She’d hung up on him!

  Sang sat quietly in the passenger seat, gingerly looking at Gabriel. He wasn’t totally sure she heard what Pam was saying but she certainly heard Gabriel’s side of it.

  Gabriel roughed his fingers through his hair, holding his head in his hands. She would have freaked out if he said he was right here at Uncle Steve’s doorstep.

  Pam was worrying about nothing. Gabriel was here to say hello, learn a few things, and leave. That’s all. He’d call her back when she calmed down. He couldn’t go help her now anyway.

  At minimum, he needed to know if he wanted to consider them for Academy adoption. If so, he could look out for them if they needed anything. Part of feeling secure with the Academy at your back was knowing everyone in your circle was safe. And his uncles, and their families, as far as Gabriel was concerned, were probably part of the circles. He just had to confirm.

  “Let’s just get it over with,” Gabriel said.

  ♥♥♥

  Sang stood on the sidewalk with Gabriel. She wore an ensemble, so she wasn’t as recognizable as a Sorenson. It was strange to see her hair color looking different. He’d only relented to the color change since it was a temporary color, but the dark color made her appear so different to him. She wore makeup that didn’t fit her either, but changed the shape of her face enough to give her a bigger nose and wider lips. She was wearing contacts that changed the colors of her eyes, too. It was everything they could do so she could still be comfortable walking around town and among people who might have known her mother, and still be kept a secret.

  At least he got to keep her with him for this. He needed the support. Knowing she was there, it made him feel like there was someone at his back. Not that the other guys didn’t carry a similar feeling.

  There was just something with Sang, who seemed to empathize with this sort of thing. She made him feel comforted.

  Getting to the front door proved to be more difficult as the path was narrow between the tall grass and the line of cars, and then the porch had collections of boxes filled with stuff.

  There were kid toys cluttered on top of the boxes, some dangling off the edge of the porch, threatening to fall off. It’s when he realized there were no rails on the porch. North would probably notice way more code violations.

  Maybe he could put some in for them. North could tell him how.

  Sang followed close behind him, to the point to where when he stopped at the door, she warmed his back standing close to him.

  They faced off things together.

  Gabriel tried the doorbell, but no sound emitted from within. It didn’t work?

  He had a slight twinge that this might be a sign to retreat. Like one last chance.

  But he had to do it, so he opened the loose screen door and knocked on the wooden one behind it.

  There were noises, some hushed scratching and scraping behind the door, but no one answered.

  Was he just hearing things? Maybe it was a dog behind the door but no one was home?

  He knocked again, just in case.

  And then again when he heard noises but no one answered.

  It took a few minutes of someone shuffling behind the door before it eventually opened and a short, young child, no older than seven, peeked out at Gabriel. He said nothing, just stared with wide eyes and a gaping mouth with a small drop of drool on the lower lip. He had blond hair and had thin shoulders. Shirtless, wearing only a pair of shorts.

  Gabriel tilted his head, looking down at him. He didn’t recognize this kid from the Christmas card pictures he’d been sent over the years. “Uh... is this the Coleman house?” he asked.

  The boy looked like he was going to shake his head but then paused, like he wasn’t really sure if it was the right answer or not.

  Suddenly there was a thumping sound of bare feet across the floor as someone else approached the door in a hurry. It was girl, not much older than the boy. She opened the door further to peer out. “Sorry, he’s not supposed to answer the door.”

  Gabriel hesitated. Where were their parents? “Hey. Is your last name Coleman?”

  She twisted her lips like she was unsure if she should answer. “We’re not supposed to answer the door right now.”

  Probably weren’t supposed to talk to strangers. Gabriel put a palm over his heart. “My last name is Coleman. I just want to know if I have the right house. I’m a cousin.”

  She stared up at Gabriel with eyes similar to her brother’s and then looked at Sang.

  Sang did a small finger wave. “We can come back later,” she said.

