Mine

by HelenKay Dimon

  At this point she might need something stronger. Images bombarded her brain. She’d paged through Gabe’s file so many times. Nothing she saw now, the house, Brandon, the easy camaraderie between the two, fit with the lethal man the government had trained as a weapon. The juxtaposition was surreal.

  And she was almost naked, which made the situation even weirder. “I think I should—”

  Before she could even finish Gabe leveled a finger in her general direction. “Do not even think of leaving that spot or going upstairs and putting on clothes.”

  Brandon hissed as he winced. “Wow, Dad.”

  “Or jumping out a window,” Gabe added.

  She had to give him credit for understanding her, because the thought did run through her mind. “I need clothes.”

  “We’ll debate that later, but I doubt you want to walk up stairs in that short shirt while we stand down here and watch.” He slipped the ball of material from his side of the counter to hers. “Lounge pants. They’ll swamp you but they’re good enough for now.”

  “I’m one of his cases.” For some reason she felt the need to explain that to Brandon. Ignoring the shirt that was obviously not hers and the total lack of a bra and underwear, she was here for a reason . . . sort of.

  Brandon cleared his throat. Did a pretty sucky job of hiding a laugh behind a fake cough. “Really?”

  “Well, okay. There’s more happening.” She wiped a hand over her face, half hoping it would make her disappear. When it didn’t, she practically jumped into the pants then held them up before they could slide back off her waist again. “I really think I should go upstairs.”

  This time Gabe pointed at the empty barstool on the other side of the counter from the males of the household. “Sit.”

  Demands. Really not her thing. “Your son is standing there, so I’m going to let that slide.”

  “Ha! Good for you.” Brandon took the cup out of his father’s hand and started pouring. Instead of giving it back to Gabe, he set it in front of the seat Gabe told her to take. “Black or do you want something in it?”

  She debated bolting or toughening it out. Decided sitting down would make it easier to keep the oversized pants up. She could hide part of her under the counter while she silently cursed Gabe for his tendency to tell half a story.

  “I think I need full strength this morning.” She slid onto the stool and ignored Gabe’s satisfied smile.

  Once everyone had coffee, Gabe leaned his hip against the counter and faced Brandon. “Spill it.”

  She had no idea what was happening, so she just watched. Waited to see if the nasty side of Gabe, the side she’d never seen, came flying out. If it did she didn’t know what she’d do, except put her body in front of Brandon’s.

  He shrugged as his gaze went to the countertop, then into the great room, then across the kitchen to the refrigerator. Everywhere but his father’s face. “I wanted to come over and say hello.”

  “Nope.” Gabe broke eye contact to glance at her. “When a teen boy leaves college on a weekend and heads home, he wants something.”

  Good to know. “Like what?”

  She understood what motivated people—greed, revenge, honor, a cause. Kids were like a science experiment to her. Their minds seemed jumbled, and little they did made sense to her. Except for those in countries who were trained to fight or acted the part of terrorists, and those kids had ceased being kids long ago, she didn’t get them.

  Brandon tried the same tact. “A few hours with my dad.”

  Even she knew that wouldn’t fly. The kid had an obvious tell, or three. He also had spunk, but lying straight to his father’s face seemed to be a problem for him. She guessed in the world of parenting, that was the equivalent of a superpower.

  Gabe downed the contents of his cup and set it down on the table. “Nice try. You knew I was away.”

  “Which was why I was a little surprised when I heard you come in last night.”

  Gabe frowned. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Well.” Brandon’s gaze flipped to her then back to his father. “You seemed busy.”

  She felt a rush of heat on her cheeks. This kid had her struggling to remember what happened when they walked in the door last night. How much and what he could have overheard. Something withered inside her at the thought.

  “This just gets better and better,” she mumbled under her breath, as she hoped she’d disappear in a big puff of smoke. If only her CIA cronies could see her now.

  “I think he figured out we’re having sex,” Gabe said in a dry, let’s-be-serious tone.

