Summer Days
Page 27
Now she opened her eyes and saw light spilling into the room. The brightness suggested it was long past morning. She blinked, not sure what day it was, but feeling more like herself than she had in a long time.
“You’re back.”
She turned and saw Rafe standing in the doorway of her room. He looked good—tanned and strong, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. She frowned. Two bruises that looked suspiciously hoof-shaped marred both forearms.
“What happened to you?” she asked.
He crossed toward her and moved the pillows against the headboard so she could sit up. She sagged against them and touched his left arm. The bruise was still swollen, almost a welt.
He sighed. “Athena didn’t want to move to another part of the ranch. We had words. Or rather, I had words, and she kicked me.”
“Ouch.”
“Don’t worry. I kicked her back.”
Heidi grinned. “You didn’t.”
“No, but I wanted to.”
“Did you get her moved?”
“Do you have to ask?”
“Silly me.”
He leaned over and touched her forehead. “Good. The fever’s gone. Are you hungry? Could you keep soup down?”
She touched her stomach. “I think so. How long have I been out of it?”
“Nearly four days.”
“That’s not possible. I’ve never been sick like that before.”
“You had us worried,” he admitted. “We called in a doctor. But she said you’d be fine, and she was right.” He straightened. “Let me get you some food. Mom will be thrilled to know you’re awake. She’ll insist on serving about a quart of soup, but only eat as much as you think you can handle. Trust me, there’s plenty more waiting.”
He left.
Heidi leaned back against the pillows. Four days? She didn’t remember much about what had happened, but it couldn’t have been pretty.
She got out of bed and had to pause to steady herself. Her legs felt wobbly, but she made her way to the bathroom. After nearly shrieking at her reflection, she washed her face and brushed her teeth, then ran a comb through her hair. She was desperate for a shower, but based on how weak she felt, that would have to wait.
She managed to make it back to her bed without collapsing, and lay there shaking for a couple of minutes. Less than a minute later, Rafe returned with a tray.
She smelled the soup before she saw it, and her stomach growled.
“It’s even better than it looks,” he told her. “Mom made this every time one of us was sick. It was the best part of feeling like crap.”
Next to the soup was a plate with plain toast and a glass of ice water. She took it all in and realized she was even more thirsty than she was hungry.
The cool water went down easily. Then she started in on the soup. But despite her best intentions, she only managed a half dozen spoonfuls before exhaustion overtook her.
Rafe moved the tray to the top of the dresser. “I’ll bring some more in a couple of hours. You should try to rest.”
“That’s all I have been doing,” she said, even as she felt her eyes closing. “Just give me a second and I’ll be perky again.”
“Sure you will.”
There was humor in his voice.
She was nearly asleep when she felt the soft brush of his mouth against hers. Nice, she thought hazily, already drifting off to sleep.
Rafe had taken care of her, had been there for her when she needed him. As she drifted off, she knew she couldn’t go behind his back and pretend the ranch was an important Máa-zib site without talking to him. They needed to find a way to compromise and find their own solution to the problem. Because…
Because…
“I love you,” she whispered.
When there was no answer, she opened her eyes. Rafe had left and she was alone.
* * *
BY THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Heidi was going crazy. May and Rafe had both insisted she stay in bed, but she couldn’t stand it anymore. She’d showered that morning, watched hours of HGTV, had bought new sandals and a really cute shirt from QVC, and eaten enough soup to float an armada.
By five o’clock, she’d gotten up and pulled on her jeans, only to find they were loose. The old stomach-flu diet, she thought, pulling on a clean T-shirt. Good for at least five pounds. If she had enough fashion sense to own a pair of skinny jeans, she could now fit into them. Unfortunately, she didn’t, she thought happily, so she’d have to eat her way back to her old weight. Oh, darn.
She made her way downstairs and was pleased to find she wasn’t dizzy or exhausted. She heard May and Glen in the kitchen and followed the sound.
