Page 83 of Rocky Mountain Devil
His brother played it cool, far less annoyance in his tone when he spoke than Rafe could have mustered. “Micah’s my son. He’s definitely a Coleman.”
Ben grunted then turned back to the television.
Fine by Rafe. The only reason he was here was for his mom’s sake. He settled on the couch beside her, the three of them—her, Gabe and himself—chatting while Micah dragged the toys out of the box then threw them back in.
A ball rolled under the couch, and Rafe fished it out, spinning it in his hand then balancing it on a fingertip in front of his nephew.
Micah laughed with delight, his face lit with excitement.
Ben turned up the volume of the television.
A buzzer went off in the kitchen, and his mom rose to her feet. “That’s the last thing. We can take everything to the table.”
Gabe reached for Micah, but Rafe waved him off. “I got him. You help Mom.”
Rafe picked up his nephew and brought him to the highchair, strapping him in as he chatted with the kid. Ignoring his father who seemed content to ignore his family.
But he couldn’t overlook it completely. That deep cutting hurt inside was there, no matter how much he wanted to pretend it wasn’t.
Laurel had insisted Rafe’s decisions were his own. That he’d never step too far and let loose the anger he felt inside. Only Pastor Dave’s comment about character being what wanted to come to the surface first didn’t bode well, because his first impulse was to walk over and give his father a smack across the head and tell him to smarten up before he ruined any chance he had of making things right with his family.
The meal was tolerable. For once Ben didn’t start in on a rant, and the silence from his end of the table let the rest of them continue to talk as they passed the food.
Only the bastard was there. Silent and judgmental. Silent, and irritating the hell out of Rafe. He stared at each of them in turn, chewing his food angrily. And when he looked at Micah, Ben’s brow furrowed as if he was attempting to solve a puzzle.
They were nearly done the main meal before he spoke. “The kid doesn’t look like anyone in the Parker family, either.”
The out-of-the-blue comment took a moment to understand, but when it clicked, Rafe was speechless. What thehell?
He opened his mouth to demand what exactly his father was implying, but before he could snap angrily, Gabe soothed the situation, although even his angelic brother looked at the end of his rope.
Rafe couldn’t take it anymore. He got up and gave his mom a quick kiss on the cheek as he muttered his thanks. Carried his plate to the kitchen, stacking it beside the sink before heading for the door and escaping into the cool air.
He wasn’t feeling very thankful at the moment. Spraying gravel as he left the yard didn’t make him any happier, nor burning rubber as he turned into the yard of the rental. He skidded to a stop in front of the house and glared at nothing.
It took ten seconds to decide to pull out his phone and send a text. She’d be at dinner now with her family, so he wouldn’t hear from her for a while, butdammit, he needed to touch base with Laurel.
Rafe:I should have come with you. Call when you’re done.
She texted back right away.That bad?
Rafe:Fuck.
His phone rang almost instantly, and he felt like a fool for having interrupted her. His dad was a jerk, but Ben hadn’t even been that terrible that day. Not really. There’d been no shouting, or temper tantrums, or anything truly shitty.
Just not a family. Not a time of thanksgiving by any stretch.
Guilt struck. “You didn’t have to call me. I shouldn’t have complained.”
“Are you kidding me? Your timing was perfect. I got to look all concerned then excuse myself from the table.” She sighed happily. “I might even be able to get out of doing dishes if I leave soon.”
Great. Her words reminded him he’d abandoned Gabe and his mom to clean up. He mentally promised he’d make it up to them. “Don’t get me in trouble with your family.”
“They don’t care. Well, yes, they care. Leslie was looking forward to doing dishes with me so she could hound me the entire time in the hopes I’d cave to her latest request.”
Rafe laughed in spite of his inner frustrations. “Your sister never gives up. What’s it this time?”
“She wants me to take over teaching Sunday school for the next three months. Which—no way.”
