Taming Rafe (19 page)

Standing at the wall phone, she dialed, hearing her heart thunder in her chest.

A sleepy, confused voice answered. “Hello?”

Lolly took a deep breath . . . and told Bradley Lymon exactly what his girlfriend was up to in eastern Montana.

“I believe you are exactly that stubborn and tough.”
Rafe heard Kitty’s words over and over as he sat on the porch, watching the dawn of a new day. A new life. He’d kissed plenty of women but never like he kissed Kitty. He showed her exactly how he felt, how she had become part of his world in a frighteningly short period of time, and how he had no intention of letting her walk out of his life.

“I don’t know how I can live without bull riding in my life . . . but maybe I could if you stuck around.”
Had he really meant that?

He’d hardly slept all night, thinking about kissing her today on the bluff or tonight on a blanket under the stars near the balm of Gilead trees.

He must have knocked more than a few cells loose from his brain, because he was actually thinking about the
m
word. Perhaps she’d only said that he had nothing to prove to keep him off a bull,
away from injury, but somehow he believed her. He didn’t have to prove anything to Kitty. And that felt oddly freeing.

“Where’s Kat this morning?” Stefanie asked as she joined Rafe on the porch. “She’s late.”

“She had some calls to make.” Rafe blew on his coffee, trying to hide his grin. “Something about business back home.”

Stefanie nodded, then sat beside him. “Got this in the mail yesterday.” She held out an envelope.

Rafe glanced at the return address. Mexico. He slipped his thumb under the flap and opened it.

He struggled to decipher the Spanish words. Although Lucia was nearly fluent in speaking English, running the ranch and taking care of Manny left her little time to learn how to correspond in another language. Most of the time, Rafe read her letters with a Spanish-English dictionary. “It’s from Lucia. I think it says something about Manny. And his being sick.” He looked up at Stefanie, who hadn’t moved. “His leukemia is out of remission.”

“Oh, Rafe, I’m so sorry.”

He put down the letter, and she picked it up and read it. “It says more than that. Good thing I got good grades in high school, because according to my rusty Spanish, she’s on her way stateside.”

He stared out toward the sunrise as it bathed the yard and his truck. Shadows still filled the gullies that edged the driveway. “I told her if she ever needed anything that she could find me here, through you, and I’d take care of things.” He raised his gaze to hers. “I made a real mess of my life and now theirs.”

Stefanie put her hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to work out. Like Dad always said, you’re not in this alone.”

“Thanks. I appreciate your support.”

She gave him a small smile. “I think Dad was talking about God.”

Rafe stood. “God isn’t on my side. Not anymore. You should have figured that out by now.”

Stefanie said nothing as he headed toward the barn.

Bradley’s cell phone went to voice mail on the first ring, which told Kat he’d shut it off. He was probably in a closed-door meeting with one of her grandfather’s partners. Or maybe the big man himself.

Hopefully they weren’t discussing her and the abysmal state of the foundation’s finances. It was a temporary situation she fully intended to fix. With Rafe’s help.

She elected not to leave a message, closed her phone, and dropped it onto the bed. She’d slept in this morning, but after rolling in long past midnight, she’d decided that Rafe needed the extra sleep also.

It took all her effort not to get up at the crack of dawn and drive out to the Silver Buckle to tell Rafe exactly how she felt about him.

She’d never had to play hard to get and wasn’t even sure how to do it. Most of the men she met were naturally scared off by her grandfather.

Dressing in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, Kat went over to Lolly’s for breakfast.

Lolly smiled at her, a restraint in her greeting that bothered Kat.

Kat slid onto a stool. “Coffee, please. And do you have any leftover pie?”

Lolly poured a cup of coffee. “Eggs are better for breakfast.”

“I’d rather have pie. Blueberry.”

Lolly said nothing as she turned away.

“Morning, Kat.”

Kat turned to see Nick, Rafe’s older brother, sliding onto the stool beside her. She tried not to bristle, but some of Rafe’s attitude had rubbed off on her. She wasn’t sure why, but there was bad blood between these two. “Good morning, Nick.”

Nick motioned to Lolly for a cup of coffee. She put that and a bagel down in front of him. “I saw Rafe’s truck drive in pretty late last night.”

Kat’s face heated, and it didn’t help when Lolly gave her a dark look as she plunked down a piece of blueberry pie.

“Not that I’m babysitting,” Nick added, buttering his bagel. “Actually, he’s been easier to be around since he met you. I’m thinking you’re good medicine.”

Lolly raised an eyebrow, and Kat matched it. “Really.”

Nick nodded, took a sip of coffee. “Rafe has had a rough few years. With Dad dying and then his friend Manuel, he’s taken it hard. Now he’s being sued and losing his career. . . . I guess I’m just trying to say thank you.”