  Talk about oversharing. She wrapped both hands around the mug and held on for dear life. “Are you guys always so chatty in the morning?”

  Brandon shot her an apologetic smile. “You’re embarrassing her.”

  “Which is weird.” Right when she was about to ask what the hell he meant by that, Gabe turned back to Brandon. “So, a party? Was that the plan?”

  “No.”

  “Money . . . oh, wait.” Gabe started nodding. “The car.”

  That fast, Brandon switched from seemingly mature and in control to babbling. “Look, it’s no big deal. It really isn’t.” He was pleading now. “I just want it for a few days.”

  She took in the byplay and tried to figure out what Gabe had said to trigger this reaction. The side of Brandon that was not quite adult and more focused on his needs came roaring to life. Natalie liked the reaction, because it made the kid, who up until then had come off as almost too perfect, seem pretty normal. Whining she understood. Didn’t love the sound and she never got away with it as a kid, but it fit.

  But Gabe was having none of it. “No.”

  “I’ll bring it back next weekend.” Brandon’s voice got a bit more singsongy.

  “Still no. College freshmen don’t have cars.”

  The math still astonished her. She couldn’t imagine Gabe at Brandon’s age, with a baby and no wife. She tried to image what kind of life that must have been then gave up and went with a question that had to be easier to answer.

  Gabe didn’t ask so she did. “Why do you need one?”

  He snorted. “I’m guessing a female is involved.”

  “I didn’t want to go to the movies by bus,” Brandon said in full whine voice.

  “If you knew how little sympathy I had for you on this issue.” Gabe smiled as he said it. “How did you get here?”

  Brandon sighed and his shoulders dropped. He wore the look of defeat. “A few friends were going to D.C. this weekend. They swung by and left me off about a half mile away. I walked the rest.”

  “A half mile?” She thought about the snow and tried to remember if there was any on the ground here. “How big is this spread?”

  Brandon held his arms out wide. “Big.”

  “Okay.” Gabe shook his head as he reached for the coffeepot again.

  “I get to take the car?” Brandon asked, almost painfully hopeful.

  “No, you get to live.”

  “Funny.” The kid performed the perfect eye roll. “Fine, do I at least get to stay or am I cramping your style?”

  “Don’t push it.”

  But she didn’t sense any tension. They weren’t fighting. They were discussing. Gabe handled most of it with a firm hand and a bit of humor, something that must have felt familiar to Brandon because he didn’t balk. Didn’t make a scene. Natalie found the whole thing fascinating . . . except for the part where they talked about her and she still wasn’t wearing any underwear.

  “Let me go make a call about needing a ride back tomorrow.” Brandon rounded the edge of the counter then stopped before smiling at her. “Nice meeting you.”

  “You, too.” Strangely, she meant it. The insight into Gabe’s home life provided a pretty big window into Gabe, the man. She scowled at him anyway.

  He peeked at her over the rim of his mug. “What’s that look?”

  “You’re kidding, right?” This guy could win an award for subte
rfuge.

  Gabe shrugged. “You assumed he was younger.”

  Oh, no. She was not letting him bury the truth under a pile of that crap. “You let me think that.”

  “In my defense, you’ve only known I even have a son for about six days. It’s not like I’ve been hiding his identity from you for years.”

  “Is that really the argument you’re going with?”

  “You seemed determined to think the worst of me.”

  Fair enough, but still. “I wonder why.”

  “It ticked me off that you thought I could abandon my kid.”

  “Apparently, I was wrong.” And the relief nearly crushed her. Leaving Brandon off somewhere was the one piece 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 trying not to take sides. And how ironic was that.

  “Yeah, the point is our safe house location was compromised.” The comment sufficed to give Brandon the flavor. Gabe decided he didn’t need to know everything.

  Brandon smiled. “She really is a client?”

  Leave it to him to focus on the important part of what he’d learned today. “Yes.”

  “But you’re sleeping with her.”

