Almost Twilight (9 page)

“All
right, and you can call me Rafe.”

Rafe,”
she said softly, closing her eyes. “That’s a nice name.

Rafe
decided he needed to sit a seat away from her, because if he kept staring at
those ruby red lips, he would kiss her, asleep or not. And if he did that, he
would never hear the end of it.

But
before he had a chance to move, she spoke. “Rafe?” Her voice was a husky whisper,
tugging at his heart.

Rafe
froze at the hand that crawled up his chest. Her finger caressed his cheek. He
cleared his throat, unable to think coherently. “Y-yes?”

“Rafe?”

One
of those delicate brows rose in inquiry, and he swallowed hard.

“I
think you’re awfully nice to take care of me, considering...” Her eyes drifted
closed, and her lips curved into a sensuous smile as she dropped her hand.

He
stared at her, baffled. “Considering what?”

She
blinked, her hand skimming his wrist. “Considering you’re a doctor.”

A
doctor? What the hell did that mean?

Rafe
sank into his seat and groaned. Her touch was oddly comforting and stirring at
the same time.

He
grimaced, as he stared at the sweet woman sleeping next to him.

That
did it, he thought. When he returned to Colorado, he was going to break that stupid
mountain stick over his father’s head!

It
was evening when Tanner returned home from his business trip. He sat in his
study, reclining in his leather chair, sipping on a cold beer when his cell
phone rang. He looked at the number and answered. “Hey, Rafe. How’s it going?”

“You’re
kidding, right?”

“I thought
you were stretching that muscled body on the beach, drinking Margarita’s, and
checking out the enchiladas.” He laughed. “If you know what I mean.”

“I’m
playing babysitter to Nurse Richards, if you know what I mean! Now get Dad on
the phone. Pronto!”

Stunned,
Tanner spilled a large amount of beer on his white dress shirt. “Nurse Richards?”

“Yes,
the very same Nurse Richards who was staying at your house. The very same Nurse
Richards who I was accused of pushing into a janitor’s closet. And I didn’t
push her, I steered her, but that’s beside the point. Now, are you going to get
Dad on the phone, or do I have to keep calling home until someone answers? Because
Dad is obviously not answering his cell phone!”

Tanner
gave a snort of amusement. “He’s at it again.” 

“Shut
up, and get
your
father on the phone, because after this, I’m going to
disown him.”

“You
can’t disown your own flesh in blood,” Tanner said, swallowing another laugh.

“Try
me.”

“Okay,
settle down. Tell me what happened.”

“
Your
father sent Nurse Richards here, on
my
vacation, and has her staying
at
my
cottage. Now, do you get the picture?”

Tanner
lifted a narrowed gaze toward Fritz who had suddenly appeared in the doorway.

“That
Rafe on the phone?” Fritz asked.

Tanner’s
lips slanted upward and he nodded.

“Tell
him I went out with Lorraine.”

“Get
him on the phone, Tan! You owe it to me! If you don’t get him on the phone,
I’ll...” Rafe continued to curse into the phone while Tanner held it away from
his ear.

“You
better talk to him, Dad,” Tanner said, pointing his cell phone toward his
father. “He sounds hostile, and I’m more afraid for Candy than his ego.”

Fritz
scowled and stomped across the room, his walking stick thumping beside him. “If
that boy hurts one little hair on that filly’s head, I’ll have Max hogtie him
to that bed post.” 

“I
don’t think it’ll go that far, but it’s between you and him, and believe me,
Rafe is not a happy camper.”

Fritz
shooed Tanner out of the chair and dropped his mountain cane across Tanner’s
massive desk. “Hey there, Rafe! Enjoying your vacation? 

Rafe
gritted his teeth, trying to hold back his anger. His father was driving him
crazy. “Vacation?” he ripped out.

“Nice
and sunny there, eh? Of course, it’s nighttime...”

Rafe
readjusted his earphone and glared at the back of his cottage where a host of
orange flowers hung like ornate jewelry around the edge of the windows. Trying
to calm his nerves, he stuffed his hands in the back of his low hanging shorts
and shifted his gaze toward the ocean as his father chattered on.

Sand
squished between Rafe’s toes while beautiful turquoise water rippled in tiny
waves, glinting against the moonlight. This vacation was supposed to be a
retreat from his hectic and crazy life in Colorado, but it wasn’t, not with
Nurse Richards out cold in his only available condo.

The
extra condo next door, the one he used for guests, was not available. It was
undergoing a total redo. Lucky him. He had totally forgotten about it.

The
entire situation was unbelievable.

“Rafe,
you there, son?”

“Why,
Dad? Just tell me why you did this to me?”

There
was a long pause before Fritz spoke. “I wanted Candy to have a vacation. Is
that so hard to understand?”

Rafe
curled his hands into two tight fists. “You sent her to my condo, on my flight,
on my vacation. And now that my mind has had a few minutes to digest this
entire situation, I seem to recall, it was you who cajoled me into refinishing
the second condo. Have you no decency at all?”

“Speaking
of decency, I had a little chat with Ed Riley, the realtor for the Banter
place.”

“Don’t
go off on another tangent, Dad. I’m talking about Nurse Richards.”

“She
is pretty, ain’t she?” 

“I’m
not going there.”

But
she was pretty all right. However, there was no way Rafe was about to answer
that question with a yes. A pretty woman was one thing, marriage was quite
another.

 “Well,
then,” Fritz continued, “as I was saying, I was speaking to Ed about the Old
Banter house, and he said that you were looking at it. Listen, you might as
well put that notion out of your mind, because you can’t have it.”

“I
already gave the man a down payment. It’s basically a done deal.”

“Well,
you can undo it.”

