Summer Days (Fool's Gold #7)

“Oh, I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind having a family member or two.” He sipped on his Scotch. “Now what?”


“Hell if I know. I’m getting out of here in a couple of days. I’ll make sure the construction guys are finishing up the barn, and make sure everything else my mom needs is being handled, then I’m coming back to San Francisco.”

Dante raised his eyebrows. “No one would be surprised if you left her to deal with the construction on her own.”

“I probably should.” But he wouldn’t. Taking care of her and his siblings was too much a part of him. Even if it was a thankless job.

He thought about what Shane had said. That he pushed his own views and decided for others. While his brother had a point, Rafe wanted to protest that he’d done the best he could, raising all three of them, looking after Mom. He’d sacrificed plenty, had struggled to make sure they got to be kids, while he’d worried about their futures.

Now he would do things differently, but at ten or sixteen or twenty, he hadn’t known any better.

He wanted to talk to Heidi. To tell her what Shane had said and listen to her opinion, maybe get her advice. She had a way of seeing both sides of a problem. She would know what he should do next.

Only Heidi was avoiding him, and he doubted she would want anything to do with him, if they did run into each other. She’d been so angry with him.

He missed her. What could have been awkward—living in the same house together with his mother and her grandfather—had been fun. He’d enjoyed getting to know her, discovering her moods, what made her smile. He missed the sound of her voice, her laughter, the way she turned him on just by walking into a room.

She was what he would miss most when he was gone. She had shown him he didn’t want a perfect wife anymore. He wanted…

Heidi? Love?

The idea of being with her excited him and terrified him in equal measures. She would never accept a relationship based on shared values and friendship. She would hand over her whole heart and insist he give the same. There would be no safety net, no place to hide. And if she were to leave him, he would never be the same.

The idea of being with her, of having to put so much on the line, was too much. He pushed it away and reminded himself he had to stay in control. That was how he’d survived all these years, how he’d taken care of everyone around him. To give that up was to risk it all.

Something he would never do.

* * *

HEIDI PUT CURED AND WRAPPED bars of soap into the boxes in front of her. She was taking her first shipments for China to the post office that afternoon. They would be put on a cargo ship heading east, and in a few months she would know if she’d managed to break into the growing Asian market.

This was a big step for her business, and one that should make her happy. The problem was, lately she couldn’t seem to feel anything but sad. The carnival had moved on to their next stop, leaving the space around the house and barn looking empty. She hadn’t seen Rafe for days and hated how much she missed him. She was too embarrassed to go into town and visit with her friends, although she’d gotten several phone messages of support.

The truth was right now her life sucked, and she only had herself to blame.

“Are you all right?” May asked, walking into the mudroom.

“Tired,” Heidi admitted, putting down the soap and facing her friend. “It’s been a rough couple of days. How about you?”

“I’m working some things through.”

Heidi shoved her hands into her jeans, then pulled them out again. She and May had been friendly enough, but they’d continued to dance around the most important topic of all. No offense to Priscilla, but they were ignoring the elephant in the room.

“I’m sorry for what I did,” Heidi told her. “And relieved to have been caught. I’m not the type to be very good at a life of crime.”

May smiled. “I’m happy to hear that. As for apologizing, you have, and I understand why you did what you did. Rafe didn’t leave you much choice.”

“He and I have a complicated relationship.” No way she was going to admit they’d slept together. May might be lovely and charming, but she was also Rafe’s mother. “I didn’t know how to talk to him, but I could have come to you. I should have.”

“I wish you had,” May admitted. “We could have worked something out. A compromise. I never wanted to hurt you or Glen.”

Heidi sighed. She was about to say maybe they could figure something out now, when a car pulled up to the house. She recognized it as belonging to the Fool’s Gold police department.

“What on earth?” May said, heading for the back door.

Heidi followed, and they found Police Chief Barns walking toward them.

“Mrs. Stryker,” Chief Barns said with a nod. “Heidi.”