  Suddenly from behind them, another car pulled up to the side of the road in front of the house and parked in a strange way given Gabriel had taken up some space. The back end of the car butted into the overgrown lawn.

  The driver’s door opened, and out stepped a familiar face, just a few years older. Same blondish red hair. Now with a mustache. Thin build but bunching cheeks and a stomach that that protruded a little.

  Uncle Steve.

  His uncle seemed curious as he approached the house. There was a woman in the car with him, but she busied herself with collecting some grocery bags she’d had stuffed around her legs. Gabriel didn’t get a good look at her at first.

  His uncle stepped closer. “Hey,” he said. “Sorry, we were just at the store. You the kid come to take care of the lawn? Tell the city we were going to take care of it but our mower broke and everything froze up before we could get around to it.”

  Gabriel’s heart sunk. Did he not recognize him at all? It was just like the first time he met his uncle and he hadn’t even known Gabriel existed.

  Maybe he should have called ahead instead of popping in. “I... I’m Gabriel. Gabriel Coleman. I was just in town and wanted to say hi.”

  The man stopped in his tracks. “Well, shit. Little Gabbie?”

  Gabbie? That was a new one. He lifted his hand, rubbing at the back of his head. “Yeah, it’s been a few years I guess.”

  But the man strolled forward, with a hand extended, ready to shake.

  Gabriel instinctually moved forward toward him, taking his hand.

  The man shook it shortly before drawing Gabriel further in with an additional one-arm hug while still shaking hands. “Man, how many years has it been?”

  “I can’t remember,” Gabriel said. Tears formed at his lids. Emotion filled his throat and stuck there. And for a moment, he was worried he’d actually start crying. His heart burned at the memories of the funeral.

  Whatever happened, Gabriel made a step to connecting. His uncle connected back with him. That meant something, didn’t it?

  “About time you came to visit your Uncle Steve.” He backed up and turned toward Sang. “Who is this? You can’t have a little sister...”

  “No, no,” Gabriel said quickly, and then coughed to get rid of the thickness in his throat that left his voice scratchier than normal. “This is... uh...” He took a second because he realized he couldn’t just call her Sang Sorenson. “Sa...ma-antha.” He managed to get out at the last minute.

  Steve chuckled. “Did you forget?”

  “It’s been a long day, “Gabriel said. “We just got into town.”

  Uncle Steve moved to Sang and offered a hand. She shook it. “Hi,” she said, although quietly.

  “Did you two elope?” Steve asked with a chuckle as he backed up a step on the porch and turned back to Gabriel. “Is that why you’re all the way out here in Kentucky?”

  “It’s spring break for us,” Gabriel said. “Just wanted to take a trip.”

  Sang’s eyes widened like she wanted to say something but then clamped her lips shut. Was she being shy?

  The woman who had been struggling with bags from the car had also taken the time to open the trunk of the car, collect more bags and move to the narrow path through the tall grass that led to the porch. “Who do we have here?” the woman asked in a hurried but not unpleasant tone.

  This woman did not look anything like the woman Gabriel had seen at the funeral that had been with Uncle Steve and wrangling a load of kids. She appeared younger, plumper and with thick, dark hair and intense brown eyes.

  Uncle Steve threw an arm around Gabriel’s shoulders, despite Gabriel being taller than him. He turned Gabriel toward the woman. “Can you believe, this is my little nephew! I tell you about my late brother?”

  He said it like this relationship was new and he hadn’t had a chance to mention it yet.

  The woman beamed. “Oh, so you’re family. Nice to meet you. I’m Katie.”

  Gabriel teetered, trying to figure out what to do next. Instead of thinking about it too much, he reached out to Katie in offering to help take things inside.

  “Oh, thank you,” she said although she shook him off a bit. “I’ve got these but there’s more in the trunk.”

  “We’ll go get them,” he said quickly.

  Gabriel, followed closely by Sang, went to the car to help get bags full of groceries.

  Sang pursed her lips tightly.

