Dream a Little Dream (Chicago Stars, #4)(80)

Ethan began to correct him, but the deep unhappiness in the boy’s expression made him hesitate. “Why do you think he’s lying?”

“Because he’s a butthead, and I hate him.”

Ethan had been counseling troubled people for years, and he forced himself to detach so he could rephrase the boy’s words. “Sounds like you don’t like Gabe too much.”

Edward shook his head vigorously. “My mommy shouldn’t like him either.”

Ditto to that, buddy. “I guess it upsets you that your mother likes him.”

“I told her she can touch me instead, but she said she wants to touch a grown man, too.”

I’ll just bet she does. Especially a grown man with a hefty bank account and a casual attitude toward his money.

“I even said you’d let her touch you, Pastor Ethan, but she said you was my friend and Gabe was hers, and she said she wanted to kiss him and I had to stop hitting him.”

Kissing him? Hitting him? It took a moment for Ethan to figure out which question to ask. “You were hitting Gabe?”

“I jumped on his back when he was kissing her, and I kept hitting him with Stellaluna till he let her go.”

If he’d been hearing this story about anyone else, he would have been amused, but not about his brother. He knew he shouldn’t ask, but he couldn’t help it. “Where was Gabe when you jumped on his back?”

“Squishing my mommy.”

“Squishing her?”

“You know. On top of her. Squishing her.”

Damn.

Edward’s brown eyes filled with tears. “He’s a bad man, and I want you to make him go away, and I want you to let my mommy touch you instead.”

Ethan pushed aside his own concerns and moved to the couch where he slipped his arm around the boy’s shoulders. “It doesn’t work that way with grown-ups,” he said gently. “Your mom and Gabe are friends.”

“He was squishing her!”

Ethan forced himself to speak evenly. “They’re grownups, and that means they can squish each other if they want to. And Edward, that doesn’t mean your mom doesn’t love you just as much as always. You know that, don’t you?”

The child thought it over. “I guess.”

“You might not be getting along with Gabe right now, but he’s really a good person.”

“He’s a butthead.”

“He’s had some bad things happen to him, and it makes him grouchy, but he’s not bad.”

“What bad things?”

Ethan hesitated, then decided the child should know the truth. “He had a wife and a little boy he loved very much. They died in an accident a while ago. He’s still very sad about it.”

Edward didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, he slid closer and let his head slump against Ethan’s chest.

Ethan rubbed the boy’s arm and thought about the mystery of God’s ways. Here he was comforting the son of a man he’d despised and a woman he disliked, so why did he feel comforted himself?

“Gabe really is my brother,” he said quietly. “I love him very much.”

The child stiffened, but didn’t draw away. “He’s mean.”

It was difficult for Ethan to fathom how his gentle brother could be unkind to this precious little boy. “I want you to think really hard. Isn’t there anything nice Gabe has done for you?”

Edward began to shake his head, then stopped. “There’s one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“He calls me Chip now.”

Fifteen minutes later, Ethan was on the phone to Cal. Without breaking the confidentiality of his conversation with Edward, he let his oldest brother know they had big trouble on their hands.



“Giving out any free samples, bro?”

Rachel’s head lifted as a deep male voice came from the doorway of the snack shop.

“Cal!” Gabe dropped the carton of buns he’d been carrying and shot out from behind the counter to greet the man who looked so very much like him. As the two slapped each other on the back, Rachel studied Cal Bonner and wonder what combination of genes had landed three lady-killers in the same family.

Unlike Ethan, Cal and Gabe’s dark coloring and rough-hewed good looks clearly identified them as brothers. Gabe’s hair was longer, his silvery-gray eyes lighter than Cal’s, but both men were tall, lean, and muscular. Although she knew the ex-quarterback was the elder brother by almost two years, he looked younger. Maybe it was the general air of contentment he seemed to carry with him like an invisible football.


“You should have let me know you were coming,” Gabe said.

“You didn’t think I’d miss the grand opening tonight, did you?”

“It’s just a drive-in, Cal.”

His words stung. It wasn’t just a drive-in to her. She wanted this old place to shine tonight.

All day, she’d been busy training Kayla, the young woman Gabe had hired to help out in the snack shop. She’d also been teaching Gabe the rudiments so he could help out during intermission. He caught on quickly, but she knew he was merely going through the motions. He should be healing animals, not serving up fast-food nachos.

“Want some coffee?” Gabe asked his brother. “Or ice cream. I’m getting to be a pro at making cones.”