Andrea waited on them again, though the sparks that had crackled between her and Rafe that first time had ebbed into a mutual courtesy. She took their orders, and promised Chad a stack of the best banana pecan pancakes he’d ever tasted.
A few minutes later, the only other waitress in the establishment came up to their table and refilled their cups with fresh, hot coffee. “Hi, Rafe,” she said, a pleasant smile lighting up her young, pretty face.
“Hello, Sally,” he replied just as cordially, but without the smile, then went on to introduce the other woman to Lauren. “Sally, this is Lauren Richmond. Lauren, Sally Morris, my sister’s best friend.”
Lauren shook the woman’s slim hand. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Same here,” Sally said, genuinely warm and sweet. “I’ve heard so much about you and Chad, mainly from Kristin. It seems Chad has become a little celebrity in Cedar Creek. There isn’t anyone in this town that hasn’t heard of you, and him, and the foundation you represent. We all think what you do is pretty special.”
“It’s a labor of love,” Lauren admitted, casting a fond look at Chad.
“My son, Randy, is here for breakfast, too, and he’s sitting up at the counter.” Sally motioned toward the young, dark haired boy looking expectantly their way. “He was wondering if Chad could sit with him and they could eat their breakfast together.”
Chad’s hopeful gaze flickered from the boy who’d extended the kind invitation, to Lauren. “Can I?”
Seeing no harm in Chad making a new friend, and knowing she’d be within seeing and hearing distance, she granted Chad her permission. “Go ahead.”
Chad scrambled from the booth and sat on the stool next to Randy. Before long, the two boys were talking and laughing and getting along wonderfully—both Lauren and Rafe forgotten in Chad’s excitement of finding a new companion his own age.
Lauren glanced back at Rafe. “I guess you being a rodeo star is starting to wear off with Chad,” she commented with amusement. “You’re becoming a regular ‘ol guy who used to ride bulls.”
Rafe curled his long fingers around his coffee mug, humor glimmering briefly in his pewter gaze. “That’s exactly what I am—just a simple man who raises Quarter horses.”
Hardly simple, Lauren mused as she regarded Rafe from across the table. Complex and moody were more apt descriptions, but she wasn’t about to spoil the affable moment by telling him so.
Light, easy conversation accompanied their breakfast, and even though Lauren knew Rafe would never admit it, she suspected he enjoyed their relaxed, non-threatening verbal exchange that centered around his Quarter Horse operation.
When their meal ended, he reached for the check Andrea placed on the edge of the table. Lauren’s fingers shot out to beat him to the bill, and landed over the back of his hand, flattening his palm to the table with the stub trapped beneath.
“Breakfast is on me,” she said, ignoring the warmth of his skin, the intimacy of the situation, and the fluttering in her belly.
His sensual gaze met hers, masculine awareness swirling with something more determined in the depths of his eyes. “That might be the way you do it in California, but letting a woman pay for my breakfast wouldn’t reflect too well on my manners here in Cedar Creek.”
She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Since when have you been concerned about public appearances or manners?”
His thumb stroked over hers, a subtle caress that caused her pulse to quicken. “Since this morning,” he murmured, the low words reaching her ears only.
She stared at him, the world around them receding as she absorbed the impact of his simple statement that held a very significant message. He was willing to make an effort to try and make amends for his behavior and attitude since meeting her, and he was starting here and now. She was so overwhelmed and delighted by this subtle transformation in Rafe, she didn’t notice anyone approaching their table until someone cleared their throat to get their attention.
“Uh, excuse me,” a male voice said, his tone indicating his discomfort in intruding on what no doubt looked like a shared, private moment between her and Rafe.
Realizing just how affectionate their situation appeared to the patrons of Fran’s diner, Lauren jerked her hand back, which only made their innocent “hand-holding” look even more controversial. She glanced at the man standing beside their table, recognizing him as the editor who’d come to Rafe’s ranch the day she’d arrived with Chad.
