Almost Twilight (17 page)

She
was desperate to reach him and grabbed his arm. “You don’t want everyone to
know that you have feelings, is that it?” She ground the words out, wanting him
to show some feeling, any feeling. “You don’t want people to know that you’re
human?”

Every
muscle in him seemed to stiffen, but she forged on. “You are a human being,
Rafe. With a kind heart and a wonderful soul. God didn’t make us this way for
nothing. That’s why we’re different from any other being on earth. We have a
body, and we have a soul. It’s part of the human condition to feel bad when
things happen.”

He
leaned toward her, his eyes like chips of ice. “Is this a speech or a sermon? You’re
sounding like my father.”

Candy
felt as if he slapped her. She glared at him. “You’re impossible. I don’t know why
I even bother.” She turned away, not waiting for an answer.

He
gently placed his hand on her shoulder, stopping her. His hand lingered a
moment before he spoke. “Susie died.”

Candy
swung around.

“What?”
A knot rose in her chest. “But I thought—”

“You
thought wrong.”

She
looked up, surprised to see his gray eyes glistening with tears. He looked away.

“I
don’t understand,” she said quickly. “I thought she looked better the last time
I saw her. I thought—”

“You
thought wrong. All your pampering was for nothing, Nurse Richards. Your whipped
cream cake, your sweet words. She died anyway.”

Anger
surged through Candy’s veins. “You pompous idiot! How dare you think it was for
nothing!”

A
muscle jumped in his jaw. Only the sound of the waves splashing against the
beach broke through the chilling silence that surrounded them.

Candy
glared at him, her eyes burning with unshed tears. “I thought you were someone
else, Rafe Clearbrook. I thought you were a doctor who cared. But I guess you
were right...I thought wrong.”

She
threw his words back at him and turned on her heels. Her bare feet brushed
across the warm sand as she hurried back to the condo. She would leave tomorrow.
She would face Fritz Clearbrook and tell him his matchmaking plans had failed
big time.

But
halfway across the sand, she slowed her steps and pondered the way Rafe had
reacted to Susie’s death. She dared a glance over her shoulder and stilled. A
wave of compassion swept through her as she studied the tall silhouette beside
the palm tree.

Moonlight
poured over the scene. He was alone. Head bent, shoulders slumped, the man
stood motionless against the backdrop of the ocean.

“Oh,
Rafe,” she whispered to herself.
You do care.
I wasn’t wrong at all.

At
that moment, her heart swelled with love. She knew that he had cared for that
little girl as much as she had. And maybe in some ways, even more.

The
proud, arrogant doctor was trying to block out his feelings for his patient,
and it wasn’t working this time. This time it hurt. This time the doctor
couldn’t heal everything. This time he was human. She had always sensed a part
of that in Rafe, but tonight she saw much more of the man.

Candy
drew in a deep sigh. She couldn’t run away from him now. He needed her.

She
silently came up behind him, watching, waiting.

Unaware
of her presence, he combed a frustrated hand through his hair and let forth a
groan of anguish. It was a bare whisper of a sound carried on the wind, but she
heard it all the same.

Her
lower lip trembled as she thought of all the pain he must have endured as a
doctor. She knew how it was to be in the medical profession, taking care of
patients.

Maybe
all doctors weren’t like Roger.

“Rafe?”

He
turned with a start. “Back for another sermon, Nurse Richards?”

“You
have a right to feel bad about Susie’s death or anyone’s for that matter. It’s part
of the human condition to have feelings.”

“Human
condition,” he laughed sarcastically. “Now, you’re a psychologist and a pastor?”

Candy
bit her lip. She would not be defeated by his arrogance or his pain. “Well,
Doctor, how’s this for a human condition? I think I’m falling in love with you,
and there’s not a darn thing you can do to stop it. What have you got to say
about that?”

His
eyes grew wide, and he stared down at her as if she were crazy.

Anxiously,
she waited for an answer. Nothing.

Fighting
back tears, she felt her energy depleted against his rock-like attitude. “Well,
excuse me, then. Sorry I bothered you.”

She
spun around, but before she could take a step, his arm shot out and yanked her
to his wet chest.

“Say
it again,” he said, breathing into her hair.

The
thumping of his heart pressed against her ear.

She
tilted her head back, and the smile in his eyes devoured her. “I think I’m
falling in love with you, Dr. Clearbrook.”

He
kissed her then, a kiss filled with pain, a kiss filled with hunger, a kiss
filled with need. But also a kiss filled with passion.

“Ah,
sweetheart. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all the stupid stuff I pulled. I’m sorry
for ever hurting you.”

She
put a finger to his lips. “Shhh.”   

“No,
let me say this. You were right. Over the years, especially after my mother
died, I learned to store my emotions in a safe place, where nothing could
penetrate them, not even death. But I was wrong.”

She
circled a hand around his neck. “I can help you share your pain, Rafe. If you
let me.”

He
clung to her as if she were his lifeline. “You were a comfort to Susie. I know
that now. You made her life brighter and worth living. That day, when I
cornered you in the closet, I didn’t understand it myself. All I knew was that
I didn’t want you to ever hurt like I was hurting.”

Tears
streamed down Candy’s cheeks. “I know.”

Rafe’s
lips seared a path down her neck. “Candy, Candy, Candy, you are so sweet.”

From
the window of the second guest room, Selena wiped her tears and blew the
whistle around her neck.

Rafe
almost dropped Candy in the sand and looked up. “For crying out loud. What was
that?”

“That’s
called a whistle, Doctor,” Selena shouted above Candy’s giggle. “I can’t see
everything going on out there, so that’s enough kissing for you two lovebirds
tonight. This housekeeper needs some sleep. As your father would say, “Dang it
all, git in here or I’ll hogtie you to that palm tree and let the tide come
in.” 

