Red and the Wolf (2 page)

Sunglasses hid his eyes, but she knew exactly what they looked like. As if she could forget. Darker brown than even Lowell’s, fringed with long, dark lashes. Eyes that laughed. His jaw put even Lowell’s to shame, ending in a chin with the slightest cleft. Shoulders strong and broad, even more so than his brother, with muscled arms that gave proof of his upbringing on the farm. Her eyes dropped to his lips that—she quickly forced her thoughts away from
that
. He and Lowell looked similar, it was easy enough to tell they were brothers, but Rafe was like Lowell to the tenth degree as far as she was concerned. He looked toward the shop, took one step forward—and froze. He pulled his sunglasses off and his gaze locked on hers through the window. Long moments passed while Ruby tried to remember how to breathe.

Then a smile broke across his face, and it was like the sun breaking through months of darkness. Her expression matched his and the spell was broken. She turned away and rushed to the front door. He pulled the door open just as she went to push, and she threw herself into his arms. Rafe crushed her against him, lifting her with his thick arms. She clung to him like a woman clinging to a buoy in a raging sea.

“Okay, you two, you’re blocking the doorway,” Lowell grumbled.

Rafe released her, keeping his hands on her waist, grinning happily at her. “I’ve missed you, Red.”

A flash of hurt ran through Ruby. “I’ve missed you, too,” she said. What she
really
wanted to say was,
If you missed me so much, why didn’t you answer my letters? Why didn’t you call?

Rafe blinked as if he’d read her thoughts. “You look good . . . really good.”

“Yeah, well, you look like the gargoyle I knew you’d turn into in New York.”

Rafe laughed as his gaze was drawn beyond her. “Marina!” he said, moving to hug the diminutive woman. Ruby turned to watch jealously as his attention was stolen.

“Sure,
he
calls you ‘Red’ and you say nothing,” Lowell said, though she caught a note of bitterness beneath the teasing.

Ruby didn’t answer. She moved into the shop, following Rafe as he walked over to admire the display behind the glass counter. Marina moved behind the counter.

“Pick as many as you want,” she said. “It’s the best way I know to welcome you home.”

“It’s the best way to be welcomed home,” he said as his eyes scanned the contents. “How am I supposed to decide?”

“We have something new,” Marina said. “Wanna give it a try?”

Rafe nodded, his glance cutting toward Ruby and away almost as quickly. Marina plated a red velvet and cheesecake marbled cupcake covered in dark blue dots of cream cheese frosting. Rafe took a big bite and moaned.

“That’s fantastic, Marina,” he mumbled around the mouthful. He swallowed. “I think you’ve outdone yourself with this one. Seriously.” He took another big bite.

“Ruby made those,” Marina told him. “It’s her recipe.”

Rafe’s eyes went to Ruby and she shuffled self-consciously. “Marina lets me try some new things,” she said.

“You might have some competition, Marina,” Rafe said, though his gaze remained on Ruby. She grinned.

“Why do you think I keep her working here?” Marina asked. She turned to Lowell. “Since you brought the prodigal son in, you get your choice as well.”

Lowell, who’d been watching the whole exchange with tightness around his eyes, smiled charmingly at Marina. “How can I resist? I’d like to try one of Ruby’s magical creations as well.”

Marina placed another one on a plate and handed it to Lowell. He took a bite. “My baby bro is right, Red. You’ve got something great here.”

Rafe’s eyes snapped to Lowell when he used Rafe’s pet name for Ruby. She felt a little thrill. Was he jealous? No, of course not. Probably just surprised. Lowell hadn’t started calling her Red until Rafe had gone. Well, if you discounted when she was young and Lowell would call her ‘red’ in a degrading way after he’d first heard Rafe use the nickname. He’d quit when she hit her teens, and began again after Rafe left, using it in a completely different way.