An automatic smile formed on her lips. “Hi, it’s Jason, isn’t it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied courteously, his gaze moving from Rafe to her. “Am I intruding on something personal here?”
Lauren had the fleeting thought that Rafe wasn’t the only one who’d developed some decorum in dealing with people. The belligerent editor who’d been so confrontational the first time she’d met him had brushed up on his professional conduct skills, and as a result came across as approachable—likeable even.
“No, you’re not intruding on anything at all,” Lauren replied pleasantly. “Rafe and I were just debating cultural differences.”
Rafe’s lips twitch mischievously, sharing in their private joke.
Puzzlement creased Jason’s brows, but Lauren didn’t expect him to understand her deliberately cryptic comment. “What can I do for you, Jason?” she prompted.
He pushed his hands into the front pockets of his trousers, his expression subdued. “I was wondering if I might be able to ask you a few questions about your foundation. I’d really like to write an article for the Cedar Creek Gazette, with your permission, of course.”
“Absolutely,” she agreed, and scooted over on the vinyl bench seat for Jason to sit next to her. Rafe said nothing, though it was apparent in the first five minutes of Lauren’s conversation with Jason that the editor had decided to take a conservative approach. He kept his line of questioning focused on Bright Beginnings, the foundation’s purpose, Lauren’s future goals, and enough information about her and Chad to fill a two page spread in Friday’s edition of the Cedar Creek Gazette. All the while, Rafe sat on the other side of the table and listened quietly to their discussion.
At the end of the interview, Jason finally acknowledged Rafe. “I want to apologize for the way I handled things the other day at your place.” His voice was gruff, but sincere.
“Likewise,” Rafe offered in way of his own apology.
Jason folded his notepad, set it on the table, and placed his pencil on top. “Would you mind if I ask you a question, Rafe, off the record?”
He gave a one-shouldered shrug that was reserved, and cautious. “All right.”
“What made you grant Chad’s wish?”
“My reasons for originally agreeing to Chad’s request has changed over the past couple of days,” he said with quiet honesty. “At first, I did it for personal reasons I’d rather not discuss. Now that I’ve met Chad, I’m doing it because the boy deserves the chance at the best possible future he can make for himself, and it all starts here, with him believing in wishes and dreams, and the impossible.”
Rafe’s profound revelation tightened Lauren’s throat with a rush of emotion. His statement echoed the reason why Bright Beginnings was such a large part of her life. Knowing his incentive for granting Chad’s request paralleled her own beliefs made her realize just how special and compassionate Rafe truly was, despite his surly facade.
Jason accepted Rafe’s answer with a glint of respect in his eyes. Done with his interview, he stood and shook first Rafe’s hand, then hers, his touch lingering longer than necessary. “Enjoy the rest of your stay in Cedar Creek, Lauren.”
Smiling, she pulled her hand from his warm grasp, and he let it go. “I will, thank you.”
He walked away from their table, but after a few steps turned back around, his expression boyishly charming. “Say, since you’re not leaving until Sunday, would you happen to be free Friday evening?”
Lauren opened her mouth to reply, but Rafe beat he
r to the punch.
“She’ll be busy.” His voice held quiet authority.
She glanced at her host, as did half the customers in Fran’s Diner that sat within hearing distance. “I will?” She didn’t bother concealing the direct challenge in her question.
A reciprocating challenge sparked in Rafe’s steel grey eyes. “We’re going to dinner at The Elk Lodge.”
She affected complete surprise. “We are?”
He frowned at her. “Yeah, we are.”
“How lovely.” She turned her attention back to Jason, who was waiting patiently for her and Rafe to hash out their misunderstanding. “I’m sorry, but I guess I already have other plans.”
Jason grinned, though the gesture didn’t completely disguise his disappointment. “I understand.”
The young editor left the diner, and after a minute of speculative stares and silence cast Rafe and Lauren’s way, the people of Cedar Creek went back to their own business.
