Page 34 of Rocky Mountain Devil

A familiar joy struck as he pretended to sigh heavily. “What now?”

“Nope. Can’t say.”

Rafe narrowed his gaze. “I will get it out of you at some point, you realize.”

He climbed out of the cab then reached back for her, placing his hands on her waist and lowering her to the ground between his open legs. For an instant their entire bodies rubbed together.

A soft groan escaped his lips.

Her eyes danced with mischief as she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him up the walkway. “Just rememberthatwas your fault.”

“My fault entirely,” he agreed. “Hang on a second, I need to make an adjustment.”

Laurel whirled on the spot, her skirt flaring as she looked at him with wide eyes. He moved in close before casually reaching downward. He stared into her face the entire time.

“You are so bad,” she whispered.

He shrugged then bumped her with his shoulder as they headed up the stairs hand-in-hand.

“Is your sister gonna be here with her family?” he asked.

“I’m not sure if Leslie and Jim are coming.” She took a sudden breath. “Oh, but th—”

The door opened in front of them to reveal the last face Rafe wanted to see. Coincidentally, the first face he’d seen that morning.

“Come on in,” Jeff said, backing into the house as he swung the door wider. “Everyone’s busy with last-minute preparations, so I’m the greeting committee.”

Awesome. “Good to see you,” Rafe lied, accepting Jeff’s hand and shaking it firmly but within polite territory. Resisting the urge to crush bones.

Laurel seemed determined to keep Rafe between her and Jeff. He’d moved forward as if to offer her his hand as well, but she ducked away, catching hold of Rafe’s forearm and using him to keep her balance as she reached down and adjusted the strap of her shoe. When she popped up, she did so on Rafe’s right.

Considering she and Jeff had dated, and the other man hoped to start something up with her again, she didn’t seem very thrilled to see him.

Which was A-okay with Rafe.

He slipped an arm around her waist and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “So, hon. You were going to tell me—”

“Is that my mom? Coming, Mom.” She wiggled out of his embrace and shot toward the kitchen without a backward glance, abandoning him with his new bestest buddy.

It was cowardly to leave Rafe with Jeff, but since they were standing in her parents’ living room, Laurel figured it was pretty safe.

She’d known the evening would be tough, but she hadn’t expected that initial jolt at seeing Jeff again to make her quite so tense. Even warned that he’d be there, she was beyond normal levels of uncomfortable, and her childish ploys to avoid looking him in the eye were making the situation more awkward.

Add in that Rafe had moved possessively even though he didn’t really know what was going on, escaping was the only option.

I know it was a cheat, and not very mature,she told God,but really, Jeff cheated in the first place just showing up.

Walking into the kitchen where her mom was pulling a pot roast from the oven gave her a moment to settle her nerves and get her act together.

“Hello, sweetie. Glad you could come.” Her mother rested the pan on the counter and pulled off her oven mitts so she could drag Laurel in for a firm hug. She kissed her cheek and then patted her on the shoulder. “Can you make the gravy, please? I’ll get your father to slice the roast in a minute.”

Nothing had changed during the time she’d been gone, and Laurel moved easily through the familiar kitchen. She grabbed the ingredients she needed, slipping into position at the stovetop.

There was no sign of her sister, or her family. “Where’s Leslie?”

“Amanda has the flu, and Leslie’s worried it’s going to go through the whole family, so they sent their regrets.”

Too bad. Her nieces would have made a great buffer tonight for the testosterone at the dinner table. Laurel pushed aside her concerns. “Getting sick could make it tough for her to sing on Sunday. I hope she avoids whatever bug it is.”