“Thanks,” Ruby said, watching Rafe. His eyes came back to her and he winked. Ruby cursed her weakness at what that simple wink did to her knees. Really, he’d winked at Ruby her whole life. It meant nothing . . . to him.

“Wanna come to our place for dinner?” Rafe asked her.

She wanted to. How she wanted to. Instead, she said, “No, thanks. I’m sure your family would like to have you all to their self.”

“Are you kidding?” Lowell interjected, stepping closer to Ruby, placing a hand on her shoulder. Ruby was sure she imagined it, but she would have sworn Rafe’s jaw clenched as his eyes followed the gesture. “Mom and dad love you as much as they do this loser.” Lowell punched Rafe lightly on the shoulder. “You should come.”

“Yes, Red, you should definitely come,” Rafe echoed. Ruby opened her mouth to refuse again. How could she sit there with his family and not cry over what she perceived as her loss? “Please,” he murmured, and she was undone. She nodded.

* * * * *

Ruby stood outside the Wolfe farmstead. The nights were chilly in spite of the warmer days. Even in the summer when it would reach ninety degrees in the afternoon, the nights would still be cool enough to need a jacket. She held a box of cupcakes—the ones Rafe and Lowell had tried today. She knew it wasn’t a big deal, all she had to do was raise her hand and knock on the wood door.

She stood, rooted in place.

Rafe leaving three years ago had nearly killed her. The intense rejection and subsequent agony of trying to forget him still vividly clung to her as if it had happened last week. He wasn’t here to stay. He was only visiting, wasn’t he? Opening this particular can of worms seemed like a really bad idea.

The door suddenly opened, startling her. Lowell caught her by the arms as she stumbled back to avoid a collision.

“Whoa, Red, sorry about that. Didn’t see you there.”

Ruby smiled, embarrassed. “That’s okay.” She couldn’t admit she’d been standing there for who knew how long. “Saved the cupcakes, anyway.” She lifted the box.

Lowell’s eyes dropped to the box and he grinned. “You brought me cupcakes? Awesome.” He took them from her, scooping an arm around her shoulder and dragging her into the house before she could protest.

“Hey, everyone, look what I found on the porch.”

Mr. Wolfe turned from where he stirred something on the stove. Ruby was relieved. Ulric Wolfe was a far better cook than his wife, Otsana. Rafe and his mom looked up from their seat on the couch where they held a large photo book. She noticed Rafe’s gaze fall to Lowell’s arm about her.

Ulric reached her first. He pulled her into a bear hug. “Ruby, love, long time, no see. Where’ve you been hiding?”

“Oh, um, I’ve—”

“Leave her alone, Ulric.” Otsana Wolfe pushed her husband out of the way—not difficult since she towered over his five-foot-eight height, the same height as Ruby. His sons definitely got their height from their mother’s side. She stood an even six feet, but her brothers and father were all as tall as Lowell’s six-three. Rafe topped them by two inches.

Once Otsana released her from her smothering hug, she grasped Ruby’s shoulders and said, “So, dear, where did you say you’ve been hiding?”

Ruby peered around Otsana and grinned at Rafe.
This
felt the same as it always had. Only Rafe wasn’t grinning. He watched the scene, eyes squinted the smallest amount, lips pressed tightly.

“Ruby brought me cupcakes,” Lowell said.

“I doubt she brought them for you,” Otsana said, slapping Lowell’s hand as he reached into the box to retrieve one of the small cakes. “You can have one after dinner. Get your paws out of there.” She took the box from Lowell as he stared at her, mouth open.

He glanced at Ruby. “Did you see that? See how she treats me like a child?”

“That’s because you are a child,” Otsana said, handing the box to Ulric. “Put those away, sweetheart.” She grasped Ruby’s hand and pulled her toward the couch. “Come, Ruby. Rafe and I were just looking at old photos.”

