Chapter 7
Rafe
The Talk
Five days of silence. Before Rory arrived, I relished the silence, craved it. But for five days the quietness was heavy. And I fucking hated it.
What I hated even more, was how she became the perfect employee.
Yes, Rafe. No, Rafe. That defiant lift of her chin and disdain in her eyes was the reason I didn’t feel bad for even a moment.
She did it to prove a point. She’d apologized to Mr. Miller.
I’d overheard her using the kind of charm she usually reserved for the chickens.
Her apology was so effective, the old man called me not even five minutes later to thank me for the contract.
Yet, she continued to give me the cold shoulder.
And I was still thinking about that kiss. The way her body fit so perfectly into mine. The little moans she made, the taste. Fuck, the woman tasted like coffee and honey and for-fucking-ever. And even I could admit her stubbornness was more of a turn on than a deterrent.
Or maybe it was because that very stubbornness was about protecting me. Sure, she went about it the wrong way and I could never be that mercenary with the people around me. But she hadn’t done anything other than look out for me. Yeah, I liked it. More than I wanted to admit I did. A lot more.
I took another sip of my whiskey, and grinned at the farmhands making fun of Calvin. Instead of strippers and debauchery, he wanted his bachelor party to be only the men who supported him. Basically, only the men who were at the harvest.
“That first one you made last year, though.” Winston, my foreman raised a brow. “It was pure vinegar. Never tasted anything so awful come out of a barrel.”
The man was not wrong. It took Calvin a while to figure out the timing and the storage for a good vintage. The rest of the wine last year was good though. And I had no doubt the next batch would be even better.
“I cannot believe Sterling is getting married.” Carl, one of our high school buddies, commented. “I always thought Vierra would be the first man down. I even thought I’d go down before Mr. Heartbreaker.”
Calvin rolled his eyes. “What can I say? Love is powerful. I took one look at my Allie, and knew I was done with the field.”
That, I could believe. When they first met, he couldn’t stop talking about her.
Still couldn’t, really. I was happy for him.
Glad he had found the one person who made him happy.
At the time, it hadn’t bothered me. I knew I wanted to dig the ranch out of the hole it had been in since my father died.
I knew then I didn’t want to drag a woman into the mess I found myself in.
But as I listened to Cal speak about Allie, I couldn’t stop the envy from creeping in.
The way his face softened when he spoke about her.
Or the glare he gave anyone of the men who dared to make an inappropriate comment about her.
The smile that formed when it was clear he was thinking about her.
I wanted all of it. And all I had was a kiss where I was more angry than I needed to be, and more horny than she needed from me.
A kiss that was everything I wanted, and couldn’t have.
I had been so deep in my head, I hadn’t even noticed everyone had started to get up.
Winston gave me a shove. “I’m headed home. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, boss.”
I nodded as one by one, the men started to leave until eventually it was just Calvin and me left. The weight of his stare bored into me, and I squirmed as I tried to avoid it. I’d had just enough to drink that if he pried too much he might get the answers I knew he had questions for.
“There a reason you’re staring at me?” I picked up the whiskey bottle and took a long pull, before passing the bottle to him.
My friend took a sip, swallowed and winced at the burn before narrowing his eyes at me. “We could play this game, Rafael, or you could tell me what is bothering you.”
Where did I start? What would be easier to handle? His outrage at me kissing an employee? Or the pity that was bound to follow when I told him about the failing ranch. Perhaps I could avoid it all.
“Nothing’s bothering me. I’m just exhausted. It's not easy running a ranch, you know.”
Calvin took a gulp from the bottle and passed it back to me. “Bullshit. My guess is your head is filled with a pretty brunette.”
Hearing another man call her pretty should not have sent a spike of anger through me. She was a pretty woman. More than pretty. She wasn’t just a fucking smoke show. She was a wildfire with messy hair, attitude for days and those yellow boots remained a fixture in my imagination.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” We both knew I was lying, but maybe he would let me be.
Cal rolled his eyes and moved the folding chair to face me. “We all saw you at the harvest. Keeping her close, playing get to know you games. Rafe, you even smiled.”
“I smile.” Even to my own ears, I was being defensive. To make my point, I bared my teeth to him.
My friend shook his head. “God, that’s scary. And you never smile like you did around her.”
“How did I smile?”
“Like there’s nothing better than being around her.”
He was not wrong. “I cannot go there, Cal.”
