Читать книгу Fool's Gold Collection Volume 3: Almost Summer / Summer Days / Summer Nights / All Summer Long - Сьюзен Мэллери - Страница 27

CHAPTER NINE

RAFE WALKED ACROSS THE barn’s roof. From that height, he could see across much of the ranch. The goats had been taken to the north end of the property. He could see them munching their way through fresh spring grass, no doubt as happy as goats could be.

The fence line was finished. He didn’t want to think about how many posts had been dug out and replaced, how many miles of wire fencing were carefully stapled into place. To his mind, it was a whole lot of work for eight goats, but his mother had insisted.

“Rafe!”

He turned, and one of the guys tossed him a plastic water bottle. His mother filled them each night and put them in the freezer. By midmorning, they were still cold but had melted enough to drink. He unscrewed the cap and took a long swallow.

His days were supposed to be spent in meetings. He excelled at getting what he wanted and assigning action items to others. Dante frequently joked that if Rafe left a meeting with actual work to do himself, he considered it a failure.

These days he spent his hours sweating. Roping, riding, building fences and now repairing the barn. He no longer bothered showering and shaving in the morning. Instead, he rolled out of bed, pulled on jeans and boots, and headed out to work until his muscles ached.

He’d gone back in time, living in the same house as his mother, in a place he swore he would never return to. Except everything was different. He didn’t mind the hard physical work. He enjoyed being able to point to the proof of his labor, to run his hands across a post or part of the barn and know that it was better, it was there, because of him.

Instead of going out to restaurants with beautiful women, he found himself in the ranch house’s old dining room, across from Heidi, with Glen and his mother at the table. But the conversation flowed easily. Glen had a hundred stories about life in the carnival. Heidi had a few of her own, and Rafe enjoyed listening to them. He also enjoyed the sound of her laughter and the anticipation he felt when she smiled at him.

Some days, after he’d finished his work and headed for his shower, he thought about dragging her along with him. About her being naked with him, under the spray, his mouth on hers, his hands everywhere. The thought of slick soap and wet skin and the things they could do to each other. Then he reminded himself that she wasn’t who he was looking for, and getting involved would be a level of stupid he wouldn’t allow.

But a man could still dream.

He finished his bottle of water and dropped the empty container to the ground below. The repair work on the barn was going steadily. He figured they would be done by tomorrow. Of course, by then his mother would have a whole new list of projects. When he’d gone in for lunch a couple of days ago, she’d been ordering a new stove.

He wanted to remind her that getting the ranch wasn’t a sure thing, but he knew he would be wasting his breath. Better to just work his way through the chores.

He’d barely picked up his hammer when a large animal transport truck pulled into the ranch. Rafe watched the vehicle slow and then stop. He hadn’t spent much time with Heidi in the past couple of days. Not since the night she’d gotten drunk. He figured she was embarrassed and avoiding him. Even so, he was pretty sure he would have heard about any new goats showing up.

He made his way to the edge of the roof and carefully climbed down a ladder. His mother burst out of the house.

“They’re here!”

In her jeans and T-shirt, she looked closer to thirty-five than fifty. She clapped her hands together and practically danced with excitement. Rafe felt something sinking in his stomach.

“Mom, what did you do?”

“You’re going to have to see for yourself.”

She met the driver. His helper came around back and started unlatching the trailer’s big door and lowering a ramp. Rafe heard sounds from inside the transport, but couldn’t place them.

He didn’t think she would have ordered more goats without talking to Heidi, and he doubted she would get a horse without Shane’s advice.

His mother signed the last of the paperwork and joined him. Just then, Heidi came out of the house.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“We have to wait and see,” Rafe told her.

“It’s a surprise.” May hugged him. “I’m so excited.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell.”

The two men went into the trailer. The helper came down the ramp first, leading…

“A llama?” Rafe asked, staring at the tall, off-white, fuzzy animal.

“Isn’t he beautiful? At least, I think that’s the boy. I can’t tell for sure. It always seems so rude to look. But yes. A llama. Three, altogether.”

Rafe glanced at Heidi, who looked as surprised as he felt.

“Are you going to raise them for their hair or fur or whatever it is?” Heidi asked. “Aren’t they related to camels?”

“They’re social herd animals,” May told her. “And so beautiful. I saw them on eBay and couldn’t resist. Plus, they’ll protect the goats. I read an article, and several ranchers are using llamas to protect their livestock. Especially with the pregnant goats. We’re so close to the mountains. There could be a coyote or wolf. We wouldn’t want anything happening to one of the girls.”

