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He knew they should have talked about this years ago.“I really thought I would be fine in a day or two. But instead, it took weeks. And by that time, everyone knew you hated me. I did try and talk to you, but you weren’t interested.” Rafferty watched her reaction as he spoke. He knew he had messed up back then, and that was the reason she hated him today.
“Is that some sort of apology?” Mia demanded.
“Yes. I’m sorry I never called, Mia. I was busy saving my sister’s life.” He took her hand and pulled her to him.
“I guess you had a good reason. But you’re still the most annoying person I know,” she said as she settled in beside him on the couch, his arm around her shoulder.
“At least you love me,” he said and kissed her red hair.
“Dream on, Rafferty Brooks, and watch the movie. You’ll like this one, there’s a near sex scene.” She settled in closer, and he grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and pulled it over them. Once it had been arranged, he turned to the TV. But the action on screen was nothing compared to how her body pressed to his was making him feel. All he wanted to do was pull her onto his lap so he could kiss her.
Instead, he just sat next to her. He wasn’t pushing anything, not anymore. He had moved too fast for her before, but now he was letting her take the lead. She would be the one taking their relationship to every next step. So today, he was going to enjoy sitting with her, getting lost in movies and not thinking about his father, his mother or a future without Mia in it.
CHAPTER9
Summer
It had beena few months since his dad had died, and so much in Rafferty’s life had changed. Instead of working alone after the older man’s sudden death, he had been offered a position at Anderson’s insurance agency.
The offer had actually sent Anderson and Ruth’s relationship into a tailspin for a while. His sister had actually done something nobody in town ever expected her to do: she moved out of town. Just for a month to avoid Anderson, who she had been convinced was leaving town and her in the dust. But Anderson had quickly realized he couldn’t take Ruth away from Landstad and that he didn’t want to leave either.
While she was gone, Mia had kept him informed on her, and if Anderson had asked, Rafferty would’ve told him how to find her. But he never asked, and Rafferty didn’t tell him.
During that time, he started working with Anderson, and he had found out how different working with Anderson was than with his dad. And even though Anderson was his boss, he treated him ten times better than his father ever had. Now he enjoyed going to work every day.
Just when he was getting used to working with Anderson, the man had won his sister back, and Rafferty’s life had changed again. But not in the way he thought it would. He thought Anderson would fire him the moment Ruth was back in his life, but instead, they had just moved the office back to the building Rafferty had always worked in. It was bigger and had two office spaces, whereas Anderson’s office only had one.
It was possible because Ruth had been the one who bought the building. Not just his dad’s building, but dozens in town. In fact, she was the biggest landholder in Landstad city limits.
If that hadn’t been shocking enough, he had found out that she was also a writer, churning out books in her spare time for years. It was because of her writing that she could buy the buildings.
So far, he hadn’t been able to read the books she had written; after all, reading sex scenes that came from his sister’s head didn’t seem right. Even the covers made him nervous. There was a lot of cleavage happening on those.
With her writing and her rental business, she had taken over Anderson’s office. As far as Rafferty could tell, she was happy. Happy with her work and happy with Anderson. Rafferty had never seen her this happy. He liked to see her that way.
The only thing that really didn’t change was Mia—she still hated him. Maybe not hate, but close. He still saw her every day or two in the café, but they never really talked. Not since his dad had died. And somehow, whatever fun they had during that day had been forgotten, replaced by the same anger she always had for him.
The only conversation they had was when she asked him to bid on her friend Tess Thorn at the Red River Flood Funding Auction that she organized. Her friend was the bank president and not well-liked in the community, and Mia had been nervous that she wouldn’t get bid on, and her friend would feel bad.
Mia had reluctantly agreed to go on a date with him if he bid on her friend. But only if he won. So, when the time came, he bid on the woman. Maybe some financial advice would be something he could use anyway. But to his surprise someone else started bidding on her also. In the beginning, Rafferty had been willing to go to $500 on her. It was for charity and for Mia. When that number was surpassed, he continued until it hit $1000 since he would also get financial adviceanda date with Mia for the money it would be worth it. After that point, he kept bidding to see how high this guy would go. When the number hit $2000, he stopped, he couldn’t afford to win at that point.
So he didn’t get his date with Mia, but he did get a big hug from her. Which was enough for the effort, but he really wanted that date. When he asked anyway, she said no.
But today, he would finally get the date he had been waiting for. Well, not a date exactly, just a day with her. Anderson had invited him on a trail ride with him and Ruth and their friends. Tess and her new boyfriend, Math, the man Rafferty had bid against on her, was going to be there. And of course, Mia.
But Mia was pissed that he was there. Apparently, she hadn’t been told he was going, and she wasn’t happy to see him. Or that she would have to ride with him since there were only three machines. The hushed words between the women meant that Ruth and Tess were well aware of Mia’s anger.
Today, Mia was in jeans and a Landstad Tiger’s orange sweatshirt a few sizes too big that hid her glorious curves, from her great breasts to her round hips. Today, her hair was also orange to match the shirt. Well, they didn’t actually match. They were two different shades of orange. Turning, she caught him looking and glared at him, then stomped over to him.
“Let’s get this over with.” She climbed on the machine that Rafferty was standing next to.
“At least try to have fun,” he asked as he climbed on in front of her.
“Hard to do with you here,” she hissed into his ear.
Starting the engine, he hit the gas, and the machine jerked forward, forcing her to grab on to him tighter to not fall off. So, her body was pressed nicely to his as the others headed down the path into the woods on Math’s property.
Slowly, her hand slid over his body as one pressed against his stomach and one pressed against his chest as she held on to him. Feeling her breasts pressed into his back, and her lower body pressed to his butt, he could barely concentrate on driving.
