Summer Days
Page 18

“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.
CHAPTER TEN
RAFE WATCHED YET MORE lumber being unloaded. Thanks to his mother’s grand plans for the barn, what had started out as a simple repair job had turned into major renovation. When she’d shown him her drawing the previous day, he’d made a few minor changes and promised to look into getting it done. This morning she’d informed him she’d spoken with Ethan, had hired his men for the remainder of the summer and had already ordered the necessary supplies. Now Rafe figured he would be lucky to ever get back to his office in San Francisco.
He should be annoyed and itching to return to the city, but somehow, he found himself not minding too much. He spent his mornings working with Ethan’s guys. After lunch, he dealt with his company, giving instructions to Ms. Jennings and talking to Dante about what was going on in the office. Around three, he went back out to join the guys and finished before dinner. Evenings were spent on his computer. Sometimes he and Heidi watched a baseball game or went for a walk.
Not exactly the life of a sought-after bachelor, he thought, pulling on gloves. No dinners out, no evenings at the theater. Pretty much the only thing he missed about his old life was hanging out with Dante and his season tickets at the Giants’ stadium.
He had thought he would be bored here. Restless. So far, he was enjoying himself more than he had expected. There were calluses on his hands and a pleasant ache after a day of physical labor. He and Mason took long rides together, to the point where Charlie had noticed that her horse had never been in better shape.
There was an honesty to the land, he thought, then chuckled. He’d better be careful, or he’d turn into the cowboy his mother had always wanted him to be.
The truck driver walked over with a clipboard and paperwork. “You keep goats here?” he asked as he handed Rafe a pen.
“Sure. Why?”
“I would swear I saw some goats walking down the road when I was driving here. You might want to make sure yours didn’t get out.”
Rafe scrawled his signature on the paperwork, then turned toward the house. He didn’t know where Heidi had taken the goats that morning. Before he’d taken more than a couple of steps, the back door opened and Heidi hurried out.
“The goats?” he asked.
She nodded. “My friend Nevada just called. Athena led three of them to the casino construction site. She did this last year and apparently remembered the way.”
“How do you get them back?” he asked, following her to the goat house.
Heidi ducked inside, then stepped back out with several ropes. “I catch them and walk them home. I don’t have a truck big enough to transport them. What I want to know is how she gets the gates open.”
He fell into step with her. “Think of it as forced exercise.”
“I’m worried about Persephone. She’s pregnant. I’m not sure that much walking is good for her.”
“Don’t goats travel in the wild?”
“Yes, but they eat as they go. When Athena gets a burr up her butt, it’s more a forced march. I’ll call the vet when I get back.”
He took the ropes from her. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
“I hope so. This is only her second pregnancy.”
“Why isn’t Athena pregnant?”
“Alpine goats breed in the fall. That’s one of the reasons I have both Nubians and Alpines—to stagger their pregnancies, so I never go without fresh goat milk. It’s less of an issue with the cheese. With the aging process, I always have cheese at various stages. But the fresh milk is important to several of the families in the area.”