  Gabe tried to be open with his kid about sex. He was desperate for Brandon not to make the same mistakes he did and grow up too early. Still, even Gabe squirmed when the talk of his personal sex life hit the table. Happily, it didn’t happen all that often. “Yes, and before you say it, I know that’s not normal for me.”

  “Right.” Brandon hummed. “You like her.”

  Talk about drilling down to the heart of the issue. “When do you go back to school?”

  “She’s pretty.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He did have eyes and had a very hard time keeping them off her.

  “Like whoa and damn pretty.”

  The kid had good taste. “I get it, Brandon.”

  “She watches you. You watch her.”

  “You make us sound weird.” But Gabe liked the idea of the attraction running both ways.

  At first he figured he was convenient for her. She needed to gain control and burn off some energy. He was right there when no one else was and happy to volunteer. But somewhere along the line whatever arced between them morphed into something else. He could feel her watch him when they were back in the cabin. He planned to make it clear she could watch, touch, do anything she wanted, as soon as Brandon went back to the dorm.

  Maybe that way he could keep whatever sparked between them on a sex-only level. He’d been trying since day one, before he ever touched her to get there and failed. He’d known back then that a certain energy hummed between them. He didn’t want it to mean anything, yet here she was. Sitting in his house. Meeting his kid. Knowing about his past and about things no one else knew.

  She had his trust. He had no idea when or how it happened but it all felt pretty committed to him. He hoped to figure out why as the days went on.

  “Grown-ups are weird. All old and boring.” Brandon tapped the toes of his sneakers together in a clapping sound.

  “Happy we settled that.”

  “I’m just saying that if you brought her here she means something to you. She’s not just some woman.” Brandon stopped staring at the black screen of the turned-off television and looked at Gabe. “Right?”

  Gabe refused to answer that one because the potential answer was starting to scare the shit out of him. “That psychology class is paying off.”

  “And if she means something, that’s okay with me. It’s g
reat, actually.” The kid’s devilish smile came back. “Good to see you getting a little action.”

  “Honestly, Brandon.” Gabe rubbed a hand in Brandon’s hair and ignored the slick of gel that now stuck to his fingers. At least he’d moved on from the rancid-smelling aftershave or whatever it was that had followed him senior year in a tiny cloud.

  Brandon stood up. “I’ll let you go find her.”

  “Where is she?”

  “Last I saw she was wandering in the backyard, sticking close to the house like I assume you trained her to do.”

  “You just know everything today.” But Gabe appreciated the information. It would cut down on his hunting for her.

  Brandon spun around and his sneakers squeaked against the hardwood floor. “One more thing.”

  Gabe braced for whatever came next. With Brandon, the leaps of logic and conversation topics could be big. “Yeah?”

  “Uncle Rick keeps texting.”

  Gabe felt everything inside him fall. Just crash inward until he consisted of a hollowed-out pile of nothing. “Okay.”

  “He says he wants to come to Charlottesville and take me to dinner.” Brandon put his hands up before he even finished the sentence. “I know you guys are still fighting and thought maybe you wouldn’t want me to.”

  Gabe wanted to shout no, but he choked the words back. This should be about what Brandon needed. “Do you want to see him?”

  “I do miss him. You and Uncle Andy suck at fishing.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  Gabe wondered for about the thousandth time in his life how he got so lucky with this kid. Everything should have gone wrong. They were set up to fail. Now they just had to survive Rick’s admission.

  “Then we’ll make it happen.” It hurt to say the words, but Gabe spit them out.

  “Thanks, Dad.” Brandon slipped the phone out of his back pocket and started punching in something as he left the room.

  Yeah, that’s what dads did, biological or not. They coped. Gabe just wished it wasn’t so damn hard.

  He suddenly needed to find Natalie.

  • • •

  “This place is pretty spectacular. I’ve only ever lived in condos.” Natalie made the comment as she closed the French doors and stepped back inside the great room after looking out over the rolling hills and lush green lawn that stretched as far as she could see. She glanced up, took in Gabe’s drawn face and came to a halt. “What’s wrong?”