Ignite on Contact: Brotherhood By Fire

by Jaci Burton

  When he pulled away, she studied him. “Something’s wrong.”

  He pulled his lips into a half smile. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not, and I can see it on your face. Come on. Let’s go into the kitchen and have something cold to drink. Then you can talk to me.”

  The cold drink sounded good, but his mother couldn’t help him with Carmen.

  She poured them some iced tea and handed him a glass. They sat in front of the bay window in the kitchen.

  “Have you been in the pool yet?” he asked.

  “Every day to swim laps. It’s perfect and I love it.”

  “And you’re the one who didn’t want to move.”

  She shrugged. “I take back what I said. I love this house. The master closet is perfect. My office is everything I ever dreamed of, and I know I’ll use the pool a lot.”

  “How does Dad like it?”

  “He loves it. The garage is bigger, and he’s already talking about building a workbench across one wall, which is what he’s always wanted. He and Kal are at the store right now buying . . . I don’t actually know what they’re buying.”

  “Probably some cabinets and wood.”

  “Yes, I think that’s what they mentioned.” She took a sip of her tea. “So tell me what’s going on that’s got you upset.”

  “I’m not upset.”

  She tilted her head down and gave him the look he remembered so well from when he was a kid and tried to lie his way out of something. It was a very effective look.

  “Try again,” she said.

  “Carmen’s grandfather had a mini stroke.”

  “Oh no. Is he all right?”

  “He’s going to be fine. But she freaked out. She was out with me when it happened, so she said she should have been with her grandpa, that she could have done something to prevent it. And then she dumped me.”

  “Ah, I see. It’s a natural response to a crisis. She felt guilty because she wasn’t with him. Give her some time to come around.”

  “I don’t think so, Mom. She said a lot of things about how we shouldn’t have been together in the first place, and how I made her lose her focus and all she had time for was her job and taking care of her grandpa.”

  “Uh-huh. And this was right after her grandfather had his stroke, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Can you imagine how upset she was then? How much that scared her? He’s her only living relative, right?”

  He nodded.

  “Honey, she panicked. And I’m sure you’re hurt by the things she said. But you’re going to have to find a way to forgive her if you want her in your life.” She studied him. “Do you?”

  He took a long swallow of tea before answering. “I told her I loved her and that I’d always be there for her. And then she got out of my truck and left me.”

  “Oh, my sweet boy.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m sure that hurt. Do you think she loves you?”

  “Yes.”

  Mom smiled. “No hesitation. That’s good. Give her time, Rafe. She’s got a lot to process, and her grandfather’s health crisis frightened her in a big way. She is probably missing you like crazy right now.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. If she didn’t see that I could be by her side and help her through all this, what kind of future do we have?”

  “Everyone processes a major event like this differently. Carmen’s been on her own, just her and her grandfather, for a long time. She’s never known any other way. It’ll take her a while to realize that she can lean on you when times are tough.”

  “Or, maybe I can show her that I’m always going to be there for her, no matter what.”

  His mother nodded. “You could do that. Without pressuring her, of course.”

  “Well, yeah. I’d never do that.”

  “Do what you think is best. You know your relationship with her better than I do.”

  He had a thought in mind. He didn’t want Carmen to think he was going to walk away and forget her.

  And he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. He cared about her too much for that.

  So now he had a plan. He just hoped it worked.

  CHAPTER 31

  CARMEN HAD A MILLION THINGS TO DO TODAY AFTER SHE got off work. She stopped at the store, her grocery list in her hand so she could zoom through the aisles and get what she needed.

  Fortunately, Felice had been staying at the house with Grandpa the past week, so she didn’t need to worry about him being alone. Though he’d been acting grumpy as hell lately and saying both the women in his life were fussing way too much over him. He said he felt fine, his new meds were working great and he’d like everyone to leave him the hell alone so everything could go back to normal.

  As she drove home, she realized her grandfather had no idea how much that night had scared her. Losing him just wasn’t an option for her. He was all she had left, and she intended to do everything she could to keep him healthy.

  She and Felice had already come up with a new diet plan for him. Fortunately, he didn’t mind the changes too much, though he said he was going to really miss the fried foods. But he liked vegetables and fish and chicken, and so far he wasn’t complaining about that.

  She took the bags inside and laid them on the counter.

  “Grandpa?”

  No answer.

  “Felice?”

  Still no answer.

  She walked down the hall toward his bedroom, but the door was open. She peeked inside and didn’t see them.

  But by the time she made her way back into the kitchen, the front door opened and they both came inside.

  “Hi, Carmen,” Felice said. “We went for a walk.”

  Felice was a godsend. Carmen didn’t know what she would have done without her this past week.

  “How was the walk?”

  “Hot,” her grandfather said. “And I’m slow.”

  “Which just means you get to see all the beauty in the neighborhood,” Felice said with a smile.

  “I guess so.”

  “But you’re right about it being hot,” Felice said. “I’m very sweaty, so I’m going to rinse off in the shower. I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay, honey.” Grandpa took a seat at the kitchen table and stretched out his legs.

