Rafe—
All week, I see Tori come and go at a distance.
I have no excuse to go up to the house on the hill, but that doesn’t stop me from hoping she’ll seek me out at the mill. But days go by, and it doesn’t happen.
There’s never any report of the Governor’s son going missing or even being assaulted, so I can’t help but think either they’re covering the incident up, or the kid never told his father.
Friday night, Bubba and I are working late again to get an order ready for the morning. When we finally finish, we tug our work gloves off and head around the corner of the building toward where his truck and my bike are parked on the other side.
“Check it out,” Bubba says, drawing my attention from the ground.
That same fancy car is coming down the drive from the house, and I jump into the shadows of the building, tugging Bubba with me to watch.
It’s Alex Powers, that guy Bubba was telling me about, the guy I saw talking to Charlie that night at the house.
Tori is in the passenger seat, and they’re laughing as they pull out onto the highway. I can only see her from the chest up, but she’s wearing a blue satin halter dress, or maybe it’s a top. Either way, it looks sexy, especially with the dangled sparkling earrings I spot as they go past.
Once he pulls out, the engine of the sports car roars as it accelerates to top speed.
I’m pissed and use the anger to cover the searing pain of seeing her with another man. It’s as if she’s wiped me from her memory.
Bubba slaps my arm with the back of his hand. “Shake it off. She’s out of your league, Rafe. Always was, always will be.” He points down the road at the disappearing car. “That right there is the kind of man Miss Tori Sawyer will end up with. Ain’t no doubt about it.”
“Never said there was.” I shove past him to stalk into the office, his laughter following me as he heads to his truck.
I put our last work order in the wire basket on Cora Lee’s desk for the morning.
She’s long gone, and the place is dark, but the door to Charlie’s office is ajar, and a crack of light shines across the floor.
I hear his angry voice and wonder who’s in there with him.
As far as I know, Bubba and I are the only other people still at the mill.
I hear Bubba’s truck drive off, and hesitate, staring at that crack of light.
Charlie obviously doesn’t hear me, because he’s too busy arguing.
I creep closer and eavesdrop.
“You’d be a fool not to sell. How many more equipment breakdowns is it going to take for you to realize that?
” He pauses, and I realize he’s talking on the phone.
“No, sir. I haven’t forgotten my place. I’m just trying to keep you informed.
The automatic bandsaw broke today. That thing cost forty-five grand new, and it’s going to cost a mint to fix.
” He huffs a breath. “Why you think that kid could fix something like that is beyond me. Okay, fine. I’ll get him on it. ”
The phone slams down.
“Fucking stubborn fool.” His chair creaks and rolls across the floor, and his footsteps come closer.
I jump toward the other side of a tall metal cabinet, blending into the shadows, and watch him stalk across the room to the door that leads out to the shop where some milling work is done.
Once Charlie exits the room, I move to the window and peek through the blinds that give the office privacy between the two workspaces.
Out on the shop floor, Charlie walks over to one of the workbenches against the wall and picks up a hammer.
Then he strides to the expensive machine he was talking about and slams the hammer against it.
My eyes widen. What the fuck is he doing?
I don’t know what makes me dig my phone out of my pocket, but I pull up my camera and start recording. Charlie makes another dozen blows until a piece breaks off and clatters to the floor. He picks it up and tosses it in a trashcan, then returns the hammer to the workbench.
I shove my phone in my pocket.
For a split-second, I consider confronting him but think better of it.
Maybe it’s better I don’t show all my cards.
He doesn’t know I just witnessed that, and I may have a need to show that video, so I play it close to the vest and slip out the door, jogging to my bike.
I fire the thing up and roar out of there.
In my side mirror, I see Charlie come out the door, staring after me.
On Saturday, we work a half day, but since I’ve worked here, we’ve never gotten off before 2pm.
After seeing Tori with Alex Powers last night, I plan to stay away from her, but that doesn’t mean keeping her off my mind has been any more successful.
Mr. Sawyer drives down from the house in his Mercedes and goes in to the office.
A few minutes later, Cora Lee walks out of the office to put the outgoing mail in the box at the edge of the highway. It’s a bit of a walk, and I jump at the chance to slip into the office. If I get caught, I’ll say a work order is missing.
When I slip inside the door, it’s quiet, but the door to the shop is ajar. I move closer and peer through the crack.
Charlie is showing Mr. Sawyer the broken piece of equipment. I think about telling Sawyer that Charlie did it, but I hang back and watch.
I can hear them arguing, but the words aren’t clear.
The door behind me opens, and I spin to find Tori standing there.
“Oh, hey,” she takes a step back when she sees me. “I was looking for my father. Is he here?”
I gesture with a thumb as I head toward the door she came through. “In there.”
I brush past her, and she gasps. “You don’t have to be so rude.”
I whirl on her. “That’s rich. Speaking of rich, how was your date last night?” I pause in the open doorway long enough to throw that at her, but her words stop me.
“It was fantastic. Why are you being so hateful?”
I storm out without giving her a reply and head to the forklift to help Bubba load the next tractor trailer that just arrived.
Not two minutes later, I hear a sharp whistle and turn to see Sawyer and his daughter standing outside the door. He motions me over.
Hopping off the forklift, I wonder what fresh hell this is. Did she tell her father I was rude to her? Am I about to get my ass reamed out for it? Maybe I’m about to be blamed for the damaged equipment.
