Discovering Rafe

by Sara Blackard

  “Great. Just staying warm a few seconds more.” She smiled, though it looked forced, and pushed the door open.

  Rafe stepped out and rounded the vehicle. The crisp, cool air cleared his head. He scanned the bushes and open field, but came up empty. This actually might be one of Chloe’s better plans. They’d spend an hour or so up in the air, far from any danger, then head back to the house for the rest of the day. Let Chloe feel like she wasn’t trapped while experiencing the killer Steamboat views.

  Piper pointed with her coffee cup between the two balloons. “Looks like someone else is going up too.”

  Rafe looked down the road to see if anyone was driving up.

  “Actually, I booked both of them.” Chloe cringed and pointed her chin at the balloon closest to them “I didn’t realize the baskets were that big.”

  Piper’s head whipped back to the balloons, glancing between the two of them. Rafe smirked and shook his head. Typical Chloe, never thinking things through all the way.

  “We’ll cancel one of them.” Jake’s words echoed Rafe’s thoughts.

  Chloe rolled her eyes. “That would be silly. They’re already paid for. Besides, it would be rude to cancel now after they’ve already set up.”

  Rafe stepped to the door and double-checked his pack. Chloe would wheedle Jake into agreeing. She’d always been able to talk her way into things. Not in the spoiled brat kind of way, but more like she was just so sweet people ended up wanting to agree with her.

  He glanced over and barely stifled his snort. She had leaned up against Jake, her eyes batting like a tornado whipped them. Jake just stared down at her, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Huh. Maybe the little firecracker had lit old Grumpy Butt’s fuse. His friend needed that, needed to realize that his injuries didn’t have to be the end of his dreams.

  Rafe smiled as he slung on his backpack. He’d go along with Chloe’s ridiculous idea. A little balloon ride might be just what the doctor ordered for Jake.

  The women walked toward the balloons, so Rafe stepped up next to Jake. “That Chloe, she’s sure got spunk. Always has.”

  Jake grunted. “Wish she would’ve talked to us before planning this.”

  “Come on, man. This will get those trapped jitters out, then we’ll be back to the house before most of the morning is gone.”

  Rafe glanced at Piper and Chloe. They turned and looked at him. He smiled and nodded, then shook his head when they snapped their heads back around. Those two were up to something. He could tell.

  One of the workers approached the women. A smile grew on the dude’s face as Piper talked animatedly with her hands. He was the epitome of cool with his hair curling around the bottom of his knit cap and his relaxed stature screaming Colorado outdoor fun. The man reached out his hand, and Piper took it. What in the world? Rafe’s muscles tightened and legs stomped toward her before he realized he moved.

  “What’s he doing?” Rafe practically barked the question at Chloe.

  Get a hold of yourself, man. He crossed his arms over his chest, but couldn’t control the scowl pushing his eyebrows together. Piper laughed about something the guy said, and Rafe wanted to growl, maybe rip the guy’s arms from his limbs.

  “Piper’s a little nervous about going up, so that nice-looking guy is showing her about the balloon to ease her mind.” Chloe interrupted his thoughts of dismemberment.

  “He’s not so nice looking.” Rafe smoothed his hand over his hair. Why had he just said that?

  “Listen, Rafe, Piper’s pretty scared about this.” Chloe’s voice filled with concern.

  “Pipster? She loves rides.” She’d always begged to go to the carnival every time it came to town to enjoy the rides, even the ones that had him clenching his butt cheeks.

  “Yeah, I know. Surprised me, too. Do you think you can keep an eye on her while you’re up there? I don’t want her to pass out or anything.”

  He nodded and rubbed his hands together. He’d make sure she had a great ride. “Yeah, I’ll keep a real close eye on her.”

  Chloe smiled big, like he was a hero or something. Not likely.

  “Thanks, Rafe.” Chloe’s mood turned serious. “I’m glad you’re here. Piper takes on so much. It’ll be good for her to have a little Rafe magic around.”

