Сьюзен Мэллери: Summer Days

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.”

“A bribe?”

“A mutually beneficial business deal. You should respect that.”

“I’ll call your office and set up an appointment.” He waited. “Aren’t you going to ask me about Heidi?”

“No. You’re not ready. When you are, I won’t have to ask.”

He chuckled. “You like being cryptic.”

“At my age, I need to find my simple pleasures wherever I can.”

* * *

RAFE LOADED UP HIS CAR. He should have left town days ago, but until a few minutes ago, he hadn’t known where to go. Now that he had an address, he was ready. Dante had already sent over the paperwork releasing Rafe from title on the ranch.

He got into his Mercedes, but before he could start the engine, a very large fire truck pulled in behind him, effectively blocking him from backing out. A tall woman climbed down and slowly walked toward his car.

Rafe recognized Heidi’s friend Charlie and knew immediately she’d come to remind him of his promise. That he wouldn’t hurt her friend.

He got out of his car and prepared for her to take him on.

Charlie was only a couple of inches shorter than him. She was large boned. There was plenty of muscle and lots of attitude. He had no idea how to win a fight when she had all the advantages. After all, it didn’t matter if she took a punch. No way he could ever lay a hand on a girl.

“Leaving?” she asked, the truck’s engine still rumbling.

He nodded.

“You haven’t said goodbye.”

“Heidi doesn’t want to see me.”

“About the only time she’s shown any sense where you’re concerned,” Charlie told him, then crossed her arms over her chest. “Why isn’t she good enough for you? What do you need that she doesn’t have?”

“Nothing,” he said honestly. “Nothing at all.”

“Don’t make me hurt you, jerkwad,” Charlie growled.

“I’m not playing. I’m telling you the truth. This isn’t about Heidi—it’s about me. There’s something I have to do, and then I’ll come back.”

Charlie’s lip curled. “And I should believe you, why?”

“You shouldn’t. Take Heidi’s side. If I’m wrong, then hunt me down and do your worst.”

“That’s a very interesting invitation. Why should I wait?”

“Because I might be telling the truth.”

She muttered something under her breath. “Why couldn’t all women be lesbians? Life would be a whole lot easier. At least, mine would.”

“Less fun for us guys that way.”

“You’re not my main concern.”

He stepped toward her, put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Trust me.”

“You’re trying to piss me off, aren’t you?” she asked, pulling away.

For a second Rafe would have sworn Charlie flinched when he kissed her, but then he told himself he was imagining the reaction.

She glared at him, then returned to the fire truck. After moving it back far enough for him to get out, she waited, as if prepared to follow him, to make sure he made good on his word.

Rafe was fine with that. He no longer had anything to hide.

CHAPTER TWENTY

WHEN PEOPLE THOUGHT about Los Angeles, they generally pictured theme parks, the beach or Beverly Hills. There were a lot of other parts to the sprawling city, many of them comfortably middle class. Some neighborhoods were remembered more for what they had been, years ago. Slowly, they lost their way, declining year by year, until the buildings were more than a little ragged around the edges.