by Vivian Arend
“Because of that fellow your dad was telling me about?”
“Who?”
“The guy you were running away from.”
Drat. He wasn’t supposed to have noticed. “Jeff.”
Rafe raised a brow. “So that’s his name.”
Laurel shook herself, trying to make sense of what was going on even as her brain continued to whirl. Next attempt. “Rafe, what are you doing?”
“You asked me that already. I told you. You okay to stand on your own?”
Embarrassed, she realized she’d been leaning against the long, hard length of him. She went to retreat, but his arms remained firmly in position, holding her in place.
“Want to let go?”
“Not particularly.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Rafe Coleman, let me go this instant.”
He did, stepping to one side.
Disappointment shouldn’t have been her first emotional response. Laurel told herself to be quiet and do the next thing, which the plan book said was escape.
Stupid timing.
Jeff appeared around the corner, his glance taking in her and Rafe with a great deal of curiosity and a bit of concern. “Everything okay back here?”
Rafe used the hand resting on her hip to pull her against his side. “No troubles. Welcome to Rocky. I’m Rafe Coleman.”
He held his free hand toward Jeff who shook it briefly as he introduced himself.
“Jeff Lawson. Good to meet you.” He turned his dark brown eyes on Laurel, looking her over carefully. Intimately. “Hey. Long time.”
What did she say? What did she do?
What she’d like to do was haul back and plant her fist in his smug face, but that probably wouldn’t be very appropriate.
Instead she answered with as little emotion as possible. “Years, actually.”
He had the grace to look uncomfortable, as he very well should, and right then she was kind of happy Rafe had her propped up against him as if they were already an item.
She twisted her head to offer Rafe a lover-ish smile as if this was old hat to her. If they could procrastinate for long enough, maybe Jeff would get bored and leave, and she wouldn’t need to talk to him one on one.
No such luck.
“I should get back to the animals before someone decides to try goat wrestling.” Rafe placed his mouth near her ear and lowered his voice. “You want to come with me?”
He was a darling for trying to give her an out, but leaving was impossible. She checked her watch. “I’m due at the face-painting station in a few minutes.”
“I guess our kissing break is over then,” he joked, offering Jeff a cheeky smile. “They’re never long enough in my opinion.”
Jeff didn’t say anything.
She had no idea what he thought about Rafe’s comment because she refused to look at him. Her face was hot, and her heart was pounding, and she was very thankful when Rafe tugged her with him into the open area in front of the tent, Jeff following like a ghostly annoyance.
“See you later, hon.” Rafe squeezed her fingers. “Same place next break?”
“Rafe.” Her cheeks flashed even hotter at his sexy laugh. He gave her one final cocky grin, then tipped his chin at Jeff and left.
She was back in the safety of the crowd, only Laurel didn’t feel safe. She’d lost that the moment she laid eyes on the last person she’d ever wanted to see.
Somehow she had to get through the next few minutes, that’s all. Laurel dug deep for something to say. She hoped for casual, but what came out was anything but. “I didn’t know you were coming to Rocky.”
“It was a new development. Came up pretty quick.” Jeff folded his arms, glancing over to where Rafe was stepping back into the animal pen. “I didn’t know you were involved with anyone.”
“It’s a new development. Came up pretty quick,” she deadpanned.
Understatement of the year. Her lips still tingled, and her entire body was hot. She couldn’t pull her gaze away from Rafe, and her heart leapt into high gear when she discovered his eyes on her, mouth twisted into a wicked grin.
What had she done? Now Jeff would think for sure she and Rafe were involved. Which, they totally planned on happening, but not at the speed of light. The inevitable questions from her family were a bit of a panic inducer, but in a way, she was glad to have something else to worry about other than why in the world Jeff Lawson was hanging out in her backyard.
The deep pain in her chest that had finally faded to a dull, constant ache over the past two years flared, stabbing like daggers as she looked him over. “Why’re you here?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m candidating for a position.”
No. Way. God, tell me he’s joking. He’s got to be joking. “Seriously? At my father’s church?”
“It’s not your father’s.”
Even though she’d promised a long time ago to stop punching people, the temptation was very strong at that moment. “You know what I mean. I can’t believe you think that’s a good idea.”
She could’ve sworn he was about to reach for her before choosing instead to adjust his coat.
He offered his patented understanding smile. “Obviously, I do think it’s a good idea. I was asked, and I’ll go where I’m called to serve. I always loved the descriptions you shared about Rocky Mountain House. I think we could have a lot to look forward to once we put the past behind us.”
Only there was no moving past some things, and explaining that to him—she didn’t even know why she should have to try. Luckily, with a whole lot of the community milling about them, this wasn’t the time or place.
“I need to get going.” She turned away.
He caught her by the wrist before she could escape. “Not even an ‘it’s good to see you’ for me, Laurel?” He caressed her with his voice.
Laurel jerked her hand free, mad enough to spit nails. What an asshole move on his part, for so many reasons. He was married, and he was practically begging her to fawn over him? She wasn’t sure why she was surprised, though—it was always all about him. He had a far too healthy sense of his own importance.