“You’re up,” her grandfather announced when he saw her. He crossed to her and hugged her close, then led her to a chair. “I’m too old for you to scare me like that, Heidi.”
“Sorry,” she said, smiling at him. “I’m better now.”
He studied her for a second. “You look good. You up to joining us for dinner?”
“As long as it’s real food.” She turned to May. “The soup was delicious.”
The other woman laughed. “I understand. After a couple of days, it gets old. I was going to make pasta. You think you can eat that?”
“It sounds delicious.”
While May puttered around the stove, Glen brought Heidi up to date on what had been happening around the ranch. As he talked, he put another place setting on the table. Heidi realized there were only three.
“What about Rafe?” she asked.
“He’s not joining us,” May told her. “Nina called and said she’d found the perfect woman for him. Isn’t that exciting? He was very eager to go on his date. He left about a half hour ago.” She paused. “Didn’t he tell you?”
Heidi shook her head because she couldn’t possibly speak. Rafe had gone on a date? After all that had happened between them? What about all they’d been through together? The sex, the conversation and laughter? She’d fallen in love with him, and he’d gone on a date?
Fury blended with pain, the combination uncomfortably close to how she’d felt when she’d had the flu. Tears threatened, but she knew she couldn’t risk crying. Not in front of May and Glen. They would ask questions, and she didn’t have any answers she could share with them.
“How long until dinner?” she asked, hoping her voice sounded normal.
“About fifteen minutes.”
“Great. I need to make a call. I want to let Annabelle know I’m all right.”
“Of course, dear.”
Heidi left the room and got her cell. She stepped outside, then pushed the button to phone her friend.
“Hey, you,” Annabelle said when she answered. “I heard you were sick. Everything okay?”
“I’m better now.” Better and worse, she thought. “It’s time. Can you contact the people you know?”
There was a pause. Heidi had asked Annabelle to wait to announce the cave-painting find, and her friend had agreed. But that had been before. Everything was different now.
“Of course,” Annabelle told her. “I’ll make the call right now.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
RAFE PACED THE LENGTH of the living room of his
mother’s house, holding his cell phone to his ear. “No. I don’t know how to make myself more clear. I’m not going on any more dates, Nina.”
“You’re not being reasonable,” his matchmaker told him. “Tell me what was wrong with the last woman. She was everything you said you wanted. Intelligent, reasonable, successful in her job, but interested in being a stay-at-home mom. Do you know how hard it is to find that combination? On top of that, she was pretty. You asked for the moon and I gave you the moon, and now you’re telling me you’re not interested?”
“This isn’t a good time for me,” Rafe said.
Lately everything in his life seemed complicated. Dante was bugging him about the business, he knew he couldn’t stay here indefinitely, and yet he didn’t want to leave. And then there was Heidi. On the surface, everything was fine between them, but sometimes when she looked at him, there was something in her eyes. If he had to put a name to it, he would say it was disappointment.
None of which made sense, but he couldn’t escape the feeling that something was wrong. The last thing he needed right now was to be dating.
“If it’s about the money, send me a bill,” he said firmly. “I know you’ve done a good job, Nina. I appreciate the effort. I’m happy to recommend you to anyone you want. But I’m not interested in seeing anyone right now.”
“Is there someone else?”
“No,” he said quickly, then wondered if he was lying.
“Tell me what went wrong on your date. Because she said it was amazing.”
He held in a groan. He didn’t want to tell her what was wrong. In truth, the woman had been fine. It was him. No, it wasn’t him, dammit. It was Heidi. He didn’t want to go out with someone else. He didn’t want to talk about music or politics or British castles. He wanted to talk about cheese and goats and the latest gossip from town. He wanted to look into Heidi’s green eyes, he wanted to see her smile and hear her laugh. He wanted her in his bed. That single night had done nothing to quench his thirst for her.
“I’m hanging up now, Nina. We can have this conversation when I’m back in San Francisco.”
