Just as he hoped, Daisy laughed. “I like that idea. Chelsea is super nice, and she could use a little fun. Is he okay with kids? She has a little girl.”
“He’s great with kids.”
“Then it’s settled.” They walked together to the Gator she had driven from the house, chatting about their plot to match up two good people. Before she got in the driver’s seat, he took his phone out of his pocket. “I’d like to have your number in case I need to reach you before Sunday.”
She recited her number, and he called. To finish off the exchange, she snapped his picture for his contact info, and he snapped hers.
To his surprise, she stood on her toes, kissed his cheek, then drove away, picking up speed until she was flying down the road—flying away from him and that tender kiss. If he wasn’t mistaken, she’d just scared herself more than the horses had scared him.
Chapter 10
“Fine, you can drive,” Rafe said to Jesse as he took shotgun in Jesse’s truck. They were headed to Shane and MJ’s house for the Sunday barbecue, both spruced up and ready for a good time. “By the way, we need to stop at that grocery store on Pioneer.”
“Why?” Jesse pressed the ignition button.
“To pick up flowers.”
“Flowers?”
“Yes, flowers,” Rafe shot back. “Women like them, and I like to buy them. No big deal. Considering your dating history, maybe you should take a few notes.”
“Maybe you should too.” Jesse punched the gas to climb a hill. “Daisy’s a friend. Just how serious are you?”
“The flowers aren’t for Daisy, you clod. They’re a hostess gift for her brother’s fiancée. It’s her house.” But Daisy would see and enjoy them. “It’s good manners to bring something. Didn’t they teach you that in prison?”
Jesse laughed out loud. “Social etiquette wasn’t high on the list—except to watch your back.”
Rafe admired his brother for a lot of reasons. The way Jesse handled his past topped the list—not that he’d ever tell Jesse how he felt, or that he respected him tremendously. Brothers picked on each other, and that’s what they did until Jesse pulled into the supermarket parking lot. Rafe went inside and selected a mixed bouquet that included several colorful daisies. Not the cheap dyed kind—these were big, exotic, and richly hued in shades of pink, red, orange, and yellow.
Back in the truck, he texted Daisy that they were on their way. She replied with In the backyard and a smiley face.
Twenty minutes later, Jesse parked in front of a boxy two-story house in an old but nice neighborhood. They walked up the driveway, passing Daisy’s Hyundai and a Chevy Tahoe as they approached the yard.
With Jesse in the lead, they rounded the corner of the house to a flagstone patio with built-in brick planters. A table shaded by an umbrella was set up for eight and laden with veggies, fresh cut fruit, and bowls of chips. A propane barbecue was open and ready to go, and a blue cooler held soft drinks and bottled water.
Out on the lawn, a man Rafe presumed to be Daisy’s brother was throwing a baseball to a young boy, probably Cody, while underhanding a Wiffle ball to a little girl wearing a frilly dress, red sparkly shoes, and a plastic tiara. Rafe recognized Hannah from the picture on Daisy’s phone.
“Hey, there.” Daisy stood up from one of the patio chairs arranged in a haphazard circle.
So did the brunette next to her. Chelsea was a little shorter than Daisy, clad in a flowery sundress, more curvy than lean, and cute in a friendly sort of way. An easy smile graced her lips, and she gave them a small wave of acknowledgment—or more precisely, she waved at Jesse. If Rafe wasn’t mistaken, Chelsea’s eyes had popped at the sight of his big brother.
A woman holding two bowls of dip came around the corner. She greeted Rafe and Jesse with a smile. “Hey, Jesse. It’s good to see you. This must be Rafe. I’m MJ.”
Daisy and Chelsea joined the group, and all three women eyed the flowers—Daisy with her brows raised, Chelsea with a gasp of longing, and MJ with a quiet look of approval. Her hands were full with the bowls, but Rafe still offered them to her. “Thanks for inviting us. I’m sick of Jesse’s cooking, and he won’t eat mine.”
“With good reason,” Jesse shot back.
MJ oohed and aahed over the bouquet, welcomed them again, then held up the bowls to show her full hands. “Daisy, would you put the flowers in water? The vases are over the fridge.”