“Of course not,” Rafe murmured. Llamas? What was his mother going to do with them if the judge ruled against her? Her condo in San Francisco wasn’t llama-friendly.

Heidi drew in a breath. “Okay, where are you putting them?”

“I was thinking of that section of the ranch.” May pointed west. “It gets plenty of light. There are trees and that hillside for them to climb.”

And running water, Rafe thought grimly, remembering his mother had insisted he run a pipe out to the area.

May moved toward the llama. “Hello, sweet one. You’ll be happy here.” She glanced back at Heidi. “They’re a little older, so I thought they could use a good home.”

May moved off with the helper and showed him where to put the animal. The driver appeared with a light brown, slightly smaller llama, and followed the first.

“Old llamas?” Heidi murmured, moving closer to Rafe. “I kind of admire her philosophy.”

“Sure. She bought them to protect your pregnant goats. What’s not to like?”

“Feeling a little stressed, are we?”

“Someone needs to rein her in.”

“She’s your mother.”

“Someone other than me.” He glanced longingly toward the west. Somewhere in San Francisco was a meeting he should probably be attending.

Once the three llamas were in place, two elderly sheep were led down the ramp. They went in the fenced area next to the llamas.

“Anything else?” Rafe asked, almost afraid to look in the trailer.

“That’s it,” the driver said, and handed over the receipts.

May took them happily and gazed out at her animals. “I’ve been doing research on how to care for them. Glen’s been a big help.”

“Lots of animals in the carnival?” Rafe asked, wondering how much worse things were going to get before they shifted to better.

“Not really,” Heidi admitted. “A couple of goats and a few dogs. It wasn’t a circus. You’re going to need a large-animal vet. I use Cameron McKenzie. I’ll get you his number.”

A vet. Right, because old animals would need plenty of care.

“You couldn’t start taking in cats, like other women your age?” he asked his mother.

She swatted his arm. “Don’t act like I’m losing it. I’ve thought this over, and having these animals on the ranch is what I want to do. They make me happy.”

He didn’t know what to say to that. It wasn’t as if he could tell her not to be happy, nor did he want to.

May wandered toward the fencing, where she could gaze at her new critters. Rafe rubbed his forehead.

“I really admire your mother,” Heidi admitted. “She’s full of life.”

“That’s not all she’s full of.”

Heidi grinned. “You love her and would do anything for her.”

“It’s my downfall. Why couldn’t I be one of those guys who hates his mother? Life would be a lot easier.”

“You don’t walk away from your responsibilities. Except when it comes to Clay. I find that very interesting.”

A statement that had come out of nowhere. “I have llamas and sheep in my life now. Can we not talk about my brother for a few days? Unless you’d rather discuss your recent drunkenness.”

Heidi pressed her lips together. “No. We don’t have to talk about that.”

“See? Compromise can be your friend.” He put his arm around her and guided her toward the barn. “Come on, goat girl. God knows what else my mother has bought on eBay. So, you can pass me nails while I finish the roof on this barn.”

“Oh, wow. That’s practically a date. Later, can I wear your letterman’s jacket while we go get a milk shake?”

“Sure.” He glanced down at her. “I’ll bet you were cute in high school.”

“I’m cute now.”

He laughed. “You’ve been hanging around my mother a little too much. You’re adopting her attitude.”

“I’m learning from the master, which is going to be a whole lot of trouble for you.”

He had a feeling she was right about that.

* * *

HEIDI CAREFULLY REMOVED octagon-shaped bars of soap from molds. The tiny dried flowers she’d placed at the bottom of the molds had set perfectly, in the center, just visible through a thin layer of creamy soap.

While her basic soap recipe had remained the same, she was experimenting, trying to make the bars more attractive. She’d been doing a lot of research online and checking out different bulletin boards devoted to small-scale retail endeavors like hers. Rafe had been right—there was a whole world out there looking for handmade, organic, natural products.

She set the soaps on a rack. She would let them cure for a couple of weeks before wrapping them in the specialty paper she’d bought. One of her new online friends had introduced her to a graphic-arts student, who had designed an appealing logo in exchange for being able to use the design as part of a school project. Heidi had received her first shipment of logo stickers that afternoon.

She picked up a bar of soap she’d made two weeks ago and neatly wrapped it, sealing the edges with a sticker.