  Rafe rubbed the ache in his chest and nodded. Rafe magic? He didn’t think it still existed. Maybe a mirage of who he’d been waved and tricked others into believing it was there. But where before being the jokester had been embedded in his skin, now he joked to keep people from realizing that his last mission had tainted him to his very soul.

  Rafe shook off the thought and focused on Piper. The man stared at her like she was a box of filled donuts he hadn’t expected he’d get. Rafe got that. Piper had grown into an amazing woman. Why hadn’t anyone snatched her up yet? The thought of her married twisted his gut.

  When Piper stepped up next to them, Rafe put his arm over her shoulder and looked down at her. He meant it in a brotherly action to comfort her, but couldn’t trick his mind off the chest-thumping action that it was. The rise of the balloon worker’s eyebrows showed he understood the action.

  “You okay?” Rafe breathed in her scent.

  Piper ducked her head and shrugged. “I am now.”

  What did that mean?

  “All right, I think we are ready to go. You two will be in the far balloon.” Balloon guy pointed to Piper and Rafe. “I’ll be your pilot.”

  “Great,” Rafe muttered as Piper smiled.

  He didn’t move his arm until she stepped toward the balloon. She fit next to him perfectly with her tall height. No slumping required to hold her close. He shouldn’t even contemplate things like that. Nothing could ever come of an attraction to her. Davis would kill him, but, more importantly, he didn’t deserve someone after what he’d had to do, especially someone as pure and giving as Piper.

  They climbed into the basket and lifted off. He kept his mind focused and trained on the snowy ground below where an attack would come if it did. He just had to remember that she was his friend, practically family, and that his mind needed to keep that fact firmly set.

  “Rafe?” Her trembling voice drew his attention from the shadows of the brush below.

  Piper’s hands clenched the side of the basket so hard her entire fingers turned white. She had her eyes squeezed closed and her breath came in quick bursts. Chloe wasn’t joking about catching Piper if she fainted.

  “Hey, Pip, it’s fine.” He placed his hand over hers.

  “No.” She was going to hyperventilate.

  “Piper, look at me.”

  She shook her head.

  Rafe wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. He touched his hand to her chin and tipped her head up. Dear Lord, she took his breath away.

  “Piper, please look at me.”

  She blinked, her pained eyes filled with unshed tears. “I’m sorry. I’m being stupid.”

  “Shh, you’re fine.” Better than fine. He swallowed. “Did Davis ever tell you about the time in basic when he somehow unbuckled his belt, and his pants dropped to his ankles in front of the entire squadron?”

  She gasped, her eyes going wide with amusement. “He didn’t.” She placed her hand over Rafe’s heart.

  Warmth filled his chest and flooded his core. He should have let her go as he told story after story during the ride to distract her. He really should have. Yet her laughter filled his chest so he could finally breathe. For the first time in two years, he felt like himself. So, he kept his arms around her and told himself he’d remember all the reasons he couldn’t be with her when they landed.

  Four

  The next day Piper sat beside Rafe at Ellie Smithton’s house. Chloe’s fan had gushed on and on about how amazing Chloe was. Piper had stood off to the side, cherishing this moment for her cousin. Now, several hours later, she and Rafe leaned their backs against the kitchen island as they waited for the meeting to finish.

  He shifted, and his arm brushed agains
t hers. She told her heart to knock it off as it tripped and stuttered into top gear. It’d been doing that since Rafe had held her in his arms and distracted her with stories during the disastrous balloon ride. She always knew she hated tight spaces, but never realized enormous balloons too. Yep, utter disaster.

  Disastrous because she not only made a fool of herself, but now had her mind thinking all kinds of daydreams that rivaled any she’d ever been able to conjure before. The dam she’d built against her pitiful crush had broken wide open. It was like being held in his wonderful arms with his citrus and leather scent filling her senses and weakening her knees had knocked all her defenses loose.

  Then she had to go and slip on ice outside the Smithton’s house. Rafe had caught her, just slipped his arms around her back and kept her from crashing to the cement like she didn’t weigh a ton. Okay, a ton was dramatic, but still. She wasn’t one of those willowy, tall girls, and he’d caught her like she was. His forehead had gotten that adorable crease it got when he worried, which wasn’t often.

