“Rafe?” Grace patted his side of the bed and sat up. “Are you leaving?”
“Ronni and Alex need me.” His throat burned with emotion he didn’t know how to express. “The house is on fire. They got out but I need to be with them.”
Grace kicked off the covers and slid out of bed. “I’m coming, too.”
She put on her clothes as quickly as they’d flown off the previous night. Her wanting to be there with him, with them, touched him far more deeply than he cared to admit.
“Sweetheart.” He stilled the flurry of her hands misbuttoning her blouse. “I’m meeting Brice in the lobby. I have no idea what to expect when we get to the house. When I know more about what’s going on, I’ll call.”
Having her at the fire would divide his attention, and he wasn’t sure what his own reaction would be when he saw the house. If he had a meltdown, he’d rather Grace not witness it.
“I want to help.”
“Wait with Cassie. I’m sure she’s up.” He smoothed the wrinkles in Grace’s brow with a kiss. “I need to concentrate on Ronni and Alex. If you’re there, I’ll be distracted.”
He stopped her protest with a soft kiss. “I’ll come back when I can.”
Rafe left without looking back. He couldn’t bear the disappointment shimmering in Grace’s big green eyes.
Chapter 32
“How did the fire start?” Rafe dropped into the leather passenger seat of Brice’s Maserati.
“We don’t know yet. The fire investigator will give us a full report.” Brice spun the car out of his parents’ driveway and took off. There wasn’t any traffic this early. Even if there had been, it wouldn’t have slowed Brice.
“I heard what happened with Clay yesterday. He’s been hounding my dad to force Ronni and Alex out of the house. I can’t help wondering—”
“No,” Rafe cut him off. “Lexi loved that house. Clay wouldn’t have the heart to torch it. This has to be an accident.” He slammed his fist against the armrest. “Goddamn. How much more can go wrong?”
Every which way he turned, he was failing in his personal life. It was like bad karma had dropped him in the middle of a racquetball court with an automatic throwing arm pitching nonstop curve balls from an endless supply of shit.
“Everything will be fine. Mom designated one of the empty rental cabins as a temporary home for them. When the fire investigation is complete, Dad will arrange for the house to be rebuilt.”
“I could’ve lost them.” Rafe knocked his head against the headrest. “I barely know them and I could’ve lost them.”
He’d invested more time in a woman destined to leave him on a whim than in getting to know his own family. Once Grace got her car back, her life would return to normal. His, though, would never be the same.
He needed to leash his inner wolf and focus on his family. They would be around a lot longer than Grace.
“Last chance to change your mind.” Brice stopped at the turn to Rafe’s former house.
Rafe rubbed moist palms against his thighs. “Do it.”
Brice inched the car up the long driveway clouded with smoke. An acrid smell seeped inside the car through the air-conditioning vents.
Rafe didn’t look at the house until he’d taken several breaths and climbed out of the car. Lifting his gaze, he realized that he hadn’t taken enough time to prepare.
What had once been a fairy-tale cottage with gingerbread trim, gables and shutters, now was nothing more than blackened boards, blown-out windows and ashy rubble.
Rafe choked on the breath caught in his throat.
Pain stabbed his chest like a fiery, twisted blade. His eyes stung and watered. He gasped for air, only it couldn’t slip past the lump in his throat to fill his lungs. His body alternated between cold and clammy, and hot and sweaty with every heartbeat. Brice’s steady hand on Rafe’s shoulder kept him from sinking to the ground.
“Rafe!”
Wrapped in a utility blanket stamped with the Walker’s Run Co-operative’s volunteer fire department logo, Alex bolted toward him. Ronni trailed behind.
“Are y’all all right?” Rafe hauled Alex into a bear hug.
“I’m so sorry, Rafe.” Ronni took Alex back into her arms. “I don’t know how the fire started. I didn’t leave anything turned on or burning when we went to sleep. I swear.”
Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, Tristan stepped out of the opening where the front door had been. He dropped his shoulders, lowered his head and trudged toward Rafe. “It’s a total loss,” he said quietly.
The ordeal had already drained the color from Ronni’s skin. The gravity of the news caused her face to go ghostly pale.
“Don’t worry.” Rafe rubbed her back. “I’ll take care of everything.”
“We’ve been nothing but trouble.” Ronni let out a halting breath. “Can’t shake this bad luck.”
“I know the feeling.” Rafe brought her close, letting her cry on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I can replace the house. I can’t replace y’all.”
As her tears dampened his shirt, Rafe’s body alternated between hot and cold. Relief and fear.
Ronni and Alex were his responsibility, and they’d lost everything they’d worked to rebuild and the few items from their life in Kentucky they hadn’t wanted to part with when they moved. Gone. All of it, gone.
Before they arrived, he’d hired cleaners to tidy everything and an inspector to check the wiring, the gas lines, the roof and everything else a house inspector checked. Everything should’ve been in good working order.
Still, he’d failed them just like he’d failed Lexi. He couldn’t protect them because he hadn’t detected the danger.
He was useless as a family man. Simply not cut out for it all.
“You’re a good man, Rafe Wyatt,” Ronni sniffed.
“Yes, he is.” Grace walked up beside him.
Her essence filtered through him and loosened some of the heaviness in his chest.
“Hey,” he said, because no other words came to him. Just a rush of emotions too jangled for him to identify.
“Hey.” Her arms wrapped him in a hug, but it was the warm embrace of her essence that comforted him the most.
“How did you get here?”
“I badgered Shane into bringing me. I wanted to be here for you. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to see the house like this.”
“You’re a good woman, Grace Olsen.” Rafe kissed her temple. “And God help me because I’m falling in love with you.”
* * *
“This is too much.” Ronni cupped her hand over her mouth and Grace cleared away the wrapping paper torn from a huge box. Packed inside was a professional sewing machine. “I mean, thank you, Mrs. Walker, but I can’t possibly accept.”
“Nonsense.” Abby smiled. “I heard you’re a talented seamstress. After things settle down, I have a list of projects I want to discuss with you.”
“I suggested she open a business.” Grace sat next to Ronni on the floral print couch in the cabin the Walkers had provided for temporary housing. Alex had gone off with his friends and Ronni had entertained a steady stream of visitors all afternoon. Word spread quickly through the Co-op, and within minutes of Alex and Ronni’s release from the hospital people began arriving to give them assistance.
The generous outpouring of food, clothes and other household items reminded Grace of how the military families would gather whenever a new family moved in, when the time came for them to leave or when they received news, good or bad, about their loved ones on active duty. She missed those days. Not the multiple moves, but the sense of community, knowing no matter where they landed a group would be there to welcome them into their temporary home or help send them on their way.
After too many years of being adrift, Grace wondered if the time had come to park herself long enough
to get rooted. Cassie had been a tumbleweed until life dumped her in Maico. Although not quite stranded by her car accident, Grace had been afforded the opportunity to stop, look around and discover life at a more leisurely pace.
“I have all I can handle working at the diner, going to night classes and raising Alex.” Ronni traced the picture of the sewing machine on the box. “It’s a nice dream, though.”
“There’s no reason to work at the diner if you’d rather not,” Abby said.
“I don’t want to freeload off Rafe. He does a lot for us, as it is. Waitressing is all I know.”
“You know how to sew. If you’re going to work, make it something you enjoy.” Cassie smiled.
“You could work from home, make your own schedule, only choose the projects you wanted to do. I can create a business website, design business cards, advertising flyers.” Grace would do everything pro bono. How could she not? Especially since Rafe was handling her car repairs and was in the process of getting an accessible car for Matt.
“Brice could help with filing the proper paperwork to make the business official,” Cassie chimed in.
