Summer Days (10 page)

“Missing the corporate lifestyle?”

“Yes. I don’t have enough power here. I’m not a ranch hand, I’m a power broker.”

Despite her awareness and the steady hum of need that had taken up residence inside her belly, she laughed. “Maybe you should go back. To make sure everything is okay.”

“I have staff. They make sure everything is okay.”

“Must be nice.”

“It is.”

“Are you rubbing in your richness? I’m very aware that you could buy and sell me a hundred times over. It doesn’t matter. I’m not a city girl. And I don’t like townies.”

“Townies? You don’t seriously call people that.”

“Yes. They live in towns. They’re different.” Some of them had hurt her best friend, and Heidi knew she would never get over that.

“You should embrace townies,” Rafe told her. “They buy your cheese.” He leaned back against the railing. “What markets are you in?”

She blinked at the question. “You mean like, what are the names of the stores that sell my cheese?”

The smile returned. “No. What market segments do you find most profitable? Organic, local, wine stores?”

“Oh.” She folded her hands together on top of her thighs. The faint tingling had faded, leaving her feeling uneasy and inadequate. “I sell in town. To places I can deliver to. During the festivals, I usually set up a booth.”

His expression remained expectant, as if he thought she was saving the best for last.

“That’s pretty much it.”

“How are you going to make a living doing that? You need to expand your market. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are obvious, but what about smaller organic and specialty chains? You’re within a few hours of San Francisco, and not that much farther from L.A. Both could be huge markets for you. Plenty of upscale stores, with shoppers interested in buying local and organic. You could try the food shows. Trade shows. Hell, send samples to Rachael Ray. What about your sales reps? What do they say?”

“You’re the only one out here with staff. I can’t afford to pay someone to sell my cheese.”

“It’s the only way you’re going to take things to the next level. Otherwise, you’ll be scrambling to pay the bills forever. One decent rep could pay for him- or herself in three months. You could put the rest of your profits back into the business. There are dozens of markets. Of course, that assumes you have extra cheese to sell.”

“I do.”

“Then—”

He stopped talking suddenly, as if aware of what he was doing. Helping the enemy. Because if she became successful, she could pay back his mother and win the case.

“All good ideas,” she admitted. “I’ll think about them.” Because they were smart business moves. Not that he had to worry, because even if she started right now, she couldn’t have them up and running in time. It wasn’t as if the judge was going to give her six or eight months.

“Heidi, I—” He stopped and shook his head.

She waited.

She thought he would tell her she couldn’t use his ideas, or that even if her business grew to be the size of Kraft foods, he would still win, or that she was completely out of her league with him. Instead, he muttered something she couldn’t quite hear, then leaned forward, grabbed her by her upper arms and kissed her.

She was so startled, she couldn’t react, really couldn’t even feel what was happening. Her brain couldn’t wrap itself around the action. Kissing her? Rafe? Why?

But instead of trying to answer the question, she became aware of the warmth—no, the heat—of his lips on hers. Of how they seemed to fit together. His kiss was firm—he was obviously in charge. Yet there was an unexpected gentleness. He offered rather than took and, as crazy as it sounded, she sensed he wanted her to yield. As if her giving in, her surrender, was important.

Somewhere during the first flash of confusion, she closed her eyes. In the darkness, she felt his mouth moving against her. Instinctively, she leaned toward him, raising her arms to his shoulders. His shirt was smooth, his muscles hard. His hands dropped to her waist. She felt the pressure of each individual finger.

Against her mouth, the kiss lingered; heat grew. She told herself to pull back, that Rafe was dangerous to her on more levels than she could count. That, in any circumstance, he played to win, and she rarely played at all. Yet she couldn’t seem to get the message to her body. Maybe because being close to him felt so good. She gave in to the inevitable and tilted her head, then parted her lips.

He swept inside, claiming her with a deep kiss that stirred long-dormant needs. Her blood moved more quickly. Her breasts began to ache and between her thighs a telltale throbbing pulsed in time with her heartbeat.

As his tongue danced with hers, he moved his hands up and down her back. His touch was part caress, part promise. She got lost in the sensations, wanted him to touch other places, to cup her breasts and maybe slip lower.

He broke the kiss, then pressed his lips against her jaw. From there, he trailed his way to her neck, then her collarbone. Lips teased, teeth scraped, each action making her shiver and ache and need. Wanting grew, until she was ready to grab his hands and place them where she wanted them most. Right at this second, being really stupid sounded like the best plan ever.

