Chapter 11
RAFE HAD ALREADY PLANNED TO take Lessa and Nik out on Saturday.
When his mother happened to mention that she and Alex were going to a conference for the weekend and leaving Ahri in charge, he’d checked the weather report.
It’d be perfect for a little theme park visit.
He hadn’t been sure about it until Kayn had mentioned it was also her birthday.
Knowing what early risers his brother and sister were, he waited until he thought they’d had breakfast before sending Ahri a text.
Happy Birthday! I forgot to mention that I’d planned to surprise the kids with a trip to Tweetsie today. Would you like to come along?
Rafe tried not to hold his breath as he waited for her response, surprised at his racing heart. What if she’d already made plans with the kids for the day? Maybe he could invite himself along if she had. He was like her big brother, after all.
Tweetsie?
Tweetsie Railroad. It’s a Wild West theme park. You know how crazy Nik is about trains.
Sounds like fun. What time?
Is 15 min too soon?
Good thing they finished their jobs. We’ll be ready.
At the office, it’d proved a little more difficult than Rafe had expected to keep things strictly professional, at least on his part. He’d found that the more time he spent with Ahri, the more time he wanted to spend with her.
He’d risen early and installed the car seats he kept for the kids. The trip would be an innocuous opportunity to be with Ahri in a completely platonic way, all while giving his brother and sister a treat.
Rafe pulled up to the house and, as usual, Nik came running out. From his open window, Rafe heard Ahri call out his mother’s warning. His little brother stopped as though tied to an invisible rope that had reached its end. As soon as Rafe put the car in Park, Nik came flying off the porch.
“Trains.” The little boy threw himself into Rafe’s arms as soon as he was out of the car. “I wanna see trains.”
“That’s what we’re doing. Didn’t Ahri tell you?” He tickled the boy until he squealed.
“Can we pet the animals?” Lessa asked from the doorway, her hair pulled back in a French braid.
“Are there animals there?” Ahri asked, locking the front door.
“They have a petting zoo.” Rafe found himself staring at her. She wasn’t a flirty kind of girl and had a wholesome persona. But then she had those surprising eyes with their sexy tilt that he found so alluring.
“I want to pet a pig.” Nik tugged on Rafe’s ear.
“We’ll do whatever Rafe says is okay.” Ahri came down the steps, holding Lessa’s hand. “I’ve never even heard of this place.”
“I’ve gone all the time, ever since I was little,” Lessa said proudly.
Rafe bit back a grin, exchanging a glance with Ahri, who was doing the same.
“Yes, I imagine a big girl who’s starting first grade in a few months has seen a lot.” She said to Rafe, “Your mother left their car seats.”
“I have my own.” He opened the door, and Nik scrambled in.
“That’s convenient.” She went to the other side with Lessa and helped with her seatbelt.
“Do you like trains, Ahri?” Nik asked.
“I haven’t had a lot to do with them, though I rode one once at Disneyland.” It’d been the only time her family had been able to afford to go to the theme park, and they’d had to save for two years to do it.
“Don’t you mean Disney World?” Lessa asked.
“No, I haven’t been to Disney World. I grew up closer to California, so Disneyland is where we went.”
“Is that why you talk funny?” Lessa asked.
“That’s kind of rude,” Rafe said.
“Why? She does talk funny.”
“I thought you all talked funny,” Ahri said.
“See.” Lessa’s expression turned superior. “It’s y’all, not you all.”
“I guess I’ll have to work on my Southern accent,” Ahri said, the corners of her mouth twitching.
“That’d be wise. This is God’s country, after all.” Rafe winked.
“Are we there yet?” Nik wailed.
Rafe and Ahri burst out laughing
“I haven’t even started the car,” he said.
“Then do it.” Nik leaned back his head and grunted, “Chugga chugga choo choo.”
“Stop it.” Lessa slapped his arm, and he began to cry.
“Lessa.” Rafe made his tone low and firm, and his sister jerked her head to look at him. “Should we just stay here for the day?”
“No. I’ll be good.” She poked out her bottom lip.
Nik sniffed and shot his sister a sullen glare. He started with the sounds again, low at first but getting louder.
Ahri looked over her shoulder at him, and he lowered the volume.
“This could be a long day,” she said softly to Rafe. “At least at home we can separate them.”
“They’ll be fine with a little electronic help.” He winked and pushed a button to start the movie he’d brought for just that reason. By the time they pulled out of the drive, Nik had forgotten his passive/aggressive taunting of his sister.
“For an only child, you’re good with them,” Ahri said.
“You are too, for the baby of the family.”