Kat took a bite of pie, washed it down with coffee, and wiped her mouth. “Thank you?”

Nick swallowed a bite of his bagel. “For being his friend and giving him something to reach for.”

“I think she’s more than his friend,” Lolly said.

Kat glanced at her, surprised at the venom in her voice. Apparently, this meddling in other people’s business was part of that so-called small-town charm.

Nick smirked. “Maybe.”

“I think she needs to go home before she gets hurt.”

Kat’s fork stilled in midair.

Nick put down his cup. “What exactly do you mean by that, Lolly?”

Lolly crossed her arms over her chest.

Silence settled upon the diner—all three other patrons had looked up, listening to this exchange. Kat wanted to duck under her stool and crawl out.

“You know what I mean,” Lolly said evenly. “Rafe’s not exactly the relationship type. His reputation with the ladies stretches from here to Wyoming and beyond.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad.”

“The tabloids are saying he was drunk when he drove into that hotel.”

“Lolly, that isn’t—”

“And Kat, here—she’s already got a man.”

Everything inside Kat dropped to her knees, including her stomach, complete with the pie that had turned rock hard. How did Lolly . . . ?

Lolly raised her chin, although the faintest blush betrayed her.

“No, I don’t,” Kat said softly. At least not the one she wanted. Besides, Bradley no longer laid claim to her heart, if he ever had.

Nick turned to stare at Kat.

“I don’t,” she mumbled. “Not really.”

“Define
not really
,” Nick said.

“I . . . Before I came here, I was dating someone.”

“I read that she’s engaged.”

Kat glared at Lolly, then stood. “I’m not engaged, and I think you should stop listening to rumors.”

Nick’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Walk with me,” he said in a tone that didn’t brook argument. He glanced at Lolly, then got up, put on his hat, and walked out the door.

As if under some spell, Kat followed.

The heat of the morning sucked away her breath, and Kat shaded her eyes with her hand as they walked down Main Street. Sweat formed between her shoulder blades.

“My brother and sister are twins,” Nick said as he shoved his hands into his back pockets. “And Rafe was born with a heart defect.”

“I know. A hole in his heart. I saw his scar.”

“Then you can also guess how hard it was on my parents. My dad especially. They nearly lost Rafe twice, and I’d guess that there might have been some bargaining with God during those early years. It took a very long time for my father to let Rafe on a horse or out into the fields. It used to rankle me how he’d let Rafe stay at home reading books or helping my mother while I worked the ranch. I’m ashamed to admit that I called him a baby for too many years.”

“Rafe’s one of the toughest men I know,” Kat said.

“Yeah, he is. But I didn’t figure that out until after I was long gone and he’d started riding bulls. At first I thought he did it to spite my dad. Then I wondered if it might be about me.”

“You?”

He shrugged, and that movement let her see his regret. Could it be that Nick wasn’t the bad guy after all?

“I was a horrible big brother. I taunted him, made him feel weak. Even now, I can’t figure out a way to tell him that I want him to stick around. It comes out . . . just like my father. In negative speech that sounds like I’m daring Rafe to go back to bull riding. I think,
in a way, Rafe also rides to prove something to himself. Although I don’t know what.”

Kat said nothing, but she remembered the look on Rafe’s face when she’d seen his scar and the way he’d tried to talk his way onto a bull last night. Yeah, his riding was as much about making some sort of peace with himself as it was earning his spurs with his big brother. She rubbed her arms, not wanting to surrender his secrets. Still, she had to put words to what she’d been sensing all week, if only to help herself sort it out. “I don’t think Rafe even knows why he rides. He just has to. Maybe it’s in his blood.”

Nick responded with a chuckle that had nothing to do with humor. “The problem is, Rafe is in bad shape. It’s not only his knee; it’s his neck, which has hairline fractures. Every time I remind him of this, he thinks I’m taunting him.” He shook his head. “When you walked into the picture, Stef and I thought we had a chance to get through to him. Convince him that we wanted him around.”

Kat wasn’t sure what to say.

“I think my brother is falling for you. Stef and I are all for it, especially if that means he stays out of trouble. I don’t know how you feel about him, but Lolly’s wrong. As far as I know, Rafe’s never had a serious girlfriend. Never really been in love—”

“And you’re afraid I’m going to break his heart.”

A shadow of that truth brushed over Nick’s face.

A feeling filled her chest; it was so overwhelming that her eyes burned, moistened. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m—”

“Katherine, I can’t believe I found you. What were you thinking, disappearing like that?”