Rafe
murmured something under his breath. Something about crazy, archaic, medieval
chaperones.

Smiling,
Candy reached for his hand and started for the house. “I wouldn’t challenge
her, Rafe. Not tonight.”

“Challenge
her?” Rafe whispered, his breath fluttering across her ear. “Heck, sweetheart. I
was wondering which palm tree she was talking about, so she could hogtie both
of us together, maybe then she’d leave us alone.”

The
following morning when Candy awoke, she blinked twice at the tall male with the
jet-black beard hovering in her doorway. Panic sent her heart racing.

He
wore a black Stetson tilted rakishly above two baby blue eyes, and her first
thought was that he another crazy handyman from Rafe’s condo next door.

“R-Rafe?”
she called softly, gulping.

White
teeth flashed beneath that thick, dark beard, and the hairs on the nape of her
neck stood on end. Wordlessly, the large figure took a few steps into the room
and stopped. The scream stuck in her throat.

“Hello,
darlin’.” The voice sounded warm and welcoming, totally opposite of what she
expected.

Long,
muscular legs, clad in neatly pressed blue jeans, leaned against the blue
overstuffed chair just inside the room. Dark, tanned hands hung carelessly by
their thumbs over his front jean pockets. He wore a pristine white buttoned
down shirt, rolled up at the sleeves, revealing a bit too much of his sinewy
forearms. He looked in much better shape than Dragon Man from the beach.

In
fact, those forearms could tear her to shreds if he wanted.

“So,”
he drawled, “you’re Nurse Richards.”

Candy’s
gaze shifted toward the window, then back to him. Somehow, this man knew her
name. The thought terrified her.

Her
heart climbed to her throat when he pulled his thumbs out of his jeans. He let
out a wolf whistle that shattered her eardrums.

Her
mouth dropped open in shock.

But
when his cowboy boots clacked against the floor, heading straight for her, her
scream finally made it past her lips, slamming into the surrounding walls.

The
man bolted to her side faster than a bear to honey. His body sank against the
mattress while he whipped a strong hand against her mouth to stifle her cries.

“Now,
sugar, that ain’t the way to meet your future brother-in-law.”

This
man was crazy!

As
her fear grew by the second, eyes the color of a summer sky frowned back at her.

“Hey.
Didn’t they tell you about me?”

Candy
shook her head, terror overtaking her.

The
man tilted his head in disgust. “Well, those good-for-nothing green-horned
cowards. I should have known.”

She
tried to swallow when the man slowly lifted his hand from her lips. She had no
idea who or what this man was talking about. Maybe he was a friend of that
worker who bothered her yesterday. She thought Rafe had fired the lot of them.

A
slow, sensual smiled spread across his face, and she instinctively pulled the
covers up to her chin.

“Get
out of here,” she rasped. “Or I’ll scream again.”

“Not
too neighborly, Miss Richards.” 

He
tipped the brim of his hat, took it off and set it on the nearby nightstand.

He
looked around the room. “Well, Rafe sure has done things nice since I was here last.”

Candy
clutched the blanket tighter as the stranger’s blue eyes trapped hers. “I owe
him big, sugar. Rafe ripped me off last Christmas when he grabbed a filly I was
looking at, and now I intend on paying him back.”

A
wave of heat shot through Candy. This man wanted revenge on Rafe? 

“Sugar,
you don’t need to be afraid.” 

He
put a strong tanned hand to her face and smiled. A lock of black hair fell over
those baby blues in a devil-may-care attitude, making Candy tremble. “Listen, I’m
here because—”

“I’m
gonna kill you!”

Rafe’s
shout hit Candy’s eardrums like exploding firecrackers. Gasping for breath, she
jerked her stunned gaze toward the door.

Rafe
stood there, dripping wet, with a towel wrapped around his waist. Black hair
fell in front of both eyes while fat droplets of water trickled down his
temples. His powerful shoulders blocked the doorway, and a very wet muscular
chest heaved up and down as if his lungs were about to burst through his skin.

The
intruder smiled. “Hey, Rafe. Long time no see, partner.”

Rafe
stared at Candy, then back at the man. “You missed one of the most important
days of your brother’s life, yet you have time to show up here?”

Candy
sagged against her pillow. Everything was okay. Rafe knew this crazy cowboy.

The
man frowned at Rafe. “You know very well I was stuck in Paris.”

“Paris?”
The word came out of Candy’s mouth before she realized what she was saying.
What would this overgrown cowboy be doing in Paris?

The cowboy
shifted his gaze between Candy and Rafe, then back to Candy. “I’m not as bad as
you think I am. I couldn’t get a plane out that night. I already told the family
all about it. A storm hit, and I was stuck. And hell, Rafe, that was almost a
year ago. I’ve seen you since then. But I sure as h—heck haven’t seen this gal.
I should have stopped at Tanner’s place a few more times. Every time I came for
dinner, Miss Richards was working.”

Candy’s
mind was barely able to register what this man was saying. She was still
shaking.

Rafe
stepped into the room, and Candy tried to avoid his powerful presence by
looking away. Did he have any idea what he was doing to her in this vulnerable
state? She couldn’t think straight.

“Candy,
I take it you’ve met my baby brother, Max.”

Candy
jerked her head toward the bearded cowboy, her eyes widening in surprise. “B-baby
b-brother?” 

She
pointed to the blue-eyed rascal sitting beside her. “H-he’s your brother?” 

That
was Max Clearbrook!

Thrown
off guard by the man’s unorthodox entrance, she had never made the connection. What
kind of brother would come to a lady’s bedroom, a lady he didn’t know, and sit
on her bed!