Page 36 of Rocky Mountain Devil

No, it was too obvious to deny. Her mom was pushing her toward Jeff even though Rafe was wandering around the table right now, not even ten feet away. She glanced at Jeff who smiled apologetically, but with far too much interest considering she’d shown up with another man.

Nope. Her mom’s weird behaviour wasn’t Jeff’s fault, but he didn’t mind them being shoved together one bit.

The only solution was to get out of there as quick as possible. “Let me grab a couple things, but you get to do the heavy labour.”

“I’m all yours,” he answered quickly.

Which was exactly what she didn’t want.

It was like walking through a china shop blindfolded. It seemed there was nothing she could do or say that wasn’t going to backfire. As soon as she got everything in the bowl for Jeff, she excused herself, slipping back into the dining room to catch up with Rafe.

He’d been watching the entire thing with amusement.

“Stop it,” she muttered.

“I didn’t say a word,” he whispered back, blinking innocently. “You do make good mashed potatoes.”

His expression was completely serious, and she resisted poking him in the ribs. Instead she stepped on his foot as she walked past him, his chuckle rumbling in her ears.

Her mom rushed in and took over, seating everyone with rapid-fire precision—the three of them in their usual family positions with her mom and dad at the head and foot of the table. Rafe sat across her, and Jeff at her side, which was perfect. She’d far prefer to accidentally bump elbows with the man every now and then instead of futilely avoiding eye contact all meal.

Her mom placed the final bowl on the table and whipped right into conversation. “Rafe. I understand you’ve been gone.” She offered the basket of bread down the table to Jeff. “We haven’t seen you around lately.”

“I was on the road, plus it’s been pretty busy out on the ranch,” he said. “Gabe and I have been doing a lot of improvements over the past couple of years.”

“I’ve heard good things,” she said. “How are Allison and the baby?”

“Doing well. You should come out sometime,” he offered “I picked up some new stock, and there should be lambs within the next couple of weeks.”

“What else are you working on?” Laurel asked, honestly curious. A flush of guilt swept in for not having asked sooner about that part of his life. The Angel Coleman ranch had been going through some tough times before she left. “I remember you wanted to raise more chickens. I always got a kick out of that. Rafe Coleman, chicken rancher.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled in response. “Yes, we have more chickens. Turkeys and geese as well—Allison started us growing poultry, and that part of the ranch is doing great.

“How do you ranch birds?” Jeff asked. “Do you use really small horses to round them up?”

“Tiny little lariats,” Rafe joked. He turned back to Laurel and shook a finger at her snicker. “I’ll have you know it takes a lot of skill to lasso only one at a time.”

“Have you ever been on the wrong side of a chicken stampede?” she asked.

“Crushed by chickens. Not a good thing for on a headstone,” her father offered.

Suddenly the whole evening felt…different. Some of her tension faded as she looked into Rafe’s smiling eyes. He was there for her, his lighthearted, familiar manner making a difference.

When their plates were filled with food they paused for a moment for her father to say grace. She’d never been more grateful their family didn’t have the tradition of holding hands while they prayed.

The rest of their dinner conversation stayed generic and light, and other than Jeff squirming oddly in his chair off and on, nothing out of the ordinary happened. No outbursts or troublesome reveals, and she figured she’d dodged a bullet.

She and Rafe were saying their goodbyes far sooner than expected.

“Good to meet you,” Jeff told Rafe as they stood at the door about to leave.

“Safe travels back to Toronto,” Rafe said, nodding a final farewell to her father. “Pastor Dave.”

“I’d love to stop by sometime,” her father mentioned. “If that offer to see the lambs wasn’t just for Corinne.”

“You and Mrs. Sitko are more than welcome. Give me a call to make sure I’m around.” Rafe accepted a hug from Laurel’s mom, then they escaped to his truck.

They were a few blocks away before he chuckled. An evil sound that was far too familiar.