As they passed Rafe, he finally gave her a small smile, lifting his massive shoulders in a shrug. She had no choice but to sit next to Otsana on the couch. Lowell walked toward them. Rafe quickly moved to sit on Ruby’s other side, forcing Lowell to sit in the chair opposite. The couch wasn’t small, but couldn’t accommodate the bulk of both Wolfe boys along with Ruby and their mother.

Otsana laid the photo book on Ruby’s lap. She glanced down and saw that they’d been looking at photos of Rafe and Lowell when they were just boys. Rafe looked to be about three, and Lowell five. Ruby smiled at the image of them, skinny as toothpicks. They were tall for their age, even then, but nothing gave even a hint of how hardened their bodies would become from working the farm.

“You guys were so cute,” Ruby said.

“
Were
?” Lowell asked incredulously.

“Boy, I’m amazed your head fits through the door at night with an ego that size,” Otsana said without looking up from the photos. Rafe chuckled softly. The sound travelled up Ruby’s spine, right into her heart. Otsana turned the page.

“Oh, look, there you are, Ruby.”

“Where?” Rafe said, leaning forward to look. He lifted an arm and placed it on the back of the couch behind Ruby in order to get closer. He leaned his head forward, which put his face next to Ruby’s. Ruby managed to keep her eyes on the book, but she had no idea what she was seeing.

“Right here,” Otsana said, pointing.

Ruby breathed deeply. She’d always loved the smell of Rafe, earthy and clean, like the world smelled just after a cleansing rain. Even before she’d thought of him as a
guy
, rather than just her best friend, she’d loved his scent. If she leaned just a little to the right, her cheek would touch his shoulder.

“You were pretty cute yourself,” Rafe said, looking down at her. She glanced up at him. He was only inches from her. If she just tipped her face up a little—

“Get a room,” Lowell muttered, no trace of humor evident. Rafe and Ruby jerked apart, heat suffusing Ruby’s face. Rafe shot his brother a glare. Otsana either didn’t hear him or chose to ignore him. Ruby turned back to the photo, this time really looking at it.

Ruby, Rafe, and Lowell sat on a bench. Ruby remembered the day. She and Rafe were six or seven. Their moms, best friends, had taken the three of them to the park. The remembrance of her mom brought a pang to Ruby. They’d bought the kids ice cream cones. Lowell, being the bully he’d always been to Ruby, had shoved her, causing her to drop her cone. Just before this photo, Rafe had come to her and offered to share his. In the picture, Rafe and Ruby sat side-by-side, Rafe holding his cone toward Ruby who was taking a bite as Rafe watched. Lowell sat on the other end of the bench, eyes on the pair, looking distinctly unhappy with the situation.

“I remember this day,” Ruby said. She glanced up at Lowell. “You made me cry.”

“Wasn’t the first time—or the last,” Rafe said.

Lowell leaned forward in his seat. “Bet I never made her cry as hard as you did.”

Rafe cut a glance toward Ruby then away as humiliation flooded her.

“That’s enough, boys,” Otsana said, turning to the next page.

“Get in here and eat,” Ulric called from the kitchen.

“How about some manners?” Otsana said testily, standing and turning to face her husband. “We have a guest. Surely you can pretend to have manners while she’s here.”

“She’s not a guest. She’s family,” Ulric said, unrepentant.

Rafe stood and held a hand toward Ruby to help her up. “Welcome home, huh?” he smirked. Ruby laughed, placing her hand in his.

Ruby sat next to Rafe, across from Lowell. Their parents sat on either end of the table. Ruby could feel tension between the brothers and wondered why. Lowell seemed edgy, restless. Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe verbally sparred throughout the meal, as they always had. Ruby used to think they hated one another, until one day when she realized that they loved one another more than most couples who never argued. Now, there was a security in how they dealt with each other.

As soon as Otsana moved to stand, Lowell was out of his seat.

“I’ll be back,” he said. He strode to the front door, glancing back once toward Ruby. She couldn’t decipher the look he gave her before slamming out the door.