Page 57 of Rocky Mountain Devil

Jesse swore. “Fine, it’s yours.”

Rafe patted his cousin on the shoulder, firmly, following him into the house. “So what are we doing for the rest of this fine evening? Cards?”

“We can play crib for money.”

“Sure.” He dropped into a chair at the kitchen table, reaching for another beer. A slip of paper followed it, clinging to the bottle. He glanced closer at the narrow strip, cackling evilly as he realized what it was. “I guess you didn’t notice that Anna wasn’t at Traders tonight.”

Which Rafehadnoticed, which meant their cousin was probably working, which was why he’d guessed there was an extra good reason to not drive home like an idiot.

“Shut up,” Jesse complained. “I swear that woman sets up her speed traps deliberately to catch as many Coleman relatives as possible.”

“Probably. She’s damn smart.”

Jesse joined in laughing reluctantly. “Yeah, she is. Now prepare to get beat. I need money to pay the fine.”

“At our usual twenty-five cents a game? Youarea dreamer.”

Late-night card games with his cousin wasn’t what Rafe really wanted to be doing, and yet…it was.

Spending the night,allnight, with Laurel was something he looked forward to, but this time with one of his family was also important.

Morgan wandered in and settled at Jesse’s feet, resting his muzzle on his paws as he stared up adoringly at his master before letting out a contented sigh.

Sometimes life was simple, no matter which way Rafe looked at it.

Chapter Thirteen

Sunday morning, seated behind the piano keyboard at the side of the church, was when Laurel felt the most as if she knew what she believed. Familiar worship songs rolled over her one after another and took her to a different place. A place where the sensations of belonging and acceptance were still pure and sweet.

Pure, unlike the thoughts drifting into her mind about what she and Rafe had done two nights before, and the decidedly un-sweet things she wanted to get up to with him the next time they were together.

Guilt shot through her for daydreaming about sex in the middle of church.

You shouldn’t have made it so much fun,she chastised God.The fooling-around stuff. If it was more like doing calculus, not as many people would get in trouble.

She definitely needed to apologize to God later.

But in the meantime, she listened to her father as he preached with conviction, each word uttered with deep compassion. He believed with everything in him. His love for his family, and for the people of his congregation—his love,period—was genuine.

Another source of guilt. She simply didn’t have his kind of faith.

No, focusing on the music was easier. It allowed her to get lost in memories of when things were simpler. This is what she was told, so this was what she believed. Music, and the voices of the congregation, albeit slightly less than angelic at times, let her slip back to where she knew one thing.

There was love in the world.

She stopped after service to grab a cup of coffee and chat with a few of the church members, lulled into a good mood by the joy she’d experienced.

There was a reason she was supposed to be on guard. Jeff caught her before she could escape, good mood still intact.

“Laurel. I was worried I’d missed you.” He smiled apologetically at the woman he’d interrupted. “Tracking her down is like trying to find the end of a rainbow, but just as rewarding.”

Gag.

But the ladies were charmed. The ladies had no troubles cutting their conversation short. The ladiesobviouslythought Jeff was one of the most amazing creatures in God’s creation.

Laurel didn’t blame them too much—she’d been pretty impressed with him herself once.

“I’m heading home later today, but before I go, I’d like to talk,” he said quietly. “Somewhere private.”