stepped around her and took the final package from Laurel as she raced through the front door.
The young woman had obviously been running. Now she glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Anything I need to do?”
“We’re done,” Dana told her. “See you around, Mark.”
“See you,” he echoed, but there seemed to be volumes of warning in that comment.
It was only a short drive back to the house Dana shared with her son and daughter-in-law. Laurel’s gaze darted to the side over and over, and in spite of the mass of confusion, anger, and everything else Mark’s arrival had triggered, Dana found herself amused enough to hide a smile. Her daughter-in-law had to be wildly curious at the moment but was stifling her million questions rather handily.
Or mostly stifling them.
“That’s the missing uncle? The one who left all those years ago?”
“Mark. Yes. I guess Becky’s having her baby, and he’s come out to…” Dana lost the flow of her thought for a moment.
He’s come for me wasn’t remotely on the list of things she was about to say. But that’s what he said he was there to do.
Dear Lord.
She forced herself to smile at her daughter-in-law. “He’s come for a visit. Which is going to be interesting.”
“Sounds kind of like that Chinese curse—may you live in interesting times,” Laurel said dryly.
Oh, boy. “Pretty much exactly like that,” Dana agreed.
What was a woman supposed to do with the knowledge that, after thirty-five years, one of her classmates and the younger brother of the man she’d been married to for ages, claimed to love her?
Good thing she had enough chores to distract herself until the evening. Somehow, she’d find a way to wrap her brain around this.
Mark was home. He said that he loved her.
Dana shook her head and fell into distractions like a gladiator heading into the ring.
12
After nearly three years of living with her mother-in-law, Laurel knew better than to poke when Dana pulled on her stone face.
Colemans knew how to keep secrets.
But after nearly three years of living full time with two Colemans and being totally immersed in Coleman-landia, not to mention all the years growing up as best friend to Rafe, Laurel also knew there were ways of getting results that didn’t involve trying to move unmovable stones.
As quickly as possible, she grabbed the couple of items that needed to go to her sister-in-law’s house. “I’m going to run these over to Allison. Need me to take anything else?”
A slightly dazed and distracted Dana shook her head. “I’ll get supper started while you’re gone.”
The only reason Laurel didn’t spin out of the driveway was because too much snow packed down the gravel. After fishtailing onto the secondary highway, she slowed enough to stay out of the ditch, because that would make all of her plans far more complicated.
Even while she drove, though, she used Bluetooth to put through a call in search of the first answers.
“Hey, Ms. Coleman, how are things on Angel land?” Jaxi teased.
“I need intel, stat.” Laurel got straight to the point. “Uncle Mark. Why would he and my mother-in-law be acting all awkward around each other?”
A split second of silence hung on the air before Jaxi gasped. “You saw him?”
“In Becky’s house, and Dana has never been so flustered.” Laurel slowed and checked the three-way stop before illegally rolling through the intersection. No one drove these roads but Colemans in the first place, but it was probably a good thing that cousin Anna no longer delighted in handing out tickets to her family like Halloween candy. “I know he’s been gone forever, but I didn’t think there was any really bad blood between the brothers. And I certainly didn’t know of anything that would make my mother-in-law rattled enough to be anything other than a bit surprised.”
“My father-in-law has talked about it. After Mark left, there were a few hot tempers the first time he came for a visit, but it’s been years. Mike’s been in contact with him off and on. Everything I’ve heard or seen since makes me suspect Mark would be welcomed back with open arms. Especially after everything he did for Becky.”
“That’s what I thought, but Dana never once mentioned that part. Which is strange, which is why I’m calling you.” Laurel took the turn onto Allison and Gabe’s driveway. “Okay, keep this quiet for now. I’ll let you know if I figure out anything else. Oh, and Becky’s at the hospital. You heard anything yet?”