“I’ve never been a very good liar,” she reminded him. And then before he could speak, she delivered her parting shot. “I won’t keep you from your duties. I’m sure I’ll see you and Jessica sometime in the next few days.”
Her feet moved fast enough to be a run, escaping quickly to where she could surround herself with little people as a wall of protection.
There were a lot of good things she’d enjoyed since coming back to Rocky at the start of summer. Family. New friends. And now that Rafe was here, she had even more to look forward to.
Jeff…complicated matters. Sent her happy thoughts into an emotional spiral she was desperate not to return to.
Rafe tracked her down before he left. The hour she’d had to cool off while painting cat stripes and whiskers on toddler faces had done wonders for her nerves, and seeing him striding vigorously toward her gave her the final push she needed to adjust most of her attitude to a better place.
Most…not all.
He caught her by the arm, fingers curling around her biceps as he squeezed lightly. “Are you feeling better?”
“I wasn’t sick. And if I was, ick, it’s kind of gross you decided to up and kiss me.”
His lips twisted into a grin. “I have no germs you need to worry about.”
Frustration lingered. Jeff was certain to say something to her father. Maybe ask about Laurel’s boyfriend, and while they had plans, that kiss Rafe had given had been wonderful and complicated things. “Did you take leave of your senses? There was no need for you to storm over there and put me in an impossible situation.”
Shock flickered in his eyes. “You looked scared to death.”
“You were rescuing me.”
“Only a little.” His smile widened as his hand drifted down her bare arm. “Mostly I was kissing you.”
Laurel felt like stomping her foot on the grou
nd. “Can we stop talking about that?”
“We can stop talking about it if we want to go somewhere so we can do more of it. I’m good with that scenario.”
She rolled her eyes. “Rafe. How about we slow down to something a little more manageable?”
“We did slow down. All summer long.” He stepped closer, stroking his fingers through her hair. “It’s time we get things rolling.”
While she mostly agreed, she was exhausted and confused, and what she really needed was to get away from the people glancing at them with curiosity. “I can’t do this now. I know you were trying to help, and I was a little shaky for a while there, but I’m okay. Let’s plan to get together tomorrow.”
His amusement faded, concern rising in its place. “My mom’s waiting for me, and I have to drive her home, but how about I stop by your place a little later?”
It was like a flashback to high school when he’d get on a topic and hound her over and over until she caved. Not this time. “The sheep must’ve been really loud this afternoon.”
He eyed her. “Not particularly, why?”
“Because you’ve obviously lost your hearing. I said not today. It’s not even the sixth,” she pointed out triumphantly. “So, text me or something. I’ve got to go.”
Laurel twirled on her heel, head held high, ready to…
She grumbled in frustration. Her departure couldn’t be nearly as impressive as she’d intended. She desperately wanted to avoid meeting up with Jeff, or her father, or her mother or—anyone, really.
So instead of marching away like a strong, determined woman, she ducked into the coffee tent and took the long way around to where her car was parked, crawling into the tiny thing to escape as quietly as possible.
Of course, checking in her rearview mirror she discovered Rafe stood there in plain sight, waving after her until she turned onto the main road.
Well. That wasn’t what he’d expected from the afternoon.
Rafe drove his mom home and unloaded the animals, heading back to his place bemused by the whole situation.
Obviously there was some history between Laurel and Jeff, and he couldn’t wait to get to the bottom of it.
He didn’t feel guilty for having deceived the fellow about Laurel and him going out. He might have rushed the truth a little, but who the hell cared? It was time they both did something for themselves. She’d make him happy, and he’d make her happy at the same time.
Rafe hurried through another shower while scrolling through the long list of things he needed to deal with as soon as possible.
He should drop in at Gabe and Allison’s to catch up with his brother regarding plans for the next few weeks. He should touch base with the cousins he’d been ignoring all summer, especially Jesse and Trevor. The memory of him feeding Trevor a cock-and-bull story earlier that summer about how dating Laurel was an impossible dream flashed back and made him laugh. He couldn’t wait to see Trevor’s face when he realized he’d been played.
Yeah, there were a whole lot of things he should do that night, but what he needed most was to see Laurel and make sure things were clear between them.
Still, he couldn’t toss off everything entirely. He hauled out his phone and sent Gabe a text.
Rafe: I’m back. Obviously. What’s on for this week?
The answer came not a minute later.
Gabe: Glad you survived the summer, bro. Sleep in. Stop by the house for lunch and we’ll get caught up.
Rafe: Deal. Want me to grab anything?
Gabe: Nah. We’ve been saving leftovers for you for weeks.
Rafe smiled as he put away his phone, able to focus on his more immediate plans. Laurel. There was one way to approach this—full steam ahead.
Only in light of having gotten her back up, even though he’d been trying to help, Rafe made a slight detour before parking on the street and making his way to the stairs that led down to her small basement apartment.
He carefully made his way down the stone steps to the entrance to her basement suite. There wasn’t even a peephole in the door.
Thankfully when she opened to his knock, only a thin crack of light appeared as she peered at him past the security chain. “Rafe?”
