Dream a Little Dream (Chicago Stars, #4)(193)

“She’s allowed,” he said sullenly. “Not you.”

“What am I supposed to call you?”

The child hesitated and then muttered, “Chip.”

“Chip?”

“Don’t like Edward. Want everybody to call me Chip.”

Gabe considered trying to explain to him that Chip Stone might not be the best choice of names, then abandoned the idea. He’d always been good with children, but not this one. This one was too strange.

“Edward, did you find the ball of string?”

The back door opened and Rachel came in. Her dirty hands and smudged nose indicated that she’d been working in the garden. Her gaze immediately flew to her son, as if she were afraid Gabe might have used thumbscrews on him when she wasn’t looking. Her attitude made him feel guilty, and he didn’t like that.

“Edward?”

The boy went over to the old cupboard, tugged open the left drawer with both hands, and pulled out the twine ball that had been there, in one form or another, for as long as Gabe could remember.

“Put it with the bucket I was using, would you?”

He nodded, then gave Gabe a wary glance. “Yes, ma’am.”

Rachel regarded him quizzically. Edward let himself out the back door.

“Why’d you name him Edward?” Gabe asked, before she could start in on him about what had happened that morning with the garter snake.

“It was my grandfather’s name. My grandmother made me promise to name my first son after him.”

“Couldn’t you call him Ed or something? Eddie? Nobody calls little kids Edward anymore.”

“Excuse me. I seem to have forgotten . . . Exactly which part of this is your business?”

“All I’m saying is that he doesn’t like his name. He told me I have to call him Chip.”

Dark-green storm clouds gathered in her eyes. “Are you sure you’re not the one who told him something was wrong with his name? Maybe you told him he should call himself Chip.”

“No.”

She stalked forward, finger pointed toward his chest like a pistol. “Leave my son alone.” Bang! “And don’t you dare interfere between us again the way you did this morning.” Bang! Bang!

She’d never been one to mince words, and she kept after him. “What you did with that snake was cruel, and I won’t allow it. If you try anything like that again, you can move right back out of here.”

The fact that she was right made Gabe feel cornered. “In case you’ve forgotten, this is my house.” It was his mother’s. Close enough.

“I haven’t forgotten anything.”

A small flutter of movement in the periphery of his vision caught Gabe’s attention. He looked past Rachel’s shoulder toward the screen door and saw Edward standing there, taking in the argument.


Even through the screen, Gabe could sense his watchfulness, as if he were guarding his mother.

“I mean it, Gabe. Leave Edward alone.”

He said nothing, merely looked past her toward the door. Edward realized he’d been spotted and disappeared from view.

The lines of strain at the corners of Rachel’s mouth put Gabe out of the mood to argue with her. Instead, he wanted to pull her back to the bedroom and start all over again. He couldn’t get enough of her. But they weren’t alone . . .

He extracted the square of paper he’d stuck in his back pocket and unfolded it. It was his guilt offering for what had happened that morning, but she didn’t have to know it. “Odell gave me the the names of everybody who was at the airstrip the night G. Dwayne escaped.”

Her bad mood vanished. “Oh, Gabe, thank you!” She snatched the list from him and sat down at the kitchen table. “Is this right? There are only ten names on the list. It seemed as if there were a hundred men there that night.”

“Four from the sheriff’s office, and Salvation’s entire police force. That’s it.”

Just as she started to study the list more closely, they heard a car approaching. He went into the living room ahead of her, then relaxed as he saw Kristy get out of her Honda. She was dressed to kill in khaki shorts and a slinky green top.

Rachel hurried to greet her. Edward raced around from the side and threw himself at Kristy. “You came back!”

“I told you I would.” She bent down and kissed the top of his head. “I’m tired of working, so I came by to see if you want to go to the pig roast with me this afternoon.”

“Wow! Can I, Mom? Can I?”

“Sure. But go clean up first.”

Gabe wandered back to the kitchen and was pouring himself a cup of Rachel’s pansy-assed coffee when the two women came in.

“But why would you want Dwayne’s Bible? What do you—” Kristy broke off as she caught sight of him. He knew she’d been worried about Rachel being here alone, and he detected relief in her expression. “Hi, Gabe.”

“Kristy.”

“I want the Bible for Edward,” Rachel said, without looking at him. “It’s a family heirloom.”

So, Gabe thought. She wasn’t even going to tell Kristy the truth. He was the only one who knew.

Kristy sat down at the table and studied the list.

“One of these men had to have stolen it the night they confiscated my car.” Rachel picked up the cup of coffee Gabe had just poured for himself and took a sip. He didn’t know why, but it felt nice to be taken for granted. Rachel seemed to be the only person who expected anything from him these days.