As an adult, he could understand. Tani hadn’t been required to permit his presence in her home, under her nose, but she had. She hadn’t protested Robert enrolling him in her children’s private school or making sure he got to participate in many of the same privileges they had—even though it had been her family’s money facilitating those privileges. Robert Kane had been firmly middle-class when he’d fathered Gabe, the son of local small business owners. He’d married into the Oka fortune.
Gabe didn’t hate or resent Tani, not at all. That didn’t mean they were friends. He inclined his head to her. “Ms. Tani.”
She accepted his greeting with a regal nod of her own. “Gabe. It has been a while.”
Since Paul’s funeral actually. He’d avoided Maile. He didn’t have to avoid Tani, because she rarely left her house. “Yes, ma’am.” Tani wouldn’t tell him not to ma’am her.
Maile patted Gabe on the shoulder and moved to the chair. “I’ll wait to get the rest of our bags, Tani.”
“I can get them,” Gabe offered.
Maile flashed him a bright smile. “No, sweetheart. Nothing essential in them.”
Nicholas entered the room and made a beeline for Livvy. They often did that, Nicholas and Livvy. Sought each other out in the room, as if to ensure the other was okay.
Sadia perched on the arm of the sofa, next to Jackson. They did the same thing.
Gabe stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. That sharp ache he was feeling wasn’t loneliness or hurt. Surely not.
“Did you have an okay trip?” Nicholas asked politely.
Tani took a sip of her tea before answering. “It was adequate.”
Livvy leaned forward. “You’ll love your room here, Mom. There’s a big tub, and I made sure it faces the east, since I know you like the sun in the morning.”
“I can’t get into and out of tubs easily anymore. My hip. And I actually prefer to sleep in in the mornings now.”
Livvy deflated. “Oh. Well. It has a nice closet.”
Tani glanced around the room. “This place looks old and drafty.”
Nicholas rested his hand on Livvy’s shoulder and squeezed. “It’s only a decade or two old actually.”
“Young people always want newer houses. Things aren’t built like they used to be.”
“I think it’s lovely,” Maile interjected, and Gabe didn’t miss the warning glance she gave her former sister-in-law. Maile clearly wasn’t blind to how curmudgeonly Tani could be. “Was that a barn I glimpsed?”
“It is.” Livvy brightened. “We have horses. I haven’t had a chance to go riding, but Eve went yesterday.”
“In the storm?” Tani asked.
“Uh, she got caught in it a bit, but she was fine.” Livvy leaned against Nicholas. There was an air of desperation in her tone, and Gabe wondered if she was trying to head off any more talk of a curse from her mother. “Isn’t that right, Nicholas?”
“Yup. Fine.”
Tani sniffed. “Hmm.”
As if summoned, Eve slipped into the room. She’d changed out of her pressed slacks and shirt into a tidy but more casual outfit of a T-shirt and jeans. Her gaze darted around, until it landed on him. She gave him a long look he couldn’t quite interpret, then turned to the newly arrived guests. “Tani, Maile,” she said smoothly. She gave them both light hugs. “How lovely to see you.”
Tani perked up marginally, her gaze warming as it rested on Eve. She clearly liked the younger woman, which wasn’t surprising. In a lot of ways, Eve’s quiet reserve was probably more comfortable to her than her daughter’s vivaciousness. “You look well, Eve. Very alert. The air here agrees with you.”
Eve drifted slightly closer to where he stood holding up the wall, and avoided his gaze. But her cheeks pinkened a bit and he wondered if she was thinking about what they’d done last night and how it might contribute to her bright-eyed appearance today. God knew, he’d run every single minute of their time together in that cabin through his brain a million times already. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“You all seem to be heading out for some fun activity,” Maile said brightly.
Eve smiled. No teeth, lips up. “We were going to go play volleyball in the backyard.”
“Kareem’s already out there with the puppy,” Sadia said with a smile. “He’s excited to keep score.”