He held forward the batch of flowers. “It’s September sixth somewhere.”
Laurel rolled her eyes but then smiled, pushing the door closed. An instant later the chain dropped with a rattle, and she opened up and let him in.
“I should make you stand out there until it’s the sixth on Mountain time, but I want the flowers.”
Rafe snickered. “I’ve got chocolates, as well.”
She slipped over to the small kitchen area and brought out a jar for a vase. “I bet you eat more than half of them,” she teased.
He put the box down on the table, standing beside the counter she was currently hiding behind. “You’re in a better mood than before.”
“I figured you’d show up.” She took a moment to arrange the flowers, fussing over them more than expected. When she lifted her eyes to meet his, she wore a rueful smile. “This afternoon was not about you. I got surprised, and it threw me. I’m sorry I was rude.”
“Surprises can do that to you.” He avoided mentioning Jeff’s name.
She leaned on the refrigerator, folding her arms as she looked him over. “I’m glad you’re here. And the flowers and chocolates are a nice touch.”
Her smile warmed him. “I never used to buy you that stuff.”
Laurel shrugged. “We weren’t dating.”
There was a moment as they just stared at each other, a little bit awkward but tangled up with a whole lot of anticipation. “We weren’t. But we were close.”
“Real close.” She stepped toward the tiny living space where an old couch and single chair faced an even older sound system and TV.
He wasn’t surprised when she sat in the armchair.
He settled on the couch, looking her over and making no attempt to hide the attraction he felt. “But it’s been three years, right?”
She nodded, her ponytail swaying. “The good thing is we’ve got a solid foundation, so dating should work.”
Rafe felt his lips twitch. “I’m pretty sure dating will work just fine.” Awkward. Hesitant. So very awkward, and while it made total sense, he needed to fix it. “Want to go for a walk?”
She shot to her feet. “Perfect.”
“Almost as perfect as suggesting we build a racetrack.”
She grabbed a light coat from a hook beside the door, smiling over her shoulder. “Almost, but I don’t expect you to reach my levels of awesomeness immediately. Pull the door closed after you—I’ve got keys.”
She led him to the front walkway, and they headed down the sidewalk side by side. It was early enough there were still kids playing in the street, and lights were just beginning to shine in living room windows.
“How’d your summer go?” Rafe asked. They had to start somewhere, and that seemed safer than bringing up Jeff and her reaction to the man.
“Pretty good. I’ve settled in at the library. No problems there. Wendy and Dawn are good to work with, and they’ve got some neat programs that are fun. It makes work enjoyable.” She bumped her elbow into his side. “What about you? Any idea how many miles you did?”
“God, I don’t even want to figure that out. A lot. I think I visited every remote farm in rural Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and I now know exactly which roads I shouldn’t ever drive while hauling a trailer.”
She snickered. “Had to do some creative manoeuvering, did you?”
“I had to back up for a good mile one time. Remember when I was teaching you how to drive, and you got stuck between the barns at the Moonshine Ranch?”
“You promised to never bring that up again,” Laurel returned. “Seriously, that bad?”
“Worse. It was dark.” He got a laugh out of that, and suddenly things between them felt a little more comfortable. “How’s your family?”
Laurel pointed across
the road to where a trail led toward the outskirts of Rocky. “Leslie and her husband are slightly less delighted that I’m back than they were at first because I’m not willing to instantly show up to be super-sister babysitter at the drop of a hat. My mom slapped my name back up on the schedule for playing piano at church so fast even I was surprised.”
“You still play?”
She made a rude noise. “Not nearly as well as I used to, especially since they’ve added new songs to the list.” She lifted her eyes to meet his and offered a mischievous smile. “First week they had me in, I played the classic version to a song instead of the modern variation. The old-timers were delighted.”
Rafe laughed. “As long as you’re having fun.”
And as long as she didn’t expect him to join her anytime soon.
He glanced over, suddenly realizing his non-participation might be an issue. It hadn’t been when they were friends, but now that they were dating, did she expect him to become a full-fledged member of the church? Because that wasn’t on his agenda, but it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about that instant, either.
Changing the topic seemed prudent.
“What else did you do this summer?”
They were in a nicer residential area now, a new development on the edge of town. Laurel seemed very focused on the houses passing by. “I got invited to go dancing, and to a party, and speed dating. Plus I had lunch out a whole bunch of times.”
Curious how quickly an uninvited sensation struck. “Trying to make me jealous, Sitko?”
“Me? Never.” She turned innocent blue eyes his direction. “Is it working?”
“More than you think.”
She patted his arm. “Don’t worry, I didn’t do the speed dating, or the dancing, and for the rest of the time my date was Nicole Adams.”
Interesting. “She’s quite the wild child for you to be hanging out with.”
“Not really. She’s been seeing Troy Thompson—” Laurel jerked to a stop. “Oh no, you probably didn’t hear yet. Troy was in a pretty bad accident a couple days ago.”
“Shit. He gonna be okay?” Troy was one of the sort-of-related-by-marriage people in town—they needed a record book to keep track of all the Coleman players—and he’d hate to hear things were seriously wrong.
