Summer Days Page 8

  “Jefferson,” his friend Dante barked.

  “Having a bad day?”

  “Rafe.” Dante chuckled. “No. I was expecting another lawyer to be calling me. You know, it’s all about attitude. What’s going on? Convince your mother to come back to life in the big city?”

  “Like that’s going to happen.”

  “She’s a determined woman.”

  “Tell me about it. And while you’re at it, tell me what you know about a hotel casino project called the Lucky Lady.”

  He waited while Dante typed on his computer. There was a second of silence, followed by a low whistle. “Impressive.” He read off the statistics, how many rooms, number of acres, the approximate cost of the project. “Janack Construction has this sewn up. We can’t get in on it.”

  “We don’t have to.” He thought about his mother’s

  ranch and the thousands of acres with nothing on them. “Maybe my time here isn’t a complete waste. That hotel and casino is going to need employees. There can’t be enough housing in Fool’s Gold, which means a potential opportunity for us.”

  “I’ll put somebody on the preliminaries,” Dante told him. “Find out zoning restrictions, if anyone else has been getting permits, that sort of thing. You know.…” Dante paused. “You could use this to help with the judge.”

  “How?”

  “Your mom wants you to fix up the ranch. I say go for it. Putting money into the house and the land might give you a stronger case. Even if the judge rules against you, you can appeal. With that casino and hotel going in, you’ve got even more reason you want to win.”

  Potentially several million in profit, Rafe thought. Money always worked for him.

  “If you get involved in the community, you’ll look good to the judge,” Rafe added.

  “I’m not getting involved.”

  “It wouldn’t kill you.”

  “It might,” Rafe said. “We have to win this case, Dante. I’m not going to be defeated by a woman who raises goats.”

  “She’s pretty enough.”

  “I’m unmoved.”

  “Maybe I’m moved enough for both of us.”

  Rafe laughed. “She’s not your type.”

  Dante preferred his women well dressed, sophisticated and easy. Heidi might have a string of excellent qualities, but none of them matched Dante’s interests.

  “Keeping her for yourself?” his friend asked. “Should I be worried?”

  “That I’m going to fall for goat girl and go soft?”

  “Okay. When you put it like that… I’ll get you a report on the potential for your mom’s land by the end of the day.”

  “Thanks.”

  Rafe hung up and went inside the lumber store. He was approached by an old guy wearing an apron and a name tag that said Frank.

  “How can I help you?” the man asked.

  “I need about ten miles of fence line and to repair an old barn.” He pulled out of his shirt pocket a list of supplies he’d made and handed it over. Since learning about the Lucky Lady, he was more enthused about his mother’s projects. “You know anybody looking for a few days’ work?”

  Frank scanned the list, then gave a low whistle. “You’re serious. Okay, then, let’s get your supplies ordered. As for guys to help, the best place to get them is through Ethan Hendrix. He owns the biggest home construction firm in town. Also the most reliable and experienced. Hendrix Construction. I have a card up front.”

  Rafe followed the man, ducking around a teenager with two-by-fours on his shoulder. Interesting that Ethan Hendrix had been recommended. Rafe remembered the name and the kid who’d gone with it. Rafe and Ethan had been friends, along with another kid. Josh Golden. He knew that the latter, the former professional cyclist and Tour de France winner had settled in Fool’s Gold, but he hadn’t realized that Ethan was still here.

  Frank took him out into the lumber yard and pointed out the various options for the fencing. Rafe made his decision, then picked lumber for the barn. Frank showed him the small selection of roofing material they kept on hand, and made sure they had plenty of what Rafe needed. Just as they were wrapping up their conversation, two massive construction trucks backed into the yard, sending men scattering.

  “Those guys mean business,” Rafe said once he and Frank were inside. Big trucks meant big projects. “Are they here for the casino and hotel construction?”

  “You’ve heard about that?”

  “Yes.”

  Frank grinned. “Lucky for us, the contractor believes in buying local. They’re employing lots of people, too. You looking for a job?”

  Rafe shook his head. “No. Just curious.”

  He paid for the lumber and other supplies and arranged for them to be delivered in two days. When he returned to his car, he pulled out his cell and made a quick check of his email. There was a note from Nina Blanchard. He scanned it, then dialed her number.

  He was put through immediately.

  “Rafe,” Nina purred.

  Purred was not a word that would come to his mind under most circumstances, but there was no other way to think of the smooth tone of her voice.

  “Nina.”

  “You’re being elusive. Can you guess it’s not my favorite characteristic in a client? All your rather formidable assistant would say was that you were out of town.”

  “She’s right. I’m in Fool’s Gold. Do you know it?”

  “I’ve been a few times. They have charming festivals.”

  “So I’ve been told. I’m here on a family matter, and I’m not sure when I’ll be back in San Francisco. We’ll have to table our plans until then.”

  “Don’t be silly. If you can’t come to the ladies, then they’ll come to you.”

  He glanced at the lumber yard. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Why not? You’ll be in neutral territory. If they won’t make the drive, they’re not worth the trouble, right? You’ve hired me to find you the perfect wife. I take that responsibility very seriously.”

