Page 61 of Red Hot Roaster

“Oh, snap!” Now it was my turn to laugh. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. In fact, what’s the opposite of reserved? Friendly, outgoing, forthcoming? Yeah, that’s Rafe when we’re togethertogether.”

We grinned at each other for a moment and took swigs of our drinks.

“No, what I mean is that I’ve had to coax him to talk about his past. Well, to talk period. He’s shared some things, but I feel he’s holding stuff back. I realize a lot of veterans don’t like to talk about their experiences. My intuition tells me there’s more to it than that.”

I paused and winced. “I’m afraid he might get upset or even mad that I’ve looked into his background without asking him first.”

“Is that gonna hold you back?”

“You know what? Nope. I refuse to be a scaredy dog.” I sat up straighter on my stool and wiped my eyes. “If this search for his mom’s family results in something good for Rafe, I’m gonna do it.”

“You go, girl,” Lauren cheered and raised her glass to me.

“So here’s the thing. I want to reach out to the familyfirst, before I tell Rafe.”

“Why’s that?”

“I need to take the hit if his uncle doesn’t want to acknowledge him, or if there are some bad feelings in the family.” I shook my head. “I don’t want Rafe hurt.”

“Makes sense. How can I help?”

“Let’s start with Angelina. Since we still don’t know her dad’s name, maybe she’d be willing to introduce us. What do you think about DMing her? Could you help me compose the message?”

“Of course! Let’s get going on a draft right away.” She pulled her phone back and opened up her notes app. “When do you want to send it?”

Vera delivered another round of drinks to our table, along with a basket of Fay’s spicy tater tots and dipping sauce. We needed something to soak up the Manhattans. Lauren must have given the high sign to Kurt behind the bar while I’d been gaping at the photos.

“I’m thinking I’d like to contact Angelina after Thanksgiving—maybe even Monday or Tuesday. People are usually super busy with family things the entire long weekend—look at us.”

Yep, we had turkey day prep Wednesday, the big day itself, a meeting to plan the grocery store pilot on Friday, the Turkey Dog Jog the next day, and the Finn-and-Lauren-leaving-and-me-crying-all-day on Sunday. Busy, busy, busy this year—the one benefit being there wasn’t much time to be sad about Mom…and the other people I’m losing.

“Except…” I sighed. “Except the problem is…I might not hear back before Rafe leaves.”

“Wait…he’s still leaving?” Lauren asked, her eyes widening in shock.

“Uh-huh. He’s had this commitment in Boise like…forever. What’s changed is that he got a call yesterday that they want him sooner. Like early next week. The owners decided to visit their children before they leave on their trip and wanted to get Rafe over there ahead of schedule.”

“Oh, damn, Rose. That’s coming right up. Have you guys talked about what happens after that job is over? About him coming back here?”

“Coming back to the roastery…or coming back to me?”

“To you, girl.” Lauren rolled her eyes.

That’s the question. Does Rafe have staying power, or will he leave and not return, like the others?

“Nope, we haven’t talked yet,” I admitted. “Guess I’m afraid of what he’ll say. Maybe it’s all in my mind—this closeness between us. Maybe it’s just pure physical chemistry, nothing more.”

You know better, girl. He wouldn’t be doing all these things for you, he wouldn’t be saying words of more than two syllables to you if he doesn’t care. Would he?

“Anyway, Rafe hasn’t asked, and I haven’t invited…so far.”

“Time’s a-wasting, Rose,” she cautioned. “I get it’s hard for you to trust, but you gotta put yourself out there. He’s not a mind-reader.”

I sighed and finished off my drink.No argument there.

His toothbrush and toothpaste were nowhere to be seen—ditto for his shaving gear and nail clippers. His toiletry bag had disappeared from under the sink too. The dresser drawer I’d cleared out for him was barren—I’d checked there first thing.

Even the shrinking supply of condoms on the bedside table had vanished. Although by mutual agreement—and, yes, trust—we’d dispensed with those barriers a while back.

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