He seemed…smitten.”
“Oh, please.” She returned her attention to her soap wrappers. “I barely know him.”
“You’ve made an impression.”
“Speaking of that sort of thing, how was your night out with your matchmaker girl?”
He shrugged. “Fine.”
“Oooh, when you say it like that, I want to know when you two are setting the date.”
“It was one date.”
“You were home early.”
“I’m surprised you remember that.”
She didn’t remember much else about the evening, but she did recall that Rafe had beaten her home, and she hadn’t been out all that late. There were some other blurry images, something about kissing, but she wasn’t going there.
“She wasn’t the one?”
“No.”
“But she drove all the way out here to see you. That has to be worth something.”
“Not to get too cynical, but do you have any idea how much I’m worth?”
“Not really.” She thought about the little she knew and what Trisha, her lawyer, had told her. “A lot?”
The slow, sexy smile returned, making her fingers fumble on the soap wrapping. “That’s as good a number as any.”
“You’re saying she was in it for the money and not your sparkling personality?”
“It’s a concern.”
Probably a realistic one, she thought. “Maybe you should have your matchmaker play down your fortune. So you can find someone who loves you for who you are.”
“I’m not in it for love. I want a partnership.”
“That’s romantic.”
“I tried the romantic route. It didn’t go well.”
Heidi had a feeling that if Rafe and his ex-wife had walked away from their marriage with no regrets, then they’d never been in love. Her experience with the emotion was entirely different. Love could hold you in its grip and never let go. She thought of Melinda and knew people died in the name of love.
“Where did you take her?” she asked.
“Who?”
“Your date.”
“To the hotel restaurant.”
She sighed. “That’s your problem. You need to do something more special.”
“A moonlit horseback ride?”
“Not if you don’t warn her to dress right. Fool’s Gold is a great town. There are lots of little restaurants that have more ambience than the one at the hotel. Or take her up to the Gold Rush Ski Lodge and Resort. At least you could ride the gondola to the top of the mountain. That’s romantic.”
“It’s cold.”
She rolled her eyes. “You could put your arm around her and keep her warm. Jeez. No wonder you’re forced to use a matchmaker. You’re not very good at the whole dating thing.”
“I’m very good at it. The problem isn’t me, it’s the town. Being here. Being back.”
“Too many memories?”
“Yeah.”
She thought about what May had told her about Rafe and how difficult things had been back then. “You’re not that kid anymore. You can take care of your family.”
He drew in a breath and picked up one of the wrapped packages of soap. “They brought us baskets every holiday. There was plenty of food. Not leftovers that someone dug out of the back of his pantry, but real food. Turkeys and hams, big roasts. All the fixings. Pies and cakes. There would be movies for us kids and books for my mom.”
“That sounds nice.”
“It wasn’t. I always knew when they were coming. I answered the door and I could see the pity in their eyes.”
As he spoke, Heidi knew he wasn’t the Rafe Stryker she’d met, but instead, a ten-year-old boy who couldn’t provide for those he loved. The one who had been left with an impossible task—providing for his family.
“It wasn’t your job to take care of everyone,” she murmured.
“Someone had to.”
“Your mom was doing it.”
“She was overwhelmed. There was too much work and no help.”
“So you did what you could.”
“It wasn’t enough.”
She understood why he was so concerned about May. Back then, he’d been unable to protect her. Now he could protect them all. Yet that attention came at a price. When one of his siblings didn’t measure up, Rafe was unforgiving.
“Tell me about your sister.”
He stared at her. “What do you want to know?”
“What is she like?”
“Younger. I was nine when she was born.”
“I thought your dad died when you were eight.”
“He did.”
“Oh.” Heidi couldn’t make the math work.
“It was a few months after. Mom was having a tough time coping.” He put the soap back on her desk. “Shane brought some guy home. A cowboy here for the rodeo. I guess my mom spent the night with him. He left before we were up, and we never saw him again. A few months later, she told us she was having a baby. Then Evangeline was born.”
“That can’t have been easy,” Heidi said.
“Mom is strong.”
“I meant for your sister. To know she doesn’t completely fit in with the family. That she’s a constant reminder of what your mom did.”
“It’s not like that. Not for either of them.” He hesitated. “I don’t know. Maybe it is. Evie’s never around. Shane and Clay come by to see Mom every few months, but not Evie.”
Heidi guessed that Rafe was much more clear on the problem than he wanted to let on. But admitting it would mean dealing with it. As long as he didn’t see there was an issue, he could ignore the situation. “Where’s your sister now?”
“She’s a dancer. She went to Juilliard. She’s very gifted.”
Heidi waited, but Rafe didn’t say any more.
“You never said what she’s like?”
“I don’t spend much time with her. When she was a kid, she was always dancing.”
“Was she always the outsider?”
He stood. “Is this another of your townie things? For someone who embraces the idea of community, you like to put people into groups. Us versus them.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Maybe not, but it’s accurate. Evangeline is my sister. I love her. Sure, I don’t know every detail of her life, but if she was ever in trouble, if she ever needed anything, I would be there for her. We all would. We’re a family.”
He stalked out of the room. Heidi watched him go, wondering if Evangeline would agree. May had decorated the living room with pictures of her sons, but there was only one of her daughter. She had a feeling Rafe hadn’t spoken to his sister in months. Maybe longer. She supposed every family had secrets, even from each other. The trick was loving your family, despite the secrets…or maybe because of them.
*