Lauren watched Rafe withdraw his leather billfold from the back pocket of his jeans and remove enough money to cover the check and leave a generous tip for Andrea. Leaning across the table, she kept her voice low and just between the two of them. “You know, Dalton, we need to polish up your rusty dating skills. You were borderline barbaric just a minute ago. Has it been that long since you’ve asked a woman out on a date?”
“I never said it was a date.”
She hid a grin. “Then what would you call it?”
“Going out and eating dinner cooked by someone other than you or myself.”
She smirked, not believing him for a second. The man had been too possessive, jealous almost, at the thought of her accompanying Jason for an evening. “My, aren’t you creative with your definitions.”
He glared at her for that taunt, but his menacing scowl lacked conviction. She merely laughed and accepted his underhanded invitation to Friday night dinner at The Elk’s Lodge.
“That wasn’t so awful with Jason, now was it?”
Rafe glanced at the woman walking beside him as they approached Gentry’s feed and supply store. Lauren’s expression was femininely smug, the mischievous gleam in her eyes just as impetuous. He had the strongest urge to grin at her—she was so full of life and sass, she made him want to share in that infectious enthusiasm.
Restraining the spontaneous impulse, he averted his gaze back to Chad, who skipped a few yards ahead of them, still basking in the glow of having made a new friend.
“You did most of the talking,” Rafe replied, knowing she was the sole reason why he’d managed to endure Jason’s interview. The focus had been off of him, at least until Jason’s final question.
A smile quirked the corner of her mouth as she gave him a sidelong glance. “Are you saying I dominated the conversation?”
“No, I’m saying that you made the morning bearable.” That was the truth—he never would have lasted through those uncomfortable pleasantries and scrutinizing stares if he’d been alone. Her friendly, gregarious personality had diffused the town’s reserve, and made him seem more approachable, too.
Lauren gently grasped his arm, stopping him before they reached the double glass doors leading into the feed store. Her touch, as innocent as it was, made his heart beat just a bit faster, made his blood run just a bit hotter.
He stared at her upturned face, her cheeks and nose pink from the sun, her blue eyes so incredibly serene it nearly stole his breath from his lungs.
“Rafe . . . what you said to Jason about why you’re doing this for Chad—”
“Don’t make a big deal out of it,” he said abruptly, before she could praise him for something he didn’t deserve.
A slight frown marred her brows. “But—”
“No ‘buts’. What I said to Jason isn’t up for further discussion.” Especially when he was still coming to terms with how much Chad’s visit was changing the solitary life he’d created for himself—how Lauren’s presence made him question his future. He’d done more soul-searching in the past couple of days than he had the entire year, and he found it difficult to dissect feelings and actions he didn’t completely understand yet—emotions that were seemingly linked to this woman who made him want so many things, and need even more.
She narrowed her gaze at him, more in frustration than anger. “You are sooo stubborn,” she huffed.
His brows shot up in amusement. “Oh, that’s laughable, coming from Ms. Obstinate herself.”
She made a face at him that scrunched up her nose in the most adorable way, and damn if he didn’t almost laugh at her antics—he wanted to laugh so badly his chest ached to release that peculiar pressure, yet it was as though he’d forgotten how.
“Lauren! Rafe!”
His sister’s voice snapped him out of his disturbing thoughts, saving him from contemplating the fact that his existence had become so dull and bleak that he couldn’t even enjoy something as natural as laughter.
“Kristin!” Chad was the first to greet Rafe’s sister as she exited the store with James behind her, a bag of feed slung over his shoulder. The boy ran up to the pair and gave them each a hug and started telling them all about how he’d eaten breakfast with his new friend, Randy, at Fran’s diner.
Once Chad’s spiel ended, Kristin addressed Rafe and Lauren. “Gentry had these flyers on the counter inside, and I picked one up, thinking this might be a fun outing for Chad.”
She extended the bright yellow piece of paper toward Rafe, but he couldn’t bring himself to take it. Bold black print announced the annual Cody Nite Rodeo, currently exhibiting nightly events through August. Too many memories assailed him, and not many were pleasant ones. Tangled up with his last rodeo performance was also the time he’d spent with his father at the Cody Rodeo when Rafe had been just a youth.
