Chapter 11 #2
“Did you have fun today?” Rafe asked as he tucked the bedding over him.
“Mhm,” Nik mumbled, lifting his arms. Rafe leaned closer, and the little boy planted a fat kiss on his cheek before lying back, his eyelids already closing.
Rafe watched his little brother for a few seconds, his heart full. He picked up the dirty clothes, put them in the hamper, and headed toward the kitchen to check on something for dinner. Passing Lessa’s bedroom, he heard her chattering to Ahri.
He checked the fridge first to see if his mother had done the cooking in advance and found a casserole marked as Saturday’s dinner.
On the counter was a recipe for pork chops with Cheberry Jelly labeled “Sunday dinner.” Ahri had mentioned once that she hadn’t done much cooking from scratch and had been learning a lot from Ma.
The recipe was pretty straightforward, but he’d love to help her with it. Would Ahri be offended if he offered?
“Oh,” Ahri said, putting her hair up as she entered the kitchen, “you’ve already got it out.”
“Looks like Ma set up everything for you.” Rafe pointed at the recipe card. “Would you like any company tomorrow while you make that?”
“Are you offering to help?” She looked relieved. “I’ll admit I’m nervous to try something on my own especially since you all . . . y’all are spoiled by her cooking. I might ruin it.”
“Don’t worry. Together, we’ll make Ma proud.” He glanced at the door to the living room as he opened the oven. “Where’s Lessa? I thought she’d last a little longer than Nik.”
“So did I, until I put her in her nightgown. Once she had it on she climbed into her bed and covered up.” Ahri looked a little tired herself, watching him with those delicious eyes. She gave him a soft smile. “You know how to wear out little kids.”
Rafe put the casserole dish inside the oven and straightened. “It’s not like I have any experience with children. They’re a fun pair, and I like living close enough to get to know them. I missed a lot when they were babies, and I was at Harvard.”
“Now that you have dinner in the oven, you can help me water the garden.” Ahri opened the back door, so Rafe followed her.
“What happened to all that drip system we put in?” he asked.
“That was only for part of it.” Ahri pointed to the rear section and the rows of corn. “For some sections, she’s still using the irrigation method.”
While she fiddled with the controls, Rafe watched Ahri from the corner of his eye. He remembered her saying she was a fast learner, and she was right. Not that he was surprised. She’d picked up her new responsibilities in his office faster than any employee he’d had, even Cass.
He knelt and started pulling weeds. The familiar motion brought back fond memories of his youth and time spent with his mother. The garden had always been a good place to get away from his father.
“We used to have a cow,” he said.
“Did you milk it?”
Her teasing eyes and the way the corners of her mouth quirked up made Rafe wonder what it would be like to kiss her. Down boy.
“I did, and I know how to make cheese.” Rafe puffed out his chest for a second, like it was a huge accomplishment. “We had to make our own cheese because we couldn’t afford to buy the store-bought stuff.”
Ahri finished with the water. She knelt nearby and started in on the weeds there. “Was it strange for you to go from being a scholarship boy to a billionaire? It was for Kayn.”
“Sometimes I still can’t get my head around it. My college roommate, Ethan—he’s the one who’s my brother-in-law now—has an extended family with money, but he was raised on a ranch. I worked there the summer before I started graduate school.”
“So, you’ve been a farmer and a rancher?” She shot him an admiring glance.
“Yeah, I have actually. I’ve been a ranch hand anyway. Funny but I’m prouder of both of those than I am of having a bunch of money. One thing I learned from Jack—that’s Ethan’s stepfather—was that money doesn’t have to change who you are.”
“It sounds like that Jack is a wise man.”
They worked in silence for a while, until Rafe’s muscles started to cramp. He sat back on his heels and arched his back.
“Is that a chicken coop?” She sat back too and pointed to the old hutch.
“Yes. They were too noisy for Alex once they were married. He told Ma that they could afford to buy eggs from the grocery store.”
“I’ll bet she fought him on it.” Ahri stood.
“You’re getting to know her. Yes, she did.” Rafe rose and brushed off his jeans. “I think she’s had trouble adjusting to prosperity too.”
“Since you were so poor, when you suddenly had all this money, why didn’t you go on a spending spree or take a vacation or something?”