“How’s it going?”

She jumped, then turned, feeling both guilty and defiant.

Rafe stood in the doorway of the small bedroom she’d taken over for her office. It was tucked in back of the house, by the mudroom, giving her easy access to her supplies, and it was far from Glen’s room, so she didn’t have to hear the wild noises at night.

“I’m fine. Are you checking up on me?”

As soon as the words popped out, she wanted to slap her hand over her mouth.

Both his dark eyebrows rose. He reached up, grabbing the top of the door frame and stretching just enough to make his T-shirt ride up to the waistband of his jeans, although not high enough to expose anything interesting. It was about seven in the evening. Rafe had showered after his long day, and they’d had dinner. May and Glen were watching TV and, last Heidi had seen, Rafe had been on the porch, checking his email.

Now Rafe dropped his arms to his sides and strolled into the room. “You’re making soap.”

“So?”

“You look like a kid caught smoking behind the school. Unless you’re smuggling military secrets, why are you so jumpy?”

“I’m not.” She sighed. She’d never been a very good liar. “I took your advice and researched other markets. I found a couple of online communities that had a lot of information. I’ve been sending soap samples to different stores and to a couple of reps, and I have my first orders.”

He walked over to the straight-back chair by her desk and sat down. “That’s good.”

“From my point of view.”

She saw the second he put it all together. If her business became successful, she could pay back the money and make a case for keeping the ranch.

“I’m glad it’s going well,” he told her.

“Because you don’t think I can do well enough in time?”

He surprised her by gently touching her cheek. “This was a whole lot easier before I got to know you.”

“Agreed, but I still need to win.”

“Me, too.” He dropped his hand. “Tell me about your soap empire.”

“It’s not an empire yet, but I have orders and the promise of more. I’m getting word out on the internet. I’m going to need a website. Annabelle says she knows somebody in town who can do it.” Probably time to change the subject. “Are the animals settled for the night?”

“Last I checked. Llamas and sheep. What was she thinking?”

Heidi wasn’t sure, but still admired May for doing exactly what she wanted.

Rafe leaned back in the chair. “We’ll have to have Lars check their hooves next time he’s around.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. Do sheep and llamas need their hooves trimmed?”

“Lars will know.”

“Why do you say it like that?”

He gave her a slow, knowing smile. “Lars wasn’t happy dealing with me instead of you. He seemed…smitten.”

“Oh, please.” She returned her attention to her soap wrappers. “I barely know him.”

“You’ve made an impression.”

“Speaking of that sort of thing, how was your night out with your matchmaker girl?”

He shrugged. “Fine.”

“Oooh, when you say it like that, I want to know when you two are setting the date.”

“It was one date.”

“You were home early.”

“I’m surprised you remember that.”

She didn’t remember much else about the evening, but she did recall that Rafe had beaten her home, and she hadn’t been out all that late. There were some other blurry images, something about kissing, but she wasn’t going there.

“She wasn’t the one?”

“No.”

“But she drove all the way out here to see you. That has to be worth something.”

“Not to get too cynical, but do you have any idea how much I’m worth?”

“Not really.” She thought about the little she knew and what Trisha, her lawyer, had told her. “A lot?”

The slow, sexy smile returned, making her fingers fumble on the soap wrapping. “That’s as good a number as any.”

“You’re saying she was in it for the money and not your sparkling personality?”

“It’s a concern.”

Probably a realistic one, she thought. “Maybe you should have your matchmaker play down your fortune. So you can find someone who loves you for who you are.”

“I’m not in it for love. I want a partnership.”

“That’s romantic.”

“I tried the romantic route. It didn’t go well.”

Heidi had a feeling that if Rafe and his ex-wife had walked away from their marriage with no regrets, then they’d never been in love. Her experience with the emotion was entirely different. Love could hold you in its grip and never let go. She thought of Melinda and knew people died in the name of love.

“Where did you take her?” she asked.

“Who?”

“Your date.”

“To the hotel restaurant.”

She sighed. “That’s your problem. You need to do something more special.”

“A moonlit horseback ride?”

“Not if you don’t warn her to dress right. Fool’s Gold is a great town. There are lots of little restaurants that have more ambience than the one at the hotel. Or take her up to the Gold Rush Ski Lodge and Resort. At least you could ride the gondola to the top of the mountain. That’s romantic.”

“It’s cold.”