I stalk toward them, anger flaring as I prepare for all of the above.
“Rafe, Tori’s car has a flat tire. Can you change it?”
My eyes shift between them, and I slow. “Sure.”
“Daddy, I’m going to be late. I don’t have time to wait for that.”
Sawyer turns to me and tosses me a set of keys. “Take my car and drop her off, then bring it back to me. I have a meeting at the bank in an hour.”
Tori and I are both wide eyed at his suggestion. She recovers before I can think up an excuse why Bubba should do it.
“What? Daddy, can’t you do it?”
“I’ve got to fix this damn equipment.”
“Can’t I take your car, then?”
“I have to get to that meeting. Tori, just go with Rafe.” With that, he disappears into the office.
We stare helplessly at each other, and then my gaze shifts to the silver Mercedes.
“Let’s go, princess.” I stalk toward it, moving to the passenger side to open the door for her.
“I’m not a princess,” she snaps, sliding into the seat.
“You say so,” I mutter, slamming her door and going around to slide behind the wheel.
Any other time, I’d be grinning at the chance to drive such an expensive car.
Right now, I’m pissed, so it’s hard to appreciate the fine leather and German engineering.
I back the car up and hit the button to open the sunroof.
Tori immediately hits the button again to close it. “My hair will be a mess.”
I roll my eyes.
“Don’t you roll your eyes at me!”
“Then quit being a bitch.”
“I’m not being a bitch. You started it.”
“Right. I’ve got to drop what I’m doing to give you a ride to… where the hell are we going?”
“White Lotus Salon.”
“What the hell is that? You getting a massage or something?”
“It’s none of your business.”
I ignore her and hit the little voice command button on the steering wheel. “Take me to White Lotus Salon.”
The navigation system pops up on the screen.
We don’t speak the rest of the way. When I pull up at the curb and she starts to climb out, I lean over.
“What time am I supposed to pick you up?”
“Whenever I’m done. I don’t know how long it will take.”
She stalks around the front of the car, and I power down my window.
“Hey…”
She stops and looks at me.
“You’re not cutting your hair, are you?”
“Why?”
“I like it long.”
Her anger seems to deflate at my comment, her tight shoulders relaxing. Before one of us can say something stupid and ruin the moment, I power the window up and pull away.
She’s got my number. I made sure of that the morning she woke up in my arms. Now she’s got to use it.
I return to the mill and give Sawyer his keys back, and he gives me the keys to Tori’s car. Then I head up the hill to change her tire. I bring the device I still had in my saddlebag with me and sweep her car again, but thankfully find nothing.
Two hours later, I get a text from Tori. Just two words. Our first text, and I smile.
Tori: I’m ready
Oh, baby girl, I wish you were.
I head across town and double park in front of the salon and text her back.
Me: Your chariot awaits, princess.
God, I wish I was texting her those words and really meaning I was out here on my Harley, waiting for her to climb on the back. The vision sticks in my head as I watch the door. Finally, it opens, and she walks to the car. She approaches my driver’s side.
“Let me drive.”
“Nuh uh. Go around.”
“This is my car.”
“And I was told to drive you, so that’s what I’m doing. Now get in the car, Tori, or do I need to get out and put you in it?”
Her brow lifts. “Put me in it?”
I grin. “Yeah. Try me.”
When she just stands there, I hit my seatbelt button and climb out.
“You’re impossible,” she snaps, but stomps around to the other side.
I take a mocha Frappuccino from the console drink holder and pass it to her. “I brought you a treat.”
“That’s for me?” she asks, staring at it.
“Yeah. You gonna take it?”
She reaches for it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Was that so hard? Being nice?”
“You started it.”
“Disagree.” I buckle back up and drive down the road, glancing over to let my gaze sweep over her. “You didn’t cut your hair.”
“Nope.”
Her hair looks blonder, though. “It’s pretty. What did you do to it?”
“They put highlights in it and trimmed the dead ends.”
“But they were supposed to cut it, weren’t they?”
Her chin lifts almost imperceptibly, but she won’t answer me. I smile, because I know it's true. She was going to cut it until I told her I liked it long. I let it slide.
“Has Connor bothered you anymore?”
That’s when she turns to look at me. “No. Actually, he hasn’t been in school all week, and his two friends have been acting pretty subdued. I don’t understand it. They almost look scared and nervous.”
“Well, I guess me chasing them off last week did the trick. Looking down the wrong end of a gun will do that to you.”
“Maybe.” She looks at me suspiciously, but I give her an innocent expression. “I heard one of them talking about how Connor had to break the window of his Porsche because he locked his keys inside.”
“Huh. Karma, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve only got the spare on this car, and that can only be ridden on for so many miles. The tire store doesn’t have your size tire and has to have it sent up from another store in San Diego. It won’t be here until late Monday, by the way.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. Since I won’t be able to get it fixed until after you have to be at school, your father told me to take you in one of the company trucks. He won’t be back until tomorrow.”
“Forget it. I’ll get Ruth to give me a ride.”
“Have it your way,” I snap.
“Fine. I will.”
“Fine.”
When we pull up at the mill, I park at the office and climb out. “She’s all yours, princess.”
Tori pushes out of the car, stomps around to the driver’s side, and slams the door.
“You’re welcome,” I shout as she roars away.