Summer Days (Fool's Gold #7)

He smiled. “You’ve always been a smart girl.”


“So listen to me. I’m renting this house on my own. You’re going back to May. I insist. Even if you don’t, I’m not letting you move in here. So you’ll have to find your own place.”

“You’re a tough negotiator.”

“Tell me about it.”

* * *

RAFE WANDERED THROUGH Fool’s Gold. It was the weekend and there was yet another festival going on. This one didn’t include a carnival, although there were plenty of booths selling things. He saw jewelry, wind chimes and organic honey. He didn’t get the latter. Wasn’t honey made by bees? Weren’t bees inherently organic?

He kept moving, taking in the sights and sounds. The smells of barbecue and burgers. He was surrounded by crowds and he’d never felt more alone.

For days now, he’d been dodging calls from Dante. His friend wanted to know when he would be back in the office. A reasonable question, considering Rafe had promised to be there nearly a week ago. But for reasons he couldn’t explain, he hadn’t been able to take the final step of packing and driving away.

He knew he was waiting for something, but couldn’t figure out what. His mother wasn’t speaking to him, and he hadn’t seen Heidi in days. The closest he’d come to contact with her was the damned Team Heidi buttons he saw dozens of women wearing. So far he’d seen only one Team Rafe button. It had been on a beer-bellied guy, who’d given him a thumbs-up and said to keep up the good work. As if Rafe had something to be proud of.

He slipped into Morgan’s Books and looked at the thrillers on the front table. There were also a few mysteries, including one by Liz Sutton, with a big Local Author sticker on the front.

“She’s very good,” Mayor Marsha said, coming up to Rafe. “Liz has a series set in San Francisco. You’d enjoy that. In her first few books, one of the victims always looked like your friend Ethan.”

“Why Ethan?”

“They had a troubled past. Ethan can give you the details. It all worked out.”

“Isn’t Ethan now married to Liz?”

The older woman smiled. “As I said, it worked itself out. Love has a way of doing that.”

A woman in her thirties wearing a Team Heidi button greeted the mayor, glared at Rafe and left the store.

Mayor Marsha motioned to a seating area off to the side in the store.

“I would imagine you’re getting a lot of that sort of thing these days,” she said, when he’d seated himself on a plush sofa and she’d taken the chair opposite. “People assuming the worst about you.”

“I didn’t have anything to do with the judge’s decision. I didn’t want Heidi to lose her house.”

“Were you going to build those houses for the casino?”

He shrugged. “Probably. If my mother had agreed. The land is in both our names, but it’s her property. Everyone is pissed because they think I stole Heidi’s home. I didn’t, and regardless of their opinion of me, the town is going to need extra housing.”

“Yes, and sooner than we’re willing to admit.” Her blue gaze was steady. “I think your heart was in the right place, but your actions were a little ahead of where they should have been.”

“Is that why you’re not wearing a Team Heidi button?”

“I’ve found it’s better for everyone if I don’t take sides.” She studied him. “I’ve learned not to interfere. It was a hard-won lesson, as the most important ones are.” She paused. “My daughter died a few years ago.”

“I’m sorry,” he said automatically, not sure why she was telling him.

“The tragedy is so much more than her death at a relatively young age. Because that’s not when I lost her. I lost her years before, when she was a teenager. I demanded too much, expected more than was reasonable. I might be a relatively benign mayor, but I was a difficult mother. I held on too tight. Maybe I was afraid, maybe I thought that’s what love was. Rather than fight me, she ran away. She was still a teenager.”

“Did you ever reconcile?”

“No. I finally found her, but she wanted nothing to do with me. She had a daughter, my only grandchild, who I didn’t meet for years. I learned a harsh lesson.”

“If you love something, set it free?”

She smiled. “In part. But I also learned that who we love and who loves us truly defines us as people. Who do you love, Rafe?”

The question surprised him and caused him to shift on the too-soft sofa. “My family.”

“Including the brother and sister you never speak to?”

“How do you know about them?”

“I have a network that puts the CIA to shame. People talk, I listen. It’s not too late for you. With them, or with…” She paused. “This can all be fixed. You can belong here again.”

“This isn’t my home.”

“Of course it is. Home is where there’s love. We would like you to be part of the community that is Fool’s Gold.” She smiled. “If you’ll have us. As for those homes that need to be built, I have some land I think you’d be interested in.”