Daisy cupped the bouquet with both hands. Her pinkie fingers grazed his hand fisted on the stems, and for a split second they froze with their fingers touching. Their gazes met and he smiled.
So did Daisy, but she looked down almost immediately. She lifted the flowers so fast the cellophane crackled. “These are beautiful.”
Chelsea fingered the petal of a big red flower. “Aren’t these gerberas?”
Rafe didn’t know what a gerbera was, but Daisy’s face lit up like Christmas. “Yes, they are.” She admired them for a long moment, then raised her eyes to meet his. “Gerbera daisies were my mom’s favorite flower. She named me after them.”
Score one for Team Rafe! He shot a glance at Jesse, who gave him a look of grudging respect.
Daisy stepped back to include everyone in a circle. “Let’s get the introductions out of the way. You all know me. This is Chelsea, my friend from Los Angeles. Chelsea, this is Rafe and his brother, Jesse.”
Leaning forward, Jesse reached out to shake Chelsea’s hand. “It’s a pleasure.”
Chelsea offered hers in return, bubbled a greeting, and invited Jesse to the cooler to get something to drink. They walked away, chatting easily about the beautiful weather.
Rafe watched them amble off. It was too soon to tell if sparks would fly or fizzle, but when he glanced at Daisy, they shared a look that ignited sparks of their own. A small smile danced on her lips—an undercover smile, because it could have been for Chelsea and Jesse, or just for Rafe.
A throat-clearing rumble caught his attention and he turned. There was no mistaking Shane Riley for anyone but Daisy’s brother. They looked alike, but the real “tell” was the protective glint in the man’s eyes. Hurt my sister and die. Shane might not realize it yet, but she had nothing at all to fear from Rafe.
The men extended their hands at the same time, but Shane spoke first. “I’m Shane Riley. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Rafe Donovan. Thanks for inviting me today.”
They both turned to Daisy, but her gaze was on Shane. She and her brother exchanged a look, then Shane clapped her on the arm. “Go take care of the flowers. I’ll entertain Rafe.”
Daisy scooted away, glancing once over her shoulder and giving him a nervous smile. They all knew what was going on. This was the start of what Rafe called the “boyfriend interview.” It usually involved best friends, sometimes parents, rarely big brothers. Looking at Daisy, he faked a look like the painting called The Scream. As he hoped, she chuckled to herself and left with the flowers bobbing in her hands.
Rafe turned back to Shane. Should he talk baseball? Keep it casual? It was way too soon for the I care about your sister speech, but the air felt oddly heavy.
Shane motioned to the ice chest on the far corner of the patio. Rafe followed, both slightly irked to feel like he’d been summoned, and respectful because if he were in Shane’s shoes, he’d be just as protective—maybe more so.
Shane snagged a bottle of water and invited Rafe to help himself. He selected a Coke, popped the top, and raised the can to say thanks. Let the interview begin.
Shane lifted his bottle in response. “Thanks for changing Daisy’s tire the other night.”
“I was glad to do it.”
“Drives me nuts how tire stores use those air guns. She knows how to put on a spare, but those lug nuts were ridiculously tight. Two of the bolts on my truck are stripped because of that.”
“Man, that’s a pain.”
Car-talk was Rafe’s second language, and he settled into the jargon. For the next five minutes, they talked
about horsepower, Rafe’s drive from Ohio, and a little about baseball. Shane said he forgave Rafe for being a Reds fan—the archrivals to the Cougars—and Rafe told him he was forgiven for actually wearing Cougar blue. They raised a mock toast to each other, a sign of respect and the start of a friendship.
The back door opened and Daisy came out with the flowers in a ceramic vase. She put them on the table, looked in his direction, and smiled—at him, not at her brother. Rafe took it as a sign of approval.
Shane clapped him on the arm, then spoke quietly. “Be good to her, Rafe. She’s had a hard time.”
“I wondered, but she hasn’t said anything.”
“She will when she’s ready.”
“That’s the only way.” But sometimes a person needed to be asked—the way Jesse asked Rafe about the nightmares, the way Rafe wished he had asked Kara about her glittery eyes and all those pills. He wouldn’t push Daisy for her story, but when the time was right, he wanted to hear it.