  “Fine. If one of the candidates wants to come here, I’ll meet her.”

  “Thank you. Now, let me get you some names and we’ll take it from there.”

  “Sure.”

  He hung up, knowing he should probably be more enthused than he was about the whole idea of getting married. Honestly, if he didn’t want kids, he wouldn’t bother with a permanent relationship. But he couldn’t seem to shake the traditional idea of a mother and a father when it came to children. He’d watched his mother struggle after his dad had died.

  He had a feeling that his idea of perfect and Nina’s might not be the same. He’d done his best to explain he wasn’t looking for love. He’d tried that once and it had blown up in his face. This time, he was going to be realistic. Find someone he could be friends with, someone he would enjoy sleeping with, and with whom he could imagine raising children. Nothing else was

  required. Love was a myth, and he was too old to

  believe in fairy tales.

  * * *

  HEIDI RELEASED ATHENA back into the goat corral, then stripped off her gloves. Three very fat, very sassy cats gazed at her expectantly.

  “Where did you come from?” she asked, even as she poured fresh, still-warm goat milk into an old pie pan and set it on the wooden floor of the goat house.

  The first of the cats had shown up about a month after the goats had arrived. Heidi had been milking, minding her own business, only to be startled by a very demanding meow. Foolishly she’d given the black-and-white cat a taste of goat milk. From then on, the cat had shown up exactly at milking time, every day. Eventually it had been joined by a tabby and an all-gray cat with a pushed-in kind of face.

  The cats waited until she put the pie dish on the floor, then began lappi
ng the milk.

  Their coats were in great shape and they were obviously well fed. They must live around here, but where? And how had they learned to tell time? She only milked once a day, and the cats always arrived a few minutes early, then waited patiently until she was finished.

  She supposed she could simply stop giving them milk. After all, she wasn’t much of a cat person. But there was something compelling about the way they stared at her, as if their feline minds should have the ability to direct her actions.

  Still chuckling at the thought of cat mind-control, she carried the fresh milk toward the house. She was halfway across the yard when she realized that an SUV and a Mercedes were in the yard. Vehicles she recognized. Rafe and May had dropped by early.

  It had been two days since their last visit—when she’d gone riding with Rafe and had found herself oddly attracted to the one person who was out to get her. Chemistry, she thought as she walked into the house. It could make a fool of you every time.

  “Good morning,” she said, setting the clean metal buckets on the counter.

  May sat at the table with Glen, a box of pastries between them. Rafe leaned against the counter. While his mother was all smiles and hellos, Rafe regarded her with an unreadable expression.

  “Oh, you were milking. I’d like to see that,” May said. “Do you think I could learn how to do it?”

  “Sure. It’s not that hard. The main rule is to keep everything clean and sanitary. A challenge when it comes to goats.”

  “You sell raw milk?” Rafe asked, his tone very similar to the one a person would use to ask if the entrée contained poop.

  “Every day.”

  “So many people see the benefits of organic goat’s milk,” May said with an enthusiastic smile. “Oh, Rafe, this is going to be so fun.”

  This? This, as in…

  Rafe turned to Heidi. “My mother has decided she would prefer to stay here, rather than at the hotel. If it’s all right with you, of course.”

  The latter was added simply to be polite. Heidi got that. May’s decision to “work things out” was the only reason Glen wasn’t currently in jail. Until the judge ruled, it made sense to play nice. But May living here and—

  Heidi felt her mouth drop open. Rafe raised an eyebrow and nodded imperceptibly.

  “Yes, I’ll be joining her.”

  Because he wasn’t leaving until the case was settled, and a guy like that wouldn’t let his mother come live on the ranch by herself.

  This couldn’t be happening. Both of them at the house? May wasn’t a problem, but Rafe?

  She wanted to say the place wasn’t big enough, but there were six bedrooms and a bathroom on each floor. Something May and Rafe would know, having lived here before.

  “You know we haven’t had the chance to remodel anything,” Heidi said weakly. “The bathrooms are pretty ancient, and the beds are worn and not very comfortable.”

  “It will be perfect,” May assured her.

  Heidi glanced at her grandfather, but Glen was busy stirring his coffee. She had a bad feeling that the issue had been discussed while she was out with the goats and Glen had agreed without any protest.

  “I hope you don’t mind,” May continued, “but Rafe and I have taken the liberty of picking out our rooms. I’m going to stay downstairs.”

  Heidi glared at her grandfather. Glen was downstairs. No doubt he was pleased by the arrangement, but if he thought sleeping with May was a good idea, he was beyond wrong. Heidi was going to have to figure out a way to talk some sense into him.

  “Which makes us roommates,” Rafe murmured. “All right. Housemates.”

  Heidi swung her gaze to his and wanted to stomp her foot at the amusement she saw lurking in his brown irises. Oh, sure. He thought this was funny.

  “You know there’s only one bathroom upstairs,” she said.

  “I can share.”

  “Fine. Of course, you’re welcome to stay here.” She would get through this, figure out a way to pay back the money owed and get on with her life. In a year or two, what was happening right now would be little more than a funny story to share with her friends.