“The Co-op will assist with any start-up expenses.” Abby practically glowed, much to Grace’s surprise. Cassie’s mother-in-law usually maintained a poised, aloof manner.
“Alex and I aren’t official members yet.”
Abby flicked her hand. “I’ll take care of Gavin. He likes to think he’s the big dog and usually he is. Some matters, though, he’s learned to heel when I say so. This will be one of those matters.”
Grace felt a small pang of jealousy over Ronni and Alex’s ready inclusion in the Co-op’s exclusive membership. Still, she loved how the community quickly responded to the emergency and how they took care of Ronni and Alex simply because they were Rafe’s kin.
Independent in her own right, Grace didn’t need to be taken care of, but she longed to be part of something substantial. Not merely a face on someone’s TouchBase friends list.
At least she had Cassie. And no matter the distance, Cassie’s little girl would always link them.
She would also link Grace to Rafe, too. Cassie wanted Grace and Rafe to be involved in her daughter’s life. Something about that made Grace smile.
She truly enjoyed Rafe’s company. Things had been strained at first, but now, when they weren’t together, she often found herself counting the minutes until she would see him again.
She’d even indulged the fantasy of becoming something more meaningful to him than a casual lover. Overindulged, actually. This morning, her imagination had run wild with Rafe’s voice invading her thoughts to say he’d fallen in love with her.
She doubted the reality because they were too different. She’d disrupted his natural order and he had to reconstruct it around her impulsiveness. He did so without much complaint.
He had the patience of a saint, she’d give him extra kudos for that instead of brownie points, since he was allergic to chocolate.
A cold, harsh thought crossed her mind. If whatever she had with Rafe turned into something more meaningful, she’d have to give up her all-time favorite treat.
He’d probably be worth it.
“I sure as hell am worth it!”
An inexplicable sense of Rafe’s being filled her. He wasn’t simply in her head, she felt him to her very core.
She rubbed her temple. If the peculiar mental experiences didn’t stop soon, Grace would ask Doc for a checkup and possibly another brain scan. Maybe he’d missed something in the exam following the accident.
“Are you okay?” Cassie spoke softly as Ronni and Abby engaged in a conversation about redecorating the Walkers’ home. “You seem distracted.”
“Weird thoughts and sensations.” Grace waggled her bottle of water at Cassie. “No coffee in two days.”
“Are you sure it isn’t something else? Or someone else?”
“No, why?”
“Come on.” Cassie gave her an incredulous look. “The entire Co-op saw the fat, juicy kiss he gave you after the game. Everyone was talking about it. I’m surprised you didn’t hear them. Oh, wait.” The flat seam of her mouth quirked as she struggled not to smile. “You didn’t hear them because you couldn’t. You and Rafe disappeared for the rest of the evening.”
“Fine! We had sex.” No sense denying the truth when her heated cheeks were broadcasting it.
“Duh!” Cassie giggled.
“It does not mean we’re in a relationship. We’re just having fun.”
“Best advice, don’t fight the inevitable. The struggle can become quite painful. Might as well skip straight to the good part.”
From Grace’s perspective, she and Rafe were enjoying the good part. She hoped the fire wouldn’t change things.
Chapter 33
“No way in hell.” Rafe spat at the large, steel kennel. His gut clenched, and his muscles hardened all the way to his jaw.
“The sheriff specifically asked to see your wolf.” Tristan’s mouth turned down. “People have reported a wolf prowling at night, destroying property. Wolf tracks were found at the scenes.”
“Not mine,” Rafe snapped.
“He knows your wolf escaped the sanctuary the night of Grace’s accident,” Gavin said. “It’s natural for him to think the perpetrator is the same wolf.”
“I haven’t been outside the sanctuary in my wolf form since that night.”
“I understand, but I’ve stalled this demonstration for as long as I can. In light of recent events, it’s in the best interest of the pack to show the sheriff that the Co-op will assist fully with his investigation.”
“I’m not doing it.”
