said, nearly laughing. “You mean to tell me you invited children to stay at your house? Just how pretty is this single mama?”
Avery Culpepper was pretty, but that didn’t have anything to do with it. Even the prettiest mom, if she came with kids in tow, wasn’t for him. Gabe was many things, but a family man hadn’t ever been one of them. He’d stayed a bachelor all his years by choice, thank you. “I had to keep her from heading out of town, Mike. She’s got to stay for the seventieth anniversary party—you know it’s one of Cyrus’s cockamamy demands. I was fresh out of options.”
“I’ll say. Boy howdy, I’d like to see you with a pair of little girls pulling on your pant legs. Sounds entertaining.”
“About as entertaining as that opera singer you got there,” Gabe joked back. Every minute Mikey kept up the crying dug a deeper hole of doubt regarding what he’d just done in offering his own home. Little girls. What had come over him?
“You coming to my party?” Mike asked. “I mean, if you live that long?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Gabe growled, thinking it would have been far smarter to just fill out the reply card.
“Good,” Mike replied. “Say, when do the kiddos move in?”
“Tomorrow afternoon.”
Mike laughed. “I’ll call you Thursday and see if you’re still standing. Let me know if my guys find your grandpappy. Sure would be nice if this whole circus actually worked out, but then again, this is Cyrus we’re talking about. Anything could happen.”
“Don’t I know it. Cowboy up and get through the night watch, okay? I’m worried about you.”
“Don’t you worry about me,” Mike responded with a weary laugh. “I’m not the one about to be surrounded by females.”
Gabe ended the call with the sinking feeling that Mike was all too right.
* * *
“This place is huge.” Avery stared down the long hallway that led to the pair of rooms she and the girls would occupy. They had their own wing, which was practically the size of their house in Tennessee. Back at the boardinghouse, they’d been all stuffed into one room with a bathroom down the hall. Avery felt like she hadn’t had the space to take a deep breath since she came to town.
Marlene, Gabe’s wonderfully friendly housekeeper, put an encouraging hand on Avery’s shoulder. “We’ve definitely got room to spare, honey. I’m so glad you took Gabriel up on his offer.” The woman was a natural-born grandmother if ever there was one. The girls had taken to her and her husband, Jethro, instantly. Of course, the freshly baked gingerbread cookies may have had a great deal to do with that, but right now she didn’t care. This place felt miles better than where they had been, and Marlene felt like desperately needed support.
Debbie raced past them, nearly knocking the housekeeper over as she catapulted into the room and flung herself onto one of the two small beds. In seconds Dinah was right behind her, flopping with a squeal onto the bright pink gingham sheets that topped each bed.
“Everything’s so pink, Mama!” Dinah called, arms and legs flailing in little girl delight.
Marlene chuckled. “What little girl doesn’t love pink?” She gave Avery a knowing look. “You’ve got your hands full, bless your heart.”
If I had a dime for every time I heard that, Avery thought. She did hear it all the time. Everyone always said it back in Tennessee, but folks rarely lent a hand to help with the twins. Avery sighed. “I do indeed. I’m sorry for the racket.”
“Don’t you be one bit sorry. Five Rocks is a big and beautiful place, but I’ve always found it far too quiet. Oh, I know Gabriel says he likes his peace and order, but I think it’ll be nice to have some happy noise around for a change,” Marlene said as she walked into the room. “Now,” she said, pointing to one girl, “are you Dinah or are you Debbie? I’m gonna have trouble keeping you two straight.”
Any version of the “who’s who?” game sent Debbie into peals of laughter. “I’m Debbie,” she said, rolling over to grin at Marlene and point at her dark hair.
“Well, I’m glad for that hair,” Marlene said as she eased herself onto Debbie’s bed. “I need all the hints I can get. Tell me, Debbie, are you ready for lunch? I have bologna sandwiches cut out into heart shapes with carrots and sweet, juicy peaches.”
“Dinah’s a notoriously picky eater,” Avery offered from the doorway, hoping to spare dear Mrs. Frank one of Dinah’s all-too-frequent mealtime tantrums.
“Oh, that don’t scare me none. I raised three sons and five grandchildren. I’ve seen it all.” She winked at Avery. “This grandma’s got a few tricks up her sleeve.”
Avery couldn’t help herself. “Use any on Gabe?”
Marlene gave a hearty laugh. “Don’t tell. It works best if we let him think he’s in charge.”
“That’s because I am.” Gabe’s voice came from the hallway behind Avery. His dark eyebrows furrowed down over the man’s astonishingly blue eyes as he peered into the room. “Where’d all this come from?”
“Rhetta’s twins outgrew their beds last year. Jethro went over and borrowed them early this morning.”
“It’s a whole lot of princess pink!” Dinah called with glee.
“I’ll say,” Gabe said, wincing. “My teeth hurt just looking at it.”
“Girls, you should say thank you to...” Avery stopped, realizing she wasn’t quite sure how to finish that sentence. “What do you want them to call you?”
It seemed like a land mine of a question. Gabriel Everett was an imposing figure of a man. Tall and dark-haired with strong, solid features, he certainly wasn’t the “Uncle Gabe” type. Not even “Mr. Gabe.” Still, Mr. Everett sounded like a mouthful for a four-year-old.
“Do they have to call me anything?” Gabe seemed to find the question just as daunting.
“Well, of course they do,” Marlene said.
Gabe gave a bit of a twitch, as if he’d just realized housing the girls was going to mean he’d have to actually talk to them on occasion. Avery would have classified his behavior yesterday as an awkward tolerance—or perhaps it was more of a cornered surrender, now that she thought about it. The discomfort seemed to grow larger as Gabe scratched his chin and considered how the girls should address him. “Mr. Everett?” he offered halfheartedly, as if he couldn’t come up with anything better.
Avery was afraid he’d say that. She really didn’t think she could refuse, so she was especially glad when Marlene countered, “Don’t you think that’s a bit formal for someone their age?” The housekeeper shot a disapproving look Gabe’s way.
Avery was wracking her brains for a suitable moniker when Debbie bounced off the bed and walked right up to Gabe with the air of a woman in possession of the solution. “Boots,” she declared, pointing to Gabe’s large brown cowboy boots.
Gabe looked around, waiting for someone to pronounce what a bad idea that was.
“You