“Why?”

“Because
you stole that house right from under Candy’s feet. Dang it, Rafe! That was the
only thing she wanted on God’s green earth, that’s why!”

“Oh,
for crying out loud. That’s preposterous.”

“I
ain’t caring what you think. You let that gal have her vacation free and clear,
and you give her back her house. When I told you old Banter was selling his
home, I never dreamed you’d go looking for a house like that. Dang it, Rafe. I
told Candy all about it, hoping she would buy it and stay in town. But if you
want to give it to her for a wedding present, well, that’s another thing all
together.”

Rafe
hit his head against a nearby palm tree. “I’ll let her stay for free, and eat
my food for free, but on the point about the house, the answer is no. I have my
own plans.”

“Plans
scams. You do what your father tells you to do.”

“Not
on this one. And another thing, as a doctor, I’m telling you that you should
never have sent that woman on a plane by herself. She was petrified to be in
that enclosed space, not to mention a bit crazy.”

“I
didn’t send her by herself. I knew you would be there, Rafe. I didn’t pay
medical school bills for nothing!” 

Fritz’s
voice was rising, and Rafe had about all he could take. It was obvious his
father wasn’t going to admit doing anything wrong. Rafe didn’t even know why he
had called in the first place. The entire phone call was useless.

“All
right, Dad. You won this round. But if you ever try to pass a woman off on me
again, let alone a woman who has claustrophobia and can’t handle her liquor,
I’m going to—”

The dead
sound of the cell phone echoed in Rafe’s ear. With an oath trembling on his
lips, he dug his feet into the sand and spun around to head back to his condo.

“Don’t
worry, Dr. Clearbrook, I’m never one to be passed on to any man, especially
you.”

Rafe
froze. Candy Richards was holding on to the frame of the screen door, looking
so small and helpless in her wrinkled skirt and rumpled sweater that Rafe felt
like the worst fiend in the world.

“Candy,
I can explain.”

She
stepped into the sand, dragging her suitcase behind her. “I can find a place to
stay without your help, Doctor.”

She
could barely stand and wouldn’t find a suitable car within a mile.

“You’re
not going anywhere, Miss Richards.” 

“You
just try to stop me, Doctor.”

Rafe
smiled and leaned against the palm tree, watching as the lady hauled her
suitcase across the sand about fifteen feet, then stopped.

The
sound of the waves hitting the beach seemed to lull the tension between them. Another
urge to protect the woman shot through Rafe when he saw her shoulders sag in
exhaustion, but not defeat.

Impulsive
and stubborn, that was Nurse Richards.

He
almost admired the lady. Almost.

“Going
somewhere?” He lifted an inquiring brow.

She
looked over her shoulder, shooting him daggers.

Rafe
was instantly entranced by the shimmering chocolate color of her eyes. “There’s
no car for miles. We took a taxi here, remember?”

She
lifted her chin, not answering. Her eyes turned glassy.

Rafe
cringed. “For crying out loud, don’t start that.” 

He
pushed himself off the tree and grabbed her suitcase. It was a flimsy bag that
must have been at least twenty years old. “You can’t go anywhere tonight.”

She
pulled her suitcase back. “Y-yes, I can.”

He
tugged. “No, you can’t. There’s no transportation until tomorrow.”

She
tugged. “I’ll walk then.”

He
yanked on the suitcase, and the entire contents spilled open.

She
gasped. “Now look what you’ve done! My clothes!”

A
light breeze whipped across the sand, and she hastily grabbed at the pieces
that started skidding along the beach.

“Well,
don’t just stand there looking male, do something!”

“Yes
ma’am.” Rafe stooped down and picked up a white blouse, a pair of red shorts,
and then he paused when a hot pink, one-piece swimsuit came into sight.

He
looked at her slim body, bent over, as she stuffed her clothes back into the
suitcase. She was mumbling to herself, oblivious to his stare. He shifted his
gaze back to the conservative piece of clothing in his hands and smiled. It
wasn’t even a bikini, but he didn’t care. It was something he wouldn’t mind
seeing her in.

He
shook his head in disgust. What was he thinking? This island air was casting
some type of spell over him. Romantic notions were not what he needed tonight. And
especially not with Nurse Richards, the coldest fish in the ocean.

She
glanced up to see him holding her swimsuit and grabbed it out of his hands. “You
can go into your little condo now. I think I have everything under control.”

He
laughed. “I’m not going in until you come in with me.”

“Well,
you can just wait until you know what freezes over, because I’m not entering
that...” Her arm swung toward the orange blossoms swaying in the breeze
“...that place anytime soon.”

“Why
not?” he said, wondering all of the sudden why he wanted her to stay.

“Because
it’s yours. And if it’s yours, I certainly don’t want to be freeloading off a
doctor.” 

She
stared at her hands, stuffing her unmentionables back into the suitcase and
muttering something about Fritz and his weasel-like ways.

Rafe
almost laughed out loud at the future scene of how his father would stand up to
Nurse Richards’ wrath. It would be like a showdown in some Spaghetti Western.
And he wanted to be there when it happened.

“Suit
yourself,” he finally said. “I’m hitting the sack.”

Her
head jerked up, and there was a thick moment of silence.

He
gave her a bland face as he opened the screen door.

“I’ll
sleep outside,” she said, lifting her chin.

Rafe
looked up at the stars. “Should be a nice night for it. Just be careful of the
tide. You might want to stay close to the condo, never know how high the water
gets at this time of the year.” 

He
hoped she didn’t know too much about tides and the pull of the moon.

“Thanks
for the info, Doc.”

“No
problem.” He watched from the closed screen door as she dragged her suitcase to
the side of the house. She was persistent, that was a fact.