She’d barely moved her arms to grab his wrists when his phone rang. She heard the shrill sound, felt the vibration in his shirt pocket and jumped back. Her eyes flew open.

Rafe pulled out the phone. She saw his thumb hit the ignore button, but not before she saw the name on the screen.

Nina.

“Girlfriend?” she asked into the silence that followed.

As usual, Rafe’s expression was unreadable, his dark gaze steady as he looked at her.

“No.”

She waited. Whoever the woman was, she was important enough to be in Rafe’s contact list. While it was too late for Heidi to take back the kiss, it wasn’t too late to find out how dumb she’d been.

“My matchmaker.”

She wasn’t sure if that was better or worse than a girlfriend. Better, she decided. He wasn’t involved. He was looking to get into a relationship, but not with anyone like her, of course. Which was fine. She wasn’t interested in him, either. Despite the evidence to the contrary.

She managed to stand and step back onto the porch. She crossed to the screen door and opened it.

“You should call her back,” she said, pleased her voice was so calm. “It might be important.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

R
AFE
HEARD
H
EIDI
HEADING
DOWN
the stairs. He didn’t have to glance at the clock to know it was still early. The pale light at the edge of the curtains warned him that most people were still sound asleep. He waited until he heard the back door close, then got up and quickly dressed.

It had been three days since he’d kissed her. Three days of her carefully avoiding him, and his mother watching, as if aware there was a problem. He hadn’t mentioned the kiss to May, and he would bet money Heidi hadn’t said anything to her grandfather, either. But still, May had guessed something had happened. He made it a point to avoid talking about his personal life with his mother, so he had a problem. The only way he could see to fix it was to get things back to normal with Heidi.

He walked down the stairs, through the living room and kitchen, and out back. Heidi was already in the goat house. As he crossed the yard, he saw three cats scampering in front of him. They slipped through the partially open door, and he followed.

Heidi was already milking Athena when he arrived. The three cats were sitting, watching her.

“When did you get cats?” he asked.

Heidi didn’t look up from the rhythmic movements of her hands. Milk flowed steadily into the gleaming metal bucket.

“They’re not mine. They show up when I milk. I don’t know how they know.”

He studied her movements, wondering if he could master the art of goat milking. Not a lot of call for that skill in his world.

“Can I help?”

She snorted. “I don’t think so.”

He counted the goats obviously waiting for their turns. There were only six. “You’re not milking all of them?”

“Two are pregnant. No milking then.”

“How often do they get pregnant?”

“Generally once a year.”

He knew this meant there was a fair amount of nonmilking time with each goat. “That cuts into your cheese making.”

“I know. I need to expand the herd a little more, but not so much that it’s unmanageable.”

He wanted to ask if she’d thought about their conversation, the advice he’d given her. He might not know much about goats, but he did know business, and the principles of selling were universal.

“Will you keep any of the kids?” he asked.

“Probably not. I’d rather expand the bloodline. I know a few breeders. I might be able to work a trade.”

She finished with Athena. The goat stepped away. The next took her place. Heidi carefully washed the udders before starting to milk again.

“If you still have the name of that guy, I’m willing to sell the steers,” she said, concentrating on her work.

“I’ll call him. He was available to come by this week.”

“Good.”

Heidi worked efficiently, neither of them speaking. What had happened before—the kiss—hung between them.

He wasn’t sure why he’d done it. He wanted to say it was because she’d been there and he hadn’t had anything better to do. But he knew that was a lie. He’d wanted to kiss Heidi. He’d wanted to know what she felt like in his arms. He’d wanted to touch her and taste her. Now that he’d kissed her, he wanted more. Which was why he’d called Nina back and confirmed his date. Because Heidi wasn’t part of his plan, and he doubted she was the type to have sex because it felt good. She would want more, and he’d given up on more a long time ago.

“About the other night…” he began.

Her hands slowed, then picked up speed.

“I didn’t mean to make things awkward between us.”

“Too bad,” she said, still not looking at him. “Because if that had been your goal, you could be happy now.”

“You’re pissed.”

“No. I’m confused. Tell me about Nina, the matchmaker. Did you really hire someone to find you a wife? Do you know what century we’re living in?”

“I hire the best. She’s the best.”

She turned to him. “You can’t get your own girl?”