“Why the fuck not?” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, motioning for me to pass him the bottle.
“Is this about that problem Tex mentioned that you also don’t want to talk about?
Because the man did mention she could be a solution to that as well.
It may not be a bad idea to take his opinion into account.
He does have more intel than any of us could ever imagine. ”
I took a long sip and passed the bottle back to him.
“I kissed her.” Though I wasn’t one-hundred-percent sure I was being entirely accurate. “Or she kissed me. We kissed. But…”
I couldn't explain the conflict ricocheting in my head. The whiskey didn’t help either.
Calvin finished the last sip of the bottle and set it down next to him. “But, what?”
“Cal, the ranch is in trouble.” I leaned back in the chair, aware I was just drunk enough to spill my secrets. “I have no idea how I am going to pay the property taxes next year. Then I have issues with the developer who is trying to buy the land.”
“Which developer?”
“The Argent Group.” I spit out the name. “Their rep, Vance Steiner, has been doing the studies, saying there’s water on the western property, the one they plan to build their resort on. According to his studies, the land has its own water, and won’t be dependent on me.”
We both knew what that meant. I relied on the income to keep my land profitable during lean times.
He looked over at me, his frown still firmly in place. “I understand the dilemma, but what does that have to do with Rory?”
“This is not the time to drag a woman into my problems.” I glared at him, hoping he would see things my way. “Certainly not one who is dealing with her own shit.”
The last thing I wanted to do was add to Rory’s troubles. Yeah, I needed to speak to her about the taxes, and we needed to come up with a solution that did not alienate the town against me. But it was as much as I was willing to put on her.
“You do realize the woman is a forensic accountant, right?” Calvin’s face held no sympathy for me.
“She could literally find all the loop holes you need. And thinking she is anything less than capable of facing your chaos, is a gross underestimation on your part. We both know she’s a survivor. Even if she pissed off old man Miller.”
“You heard about that?” My lips lifted in a small grin.
“The whole town heard about it.” Calvin chuckled, shaking his head. “The man was not exactly quiet about it. At least, while he was focusing on her he wasn’t ranting about my wine making.”
“I don’t know. What if things don’t work out. Then I’m stuck working with an ex with a stubborn streak a mile wide.”
Calvin rolled his eyes once more. “And she’d be stuck working for a grumpy boss with a similar streak who doesn’t smile. You’ll then both be stomping around the ranch glaring at each other. How different is it to what’s happening now?”
I raised a brow, aiming my silent question at him.
All he did was shrug. “The men talk.”
Yeah, they did. It was how I knew about Cal and Allie getting caught in the act in the barn.
We both sat in silence for a while longer. Calvin stared into the fire pit, while I stared up at the stars. Each of us had our own set of problems, each had burdens to bear. And while I couldn’t disagree that Allie was the best thing to ever happen to my friend, I couldn’t pull Rory down with me.
Not that she wanted me in the same way Allie wanted Calvin. What had happened was a combination of rage, frustration, and lust. Nothing more. She needed more than I had to offer. She needed something I was not sure I was capable of giving.
“Allie and I are thinking about kids.” Calvin's statement tore through the night like a bucket of cold water.
My head snapped to him. “So soon?”
“We don’t want to wait.” He watched the flames dance in the dark, not making eye contact. “Besides, we really don’t want teenagers in our retirement.”
I nodded. “That makes more sense. Though, if they’re boys, they’ll never stop doing stupid shit.”
“But I think I'll have one girl.” Calvin smiled, “I think I could handle one.”
“Please, you’ll spend your life chasing away every boy who gets too close.”
“Not true. There’s one kind of man I could handle around my little girl.”
I narrowed my eyes, not sure where he was going with the conversation. “What kind of man is that?”
“A man who was raised by you.”
My breath hitched as I swallowed hard and pretended the smoke got in my eyes. “Cal…”
“You’re the best man I know, Rafe. Don’t let pride or some strange sense of nobility rob you of something beautiful.”
Then he turned away and stared back at the fire.
As we waited for the fire to die down, I fetched the shovels and passed one over to my friend.
Once the last of the flames died, we covered the burnt logs with soil making sure nothing could get caught and cause any damage, or harm any wild animal who happened to wander across the land.
It didn’t happen often, but the occasional deer made an appearance at night.
Only once we had put both shovels back in the barn, did Cal break the silence. “Give her a chance, Rafe. More importantly, allow yourself to take it. No one needs it more than you.”