“And when will that be?”
“I have no idea.”
With that, he pushed the end button and stuck his cell phone back in his shirt pocket.
Ms. Jennings and Dante both wanted to hear from him, but they were going to have to wait. What he needed was a good, long ride on Mason. That would clear his head and then he could think.
He crossed the living room and opened the front door. He was halfway down the porch stairs when a white van with a satellite dish on the roof pulled onto the property. He didn’t recognize the TV station listed, or the pictures of the local-news broadcasters. Seconds later, a second van drove in, this one with the call letters of a San Francisco TV station with a network affiliation.
The doors of the vans opened and several people poured out. Guys went to work on equipment, while a well made-up woman and a guy also wearing makeup walked toward him.
“We’re looking for the owner of the ranch,” the woman said. She glanced at her smartphone. “Heidi Simpson.”
“Right here.”
He glanced over his shoulder and saw Heidi had stepped outside. He stared at her, trying to figure out what was different. She still wore jeans and boots, but she was somehow dressed better. She had on a blouse instead of a T-shirt and was wearing makeup—not as much as the TV people, but more than usual. Her hair was loose and wavy. He looked closer. She was wearing earrings. She never wore earrings.
“What’s going on?” he demanded. “What are they doing here?”
The female reporter stepped past him. “Is it true?” she asked. “You made another find?”
“I did,” Heidi told her with a pleasant smile. “I was looking for more room for my cheese. I make goat cheese and age it in the caves. I thought I’d do a little exploring and I got lost. I ended up deeper in the caves than I’ve ever been, and that’s where I saw them.”
Rafe felt as if he’d stepped into the middle of a movie with no idea of where the story was heading. “Saw what?”
Heidi glanced at him. “Cave paintings. They’re amazing. I thought maybe they were from the Máa-zib tribe.” She turned back to the reporter, her eyes wide. “They’re Mayan women who migrated here and lived for hundreds of years. There was that gold discovery last year. I have a friend who has studied the Máa-zib women, and she thinks the cave might have been used in sacred rituals. That would make this an important find.”
“You’re back.”
She turned and saw Rafe standing in the doorway of her room. He looked good—tanned and strong, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. She frowned. Two bruises that looked suspiciously hoof-shaped marred both forearms.
“What happened to you?” she asked.
He crossed toward her and moved the pillows against the headboard so she could sit up. She sagged against them and touched his left arm. The bruise was still swollen, almost a welt.
He sighed. “Athena didn’t want to move to another part of the ranch. We had words. Or rather, I had words, and she kicked me.”
“Ouch.”
“Don’t worry. I kicked her back.”
Heidi grinned. “You didn’t.”
“No, but I wanted to.”
“Did you get her moved?”
“Do you have to ask?”
“Silly me.”
He leaned over and touched her forehead. “Good. The fever’s gone. Are you hungry? Could you keep soup down?”
She touched her stomach. “I think so. How long have I been out of it?”
“Nearly four days.”
“That’s not possible. I’ve never been sick like that before.”
“You had us worried,” he admitted. “We called in a doctor. But she said you’d be fine, and she was right.” He straightened. “Let me get you some food. Mom will be thrilled to know you’re awake. She’ll insist on serving about a quart of soup, but only eat as much as you think you can handle. Trust me, there’s plenty more waiting.”
He left.
Heidi leaned back against the pillows. Four days? She didn’t remember much about what had happened, but it couldn’t have been pretty.
She got out of bed and had to pause to steady herself. Her legs felt wobbly, but she made her way to the bathroom. After nearly shrieking at her reflection, she washed her face and brushed her teeth, then ran a comb through her hair. She was desperate for a shower, but based on how weak she felt, that would have to wait.
She managed to make it back to her bed without collapsing, and lay there shaking for a couple of minutes. Less than a minute later, Rafe returned with a tray.
She smelled the soup before she saw it, and her stomach growled.