Kat froze at the voice behind her, the heavy New York accent
so out of place on this dusty street corner. Then she slowly turned and tried to find a smile for her almost fiancé, Bradley Lymon.

CHAPTER 12

“O
H NO, WHAT
have I done?” Lolly watched through the diner window as Kat turned white and her expression changed from that glow she’d carried over the past few days—thanks to Rafe—to defeat as she stared at Bradley Lymon. Well attired, even if a bit rumpled, in a silk suit, the man must have chartered a plane the second he hung up the phone with Lolly.

“What’s that, Lolly?” Lincoln Cash, who’d entered the diner shortly after Nick had ushered Kat out, looked up from his pile of eggs.

“Nothing.” Only, by the look on Kat’s face, it was something. Something so oddly familiar that it brought a rush of memory too painful to be ignored.

Lolly pressed a hand to her stomach, aware that she might be ill. “Excuse me.” She went into the back room, then closed herself into the bathroom. Staring at the reflection in the mirror—the age lines and the tiny scar on her chin—she refused to listen to the past.

She ran cold water, splashed it on her face, then braced her hands
on the sink and drew a deep breath. She wouldn’t allow her fear to spill over into Kat’s life. Exiting the bathroom, she smoothed her apron, nodded to a perplexed Cody, and returned to the counter.

“More coffee?” Cash said.

“Sure.” She grabbed the pot, poured him a cup. Outside, Nick had vanished. Kat and Bradley, however, still stood on the sidewalk.

Lincoln glanced over his shoulder. “Looks like a lovers’ quarrel to me.” He took a sip of coffee. “This is the best coffee I’ve ever had—and I’ve been all over the world.” He reached out, and when he grabbed Lolly’s hand, she nearly jumped. His blue eyes caught hers. “I can’t believe that a beautiful, smart, talented woman is hidden out here in the hills. If you’re willing to listen, I have an offer for you.”

“I
did
call you,” Kat said, wishing Bradley would stop pacing in the middle of Main Street for the entire town to watch. Nick had left—or slunk off, depending on the viewpoint. She had a sinking feeling he was flooring it back to the Silver Buckle to tell Rafe . . . what? That she’d lied to him? led him on? fabricated her feelings for him?

“I never got any messages!” This wholly-in-touch-with-his-feelings Bradley had the power to frighten her with his deep frown, his eyes boring into hers. “I was worried sick!”

“I called you the day I left and told you I was going on vacation—”

“Cari booked you a room at a spa in San Francisco—a reservation you didn’t show up for. Can you imagine how your grandfather and I felt? I thought you’d been kidnapped.”

Kat gave a derisive laugh. “As if Grandfather would pay the ransom.”

Bradley didn’t join in her self-deprecating humor. “I would have.”

Kat’s smile vanished. “Listen, Bradley, I’m sorry. I am. I just needed to get away.”

“To Phillips, Montana? What’s here? A hot spring? Maybe a five-star resort that isn’t yet on the map?”

At his words, the door to the diner opened, and Lincoln Cash walked out. Kat looked up at him and gave him the barest of smiles. He nodded to her, greeted Bradley.

Bradley watched him go with a frown. “Is that Lincoln Cash, the actor?”

“Yes, and as you can see, there is more to this little town than you give it credit for.”

“Okay, so why are
you
here?” Bradley’s voice had lowered, and he blocked the sun, a shadow of anger and confusion.

“I came to . . . save the Breckenridge Foundation. I have a plan.”

“Does it involve that guy—the same one who drove his pickup through your hotel?”

“Yes. He’s going to help me raise the money. We—”

Bradley let out a word she’d never heard him use before. Then he said, “So it’s true.”

“What’s true?” Kat stared at his shiny loafers, now dusty from the street. Amazing how good a man looked in cowboy boots.

“That you’ve been
kissing
another man.”

How had he found out? But did it really matter? Kat took a breath and gave the slightest nod. “I found someone . . . who . . .”
What? Understood her? With whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life herding cattle, roping steer, or watching kill himself in the rodeo arena? “. . . who taught me how to live like a cowboy.”

“So you paid him in kisses?”

“Don’t be crude. I was just trying to keep him from killing himself.” The words came out with a tone of indignation, yet Kat felt as if she’d betrayed everything she felt for Rafe, everything that had been real and alive and incredible between them. She glared at Bradley. “Don’t overreact. It’s not like we’re engaged or anything.”

A muscle pulsed in his neck. “Let me fix that.” Then, as she stood rooted, he dug into his suit pocket and pulled out a ring box. He opened it, and the solitaire stone in white gold sparkled in the sun. “You’ve had nearly two weeks to think about it. What’s your answer?”

Kat looked up at Bradley as her eyes watered. “Maybe you should ask me first. Who knows what I might be agreeing to?”