  Carmen filled up a glass of ice water and brought it to him.

  “Thanks.” She started to turn away, but her grandfather stopped her.

  “Take a seat, Carmen.”

  “Sure.” She sat in the chair next to him.

  “You know I feel fine.”

  “You look good, too. Look at how well you’re walking. You didn’t even have your cane with you. That’ll make you even stronger.” She smiled and laid her hand over his.

  “What happened with Rafe?”

  She pulled her hand away. “Nothing. It just didn’t work out.”

  “Bebita. Tell me.”

  She shrugged and stood, heading over to the counter. “Oh, you know how these things go. Sometimes a relationship just runs its course and fizzles.”

  He went quiet for a few minutes, and Carmen began chopping vegetables for the salad she was making for dinner.

  “It’s been a long time since you’ve lied to me, Carmen Lewis.”

  Damn. She turned to face him. “I can only handle so much. My job, taking care of you and the house. Something had to go. So it was Rafe.”

  Her grandfather looked shocked. “You broke up with him because of what happened to me?”

  She looked down at her feet. “Not exactly. Maybe. I don’t know. It was all just so complicated, and I don’t need complicated right now.”

  He stood and came over to her, tipping her chin up with his finger. “Look at me.”

  She raised her head up and met his gaze, saw uncharacteristic anger in her grandfather’s eyes.

  “I’m old, Carmen. I’m going to have health problems here and there. I’m also in love, and I want a future with Felice, who knows ex
actly what she’s getting into with me. Maybe it’s time you face some harsh realities. One, I’m going to die someday.”

  Her eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s the truth. And when I die, I want to know that you have someone in your life who’s going to love you and be your partner in all things, who’ll be by your side to love and care for you. I thought that was Rafe.”

  Her stomach clenched as the pain of missing Rafe became nearly unbearable. She hadn’t been able to sleep the past week between worrying about her grandfather and missing Rafe so much she wanted to run over to his house to beg his forgiveness.

  Tears fell down her cheeks. “I didn’t know what to do, Grandpa. I panicked that night. I was so afraid of losing you that I thought if I had more time to take care of you, I could handle it.”

  She heard sounds coming from the garage but then figured it was probably nothing.

  “When I had my big stroke, I needed you and I was so glad you were here for me. Just like I was here for you after your divorce from Tod. That’s what family does. We’re here for each other when we need each other the most. But now I’m better. And you and Felice are doing everything you can to get me on the right track, to make sure I’m the healthiest I can be. I appreciate that. But I have to tell you, Carmen, that it’s time for you to take a step back now and find your own life. Because I won’t be able to handle you being all alone after I’m gone.”

  She was about to speak, but he held his palm up to silence her. “Not that I’m intending to go anywhere right away. I’m going to marry Felice, and I’d like some nice long years with her. I like her house because it has a great view of the water, so we’re going to move into her place and sell this house.”

  At her look, he added, “Don’t worry. You can stay here as long as you want to.”

  “That’s not the issue. Are you sure Felice can handle everything?”

  He laughed. “By everything, you mean me? Yes. She knows all my health concerns. She accepts me for who I am, and the possibilities of what could come up in the future.”

  She laid her hand over her grandfather’s. “That’s not at all what I meant. But you’ve had a live-in nurse, Abuelo.”

  “And I’ll do fine without one. You’ve got to give up the reins on managing my life and start figuring out how to manage your own, okay?”

  He was right. She knew he was right. But letting go was going to be so hard.

  She gave a quick nod. “I’ll try. Te amo, Abuelo.”

  “Yo también te quiero, bebita.”

  His words in Spanish were always a comfort to her. And his conversation had been an eye-opener.

  Okay, so she wasn’t going to be able to micromanage her grandfather’s health forever. He was right about that. And she did have Felice to help her out, and she was always going to be just a phone call away.

  And now that she’d burned down her love life, she was going to have to do something about that.

  She’d been so incredibly stupid. She’d walked away from Rafe, from the one person she should have been leaning on this whole time. Instead, she’d pushed him away.

  Would he even forgive her?

  She looked at her grandfather. “What if Rafe doesn’t forgive me? I said some awful things to him.”

  Her grandfather gave her a warm smile. “He loves you, Carmen. Of course he’ll forgive you.”

  The noise in the garage grew louder.

  She looked in that direction. “Someone’s in the garage.”

  Her grandfather frowned and followed her to the door.

  She inched open the door and saw Rafe out there, moving boxes and some of her furniture pieces around. Her heart did a hard leap. She closed the door and turned to her grandfather.

  “It’s Rafe. Did you ask him to come over?”

  “No.”

  “What’s he doing out there?” She realized she was whispering.

  Her grandfather shrugged. “No idea. Looked like he was organizing. Something the garage desperately needed. Maybe you should go talk to him.”

  The thought of it made her stomach twist.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Don’t be a coward.” He laid his hand on her back. “Go. Talk. Take your time. Felice and I can handle dinner.”

