Hockey player? Kate had heard quite a bit of gossip about Rob, but no one had mentioned that he'd played hockey. Although it did explain the knee injury he'd complained about the first night they'd met. It also explained his nasty temperament.
"I assure you, Regina, my son likes women."
The bell above the door rang, and all eyes turned to the man in question as he walked inside and stamped snow from his boots. He pulled off his cap and shoved it in his coat pocket. His cheeks were red, and his green eyes shone. The overhead light bounced off his silver ring as he combed his fingers through the side of his hair. Somehow, he managed to look big and bad and boyish all at the same time.
Regina leaned in close and said just above a whisper, "You be sure and talk it over with him. Tell him Tiffer's a good catch."
The corners of Grace's lips slid up. "Oh, you can be sure I'll tell him."
Five
"Regina Cladis wants to set you up with her son Tiffer."
Rob reached for the door handle of his mother's Bronco and opened it. In one part of his brain, he knew his mother was talking, but he wasn't paying attention to her. His thoughts were on Kate Hamilton and their conversation. Not only had she wrongly believed he didn't recall the night she'd propositioned him but she also didn't seem to want to talk about it. Not that he blamed her, but he'd tried to give her some good advice about picking up men in bars anyway. He'd tried to joke with her, too. She obviously had no sense of humor.
"Regina thinks you're in the closet."
That got his attention, and he glanced over his shoulder at his mother. "What?"
"Apparently Tiffer's taking a break from his career as a female impersonator just long enough to come home for an Easter visit. Regina thinks he's a good catch."
Rob frowned. "What does that have to do with me?"
Grace ducked beneath his arm and tossed her grocery bag on the passenger seat. "Regina just told me that Iona is telling everyone at the Cozy Corner that you're gay."
It wasn't the first time he'd heard the rumor, but he hadn't given it much thought. He'd hoped that his denial had put out the fire. He should have known better.
With one foot inside the car, Grace paused and looked up into Rob's face. "Of course if it's true, there's nothing wrong with it. You're my son, and I'll support you no matter who you love."
Rob sighed. "For God's sake, Mom, you know I'm not gay."
She smiled. "I know. What do you think we should do about the rumor?"
Rob glanced up at the gray clouds and let out a breath as he thought about the ramifications. In a big city the rumor probably wouldn't matter. In a town the size of Gospel, it might hurt his business. If that happened, he'd have to close Sutter Sports and move away, which he didn't want to do. "I don't know," he said and returned his gaze to his mother. He felt a bit helpless, but short of grabbing a woman and doing her on Main Street, there wasn't anything he could do.
"Do you think maybe Harvey Middleton started the rumor to hurt your business?"
"No." He didn't think the owner of Sawtooth Gun and Tackle would spread rumors. Harvey was a good guy and had more business than he could handle.
"Then who do you think started it?"
He shook his head. "I don't know the answer to that. Why would anyone believe it anyway?"
The question was rhetorical, but Grace thought about it nonetheless. "Maybe because you don't date anymore."
Rob didn't want to talk about dating with his mother, not only because they'd had the conversation before but also because talking about dating inevitably made him think of sex. Lack of sex was his real problem, and that was definitely something a man didn't want to discuss with his mother.
"You don't date either," he pointed out and looked over at the doors to the M &S. There was no sign of a certain smart-ass redhead inside. Don't flatter yourself. I don't wonder about you at all, she'd told him. Let alone the size of your package. Which didn't seem quite fair, since he'd been giving a lot of thought lately to that tattoo she supposedly had on her rear end.
"I've been thinking that it's time for us both to start dating again."
He turned back to his mother. "Is there someone you're interested in seeing?" he asked, half joking. Since the death of his father in 1980, he wasn't aware of his mother dating very much.
She shook her head and sat down in her car. "No. Not really. I just thought maybe we both need to get out a little more. Maybe get more out of life than work."
"My life is fine."
She gave him that "you can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to your mother" look and reached for the door handle. "I'm reading my new poem tonight at the grange. You should stop by."