“I tried that once. It didn’t work.”

She returned her attention to the milking, finishing with the second goat. The third took her place.

“I was married before,” he admitted. “We were young and in love and we got married. I thought everything was fine. Then one day, she said she didn’t love me anymore, and left. I kept waiting to feel devastated or humiliated. All I felt was relief that we hadn’t had kids. So that was the end, and I was left thinking there should be more to it. But I guess there isn’t.”

Love was an illusion—an excuse for people to get into relationships. Something he didn’t need.

“So why get married again?”

“I want kids. I’m traditional enough to believe that, in a perfect world, there are two parents.”

“Let me guess,” she said. “You want Nina to find you the right sort of woman. Educated, probably with a career, but not one that takes up too much of her time. You’re willing to let her work, but you’d prefer it if she would stay home with the kids. Smart, but not too smart. Pretty, but you’re not interested in beautiful. She should be entertaining and talk about current events. Someone who won’t stray. You plan on being faithful, but you don’t expect her to touch your heart. You’re saving what’s left of it for your children. Oh, you’ll settle for two, but you’d really like three. And a dog.”

Rafe stayed where he was, which took a whole lot more effort than it should have. He felt as if she had cut him open and laid him bare for everyone to see. She’d managed to reduce the sum of him and his wants to a mockable list. How had she guessed? He’d always been told he was tough to read. Was he showing his cards, or did she have some kind of insight? Even his mother hadn’t been able to guess all of that.

“You don’t approve.”

“I don’t have an opinion,” she told him. “I guess the part I don’t understand is wanting to spend your life with someone you’re not in love with.”

“Love is an illusion.”

“You’re wrong about that. Love is very real and it’s dangerous. People do crazy things in the name of love. Bad things. Love is powerful and shouldn’t be played with. So, when do you get to meet the first of your candidates?”

“In a couple of days.”

Heidi glanced at him. “She’s coming to Fool’s Gold? For a date?”

He shrugged. “I tried to put Nina off, but she said it wasn’t a problem.”

“That’s because you’re quite the catch, Rafe.”

She wasn’t exactly laughing, but he saw the humor in her eyes. When they’d first met, he’d been in control of everything going on around him. Somehow that had shifted. He felt as if he were walking on floating logs, and in danger of slipping and falling. It wasn’t a sensation he enjoyed.

“Will we get to meet her?” she asked.

“No.”

With that he stalked out of the goat house and headed back for the kitchen. He had a fence line to finish and a company to run. As for Heidi, he’d been wrong to think he’d offended her by kissing her. She was a lot less fragile than he’d thought. In fact, she was a formidable opponent. He was done playing nice. After all, he was in Fool’s Gold for only one reason, and that was to win.

* * *

H
EIDI
CARRIED
THE
MILK
into the kitchen. She’d already seen Rafe heading out to work, so she knew she was safe. Thank goodness. She wasn’t sure she could stomach another encounter with him today. The last one had nearly done her in.

Everything about their relationship was unfair. How tall he was, how sexy, the way his smile made her feel weak in the knees. And that had been with her sitting down. Imagine if she’d been standing.

It was the kiss, she thought, as she poured the milk into containers and then put them in the second refrigerator in the mudroom. The way he’d touched her and made her feel. Now she knew the possibilities, and she couldn’t make herself forget them. While he was busy looking for his perfect wife, she was left wanting more kisses followed by long, languid nights in his bed.

She had a feeling she’d guessed right about the kind of woman he was looking for. Coming up with the list had been easy. She’d simply imagined everything she wasn’t.

She told herself it didn’t matter. That when she and Glen won their case, May and Rafe would return to San Francisco. She would forget all about this interruption of her regularly scheduled life, and all would be well.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and walked through to the living room. She’d barely swallowed her first sip when she was brought to a halt by the sound of soft laughter. Soft, intimate laughter. She heard Glen’s voice coming from his room. Seconds later, May answered. Also in his room.

No, no, no, she thought, freezing in place, like a mouse caught out in the open. Not already. They couldn’t be… She’d warned May, had talked to her grandfather. They were old enough to know better.

She backed into the kitchen and sank into a chair by the table. Now what? If Glen broke May’s heart, then they were in serious trouble. An angry May could have a fair amount of sway with the judge. Heidi was going to have to have a serious talk with him again, and then go look for someone else who would be on her side. Even if that meant having to deal with the one person she most wanted to avoid.