Something dark flashed across her face. “I started babysitting when I was ten and did it until I was old enough to get a job to bring in extra money.” She stared out her window, the muscles in her jaw working. It reminded him of Kayn whenever he spoke of their father.
“I’m sorry.” Rafe had meant it to be some light-hearted teasing, not the start of a heavy discussion. “I know what it’s like to have a loser father.”
Ahri glanced at him then. “Yes, I think you do.” She watched the road ahead for a few seconds before continuing.
“We all thought everything was fine. We did okay, I guess. We had what we needed and could usually go on a short vacation every summer. Mom stayed home until I started school, and then she got a job. Then one day Dad didn’t come home after work.
Instead, he had a friend serve Mom with divorce papers. Just like that, out of nowhere.”
“Kayn said if not for you, the two of you would have ended up in foster care.”
“I think he exaggerates, but Mom was an emotional mess. She still is, to be honest. It’s almost like she feels things too much, and it overwhelms her.”
“How did they meet?”
“Our father was stationed in Seoul with the Army. One of his buddies was seeing a local girl, and she dragged Mom along. I think it’s good she’s moved back to Korea. It was hard for her when she came to the US as a bride, but she did it because she loved my father.”
“And she stayed because she loved you and Kayn.”
“Yeah. She just needed a little help after he left us. I gave her the motivation to get up every morning.”
“I wish my father had left us.” Rafe tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he spoke. “We’d have done just fine financially without him, and it still burns whenever I think about how he treated Ma.”
“And you.” Ahri glanced at him. “Your mother is one of the loveliest people I’ve ever met. I’m glad you had her and that she has Alex and the children now.”
“Me too.” His throat tightened, the last word barely coming out.
“There it is. There it is,” Nik cried as he smacked his forehead against the window.
Rafe turned onto Tweetsie Lane and into the parking lot.
“You can’t get out of your seat until we’re parked, Nik.” Ahri reached back and covered the boy’s hands.
“Nik.” Rafe used his stern voice, and his little brother stopped squirming.
“See how good I’m being?” Lessa asked with big-sister arrogance.
Ahri choked back a laugh. “I used to pull that on Kayn.”
“Did it work?” Rafe opened his door and jumped out.
“When we were in grade school, but after that he was too cool to care,” she said, helping Lessa with her belt. “Let me put on some sunscreen.”
His little sister held still, while Ahri sprayed. Rafe had to drag Nik over.
“How about I leave you and Lessa here, and I take this guy back to the house?” Rafe asked.
“No. I’ll be good.” Nik stood rigidly still so Ahri could spray him.
“You’ve had two strikes,” Rafe said. “One more, and I take you home.”
“Okay.”
“Thank you, Nik.” Ahri brushed aside the boy’s hair. “I’ve never been here, and I’m really looking forward to you showing me everything.” He took her hand and started towing her toward the line at the ticket booth.
Lessa slid her hand into Rafe’s, and they followed.
“Should we have brought any food?” Ahri asked, scanning the town street filled with gift shops and eateries.
“No, we’ll eat here.” He stepped beside her. “They have typical theme park food, nothing fancy.”
“It’s a beautiful location. What’s that for?” She pointed to the chairlift.
“Because the park’s set on a hill, it can be a nice little hike up to Miner’s Mountain,” Rafe said. “If it were just the two of us, we could walk it, but we’ll take the lift to spare their shorter legs.”
“My legs aren’t short,” Lessa said indignantly.
Rafe came to stand beside her, and he glanced between her legs and his. She giggled.
“Your legs are just the right height for your age,” Ahri said. “And Rafe’s are perfect for his.”
He shot her a curious glance, but she’d looked away. Did he imagine the darkening of her cheeks?
A train whistle broke the silence, and Nik squealed.
“I’m guessing you want to do that first?” Rafe asked.
“Yes. Yes.” The boy jumped up and down.
“Lessa wants to go to the petting zoo,” Ahri said.
“We’ll need to take the lift for that.” Rafe took Nik’s hand before the boy ran toward the train that was approaching the station. “Let’s ride this first.”
Lessa heaved out a sigh worthy of a martyr, but she took Ahri’s hand without complaining.
As they waited in line, Nik kept up a steady monologue about all his train knowledge and how Thomas the Train had been there once when his parents had brought him.
“I’ll get Nik cleaned up if you’ll take care of Lessa,” Rafe said, as they carried the drowsy children into the house.
“Good thing we stuffed them there. I’m not sure they’ll last long enough to eat dinner.”
“Too right,” Rafe said.
He took the little boy into one of the guest bathrooms and gave him a quick shower. It was a sign of Nik’s fatigue that he didn’t complain. He wrapped his arms around Rafe when he carried him to his bedroom.