“It’s even better than it looks,” he told her. “Mom made this every time one of us was sick. It was the best part of feeling like crap.”
Next to the soup was a plate with plain toast and a glass of ice water. She took it all in and realized she was even more thirsty than she was hungry.
The cool water went down easily. Then she started in on the soup. But despite her best intentions, she only managed a half dozen spoonfuls before exhaustion overtook her.
Rafe moved the tray to the top of the dresser. “I’ll bring some more in a couple of hours. You should try to rest.”
“That’s all I have been doing,” she said, even as she felt her eyes closing. “Just give me a second and I’ll be perky again.”
“Sure you will.”
There was humor in his voice.
She was nearly asleep when she felt the soft brush of his mouth against hers. Nice, she thought hazily, already drifting off to sleep.
Rafe had taken care of her, had been there for her when she needed him. As she drifted off, she knew she couldn’t go behind his back and pretend the ranch was an important Máa-zib site without talking to him. They needed to find a way to compromise and find their own solution to the problem. Because…
Because…
“I love you,” she whispered.
When there was no answer, she opened her eyes. Rafe had left and she was alone.
* * *
BY THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Heidi was going crazy. May and Rafe had both insisted she stay in bed, but she couldn’t stand it anymore. She’d showered that morning, watched hours of HGTV, had bought new sandals and a really cute shirt from QVC, and eaten enough soup to float an armada.
By five o’clock, she’d gotten up and pulled on her jeans, only to find they were loose. The old stomach-flu diet, she thought, pulling on a clean T-shirt. Good for at least five pounds. If she had enough fashion sense to own a pair of skinny jeans, she could now fit into them. Unfortunately, she didn’t, she thought happily, so she’d have to eat her way back to her old weight. Oh, darn.
She made her way downstairs and was pleased to find she wasn’t dizzy or exhausted. She heard May and Glen in the kitchen and followed the sound.
“You’re up,” her grandfather announced when he saw her. He crossed to her and hugged her close, then led her to a chair. “I’m too old for you to scare me like that, Heidi.”
“Sorry,” she said, smiling at him. “I’m better now.”
He studied her for a second. “You look good. You up to joining us for dinner?”
“As long as it’s real food.” She turned to May. “The soup was delicious.”
The other woman laughed. “I understand. After a couple of days, it gets old. I was going to make pasta. You think you can eat that?”
“It sounds delicious.”
While May puttered around the stove, Glen brought Heidi up to date on what had been happening around the ranch. As he talked, he put another place setting on the table. Heidi realized there were only three.
“What about Rafe?” she asked.
“He’s not joining us,” May told her. “Nina called and said she’d found the perfect woman for him. Isn’t that exciting? He was very eager to go on his date. He left about a half hour ago.” She paused. “Didn’t he tell you?”
Heidi shook her head because she couldn’t possibly speak. Rafe had gone on a date? After all that had happened between them? What about all they’d been through together? The sex, the conversation and laughter? She’d fallen in love with him, and he’d gone on a date?
Fury blended with pain, the combination uncomfortably close to how she’d felt when she’d had the flu. Tears threatened, but she knew she couldn’t risk crying. Not in front of May and Glen. They would ask questions, and she didn’t have any answers she could share with them.
“How long until dinner?” she asked, hoping her voice sounded normal.
“About fifteen minutes.”
“Great. I need to make a call. I want to let Annabelle know I’m all right.”
“Of course, dear.”
Heidi left the room and got her cell. She stepped outside, then pushed the button to phone her friend.
“Hey, you,” Annabelle said when she answered. “I heard you were sick. Everything okay?”
“I’m better now.” Better and worse, she thought. “It’s time. Can you contact the people you know?”
There was a pause. Heidi had asked Annabelle to wait to announce the cave-painting find, and her friend had agreed. But that had been before. Everything was different now.
