her hunger. “Never again.”
“I knew I liked you.”
EIGHTEEN
Gabe adjusted the photos on the fireplace mantel. No question Natalie had been looking through them. He’d watched her earlier from his position on the stairs. She’d pick one up and smile, then move on to the next. Sometimes she’d trace a finger over something she saw in a picture.
It struck him as such a private moment that he didn’t intrude. True, the photos documented his life with Brandon, but he understood that for someone who knew so little about true family ties, the photos might mean even more.
Somewhere after a shower and a long lunch where Brandon regaled them with campus stories, some of which made Gabe want to call the administration or at least stop payment on the tuition check, maybe get in touch with a few parents, she slipped away. He knew she needed alone time and gave it to her. Now he wanted to know where she’d run off to. Maybe fit in a round or two of touching.
“So, you brought a woman home.” Brandon made the comment as he slumped down on the oversized sectional. He put his feet up on the coffee table and knocked the remote to the floor.
From experience Gabe knew it would sit there until Christmas unless he picked it up. His kid was smart but could be so lazy.
“Careful,” he said, both about the coffee table and the subject matter.
“What?” Brandon shrugged but overplayed it a bit. “I’m just saying.”
“Right.” Not one to ignore a father-son talk when the kid looked for one, Gabe sat down on the end of the couch and waited.
“It’s not normal. You know, for you.”
There it was. Didn’t take Brandon long to weigh in on his private life. Gabe guessed he’d already texted Andy to ask about Natalie. That’s how the communication string worked in the house. Nothing stayed private for long within the inner circle. “I’ve been with women, Brandon. You do understand how you got here, right? We’ve had that talk.”
Brandon’s smile fell. “I’m good on the safe sex chat. Please don’t launch into it again.”
But it was so much fun to see the kid’s face. “You sure?”
“I’m talking about the fact that you brought a woman to our house. That never happens unless it’s a woman from work and it’s only for a work thing.”
Gabe toyed with how much to say. He wanted to be honest but not scare his son. They’d been playing this game since he was a kid. First came deployments then in-the-field assignments. Finally Gabe transitioned to the role of boss and kept to the administrative side, mostly for Brandon’s sake.
“We had some trouble on the assignment.” Compared to others, this one had gone well, but there were issues.
Brandon sat up straighter. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good. I promise.” Gabe reached across the top of the couch and let his hand rest near Brandon’s shoulder. “You know these days I mostly sit at a desk. No danger there.”
Seemingly satisfied with that explanation, interest flared in Brandon’s eyes again. He liked the strategy part of the job. Putting pieces together. He’d gone to school to become an engineer but could switch at any time. “Well, what happened?”
“Your uncle showed up.”
Brandon groaned as he dropped his head back against the cushions. “Rick, right?”
Gabe blamed himself for that reaction. There was no good way to hide the internal fighting from Brandon. He’d been there when Rick left a holiday dinner early and under a cloak of silence. He knew when Rick stopped coming around and from the heated phone calls. Gabe finally had to fess up that they had a disagreement and were trying to work through it.
Not that Brandon accepted that excuse or liked it, but he did keep his distance from Rick, as if