  She was getting shy. So was he, funny enough. “Don’t worry,” Gabriel said. “We’ll try to make this first visit a little short, since we just popped in.

  She nodded quietly. “Just trying to remember my name is Samantha right now.”

  “Might be good to stick with it for this trip,” he said. “Sorry for springing it.”

  She shrugged. “Part of the job, right? New name, new face. It’s like acting. Only we’ll never get famous.” And then she did that little smile when she was trying to be funny and couldn’t quite contain her amusement at her own thoughts.

  Fucking adorable. Having her around was making him feel a lot better about this.

  Gabriel and Sang carried what they could to the front door, where everyone seemed to have disappeared inside but there were noises coming from the kitchen.

  Gabriel followed the sounds toward the kitchen. The kitchen was connected right to a dinning nook, where a table too big for the space filled it nearly completely, and the chairs for the table were squeezed in around it. The walls were papered with pastel country ducks. The kitchen itself was a U-shaped counter, with green painted cabinets, brass handles and decorative display plates hung on nearly every vertical space.

  “I should have gotten another roast,” Katie was saying just when he passed the threshold. “If we’re having guests?”

  “Oh, we don’t have to stay for dinner,” Gabriel said. “We popped in unannounced. I didn’t have a number, just the address...”

  “Don’t you worry, Gabbie,” Uncle Steve said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. He waved to all the groceries on the kitchen table now. “We’ll just add in more potatoes to the roast. Just got paid so we’re doing real well here.”

  “About time that old coot sent his alimony and child support,” Katie said and she winked at Gabriel and smiled sweetly at Sang. “Three months late, but better it’s here.”

  Gabriel moved to help Katie with getting stuff out of the grocery bags, but she hurriedly shooed off both Gabriel and Sang. “Don’t worry about me. I have my own system for putting things away. Not even Steve comes in here when I’m organizing.”

  “I know better,” he said with a beaming smile. He motioned to Gabriel with a hand wave. “Come on, Gabbie, let me show you this beauty I’ve been working on in the garage.”

  Sang followed tentatively, but then stopped and whispered to Gabriel in the hallway. “Did you want to spend time alone with him for a minute? I think I hear the kids in the living room. I can sit with them.”

  Gabriel considered her for a moment. It would give Gabriel less of a chance to make a mistake by calling her Sang or Sorenson or something if she was hanging with the kids.

  Besides, if he questioned his uncle about what happened, he didn’t want to cry in front of Sang if it was bad. It was hard enough containing his emotions as it was, and he didn’t want to feel embarrassed in front of her. “Sure,” he said, although weakly. “Just come find me if you need.”

  She nodded, although she stalled in walking away, and left it to Gabriel to move on, through the short hall that led to the garage.

  The garage was a simple one, enough for one car in the center and for a variety of shelves and one worktable to get stuck toward the very back of the place. There were loads of tools hanging from the walls, and large racks of storage attached to the ceiling. Every inch of space, outside of very narrow walking space around the center, was filled with stuff.

  At the very center of the garage was a tarp-covered vehicle... of some sort Gabriel couldn’t determine.

  Until Uncle Steve pulled the tarp aside and underneath was an old 70s sports car that Gabriel had trouble identifying. Yellow in color, possibly a Toyota. He wasn’t totally sure. He didn’t know cars very well.

  “Look what I rescued from your grandfather. He was going to sell it!”

  Gabriel’s eyes popped open. “Grandfather? Is he...”

  Uncle Steve’s head tilted back and teeth bared a little as he spoke. “Naw, he passed not too long after mom died. I don’t think he wanted to live life without her.” He touched the front of the car and smoothed his hand over the surface. “This is about the only thing I kept after I sold everything else off. It’s not running, but I was thinking of trying to restore it. When times get a little better for us.”

  The news was a little sad for Gabriel, but he didn’t know his grandparents very well. They’d never visited either.

  Steve said he was working on the car but it was pretty clear if any work had been done, it was a long time ago. He was letting it rot in the garage in the meantime.