  She remembered it clearly from the time he’d found her hiding in the high school library. It was the only year they shared in high school. She had been beyond embarrassed to think he might have known the teasing had been particularly cruel that day. He’d probably already known everyone called her a Wookiee, but she didn’t want to come right out and say it if by some miracle he hadn’t.

  So she had lied, told him she’d failed a test in geometry. For once her misery hadn’t been a complete waste, since he told her he’d tutor her. Though she hadn’t needed the tutoring with her ninety-eight percent in the class and had felt slightly guilty about taking an hour of his time three days a week, she’d kept up tutoring the entire year.

  Piper shifted, letting her arm press against his. His look of concern as he’d caught her on the driveway had brought even more memories and emotions to the surface. Too bad she couldn’t get him to tutor her on walking.

  Piper peeked at his profile and whipped her gaze away, wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans. She tried to play it cool. Oh, how she tried. With the way her mind and heart raced since he showed up, she worried at any moment she’d slip up and confess her undying love to him.

  She didn’t need this, not with all Chloe had going on. Piper’s focus should be on making sure everything went smoothly and that Chloe stayed safe. It definitely shouldn’t be on the heat that radiated off of Rafe’s arm or the desire to lean her head on his shoulder.

  Maintaining the illusion of childhood friends just about zapped her already flagging energy. She’d need a nap when they got back to the rental. Maybe a nice cold shower to shock her sensibilities back to normal.

  “Ellie, it was so nice to meet you.” Chloe pulled Ellie in for a hug.

  Piper stood faster than necessary, needing action, needing to get her brain thinking about all Chloe had to do this week instead of zeroing in on everything Rafe. Her head spun with the rush of blood, and she swayed.

  “Whoa, Turbo, where’s the fire?” Rafe wrapped his hand gently around her arm, then pulled it away like she’d shocked him.

  “Sorry.” She averted her gaze and followed Chloe to the door.

  For Pete’s sake, she was pathetic. No wonder she hadn’t had a date in years. You’d have plenty of dates if they didn’t have to measure up to Rambo Rafe. One guy in particular who was not only kind and smart but good looking. That was it. She was taking Chet up on his invitation to dinner after they got back to Texas.

  “Here, let me help you across the ice.” Rafe slid his arm around her waist.

  She inwardly groaned with the unfairness of it all. Why couldn’t Davis have called a different friend? Rafe tightened his grip on her waist, and she both loved and loathed the feeling.

  “Rafe,” Jake’s voice snapped in front of them.

  The next thing she knew, Rafe smashed her into the corner of the house and garage with a shaken Chloe huddled next to her. Piper couldn’t see a thing except Rafe’s back.

  “What is it?” Her question squeaked out.

  “A note on the windshield.” Chloe’s voice trembled.

  The pressure of being pushed against the house and the trembling of Chloe next to Piper had her skin crawling and her throat closing in on her. Trapped. She felt trapped and wanted out.

  “Rafe.” She pushed on his shoulder.

  “Hold.” Rafe leaned back further.

  Could one suffocate while in open air? The confining space tried its best to do it. Oh God, please don’t let me pass out.

  “Rafe, I need out. I need out.” She pushed harder on him, her breath coming quick and short and not helping her at all.

  He shifted forward and wrapped his arm back around her. “Shh, Pip. I know. I’ll let you out as soon as it’s safe.”

  She laid her forehead on his back, trying desperately to slow her breathing. Of course he knew. He’d been the one to find her when they were playing ultimate hide and seek. The old, hollowed-out log she’d chosen for a hiding spot had collapsed on her, pinning her in the dark confines for what had seemed a lifetime. He’d had to hold her for a good five minutes before she had calmed down enough to go to the house. Ever since then, the thought of being trapped freaked her out.

  She drew in a deep breath, his leather scent soothing her unraveling nerves. If she leaned on him, maybe her fear wouldn’t wrap its sticky tentacle around her heart and pull her to the miry pit of anxiety that would drown her. She laid her cheek between his shoulders and pressed her body against his back. She filled her lungs with his scent, opening her mouth so she not only smelled but tasted it.