Shane excused himself to fire up the grill. As he walked away, Daisy approached. When she passed her brother, he said something and she laughed.
Rafe took a long swallow of Coke. When he lowered the can, Daisy was at his side.
“Hi,” she murmured.
“Hi.”
He wanted to reach for her hand, even brush a kiss on her cheek, but he held those feelings inside. Today was about getting to know her as a person—her likes and dislikes, her favorite foods, colors, and movies; what made her laugh, what made her cry; and how had she survived, even thrived, in spite of whatever heartache had come her way.
Her eyes, as bright and blue as the sky, locked with his. Somehow in the midst of the conversations around them, the sizzle of meat hitting the grill, and the kids giggling on the lawn, he felt as if they were in their own private universe.
He gave in to the mood and took her hand. “I hope I passed your brother’s inspection.”
“You did—with flying colors.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to his side. When he felt her relax into him, he lightened his tone. “So what are you doing next Saturday?”
She studied him with a hint of shyness, a reminder of how nervous she’d been when he changed the flat tire. But a brave smile slowly formed on her lips. “I’m free all day.”
“Me too,” he replied. “Let’s do something fun.”
“I’d like that.”
He thought of what he knew about Daisy’s past, and how fearful she could be. “Just us? Or would you like to invite—”
“Just us. But you should know something.” She looked him in the eye, her gaze both steady and vulnerable.
“What is it?”
“One word from me and my brother will claw you to death with the hot dog tongs.”
“Yeah, I figured. I’ll be on my best behavior, but you should know something, too.”
She looked up at him expectantly.
“My best behavior just might include a kiss or two. In fact, I can pretty well guarantee it.”
Her eyes twinkled with mischief, but a loud laugh from Chelsea broke the mood. He and Daisy both turned and saw Chelsea doubled up with laughter, as if Jesse had told the world’s funniest joke. Considering his brother’s dry sense of humor, Rafe doubted he’d told anything close to a knee-slapper.
Daisy leaned closer to him. “I hope they hit it off.”
The plastic look on Jesse’s face didn’t give Rafe a lot of hope, but his brother often surprised him. “Come on. Let’s find out what’s so funny.”
He looped his arm around Daisy’s waist, and they crossed the patio with matching strides. Rafe pulled two chairs around so the four of them could talk more easily, then he sat close to Daisy. Whatever the joke was, it had already been forgotten. The four of them bantered, with Chelsea talking twice as much as anyone else.
After five minutes, Rafe wanted hearing protection like he wore at the firing range. If there was a gap in the conversation, Chelsea filled it. If Jesse told a story, she nodded at every word. She answered questions every bit as enthusiastically as she asked them. Where Daisy played defense, Chelsea played offense.
MJ came out of the house with another bowl, called to the kids to wash up, and made room for the platter of hot dogs and hamburgers. Everyone sat down, leaving Chelsea on one side between Hannah and Jesse, and Daisy wedged between Rafe and Cody, with Shane and MJ on the ends.
After Shane said grace, the conversation took off. Baseball. Church. Jobs. The apartment Chelsea and Daisy planned to share starting next month.
Rafe nudged Daisy with his elbow. “Want some help moving? I volunteer Jesse.”
His brother glared at him from across the table. “Thanks a lot.”
Daisy started to speak, but Chelsea interrupted. “That would be great! We’ll pay you guys back with a home-cooked meal when we’re settled. I make the best chicken and noodles. It’s my grandmother’s recipe. You guys will love it.”
Rafe was pretty sure Jesse wouldn’t love anything Chelsea cooked, especially if it came with a side dish of mindless chatter.
Daisy didn’t seem to notice Jesse’s reluctance, maybe because she had turned her head and was focused on Rafe. “Are you sure you’re up for it? MJ’s loaning us some furniture. It’s—”
“Heavy!” Chelsea gazed up at Jesse. “But you can handle it, right?”
“Uh, yeah.” He took a bite of the cheeseburger without batting the conversation to someone else. He wanted it to die, and it did.
