Page 80 of Rafe: Sins of the Father

“Were you shot?”

He shakes his head. “I’d been hit with something. Maybe a pipe.”

“Oh, my God. You poor thing.”

“I had a pretty severe head injury. It took me a long time to recover. Years of physical therapy to relearn how to walk, how to talk. I was pretty messed up.”

“I’m so sorry, baby.”

“I had headaches for a long time, though not as often now. There’s a lot of shit I don’t remember. Like today, that story my mom told you about me and Kyle stealing and racing shopping carts? I have no memory of that. I don’t even remember when I first became a prospect for the club. It’s just gone.” He meets my eyes. “My club doesn’t know. Even Kyle doesn’t know. You’re the first person I’ve ever told.”

I cup his face. “I’m so glad you made it through. I’m so glad you didn’t die in that alley.”

He strokes his thumb over my lower lip, his eyes locked on my mouth. “It’s not easy to confess all that. But, God, you make it easy, Tori. The way you hold me, the way you let me tell asmuch or as little as I can?” He nods. “It’s what I need. You are what I need—what I’ve needed for a long time.”

I rest my head on his chest. “I’m here now, Rafe. I’m not going anywhere.”

He strokes my back for a long time.

“Rafe?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“Why don’t you and Kyle get along?”

“We do. It’s better than it’s been in a long time, but…”

“But what?”

“I was bitter. He did so much to help me after the attack. We were always so close, and he was there for every minute of my recovery, but things were different. We weren’t on equal ground anymore, and that shifted the dynamic between us. I had a hard time with it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I couldn’t do what I used to do. Everything was a struggle for a long damn time. Kyle tried to make things easier for me. I get why, but it probably wasn’t what I needed. He’d do things for me instead of watching me struggle. I started to resent it. To resenthim.

“And then the whole thing with Sutton… it got worse, but then it got better. I had to face the fact that I used him, asked him to do way too much for me. It was a dick move on my part. I apologized, and for a time, things were good again.”

“But?”

“But my brother found his happiness, and don’t get me wrong, I’m so happy for him. I’m happy he’s got Sutton, and I’m happy he got his restaurant, it’s just…”

“What?”

“I started to think maybe I’d never have the happiness he’s found. I started to envy him. I wasn’t a big part of his life anymore. Which I get—he was so busy with the restaurant andSutton, but I felt like I’d been pushed aside. It pissed me off, and I’ve been distant with him ever since. I know that’s on me.”

“Then pull your head out of your ass,” I say, shocking him. “You’re right, Rafe. That is on you. You have no reason to be jealous of your brother. You have to live your own life. You know I think you could run my father’s mill, if you wanted to, that is.”

“Run the mill?” He scoffs like it’s a pipe dream. “Me?”

“Why not you? You’re smart and you know what you’re doing. I’ve seen you tell some of the men what to do or to stop goofing off. You’d make a great foreman.”

“You really believe that?”

“Yes. And you know, someday my father is going to want to turn it over to someone to run full time. Someday it will be too much for him. Maybe that someone could be you, Rafe. There’s no reason why it couldn’t be you.”

“You really think that’s a possibility? You’re a dreamer, girl. But keep dreamin’, because I like that about you.”

“Maybe you need to be more of a dreamer, too, Rafe. If you don’t reach for what you want, you’ll never have it.”

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