  But the car was something Gabriel could help him with. “Funny enough, I have a friend nearby who is good with cars. I was going to visit them sometime on this trip.” North would be here soon. He could help. At least he could tell him where to get started.

  “Oh yeah?” Uncle Steve said. “Ain’t that something? How do you know people around here?”

  “He just happened to have family here,” Gabriel lied, making up a reason. Sort of a lie. Academy was family, too. “Small world, isn’t it?”

  “Way too small.” Uncle Steve leaned against a nearby workbench. “Man, I was a little worried about you, growing up down there so far from family. You don’t seem to be doing too bad though.”

  Since he brought it up... “What happened to you anyway?” Gabriel asked. “I saw you after the funeral and then you all disappeared. And where’s... um... did you get remarried? Where are your other kids?” He was loading on a lot of questions, burying the one he really wanted a little, but he didn’t want to sound like he was still hurt.

  He was, but he didn’t want to say it.

  Uncle Steve released a thick, long laugh and a head shake followed. “You probably don’t remember a whole lot, being little and everything back then.” He folded his arms and looking distantly into the corner of the garage as if trying to draw up the memory. “You probably remember my rug rats. A lot of them. My ex-wife was... prolific.” He smirked. “I didn’t mind bringing you on, but honestly, she wasn’t totally happy with the idea of another kid when she wanted to have more of her own. I could have put my foot down, but your stepmother...” He paused and tilted his head, putting a palm to his cheek. “Shit. I can’t remember...”

  “Pam?” Gabriel said.

  “Was that it?” Uncle Steve shook his head. “Anyway, yes, Pam... she seemed really nice and she didn’t want to give you up anyway. And to be honest, now hindsight being what it is and I’ve grown a bit, I think I know why. I thought she just wanted to keep the property she married into and keeping you had something to do with being able to keep it. I was a little mad at her. Called her selfish. Wanted to talk to a lawyer. But now... no. How could I make someone homeless right after her husband died? I wasn’t thinking about that. It wasn’t worth very much anyway.”

  Gabriel nodded, although he had shifted his gaze to looking at the car, trying to avoid the sting that was knifed right into his heart. “I get it,” Gabriel said. Though he heard the reason, there was something lacking in his explanation. Like he wasn’t saying everything that had really happened. Especially with the last comment about things being worthless.

  Uncle Steve motioned to him. “By the way, whatever is left of that place? That is your place, you know? You’re the only son. So make sure you secure it and don’t let it go to Pam, ok?”

  Gabriel blinked, unsure how to answer this request. After all, he just gave it to Pam practically on the phone just now. Why would he keep it or try to take it from her? “I hear you.”

  Uncle Steve stood up fully, gazing around the workbench at the mess of tools and started rearranging things. “So tell me how you’ve been. Still in school?”

  “Yup,” Gabriel said, grateful to get out of the conversation to give himself some time to consider what he’d said. “A lot of homework. A lot of drama. High school.”

  “Shit, you’re still in high school? I was thinking college.”

  “I’m still only sixteen,” Gabriel said. And for a second, he wondered if his uncle would ask about why he was here alone and not with Pam... and with a girlfriend who was obviously his own age.

  “You’re so tall,” he said, not seeming to be too concerned about anything Gabriel just said. He was smiling big the whole time. “You look a lot like your dad. Back when we were growing up. He had the long hair, too, although his was a bit more country. The style back then.” He waved toward the house. “I probably have a photo album or two. You want to see?”

  Gabriel nodded, grateful for a small reprieve as he needed time to adjust.

  He did have family.

  They liked him. Uncle Steve clearly enjoyed having him there to talk to.

  This was way more than he expected.

  It was just not what he expected at all.

  ♥♥♥

  There was a long bit of the morning where Gabriel spent time with Steve and Katie as they went over large boxes of old photos. Katie was just as surprised to see some of the photos as Gabriel was.

  “Oh you were so cute as a teenager!” she said, holding on to one of the photos from high school.