Page 7 of Forgetting Rafe Thomas
“Yikes,” I say, unsure where this conversation might go. After all, saying and doing are two different things, and if I know Rafe, it’s the doing part that usually lacks.
Mav sighs again and I realize he reallyisfrustrated with me. “I don’t think you understand. It’s going to be his last attempt, Luna. His go big or go home, and if you reject him, that’s it. I don’t think he’s going to keep fighting for you. So I gotta know, because I love my idiot brother, is he about to get his heart totally trashed, or is there a chance you still love him?”
I should probably think about what I’m going to say before I open my mouth, but that dang thing has always had a mind of its own. Without a moment of hesitation, I say, “I never stoppedloving him. That wasn’t the problem.” The second I admit it, my heart starts racing so fast I can barely form words. “It was this overwhelming sense that we were never moving forward that I couldn’t live with. I hinted, urged, pushed…whatever. I tried to show him what I needed, but he never moved our relationship past boyfriend and girlfriend.” I shake my head. “I didn’t want to be his girlfriend forever, Mav. I want marriage, kids, a future that is more than what we started in high school.”
“He—” Mav cuts himself off and shakes his head. “He’s bad with words, always has been. Of all people, you know that. But he has changed so much.”
“You literally just said he’s binging on pizza and never leaves the house.” I bite my lip, worried I’m about to do something just as crazy as whatever Rafe is planning. If I follow my brain right now, I’ll be safe. If I follow my heart…I’m about to pack for a road trip to Coldstone Creek and fall right back into the very same routine I ran away from months ago. If I do, then I’ll only grow to resent him.
“Well, yeah, because the high he was riding after the wedding wore off when you ignored him. But even before that, he’s…he’s done things, okay? It’s not my place to divulge every bit of his life to you, but I had to come and see you before he makes a jerk of himself.”
Mav takes a step closer and settles a hand on my shoulder. “We miss you, Luna. We love you, all of us, and it’s not the same without you. I can’t tell you everything I know, but I need you to trust me when I tell you that Rafe cherishes everything about you. Just because the words didn’t come out of his mouth, doesn’t mean he wasn’t planning things.”
Shock forces a gasp. Planning what exactly? “Do you mean—”
Mav shakes his head. “I’m not sharing any more than that. If you want more, then you gotta respond to Rafe, okay?”
I nod, so very confused about what to do now.
“Back to my original question. Does he have a chance or should I steer him away from whatever crazy plan he’s working on to win you back?”
Gripping the bag tighter, I try to wrap my mind around this change of events. Maybe it isn’t all that shocking a revelation. Rafehastried to contact me, and maybe if I’d given him a chance to talk, I might have discovered all the things Mav says have changed. But fear has paralyzed me for so long that I’m too scared to do anything, let alone give Mav an honest answer. I need to think, process this information, and search my heart for the right answer. Above all, I need to pray about this before we both get hurt worse than we already have been.
I clear my throat and look up at him. “Can I think about this for a little while? Just until lunch, and I’ll text you.”
He frowns but nods. “Yeah, of course. You better get going before you’re late. Wouldn’t want the famous curator late for the job.” He grins, knowing full well I’m not famous, not even close. Of all the brothers, Mav has always been the most intrigued by my work. I tried to convince him to study history and join me, but he was dead set on following in his brother Novan’s footsteps. He’s been a firefighter since the day he watched Novan graduate from the fire academy.
“You wanna come see what I’m working on?”
“For real?” The history buff in him shines through in that sweet sparkle in his eyes.
“Sure, why not? Follow me, and I’ll get you in behind the scenes.” That’s all it takes for him to jog across the lot, hop in his car, and follow me downtown to the museum. I don’t live far from work, so there’s barely any time to think about what Mav told me, especially while trying to pay attention to the awful rush hour traffic. When I arrive at the employee entrance, I pull in and roll down my window.
“Good morning, Miss Parsons,” Fred, the employee parking attendant, says. “Looks like a bit of rain this morning.”
There isn’t a single cloud in the bright blue sky, but I nod anyway. “Maybe. I have a friend in the car behind me. I want to give him a little behind the scenes tour, if you don’t mind.”
“Well, I don’t know. He’s not an employee, and this lot is reserved for employees only. I’m the attendant, you know. It’s my job to make sure the lot is secure at all times.” He taps his badge with two fingers and puffs his chest. Fred is a bit of a character, but I flash him my sweetest smile and he caves like cheap concrete.
“Oh, put that smile away. Here, tell him to display this visitor pass prominently in his window and get out of my lot by lunchtime, hear me?”
I giggle and take the pass. “Thank you, Fred. I owe you.”
“You keep saying that, but I still haven’t gotten any brownies like you promised.”
Oops, he’s right. “I’ll get right on that and bring you a few trays. Will that make up for it?”
“Yeah, yeah. Have a nice day, Miss Parsons.” He smiles and waves me on, then waves Mav in behind me.
He parks beside me and pushes his door open, already excited to see what’s inside. He’s probably been here a dozen times just this year, but behind the scenes is a whole different experience. I hand him the visitor pass before we head inside.
“This place is so cool,” he admits, eyes wandering over everything in the curator’s room that we haven’t put on exhibit. “I can’t believe you get to do this all day.”
“Hey, I tried to get you to follow in my footsteps, but no, you had to go put out fires instead,” I tease.
“Ah, you know how I am. I like this stuff, but I need some action in my life.” He shoves his hands in his pockets, probably so he won’t touch anything.
“Do you even know what I do?” I ask, squinting at him.