“The sheriff believes your wolf is dangerous.” Gavin exhaled an audible, frustrated breath. “I want to prove you aren’t.”
“I will be a danger to the first person who tries to shove me into that goddamn pen.”
“Dad.” Brice ground his teeth. “You can’t seriously expect Rafe to do this. We don’t cage our own kind.”
Except when feral, rabid and dangerous.
All of which Rafe felt at the moment.
His heart raced, his mind swirled, his vision dimmed, his breathing dissolved into pants.
“Take it easy, son.” Doc’s hand rested on Rafe’s shoulder. Strong and steadying.
“It’ll only be for a few minutes, Rafe.” Gavin stepped forward. “I’m not happy with the arrangement, but the sheriff insists. The most expedient way to end this witch hunt is to allow him to see how docile our wolves are toward people. Beginning with yours.”
A bad feeling crawled up Rafe’s spine. He wasn’t docile at all, and if he had to go into that pen, everyone would see.
Never cage a wild animal. Never.
“Want me to play nice and sweet?” Rafe cut his eyes at Gavin. “Don’t put me in a cage.”
“Let me open negotiations with the sheriff,” Brice said. “This doesn’t feel right.”
Tristan wouldn’t meet anyone’s gaze. “I’m not in favor of this, but it’s what Locke insists on. He wants Rafe’s wolf secured while he assesses whether or not the wolf is dangerous. He’ll seek a subpoena if you refuse.”
“Let him.” Brice pinched the bridge of his nose.
Rafe toed the ground. Any involvement with the courts was risky. Even if Brice and his uncle’s law firm routinely dealt with the judicial system in Atlanta.
“The sooner we get this over with, the better.” Gavin opened the cage door.
Rafe’s every instinct fought against it. He simply could not, would not, put himself in a cage.
“Gavin, don’t make him do this.” Doc stood next to Rafe, mirroring Brice’s angry scowl.
Gavin ignored them both, fastening his hard, intense gaze onto Rafe. “This is for the good of the pack, Rafe.”
“You’re caging one of u
s, Dad. Because a human asked you to do so. Rafe isn’t sick or feral. Forcing him into a cage is unconscionable. The pack won’t react well to this.”
“If Rafe does this willingly, there won’t be an issue.”
“You’ve got a problem, then. I am not going to be caged.”
“Damn it, Gavin.” Doc stood toe to toe with the Alpha. “He’s your godson.”
“Which is why I haven’t ordered Tristan to forcibly put him inside, but my patience is waning. We will cooperate fully with the sheriff’s department to avoid any reprisals. We will not give Locke any further cause to nose around in our business.”
The muscle in Gavin’s jaw twitched. His hardened gaze slid toward Brice. “One wolf’s pride isn’t worth putting the pack’s safety at risk.”
Brice’s brow scrunched as he stared at the cage. Rafe could almost see and hear the wheels turning in his friend’s clever mind, playing out a dozen or more scenarios within seconds. He rubbed his jaw. “I’ll go inside the pen with him.”
Gavin’s ears reddened, then purpled, and the color painted his entire face and neck.
“No,” he and Rafe shouted simultaneously.
Rafe wouldn’t allow his Alpha-in-waiting to be caged. His loyalty had always belonged, first and foremost, to Brice.
If Brice was willing to submit to the cage, it meant he’d come to the same conclusion as his father. The best way to deal with the sheriff was to give him what he wanted.
What the man wanted was Rafe and his wolf.
Knots formed in his stomach. “This is not going to go as well as he thinks,” he said to Brice.
“I have the same feeling.”
Rafe slipped out of his clothes, balled them up instead of folding them and tossed them to his father.
“I’ve got your back, man.” Brice nodded slightly. Frustrated anger burned in his eyes.
Rafe crouched on the ground, looking at the serene blue sky above him and tried to block out the thoughts of how this could all go horribly wrong.
Rescued by the Wolf Page 19