No, the memories weren’t ones he cared to resurrect.
“Why don’t you and James take Chad?” Rafe suggested abruptly.
Kristin glanced from Rafe, to Lauren, her expression uncertain. “Rafe, I think you should go with him—”
“No, Kristin.” His tone was gruff and uncompromising. Too late, he noticed Lauren watching him. Too late, he realized his hand absently rubbed his injured thigh through his jeans.
Kristin sighed, but didn’t push the issue, though Rafe knew his sister was very aware of the source of his refusal. “Fine.”
Privy to the conversation, Chad’s shoulders sagged in obvious disappointment, but he accepted the decision without a complaint.
James watched the boy’s reaction and something warm and caring entered his gaze. “Would you mind if Kristin and I took Chad tomorrow afternoon to the Cody Rodeo?” he asked Lauren. “You could come along, too, if you’d like.”
Lauren cupped Chad’s chin in her palm and smiled into the boy’s expectant face. “You know what, I think it would be wonderful if the two of you took Chad to the rodeo, though I think I’ll stay behind and keep Rafe company.”
Rafe opened his mouth to refute that last comment, but in the end decided against issuing an argument he more than likely wouldn’t win, anyway.
“I’ll see if Sally and her husband can come along, too, so Chad can pal around with Randy,” Kristin suggested, which earned an excited “Yeah” from Chad.
While his sister, James, and Lauren worked out the details for tomorrow’s adventure, Rafe excused himself and entered the feed store, trying not to think of all the possibilities of spending the day alone with Lauren.
Lauren glanced over the top of her book toward the stables, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rafe. Kristin and James had arrived over two hours ago to pick up Chad and take him to the rodeo, and she’d spent that time sitting on the front porch reading her novel, debating whether or not to go and see what Rafe was up to, or leave him alone.
Ever since yesterday’s incident at the feed store he’d grown moody and distant again. Unapproachable, but not as rude as he’d once been. There was a specific reason why he’d refused to take Chad to the Cody Nite Rodeo,
and Lauren couldn’t help but mull over those reasons.
Giving him time alone to brood was probably the smartest thing, but Lauren had never been one to play it safe or ignore a challenge. Rafe, with all his dark secrets and his gruff attitude, intrigued her, mainly because she knew the man harbored a wealth of hurt and guilt that would destroy him if he didn’t eventually deal with his personal pain. She’d seen too many glimpses of a gentler side to Rafe to believe he wasn’t anything but a good, honest man who deserved to be happy.
She wanted to see him happy, and tried not to analyze too deeply why that seemed so important to her.
Giving up on her book for a better idea, she headed inside the house. In the kitchen, she fixed a couple of sandwiches and gathered together a cluster of grapes and a handful of the homemade cookies Kristin had sent home with them Sunday evening. Finding a small carton in the pantry, she packed her goods, added two cold cans of soda, and tucked the box beneath her arm as she headed toward the stables.
She found Rafe in the back office, head bent over a journal opened on his desk, lost in the sea of paperwork spread out around him. His dark hair fell over his brow, and he’d rolled up the sleeves of his chambray shirt to reveal strong, tanned forearms. Though he was deep in concentration, he seemed at ease in this environment, relaxed even . . . and incredibly sexy.
She could have watched him all afternoon, just like this—could have let the pleasant warmth spilling through her veins, and the slow, delicious awakening of desire unfurling within her go on, and on . . .
Shaking off those sensations before they got her into trouble, she knocked on the door frame. He glanced up, something between surprise and that frustrating reserve of his passing over his features. He didn’t scowl, which she took as an encouraging sign that her presence wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
She stepped into his office, too aware of his gaze lingering on her bare legs. She’d worn shorts and a tank top today, and though there was nothing revealing about either article of clothing, the heat in his eyes seemed to singe right through the material.
The Bachelor’s Surrender Page 9
