Read Online Carolina Dreaming: A Dare Island Novel by Virginia Kantra - Free Book Online Page B

parents in the off-season,” Gabe said.
    Luke smiled and shrugged, confirming his guess. “Come meet the family.”
    A fluffy white cat regarded Gabe balefully from the arm of the sofa before jumping down and running off. A long-legged, long-haired child sprawled on the braided rug in front of the television.
    “Jesus,” Gabe said. “She looks just like you.”
    Clear blue eyes—Luke’s eyes—met his gaze. “Except I’m twelve,” she pointed out. “And a girl.”
    And a handful
. Gabe swallowed a grin.
    “My daughter, Taylor. Gabe Murphy. And this,” Luke said, sliding his arm around the waist of the woman next to him, “is Kate.”
    Luke’s wife was beautiful, with warm coppery hair and the same cool, assessing eyes as the cat. “Gabe.” Her smile was polite, her handshake smooth and firm. “Thank you for coming.”
    Gabe didn’t blame her for the guarded look. He was used to people looking at him like he was a bomb waiting to go off. Plenty of vets struggled to adjust to civilian life. And plenty of civilians didn’t wait for a formal diagnosis of PTSD to make a judgment.
    Kate was a lawyer. She probably saw all kinds of cases of alcoholism, anger management, abuse. Given what Luke had probably told her about him, it was no wonder all she saw when she looked at him was a rap sheet and a problem.
    “Thanks for having me,” he said. “Can I do anything? Give you a hand, maybe, in the kitchen?”
    “Actually, there’s been a change in plan,” Luke said.
    Right. Gabe looked at the wife. This is where Luke told him they were going out for dinner, just the two of them, away from his wife and daughter.
    “Sure,” he said easily. He nodded to Kate and Taylor. “Nice meeting you.”
    Luke frowned. “They’re coming with us. Just across the yard. We’re eating at Mom and Dad’s tonight.”
    Gabe stared at him, uncomprehending.
    “Family dinner,” Luke explained. “My sister wanted to get together with everybody tonight, and Mom jumped at the opportunity to welcome you home.”
    *   *   *
     
    T HE KITCHEN WAS full of people. And food. And noise.
    “Let me get you a beer,” Luke said, plunging into the crowd around the refrigerator.
    Gabe had really nice memories of the Fletcher family. But there were a lot more of them than he remembered. Plus, he figured their welcome might be different now that he wasn’t some eighteen-year-old boot facing deployment but an ex-Marine with six tours and an arrest record under his belt.
    But that didn’t stop Mrs. Fletcher from grabbing him and hugging him tight. “Gabe!”
    He put his arms around her carefully. Her head came to the middle of his chest. The hair he remembered as mostly black was now a vibrant red.
    “It’s so good to see you,” she said, drawing back to arm’s length. Her eyes were damp.
    Shit, in another minute, she’d have
him
crying. “You, too, Mrs. Fletcher.” He glanced at Luke’s dad, a retired career Sergeant Major. “Mr. Fletcher.”
    Tom Fletcher jerked his chin upward and gave him a dead-eyed drill-instructor’s stare. Okay. Not so different from his last visit.
    Mrs. Fletcher patted his arm. “Call me Tess.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
No way.
    “Josh, get those dogs away from the dip,” she ordered.
    The tall teenager chatting with Taylor grabbed one of the two dogs running around underfoot and hauled it toward the back door. Luke’s nephew, Josh. The last time Gabe had seen the boy, he’d been around . . . seven? Eight?
    “Come on, Shorty,” Josh said.
    It wasn’t clear to Gabe if he was talking to Taylor or the dog. Kate had disappeared across the room, leaving Gabe with Matt and his wife, a young leggy blonde whose name he didn’t quite catch.
    Everybody was talking at once. Gabe was relieved when Luke came back with the beer.
    “What can I get you, Allison?” Luke asked.
    “I’ll stick with iced tea, thanks,” she said. “School day tomorrow.”
    Gabe could tell she was about ten years younger than