* * *

I
T
TOOK
H
EIDI
TWENTY
-
FOUR
hours to find the courage to speak with Rafe. He hadn’t come to dinner the previous night. May had mentioned something about him meeting friends in town. Heidi wasn’t sure if she believed that.

Regardless, he’d been gone, so she’d been unable to force herself to talk to him when he finally got home. Now she knew she couldn’t wait much longer. Glen was the kind of man who knew how to seduce a woman. While it wasn’t something she wanted to think about, protecting May was paramount.

She’d heard a couple of big trucks arrive and had assumed they were delivering more supplies for the fence line or barn. But when she stepped outside, what she found instead was a handful of men she didn’t know, her feral cows being herded into corrals and Rafe on a horse.

The sun was high in the bright, clear sky, the temperature still in the fifties. Despite the coolness, she found herself oddly warm as she looked at the man riding Mason.

He had a cowboy hat on his head and a rope in his hands. Worn jeans hugged powerful thighs. His jaw was chiseled, his eyes narrowed. She stumbled to a stop, caught up in the moment. One of the other men yelled something she couldn’t hear. Rafe’s mouth, the mouth she couldn’t stop thinking about, curved into a smile. She knew right then she was in more trouble than she’d realized.

As she watched, he urged Mason forward, then swung the rope in a lazy circle and dropped it around the neck of a cow. Mason sat back on his heels, bringing the cow to a quick stop.

Heidi wasn’t sure who had surprised her more—Rafe or the horse. For a man who looked as good as he did in a suit, he seemed to know his way around the ranch. She supposed the lessons learned as a child weren’t easily forgotten.

She returned to the house, where she made calls and answered emails. For all the danger Rafe presented to her personally, he’d made some great suggestions about her business. She’d already contacted several small stores in San Francisco and Los Angeles about carrying her cheese, and was asking around to see if she could hire a sales rep, at least part-time. With the money the cattle would bring, she could afford to take the risk and still put the majority of the funds aside in her Pay Back May account.

Glen strolled into her small office, close to lunchtime. “They’re nearly done loading cattle,” he said.

“I’m glad to hear it.” She glanced at him. “I thought we had a deal.”

Her grandfather, the person she loved most in the world, didn’t bother looking the least bit chagrined. “Now, Heidi, I’m a grown man. You don’t get to dictate my love life.”

“Isn’t it enough you stole two hundred and fifty thousand dollars from May? Now you’re going to break her heart?”

“Don’t say that. She’s a fine woman. Maybe she’s the one.”

“There’s never been a ‘one’ with you, Glen. I thought
you might slow down as you got older, but you haven’t at all. You slept with your attorney.”

“That was when we first arrived. She wasn’t my attorney then.” He walked over and patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about me. It’ll all work out.”

“I’m not worried about you,” Heidi said, exasperated. “I’m worried about May. And you don’t know that it’s going to work out. If you hurt her, she’ll go to the judge, and we’ll lose everything. Have you thought about that?”

Glen’s humor faded. “Heidi, you can’t dictate love. If there’s anything I’ve taught you, it’s that matters of the heart are unpredictable. May is unexpected. And maybe unexpected is what I’ve needed all along.”

“I agree, but whatever pretty words you put on it, you don’t fall in love. You don’t believe in love. You’ve said it a thousand times. You have fun and then you move on. May’s been a widow for years. She’s not the type to understand. You’re risking our home.”

“I’m not. I promise you that. She gets to me, and I can’t let her go. I don’t want to lose her, Heidi. And I won’t. Trust me. Just trust me, little girl.”

With that, he left.

She watched him leave, knowing he was asking for too much. She loved him, but she didn’t trust him.

She worked a couple more hours, then heard footsteps in the mudroom. She logged off her computer and went into the kitchen. Rafe stood by the sink, drinking water. He’d dropped his hat onto a chair by the table and rolled up his sleeves. Sweat darkened his shirt and dust stained his jeans. He looked like an ad for something manly and vaguely sexy.

He finished the glass, then refilled it from a pitcher he’d pulled out of the refrigerator. As he poured, he glanced at her.

“They’re gone. You can roam your land in peace, without fear of being attacked by feral cattle.”

“Thanks for arranging that.”

“No problem.” He quickly drank the second glass of water, then turned to her. “What?”

“I’m worried about your mother.”