“Partly because we’d already been talking about REKD. To do what we wanted would take capital.”
“Kayn bought a condo in Aspen, Colorado, saying he wanted to learn to ski. He only went once.”
“He said it was too cold,” Rafe said with a chuckle.
“And too quiet, so he sold it. What did you buy when you first got the money?”
“A flashy red Lamborghini.” When Ahri stared at him, his face went hot, and he shrugged. “What?”
“I just—” She shook her head. “Sorry.”
“No, tell me”
“I’ve never thought of you as ostentatious.”
“That’s what Ma called it too. She read me the riot act and told me if I had all that money then I ought to use some of it to make a difference in people’s lives.
I only kept the car for a year. It drew too much attention, and I didn’t like the way it made me feel.
” He glanced at Ahri. “I donated the money from the sale to the local food bank and listed Ma as the donor.”
She gave a little gasp and laughed. “Did she find out?”
“Oh, yeah.” Rafe chuckled at the memory.
“They sent her a thank you card. She was irritated with me, but I think she liked what I’d done.
I did too. That was when I started the charity foundation.
I like how I feel about that a whole lot more than a fancy car ever could.
I guess a part of me will always be that poor kid who had to work this garden with his mother so they had enough food to eat. ”
“I think that’s a good thing.” Ahri lifted her chin, her gaze scanning their surroundings, as she turned in a slow circle.
“What are you thinking?” he asked softly, stepping closer.
“About how peaceful it is here.” She glanced at him. “I haven’t had peaceful in a very long time.” Her eyes glistened, her throat working. She looked down and bent over to pull a weed.
Rafe’s heart went out to her. She was sending out those vibes again that she needed to be held. He couldn’t be the one to do it, so he shoved his dirty hands in his pockets.
Never in his life had he felt a pull to a woman like this.
One way he’d channeled his energy was to start work on a new pair of champions, a brother/sister team.
He’d used Ahri and Kayn as his inspiration.
Rafe had even started working with one of the artists on the initial concept, and it was hard not to guide the man to make the sister look like Ahri.
“This place is one of the reasons I worked so hard to convince the guys to locate in Boone,” he finally said. “Mine was a lonely childhood in a lot of ways. Ma was my biggest champion, and I tried to be hers.”
“Did you need to protect her from your father?” Ahri asked, her voice soft.
“Not from anything physical.” He felt an adrenaline rush, like he used to get when he’d face off with his father.
Evidently Rafe hadn’t put that particular monster to rest. He heaved out a deep breath.
“He was confined to a wheelchair, so he used words as his weapons. He was a master at tearing us down. That old saying that words can never hurt you is so much sh—” He broke off. “Ma gets mad when I talk like that.”
“I understand. Thinking back on it now, it was like that with Zed toward the end. It didn’t matter what I said or did. I was wrong.” Ahri stared off in the distance, and Rafe wondered what she was seeing in her mind.
“Didn’t you have someone you could talk to about it?” Rafe asked.
“No, and that was my fault. I’d always had to protect my mother, so she never had any idea how things really were between us.
Kayn never liked Zed, so I couldn’t talk to my brother when things went bad.
The change was so gradual that I didn’t notice it for a long time.
I was alone and didn’t even realize it.”
“No girlfriends?” Rafe couldn’t imagine not having anyone to share with.
“By the time I realized how bad things were, I’d drifted away from all but one friend from work. She has a young family and a mother with cancer. I couldn’t burden her with my marital problems. When you don’t have someone helping you put it in perspective, it’s too easy to believe the lies”
“They undermine our self-esteem.”
“Yes, but look at what you have now.” Ahri studied him, her expression reflective. “Do you ever resent that Nik and Lessa are getting the kind of childhood you’d have liked?”
Rafe considered her words but eventually shook his head.
“I’m happy for Ma and grateful she found Alex.
He adores her and treats her like the queen she is, and he’s crazy about those two kids.
I love being part of a large family now.
If anything, I think I appreciate Lessa and Nick more because I didn’t have that growing up. ”
“Someday you’ll be a good father,” she said, “if you’ll make your family as important to you as your business.”
He fought an initial flash of anger and took his time choosing his words. “Are you implying that my future family won’t come first in my life?”