“Of course,” Annabelle told her. “I’ll make the call right now.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
RAFE PACED THE LENGTH of the living room of his
mother’s house, holding his cell phone to his ear. “No. I don’t know how to make myself more clear. I’m not going on any more dates, Nina.”
“You’re not being reasonable,” his matchmaker told him. “Tell me what was wrong with the last woman. She was everything you said you wanted. Intelligent, reasonable, successful in her job, but interested in being a stay-at-home mom. Do you know how hard it is to find that combination? On top of that, she was pretty. You asked for the moon and I gave you the moon, and now you’re telling me you’re not interested?”
“This isn’t a good time for me,” Rafe said.
Lately everything in his life seemed complicated. Dante was bugging him about the business, he knew he couldn’t stay here indefinitely, and yet he didn’t want to leave. And then there was Heidi. On the surface, everything was fine between them, but sometimes when she looked at him, there was something in her eyes. If he had to put a name to it, he would say it was disappointment.
None of which made sense, but he couldn’t escape the feeling that something was wrong. The last thing he needed right now was to be dating.
“If it’s about the money, send me a bill,” he said firmly. “I know you’ve done a good job, Nina. I appreciate the effort. I’m happy to recommend you to anyone you want. But I’m not interested in seeing anyone right now.”
“Is there someone else?”
“No,” he said quickly, then wondered if he was lying.
“Tell me what went wrong on your date. Because she said it was amazing.”
He held in a groan. He didn’t want to tell her what was wrong. In truth, the woman had been fine. It was him. No, it wasn’t him, dammit. It was Heidi. He didn’t want to go out with someone else. He didn’t want to talk about music or politics or British castles. He wanted to talk about cheese and goats and the latest gossip from town. He wanted to look into Heidi’s green eyes, he wanted to see her smile and hear her laugh. He wanted her in his bed. That single night had done nothing to quench his thirst for her.
“I’m hanging up now, Nina. We can have this conversation when I’m back in San Francisco.”
“And when will that be?”
“I have no idea.”
With that, he pushed the end button and stuck his cell phone back in his shirt pocket.
Ms. Jennings and Dante both wanted to hear from him, but they were going to have to wait. What he needed was a good, long ride on Mason. That would clear his head and then he could think.
He crossed the living room and opened the front door. He was halfway down the porch stairs when a white van with a satellite dish on the roof pulled onto the property. He didn’t recognize the TV station listed, or the pictures of the local-news broadcasters. Seconds later, a second van drove in, this one with the call letters of a San Francisco TV station with a network affiliation.
The doors of the vans opened and several people poured out. Guys went to work on equipment, while a well made-up woman and a guy also wearing makeup walked toward him.
“We’re looking for the owner of the ranch,” the woman said. She glanced at her smartphone. “Heidi Simpson.”
“Right here.”
He glanced over his shoulder and saw Heidi had stepped outside. He stared at her, trying to figure out what was different. She still wore jeans and boots, but she was somehow dressed better. She had on a blouse instead of a T-shirt and was wearing makeup—not as much as the TV people, but more than usual. Her hair was loose and wavy. He looked closer. She was wearing earrings. She never wore earrings.
“What’s going on?” he demanded. “What are they doing here?”
The female reporter stepped past him. “Is it true?” she asked. “You made another find?”
“I did,” Heidi told her with a pleasant smile. “I was looking for more room for my cheese. I make goat cheese and age it in the caves. I thought I’d do a little exploring and I got lost. I ended up deeper in the caves than I’ve ever been, and that’s where I saw them.”
Rafe felt as if he’d stepped into the middle of a movie with no idea of where the story was heading. “Saw what?”
Heidi glanced at him. “Cave paintings. They’re amazing. I thought maybe they were from the Máa-zib tribe.” She turned back to the reporter, her eyes wide. “They’re Mayan women who migrated here and lived for hundreds of years. There was that gold discovery last year. I have a friend who has studied the Máa-zib women, and she thinks the cave might have been used in sacred rituals. That would make this an important find.”