Rafe felt sorry for him—and for Chelsea. Awkward didn’t begin to describe the bad chemistry between them.
The afternoon wound down, and Rafe and Jesse said their good-byes. Daisy walked with them to Jesse’s truck, and Rafe firmed up their date for Saturday. He needed to come up with an idea, so he told her he’d text her later and they hugged good-bye.
The instant he shut the truck door, Jesse took off like a cop in pursuit, whipped around the corner, and gave him a look befitting Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow—a little crazed, vaguely amused, and ready to make someone walk the plank.
Rafe knew what was coming. “So Chelsea’s not your type, huh?”
Jesse’s mouth twisted into a demented snarl. “If you ever—ever—set me up on a date again, I’m going to punch you in the face.”
Rafe broke out laughing. “I won’t. I promise.”
“Good.” Jesse hung a right and hit the main drag to his house. “She’s a human word-cannon.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
“I feel bad for her.” Jesse blew out a long breath, a sign he was practicing what he called “the pause”—a moment where he remained silent when he wanted to cuss, yell, drink, or break things. When he spoke, his voice came out steady. “I just wish women wouldn’t try so hard. People click, or they don’t.”
“No kidding.”
“Guys do the same stupid thing.” Jesse pressed the gas pedal a little harder. “Only instead of talking too much, they brag and spend too much, or drive a car they can’t afford. Why can’t people just relax and get to know each other? Now you and Daisy . . .” He let the words hang. “What’s going on?”
Rafe grinned in the dark. “She’s amazing.” Funny. Brave. And attractive in every way—especially in those leggings.
“Be careful, bro. She doesn’t need you to break her heart. You’re headed home in a few months, right?”
“That’s the plan.”
Rafe had been in Refuge for over three weeks. His feelings for Daisy aside, he liked Refuge a lot. But enough to give up the career and city he loved? Not a chance. The realization put a knot in his belly. He and Daisy weren’t anywhere close to having an official geography problem, but the potential couldn’t be ignored. He liked her, and if the fierce hug was any indication, her feelings were just as potent.
Was Refuge her home or just a safe place to rest and to heal from what she had experienced in LA? Rafe couldn’t see himself permanently in Wyoming. Only time—and taking a
chance with a first date—would reveal the answers.
He focused back on the present. He didn’t know Refuge well, so he decided to ask Jesse for date suggestions. “I’m taking Daisy out on Saturday. Any ideas?”
“Let’s see . . . How about Dairy Queen? You can’t go wrong with a Blizzard.”
“You have got to be kidding me.” Then again, this was Jesse—King of First and Only Dates. “If you’re recommending fast food on a first date, you need more dating help than I thought.”
Jesse chuckled, more to himself than Rafe. “I’m just giving you a hard time. Take her to the Riverbend Steakhouse. It’s pretty. Lights in the trees. Dark inside with candles. Plus, it’s quiet.”
“For a first date? No way. That’s a third date. Maybe the second if the first is rock-star quality.”
“I don’t get it.” Jesse cruised through a yellow light. “What’s wrong with a nice dinner for a first date?”
“Two words, bro. Awkward. Conversation. On a first date, you need something to do, so you can talk about it.” For Daisy, he wanted to plan something fun and a little wild. But not too wild, because she needed to feel safe. “What’s good for a Saturday?”
“Hiking. A river cruise. Fishing is popular.” Jesse tossed him a look. “You could be really crazy and take her bowling.”
Rafe laughed. “Maybe I will.”
Jesse pulled into his driveway and pressed the garage door opener. The overhead light popped on and the panels rolled back to reveal a workbench, tools on a pegboard, and a snowmobile on blocks for the summer. Rafe expected to be long gone before the seasons changed, but the desire to return home didn’t burn quite as hot as it had a few minutes ago.
They climbed out of the truck and went into the house. Jesse turned on ESPN, kicked back in his big recliner, and reached for his iPad. Rafe watched sports scores, but his mind returned to Daisy, that first date, and the excitement of getting to know this smart, sweet, beautiful woman who made him want to stand tall.
A Gift to Cherish (Road to Refuge Book 2) Page 10