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He grimaced. “No need to be vulgar, Laura,” he said and stepped closer, reaching for her. He never got that far though. Rafe yanked him backward, punched him in the face before throwing him off the porch.
“All three of you are trespassing on land owned by an Army Ranger and worked by Rangers as well, including myself. If Laura’s mother would like to see her you call me,” he said, rattling off his cell phone number, “and we’ll do it in a neutral location.”
“Who the fuck are you?”
“That’s absolutely none of your business. Just understand that I am someone who protects and respects all women, but especially this one. “
“This isn’t over yet,” Wendell hissed from a safe spot near the car.
“It had better be,” Rafe said, his voice thick with menace, “because the next time I find you on this land without permission I’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”
All three men scrambled back into their car and drove away in a cloud of dust. Just as Rafe turned to speak to her, she couldn’t take anymore. Her knees collapsed, and she knew she was going to hit the floor, probably re-injuring her knee, but then Rafe was there to catch her, and she let him.
For the moment anyway.
* * *
Sunny heldLaura against him as they watched the car drive away. Having her in his arms again felt amazing. It only took a few moments, though, before she stood up straight and stepped away from him. She brushed tears off her face and averted her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Rafe. I’m fine,” she said before realizing what she was saying. “What are you doing here? I thought you were out of town until after I left.”
He cleared his throat, but before he could speak his mother stepped up onto the porch. “You must be Laura. I’m Marjorie Gaskell, Rayford’s mama.”
Laura’s eyes went wide. It would have been funny if he wasn’t almost choking on the words he wanted to say.
He tried again. “Laura…I came to apologize for how I treated you.”
She reeled back. “What? I mean, thank you? I guess?”
“Do you mind if I use your restroom, Laura? It was a long ride,” his mother cut in.
“Huh? Oh, yes of course. Come inside, please.”
He watched Laura and his mother enter the cabin and followed behind them, hoping Laura wouldn’t protest. Once she’d shown his mother where the bathroom was, she turned back to him. Her golden-brown eyes were dull, and she had deep purple shadows under her eyes. When she didn’t say anything he decided now was as good a time as any.
“How are you?”
That brought a spark to her eyes. “Why do you care?”
“I wasn’t thinking before,” he said, and she eyed him warily.
“Ok…”
“Have you made any decisions about what you want to do with the baby?”
She tensed and then exhaled in a huff. “I’m leaving here in two weeks. I…I think I’ll probably put him or her up for adoption,” she said, her voice thick. “I never wanted to be a mother. We kind of have that in common, I guess.”
He stepped forward and reached for her hand. Internally, he sighed when she didn’t pull away from him. “I know it’s none of my business and you don’t owe me anything, but if you don’t want the baby, I’ll keep it. If that’s ok.”
Her eyes snapped to his. “You want the baby?” she whispered.
Sunny nodded.
Her face crumpled, and she tugged her hand away. He let it go unsure what was happening. “Laura, it’s your choice…I just…I did a lot of thinking, and I don’t know if I’ll do it right, but I don’t want anyone else to do it either.”
She turned away, her shoulders shuddering with sobs.
“Talk to me, please,” he begged.
