Page 9 of Forgetting Rafe Thomas
She presses her pink lips into a frown and nods. “Fine, but you have to clear this with the boss and the board first. There is no chance they’re going to approve it, and you know it.”
“Yes, they will.” I tug her rolling chair closer and force her to look me in the eyes. “You cannot breathe a word of this to anyone, but Mr. Drake approached me a week ago and asked if I thought you were ready to head your own display. I’m pretty sure you’re getting your own window in textiles.”
Natasha’s eyes bug. “Why didn’t you tell me that?” she practically yells.
“Shh…because I knew you’d do that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go talk to him about a few vacation days I’m owed.”
Natasha smiles bright and wide. “Go get ‘em, girlie. I’m rooting for you.”
I reach over the seat arm and hug her before standing and peeking across the corridor.
“Hey Mav!”
I don’t see him, but his head pops from behind a display pillar like a lemur. “What’s up?”
“Keep your brother on track. I’m going all in.”
Mav’s smile makes my heart warm. The truth is, my life hasn’t felt quite right without the Thomases in it. It’s definitely time to head back home for a while and figure things out once and for all.
“I knew you would,” Mav says and shoves his hands in his pockets. Like that, he reminds me of the shy Rafe from high school who stumbled through a date request. I was a cheerleader, popular, one of the in crowd, and he managed to scrape up enough confidence to cross the cafeteria, stand beside the cheerleader table, and ask me out. It took guts, and I couldn’t say no. I had no idea that day how fast I’d fall for Rafe, but he had me hook, line, and sinker within a few weeks.
I have a good feeling I’m about to relive that day.
Chapter Four
Rafe
Walking through Coldstone Creekon a bright spring morning is absolute misery for someone with allergies. It’s beautiful with the blooming trees and flowers everywhere, but man, it’s hard to see them when you’re sneezing twenty-four-seven. I blow my nose again and drop the tissue in a trash can along the sidewalk. I had originally planned to drop by Mom’s bakery and have some breakfast, but I’m not in the peopling mood. I never am, really, but this morning has taken on a mind of its own.
When I woke up, Mav was heading out early and the others were still asleep. In fairness, I woke up earlier than I have in months. For the first time in forever, I’mableto contemplate eating breakfast rather than scrambling for lunch. My brothers are right. I’ve become a recluse. A lazy, lonely sack of wasted potential if I don’t get myself together.
Ronnie had some good words of wisdom for me last night, and after Archer took care of his daughter, he basically secondedeverything she said. I know they’re right. Being direct with what I want, even if I stand a chance of getting hurt, is the only way to get any closure or move forward—whatever the future may hold.
Wandering the streets with no real destination hasn’t helped me think of a single thing I can do to show Luna how much I love her. Sure, I could drive to Chatswain City, show her that I bought her a house and an engagement ring, but she’ll think I bought it to guilt her into coming back to me. I don’t want her to have that kind of pressure. I have to come up with something else. Something that says I love you, I want you, and I’m willing to do what it takes to prove it if you’ll only tell me what it is you need.
I’ve done all the little things in the past, but I window shop anyway, if only to get some inspiration. Bethany, one of my mother’s best friends, has some new things in her window display at Bethany’s Baubles, but I’m not sure I can top an engagement ring. Besides, Luna has never been one to love jewelry, even the local handmade kind.
With a sigh, I shuffle down Main Street past the new bookstore, past city hall, and well past the common shops. I’m almost at the split where I must choose—go to the dead end and make a left toward Mom and Dad’s house, or go right and circle the block to do it all over again.
And it hits me.
Over again…
As much as I love Coldstone Creek, I’ve done it all.We’vedone it all, and there isn’t a single place I can go in this town that doesn’t hold a memory of Luna and me together.
Suddenly, this little town I love so dearly closes in on me, crushes me until I’m suffocating with thesamenessof it all. My skin begins to itch, and all I can think about is getting out. Escaping the monotony of it, even for a little while.
“Rafe? Son, are you all right?” Joe, the grocer, stands half in and half out of his shop, repairing the bell overhead. Not for thefirst time, it’s fallen off the hook and probably bonked someone on the head. I can’t count how many times I’ve been assaulted by the little brass bell. More of the same, my whole life.
I scrub a hand over my face and try to refocus on reality. “Yeah, just thinking.”
Joe chuckles. “That always gets me into a lot of trouble. I’ve learned a lot of deep thinking only makes more problems. For me, anyway. What are you thinking about?”
He drops his screwdriver back into his toolbox and tests the door. It dings the same way it has every time I’ve ever entered his store for as long as I can remember. Joe’s a staple in Coldstone Creek, someone who knew my parents even before they got married and had us kids. He’s seen a lot in this town, in life, really, and I wonder if all his troublesome thinking ever got him out of town. Even for a little while?
“Joe, you ever take a vacation?” I ask, leaning against his storefront window.
“Oh, yeah. Gotta get out of town every once in a while. You thinking of taking one?” He fidgets with the bell a bit more, but I can tell he’s only stalling so he can talk to me.
