Ben’s face went white, his hands trembling. “How did you know that?” he whispered.
“Michael called me.” Gabe snapped. “Already into the liquor. He teased me to come join him. Said he was flush with cash and he’d forgive me for being a stick in the mud. We could both have a blast on the money you’d given him.”
Oh God.
Gabe took a deep breath, dragging his hand through his hair. “That’s the end of it, Ben. I won’t meekly accept your taunts anymore. Michael’s death is not your fault, but it’s not mine either.”
Ben’s eyes reflected guilt even as anger twisted his features. The pain of what he must have felt would have made Allison more sympathetic if she hadn’t discovered the man had deliberately tormented Gabe for years.
As it was, Allison wanted to grab hold of Gabe and offer her support. Let him know he wasn’t alone. Wanted to hold him until all the pain had vanished.
Ben straightened, his gaze turning on Allison.
Gabe spoke softer. Slower, the calm man who she’d come to know so well pulling himself to the foreground. “It didn’t work, Ben. Your plan to get rid of me. I won. Admit it.”
Ben’s anger still roiled. He should have retreated after that revelation, but it seemed as if all his focus remained on hurting Gabe. Allison wondered what the man thought he could possibly say to defend himself or recast Gabe as the villain.
But when he spoke, it wasn’t about Michael at all.
“Did Mrs. Parker give you money?” Ben demanded.
What a ridiculous question. Now Allison understood what Ben had been accusing Gabe of earlier. She waited for Gabe to deny it.
Nothing came.
Nothing but confusion.
“How do you know about that?” Gabe stammered.
Ben sneered. Allison was already turning away to focus on Gabe. “My mom gave you money?”
He hesitated then nodded. Her stomach turned over.
“Ask him if it was before or after you two got hitched,” Ben gloated, his words thrashing out like a whip being cracked.
The implication was clear. That Gabe had only married her for money.
After all her dealings with Gabe over the past months, and the knowledge of how twisted and hurtful Ben was and always had been, knowing whose word to trust was simple.
Ben was on the losing side.
Yet a part inside her felt ill at the thought of being used. If it was only about money, there was no need for Gabe to extend the deception beyond their initial relationship—she’d already committed to help him if he helped her.
She looked into his eyes and saw the fear there. The hurt. The resigned acceptance that someone else was about to falsely accuse him. To take from him without giving.
In this case, without giving him a chance.
All their time together gave her the courage to lay her hand gently on his arm and trust him.
Trust him to not tear her fragile heart in two.
“Gabe. You had a bet with your father. How did you manage to work things out?”
He answered instantly. “I sold some land.”
“What?” Ben roared as Allison blinked in surprise. “You had no right to do that. You had—”
“I goddamn did have the right. We still have the same amount of land as we had before. The section I traded with the Whiskey Creek clan is worth more on paper, so they paid the difference. That’s where I got the money. That’s why we can make a go of it for another year until the changes Allison and I implemented turn into profit-making ventures.”
“You’ve got no signatures. You’ve got nothing from me to make that land exchange legal,” Ben protested vehemently.
“They’re family. Real family who give a shit that we all survive. Uncle George saw the merit in the swap, even without your approval upfront. It’s not as if they weren’t getting something of value, and the land is still all in the Coleman name. Uncle Mike and Uncle George helped me last Friday. We did up a rough draft and signed it with a gentleman’s agreement. The Whiskey Creek Ranch transferred the money into my account and I went from there.
“If you want to be petty enough to throw the entire Coleman spread into chaos out of some perverse need to hurt me, you’re a sorrier son of a bitch than I thought.” Gabe grabbed Allison’s hand. She held on for dear life.
Ben turned without another word and walked away.
The cabin was strangely quiet for a minute. The rain pounded, water dripped outside the open front door, but something peaceful came in to replace the violent storm that had been roaring through the room moments earlier.
Allison stood in silence, not sure what to ask. What she needed to know. In the midst of the entire chaos, and the fear, one thing had registered the hardest.
The only thing she really needed was Gabe.
Chapter Twenty-Three
He was still sopping wet, but damn if he could wait a minute longer. Gabe hauled Allison against him. Pressed her head to his chest and dug his fingers into her hair.
Clinging to her and trying to convince himself she was safe.
“I was so damn scared.” Her voice shook.
Something inside exploded. Ruthless anger at his father. “If he comes near you again I swear I’ll—”
“I don’t care if I am scared, I’ll kick him hard and run. Mean, cruel, ignorant bastard.” Allison reached up and caught his face in her hands. “You are not any of those things he accused you of. You’re good and you’re kind, and should be proud of everything you’ve accomplished. And you’re a saint for not sharing what you knew about him sooner.”
She kissed him and he took it all in. The stroke of her mouth against his, the way her breasts pressed tight to his chest, the moisture soaking her as well. The way her words poured in and stroked his aching soul.
Then she released him, pulled back her fist and punched him in the gut. Or tried to—he caught her before the blow could land.
“Hey, what’s that about?”
Allison jerked her hand free and crossed her arms in front of her chest as she glared at him. “Why was that the first time I heard about the bet? And what the hell is going on with my mother giving you money? I just about got whiplash from being jerked around during that conversation.”
“I can explain.”
“Make it snappy. I’m pissed at you.”
He chuckled. “I noticed.”
Her glare got hotter, and he rushed to clarify at least parts of the question. Gabe slipped past her to close the front door and pull off his boots as he spoke.
“The bet started the night—good Lord, it seems like years ago now—Canada Day. After the picnic. The same day everything first came out with your mom.”
The memory burst over her. “The first day we made love.”
“That too. There wasn’t any reason to tell you, not in the middle of what else was going on. Plus the bet didn’t really matter.”
She frowned. “What? How can you say that?”
“It didn’t,” he insisted. “We were already doing everything we could to make changes, and you knowing I had a deadline wouldn’t have effected what you suggested, would it?”
She wrinkled her nose. “No. I guess not.”
“You know not. All along you’ve talked about being realistic. Even though accepting the bet wasn’t sensible, it was my only choice. I still feel kind of sick at the final solution. I guess it’s worth losing some prime land if it means surviving the extra years we need for transition.”
Allison shook her head. “Stubborn fool.”