He shook his head even as he got down on one knee on the hot pavement. Then, holding up the ring, he ground out, “Katherine Russell Breckenridge, will you marry me?”

“These pictures turned out perfect, John.” Dex leaned over the digital stills he’d taken over the past three days. “Everything I need to create scenery and texture for the sound stage. Thanks for letting us use your ranch.”

“You know that the story takes place in Wyoming during the dust bowl years, right?” Sometimes John felt as if he might be talking to a cloud for all the impact he made on Dex.

The director smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry, John. Everything is copacetic.”

John managed a smile, watching out of the corner of his eye as Dex’s assistant loaded the truck. Which meant, hopefully, that Lincoln Cash would also be leaving.

Finally, he’d have Lolly to himself again. But after spending a week in the attention of Lincoln Cash, would Lolly even notice John?

“Why don’t you come with us?” Dex’s question jarred John back to the moment. “I have a meeting with the producer tomorrow, and you two can go over the screenplay, work out any last glitches. You’re leaving soon anyway, right? We’ll send a mover out; he can pack up the place, send your stuff to California.”

“I don’t know. . . . It seems too soon. . . .”

“You told me you’ve been waiting to do this for fifteen years. Now’s your chance. Besides, didn’t you say your Realtor found you a condo on the beach in Malibu? Can’t buy without doing a walkthrough.” Dex brushed past John and walked over to his assistant. “Hey, don’t put that on the truck. I’m taking that with me. . . .”

John stood in the kitchen of his family’s home, listening to his father’s voice.
“You’ll never leave, Johnny boy. You’ll always be a rancher, Son. Get that through your head.”
For the most part, the voice had spoken the truth. He’d stayed. But not because he couldn’t escape.

Marry me, Lolly.
Maybe twenty years was too long to wait.

Especially when she so easily rejected him for a wannabe cowboy.

Dex returned, tore his new cowboy hat from his head, and wiped his brow. “I don’t know how you live out here in this heat.”

“Me either,” John said. “Hold up while I pack a bag.”

“She’s not there.” Rafe put the phone down after listening to it ring thirty-seven times. He wanted to allow Lucia ample time to answer just in case she might be on the far reaches of her ranch.

“What if she’s on her way to Texas or even here?” Stefanie propped one hip against the kitchen counter.

“There’s nothing I can do about it now. Even if she does come, I don’t have two pennies to give to help Manny.” He sat in the chair and ran his hands through his hair. By throwing himself over Rafe, Manuel had given him a second chance at life—no, he suddenly realized, God had given him a second chance at life—and what had he done with it?

He couldn’t bear to answer his own question.

“They still have time left on their one-year visa from when they visited last fall.”

“I’m sure they’re fine, Rafe,” Stefanie said, putting her hand on his shoulder. She looked out the window. “Nick’s back from town.”

Rafe watched Nick’s Silverado pull up. He got out of the truck and stood in the yard for a moment before turning to the barn. A few minutes later, Rafe heard the sound of hooves as Nick rode his horse from the corral. So much for riding fence together.

Rafe checked his watch. “I thought Kitty might be here by now.”

“Maybe she got hung up in town.”

With the way this day was going, for all he knew, her good sense had returned with the dawn, and she was packing her bags.

“I’m going to check on the horses down at Maggy’s,” Stefanie said, picking up a two-way. “Call me if you need anything.”

Rafe put his head down on the table, wishing that somehow he
could travel back in time and make things turn out right. With him protecting his best friend and Manuel still alive to care for his son.

Rafe’s own behavior since that day made him sick. He didn’t deserve the grace of living, of being happy. Of loving someone as incredible as Kitty.

Rafe limped out toward the barn. The horses in the corral nickered to him. He fetched an alfalfa cube from the burlap bag hanging in the barn and fed it to the animals through the rails.

The squeak of brazen prairie dogs in the land south of the house and the buzz of cicadas across the fields only amplified the silence in his heart. Where was Kitty? He could use her optimistic spirit right now. Maybe he should go to town. But he’d never had to chase a woman, and he wasn’t about to start.

“A woman should give a guy the benefit of the doubt. Even if he doesn’t say it, he still cares about her.”

His words, dredged up from memory, stung. Surely Kitty knew he cared about her. He’d told her he would give up bull riding for her, for pete’s sake.

Rafe rubbed the blaze on one of the quarter horses as that thought found fertile soil and germinated. He
did
care about her—more than cared, in fact. Next time she came by, he’d tell her.

Grabbing a halter, he opened the corral and whistled to his roan. The horse responded and stood still for him as he slipped on the halter, led the horse into the yard, then used a stump to spring himself up, bareback.