She rolled her eyes. “You could put your arm around her and keep her warm. Jeez. No wonder you’re forced to use a matchmaker. You’re not very good at the whole dating thing.”

“I’m very good at it. The problem isn’t me, it’s the town. Being here. Being back.”

“Too many memories?”

“Yeah.”

She thought about what May had told her about Rafe and how difficult things had been back then. “You’re not that kid anymore. You can take care of your family.”

He drew in a breath and picked up one of the wrapped packages of soap. “They brought us baskets every holiday. There was plenty of food. Not leftovers that someone dug out of the back of his pantry, but real food. Turkeys and hams, big roasts. All the fixings. Pies and cakes. There would be movies for us kids and books for my mom.”

“That sounds nice.”

“It wasn’t. I always knew when they were coming. I answered the door and I could see the pity in their eyes.”

As he spoke, Heidi knew he wasn’t the Rafe Stryker she’d met, but instead, a ten-year-old boy who couldn’t provide for those he loved. The one who had been left with an impossible task—providing for his family.

“It wasn’t your job to take care of everyone,” she murmured.

“Someone had to.”

“Your mom was doing it.”

“She was overwhelmed. There was too much work and no help.”

“So you did what you could.”

“It wasn’t enough.”

She understood why he was so concerned about May. Back then, he’d been unable to protect her. Now he could protect them all. Yet that attention came at a price. When one of his siblings didn’t measure up, Rafe was unforgiving.

“Tell me about your sister.”

He stared at her. “What do you want to know?”

“What is she like?”

“Younger. I was nine when she was born.”

“I thought your dad died when you were eight.”

“He did.”

“Oh.” Heidi couldn’t make the math work.

“It was a few months after. Mom was having a tough time coping.” He put the soap back on her desk. “Shane brought some guy home. A cowboy here for the rodeo. I guess my mom spent the night with him. He left before we were up, and we never saw him again. A few months later, she told us she was having a baby. Then Evangeline was born.”

“That can’t have been easy,” Heidi said.

“Mom is strong.”

“I meant for your sister. To know she doesn’t completely fit in with the family. That she’s a constant reminder of what your mom did.”

“It’s not like that. Not for either of them.” He hesitated. “I don’t know. Maybe it is. Evie’s never around. Shane and Clay come by to see Mom every few months, but not Evie.”

Heidi guessed that Rafe was much more clear on the problem than he wanted to let on. But admitting it would mean dealing with it. As long as he didn’t see there was an issue, he could ignore the situation. “Where’s your sister now?”

“She’s a dancer. She went to Juilliard. She’s very gifted.”

Heidi waited, but Rafe didn’t say any more.

“You never said what she’s like?”

“I don’t spend much time with her. When she was a kid, she was always dancing.”

“Was she always the outsider?”

He stood. “Is this another of your townie things? For someone who embraces the idea of community, you like to put people into groups. Us versus them.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Maybe not, but it’s accurate. Evangeline is my sister. I love her. Sure, I don’t know every detail of her life, but if she was ever in trouble, if she ever needed anything, I would be there for her. We all would. We’re a family.”

He stalked out of the room. Heidi watched him go, wondering if Evangeline would agree. May had decorated the living room with pictures of her sons, but there was only one of her daughter. She had a feeling Rafe hadn’t spoken to his sister in months. Maybe longer. She supposed every family had secrets, even from each other. The trick was loving your family, despite the secrets…or maybe because of them.

* * *

MAY SMOOTHED THE PAPER on the kitchen table. “What do you think?” she asked anxiously.

Heidi studied the drawing. She saw the outline of the barn as it existed today, and then how it would nearly double in size if May had her way. There were plenty of stalls for horses, storage areas for feed and other supplies, wide doors and an open second story for hay.

“It’s wonderful.” And expensive, and would only add to her bill should she win the case.

“Good. I was hoping you’d say that,” May told her. “I’ve spoken to Shane and mentioned the ranch to him. I’m hoping he’ll want to come here.”

“Shane?” Heidi pulled out a chair and sat down. “Here?”

She didn’t think she could survive a second Stryker brother. She was having enough trouble with Rafe.

“You’ll like Shane. He’s much more easygoing than Rafe. I’m sure that comes with not being the oldest.”

Heidi traced the drawing and knew there was no way to say no. The last thing she needed was May upset with her. But if she wasn’t careful, the Strykers would weave their way into every part of her world. If that happened, there would be no win—for any of them.