Page 112 of Rocky Mountain Devil

Only no one was around. The house was empty, there were no trucks in the yard, but when he checked the animals, they’d been fed and watered recently.

He hated to do it, but he had no choice. He made his way over to the Angel homestead, his crappy attitude changing to worry when he spotted the vehicles crowded into the yard. Both Gabe and Allison were there, along with his three uncles.

Shit. What had he done? If Ben had gone and hurt his mom, he’d fucking kill the man with his bare hands.

He rushed in the back door and skidded to a stop. His mom stood by the stove, and his heart started beating again. “Mom.”

Her face twisted when she spotted him, and leaving the wooden spoon in the pot, she turned to offer her hands.

“You look like something the cat dragged in.” She pulled him against her with a quick hug before pushing him away and patting his chest. “Oh, Rafe. Yousmelllike something the cat dragged in. Where have you been?”

“Never mind that.” Rafe glanced past her toward the living room. Gabe and his Uncle Mike were fast approaching the kitchen. He looked down, meeting her eyes straight on and watching them fill with tears. “What happened? Why’re you crying?”

She swallowed hard. “It’s your father. I’m sorry, but he’s gone.”

The wordsgood riddancewere on the tip of his tongue, but considering the serious expressions on his uncles’ faces, and his brother’s, Rafe held back. “Gone?”

Uncle Mike answered. “He’s dead, Rafe. Massive heart attack from what the medical people told us. Probably died after he finished chores last night.”

Rafe froze. Fucking froze—and it wasn’t just an expression, it was real. As if all the heat and fire from the previous night had burned away so utterly, there was nothing left in his soul but ice.

“I didn’t find him until this morning. I figured he was—” His mom let out a soft little sob. “Well, sometimes he does his own thing. I thought he was sleeping in the guest room.”

“It’s not your fault, Ma,” Gabe insisted, wrapping an arm around her and guiding her toward the table. “There was nothing you could have done. Remember? The doctor told you that.”

“I should’ve known,” she murmured, reaching into her pocket for a tissue.

Rafe had to be still slightly drunk. “He’sdead?”

His uncle had an arm around his shoulders now, settling him in the chair next to his mom. “I know it’s a bit of a shock. Just sit for a minute.”

Rafe stared across the table, not really seeing anything. At least not until his brother’s face came into focus. Gabe looked worried, sadandroyally pissed off, all at the same time.

Yeah, Rafe was in deep shit.

It wasn’t until later that he found himself alone with his brother. He’d managed to shrug off his absence from everyone else, although his Uncle Mike had given him some pointed looks.

Once they were safely outside and out of hearing range, Gabe didn’t beat around the bush. “What the hell happened to you?”

There was no way he could tell the truth. “I’m sorry.”

His brother grabbed him by the front of the jacket, hauling him in for a split second before making a disgusted noise and pushing him aside. “God, you reek.”

“I got frustrated with that repair. I’ll go finish it now.”

Gabe gaped at him. “You really think I give two shits about the repair job? Yeah, you should have either stopped when I told you to, or at least left me a note explaining what went wrong. But that doesn’t explain why you’re showing up at noon smelling like a still.”

“I got drunk, okay?” Rafe shouted. “It was a bad day, and I’d had enough, and I screwed up. There, happy?”

“Not remotely,” Gabe bit out. “Jeez, Rafe. I’ve never known you to act up like that. Fucking terrible timing.”

His brother didn’t know the half of it.

“Go home,” Gabe ordered. “I don’t want you around everyone until you get it together.”

“I don’t need a lecture,” Rafe started.

“You’re weaving on your feet,” Gabe snapped. “And I’m at the end of my rope. Go. Home. Ma needs us to be there for her, and right now you look as if you’re barely one step out of the ground yourself.”