  The next breath came with less effort. She opened her eyes and found Chloe frozen, staring at the vehicle. Her cousin’s fear slithered into her own, and Piper slammed her eyes back closed. Selfish. How could she be so selfish?

  She swallowed and forced her fear down. Peeling her eyelids open, she reached out and grabbed Chloe’s hand. Her cousin squeezed Piper’s palm like her life depended on it. This creep had pushed too far.

  “We’re good,” Jake said as he reached past Rafe and grabbed Chloe.

  Rafe adjusted his grip on Piper and pulled her next to him. They rushed to the vehicle door, Rafe half-carrying her the entire way. She couldn’t help but stare at the paper flapping under the wiper like it was taunting them. Rafe lifted her into the back seat and ran his hand down her cheek.

  “You okay?” His voice came out tight and gruff.

  Lying, she nodded and swiveled her legs into the car. She wasn’t cut out for this. This situation had her throat closing tight, and the guy wasn’t even her stalker. She shook her head and pushed her hair away from her face. Maybe getting serious about dating and finding someone to share a life with wasn’t such a bad idea. Her dream of a June Cleaver life with her mother’s charismatic twist looked better each second terror gripped her heart and squeezed.

  Could she leave Chloe to her music career alone? Piper peeked at Chloe’s trembling hands and knew she couldn’t. Her worry for Chloe would probably keep her close to her side, which meant June Cleaver would have to stay locked away with the rest of her daydreams.

  “What does it say?” Chloe’s voice trembled, completely unlike her strong cousin.

  Rafe scanned the note. His cheek clenched like when he would keep something from her and Chloe growing up. He glanced over at Jake, just like he used to glance at Davis. Piper wouldn’t let him go all secretive with them now.

  “Rafe?” Piper surprised herself with her firm tone.

  Rafe cleared his throat and read. “‘I’ve seen the way he holds you. Keep it up, and you’ll regret it.’”

  Piper swung her gaze to Chloe, who stared wide-eyed at Jake. Just what had been going on that her cousin wasn’t telling her? The instant they were alone, Piper planned on drilling Chloe for information.

  “We’re getting out of here.” Jake’s tone said arguing would get them nowhere.

  Piper’s heart broke for Chloe.

  “Wait. I
can’t skip this concert.” Obviously Chloe hadn’t registered the tone as she leaned forward, gripping her hand around Jake’s seat.

  “We can fly you back in for the concert, bring more protection with us, but we need to get you to the ranch where this guy can’t get to you.” Jake turned at the sign that pointed to the airport.

  “What about all our stuff? I have appearances scheduled this week. All that information is at the house.” With each item listed, Chloe’s voice grew more frantic.

  Piper knew what needed done. Did she have the courage to do it?

  “Chlo, this guy isn’t playing games.” Rafe turned in the seat.

  Piper swallowed the heavy stone in her throat. “What if I go back to the house and gather up our stuff?” She hated how her voice came out soft instead of strong. “I can start calling our contacts and figuring out what we can do virtually from the ranch.”

  Chloe shook her head and gripped Piper’s hand. “Piper, no—”

  “Listen. It makes sense. I’m your manager. It’s my job to take care of things.” Piper interrupted before she lost her nerve and hugged Chloe close. “Rafe and I will gather everything up here, then drive down to this ranch of theirs.”

  “But what if he follows you guys, or what if he gets mad and hurts you?”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll be quick, and Rafe will keep me safe.” Piper gazed at Rafe, knowing he’d give his life so she wouldn’t be harmed.

  Rafe swallowed as he nodded. “Always.”

  Piper stared at him, trying to understand the shift in his expression. Did he feel the electricity zinging between them, or had her brain finally decided make-believe land was a better place to stay? He blinked and looked at Chloe. Yep, definitely all just in her head.

  Rafe placed his hand on Chloe’s knee. “Chloe, this will work. I can spot a tail a mile away. We’ll take back roads and be at the ranch later tonight.” His voice deepened. “I won’t let anything happen to our Piper, I promise.”