  Talk about what? About how she’d screwed up the best thing that had ever happened to her?

  “What will I say to him?”

  No answer. She turned around to realize her grandfather had left.

  Okay, Carmen, time to face what you did. She put her hand on the doorknob and opened the door.

  He was carrying a box filled with stuff out to the driveway. She walked out there.

  God, he looked so good in his shorts and tank top, his skin glistening with sweat.

  She’d missed him. She loved him. More importantly, she needed him.

  He looked up at her, glaring.

  “Don’t argue with me about cleaning out your garage, Carmen. I’m just trying to help make more room for you to work on your furniture.”

  “Uh-huh. And you just thought you’d come over here without asking and do this?”

  “ Well . . . yeah. Because you’ve had enough time to think about how much you’ve missed me. And you have missed me, haven’t you?”

  “Took you long enough to get over here. God, yes, I’ve missed you.” She threw herself against him and nearly knocked him to the floor. He steadied himself and put his arm around her.

  “Whoa,” he said. “What’s this all about?”

  She reached up and swept her hand across his jaw. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been so stupid. I broke up with you because I was scared that I couldn’t give enough time to caring for my grandpa, when all this time I should have been leaning on you to help me. I should have asked you to help me. Because when you love someone, it’s a partnership, both the good and the bad.”

  “I believe you said that same thing to me when I went all silent and uncommunicative with you before.”

  “You did. And I should have listened to my own advice. I love you, Rafe, and I need you and I want you and I’m begging you to forgive me for the awful things I said.”

  He pulled her closer. “And I’m sorry it took me so long to come over here. I should have done it the day after you walked out on me, but I stupidly wanted to give you some time to cool off, to think about things and to take care of your grandpa. We can’t keep doing this. We have to find a way to communicate better.”

  She nodded. “You’re right. I promise never to push you away again.”

  “And I promise not to let you walk away from me again. And if you do, I’ll follow you to the end of the world.”

  He kissed her, a soul-searing, powerful kiss that made the hair on the nape of her neck stand up. His hands roamed lower and cupped her butt, and she realized what she would have missed out on had she let this man go. Because when he held her like this, when he kissed her with such deep emotion, she knew exactly where she belonged. She raised up on her toes and aligned her body with his, needing him more than anything. He was her life, her future, and she’d never let him go again.

  “Get a room, you two,” Kal hollered from across the lawn as he walked outside to his truck.

  Carmen pulled back and laughed, laying her head against his chest. “I’m sorry.”

  He tipped her chin up to look down at her. “Forgiven. No more I’m sorry.”

  “Okay.”

  “How’s your grandpa?”

  “Doing well enough to lecture me on being an idiot in letting you go.”

  His lips curved. “He’s a very smart man.”

  “Thank you for what you’re doing in my garage.”

  “You need a stress reliever, and you need the space to work on the furniture you want to restore.”

  He always thought of her, and her needs, because he loved her. God, she was so lucky he still wanted to be with her. She would never take that for granted.

  “I lov
e you, Rafe.”

  “I love you, Carmen.”

  “We were making dinner. Are you hungry?”

  “Always.”

  “Okay. Finish dumping those two boxes first, and then you can eat.”

  He laughed. “So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?”

  “That’s how it’s gonna be.”

  He planted a quick kiss on her lips and then got back on task. Carmen went inside. Felice was in the kitchen getting the chicken ready for the salad.

  “Everything okay?” Felice asked.

  “Everything’s perfect now. Rafe’s cleaning up the garage, then he’s going to come in and have dinner with us.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Felice said, a happy smile on her face. “I’ll set an extra place at the table.”

  Carmen slid her glance over to her grandfather, who smiled and nodded.

  Oh yeah. Everything was going to be absolutely perfect.

  Her grandfather was healthy and in love.

  Carmen could help take care of Grandpa—when he needed it. But he was right about one thing—it was time to take a step back and let him have his life. Because now it was time for her to have a life of her own. A love of her own.

  And had she ever found the love of a lifetime.

  It was time for her own happily-ever-after.

  EPILOGUE

  “HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO KEEP MY EYES CLOSED?” CARMEN asked. “I’m getting carsick.”

  “Just another mile.”

  “Bleh.”

  Rafe grinned as he turned down the street and pulled into the driveway. Or at least, it would be a driveway someday soon. Right now it was dirt. But it was dirt and a promise, and he wanted to give it to Carmen.

  “Just another minute,” he said, turning the engine off. He came over to her side of the truck to open the door.

  He saw the disgruntled look on her face and smiled. He took her hand and helped her out of the truck.

  “Okay, open your eyes.”

  She did, and frowned. “What the hell is this?”

  “It’s a house.”

  “No, it’s not. It’s a frame of a house.”

  He took her hand and led her down the dirt drive. “It’s four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms. It has a huge kitchen and an amazing master bedroom. It has a huge yard for kids and still plenty of space to build a workspace for your furniture restoration—”