  “Let’s get your things out of the car,” Glen said, rising to his feet.

  Heidi let him go without saying anything. She would corner her grandfather later and remind him why he had to act like a perfect gentleman around May. No seduction allowed.

  She walked to the pantry and picked up several sterilized glass one-quart milk bottles. Rafe walked with her, grabbing four and following her back to the kitchen.

  “I went upstairs,” he told her.

  “I’m not even surprised. Did you happen to go through my underwear drawer while you were there?”

  “No. Did you want me to?”

  She ignored that, and him. After setting a stainless steel funnel into the first bottle, she raised the bucket and began to pour.

  “You’re in my old room.”

  It was a testament to her upper-body strength that the flow from the bucket barely wavered.

  “Do you want it back?”

  “No, you keep it. I took the one next door.” He walked toward the back door, then paused. “I hope you don’t snore.”

  * * *

  GLEN DID A GREAT JOB of avoiding his granddaughter, but Heidi tracked him down shortly before dinner. It took her standing outside the bathroom while he showered and shaved. She listened to the familiar old songs he hummed as he worked. They reminded her of when she was a little girl and had been frightened of the thunderstorms that rolled across the plains states. Glen had always held her tight during the storms, humming music popular a generation before she was born.

  She enjoyed the memories, but refused to let them sway her. They were in a lot of trouble, and Glen had the power to make their situation much worse.

  He opened the bathroom door, saw her and paused.

  “Heidi!” His voice was falsely cheerful. “What can I do you for?”

  She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him toward his bedroom. When they were safely inside, she closed the door behind him and planted her hands on her hips.

  “Stay away from May.”

  His eyes widened in exaggerated innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Yes, you do, Glen. I’ve seen how you look at her. I’ve watched the flirting. You like her, which is great, but this time the answer is no.”

  His back stiffened. “You’re my granddaughter. That’s not for you to say.”

  “It is for me to say,” she told him. “If you hurt May, we’ll lose everything for sure.”

  “I would never hurt her.”

  Heidi sighed. “Yes, you would. You know how you are, Glen. Getting women has never been the problem. It’s keeping them that you’re not so crazy about. You walk away and the woman is crushed. If you do that to May, she’ll take the ranch.”

  Her grandfather nodded slowly. “You’re right. I’ll be careful.”

  She studied him, not sure if he was saying what she wanted to hear, or if he meant what he was saying. “You promise?”

  He kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry I got you into this mess, Heidi. I won’t do anything to make it worse.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “DO YOU MIND?” MAY ASKED, her arms full of framed pictures. She paused in the middle of the living room, then turned to Heidi. “I’m intruding. My boys tell me all the time that I get too involved. I’m enthusiastic. Mostly that’s a good thing, right?”

  Despite the fact that Heidi was now living in the bedroom next to Rafe’s, and that her grandfather was avoiding her, which meant he was either upset or still determined to seduce May, and that Heidi lacked money in her savings account, she found herself smiling.

  “Not enough people are enth
usiastic,” she admitted. “I don’t mind you personalizing the house. If you have a sofa or two in your suitcase, I’d love to see them.”

  May laughed. “You don’t love the green-and-purple plaid?”

  Heidi leaned against the hideous couch that had come with the place. “No. Weird, huh?”

  “It was ugly back when we lived here. Now it’s ugly and old. Poor thing.”

  She set three pictures on the sofa table. Heidi moved closer. She recognized Rafe at once, even though the photo was from at least a decade ago. He was wearing a black cap and gown, holding a diploma cover that clearly said Harvard. She wasn’t even surprised.

  May followed her gaze. “Rafe was on an academic scholarship. There’s no way I could have paid for his books, let alone the tuition. But he worked hard and graduated at the top of his class.” She pointed to the middle frame. The man was handsome, in a rugged way, with an easygoing smile. He was leaning against a horse, one arm on the animal’s neck.

  “My middle son, Shane. He raises horses. Breeds them. Mostly Arabians and stock for the rodeo. He’s in Tennessee right now. And this is my baby. Clay.”

  Clay had the same dark hair as his brothers, and his features were similar enough to claim the familial relationship, but the similarities ended there. Clay was a whole new level of handsome. The plain navy T-shirt he wore outlined chiseled muscles and broad shoulders. He wasn’t smiling, but Heidi found herself wishing he would. Just a little.

  “Wow,” she said, picking up the frame and staring at the picture. “He almost looks familiar.”

  May looked uncomfortable and quickly took the picture back. “Rafe doesn’t like me to talk about Clay.”

  Why? Was he in prison? Or worse, although she wasn’t sure what would qualify as worse.

  “Then we won’t talk about him.” Heidi touched the other woman’s arm. “It’s all right.”

  May nodded, her mouth tight with worry.

  “Don’t you have a daughter, as well?”

  May sorted through the other pictures she held and passed one to Heidi, showing the boys and their sister at the holidays.

  Rafe’s baby sister was younger than Heidi had expected. The boys were obviously close in age, but Evangeline had to have been born six or eight years later. She didn’t look anything like the rest of the family, either. Her hair was a honey-blond, her eyes deep green.