Almost Twilight (5 page)

“Don’t
say?” Rafe replied coolly, eyeing Candy and her doe brown eyes that could trap
a man into doing almost anything.

Jim
was a good friend, Rafe’s partner, and a fabulous doctor, but a womanizer all
the same, and the thought of the man being with Candy all afternoon sent a
ripple of uneasiness through Rafe.

Jim
was also involved in one of the charities where Fritz was on the board of
directors. And although Fritz had inherited his money and gave to many
charities, Dr. Jim was not a charity case! Yet Rafe’s father might think so,
especially since Jim was single. Fritz might even believe that Jim and Candy
would do well together.

Not
that Rafe wanted anything to do with Candy Richards, but as a man with certain
morals, whether she believed it or not, he felt an obligation to protect her,
especially after the way he had treated her today. He should have handled the
matter with a bit more diplomacy and definitely not taken the matter into the
closet.

Tanner
was right. What in the world had he been thinking? Locked in a closet with
Candy Richards? Of course, he smiled to himself, the possibilities could have
been endless.

“Yep,”
Fritz said, with Candy by his side, as the family headed down the hall. “Jim
said to be sure and pack him an extra beer.”

Blood
rushed through Rafe’s veins. “Don’t count on Jim being there,” he blurted out. One
way or the other, Rafe would make sure Jim was called back to the hospital.

Fritz
frowned and glanced over his shoulder. “Why not?”

Rafe
hurried after them and pulled his father aside as the others started for the
hospital garage. “Listen, Dad. I don’t need any manipulation by you to get me a
wife. Understood?”

Fritz
whacked his mountain cane against the tile floor. “No, you listen here, sonny. You
may be a high falootin’ doctor, but you’re still my son. I was the one who
changed your dirty diapers, so don’t ya be telling me I ain’t one to
interfere.”

Rafe
felt a vein pulsing in his neck. “I’m not getting married, Dad. I already told
you that. My life’s too hectic as it is.”

“Gall
dang it. It wouldn’t be hectic if you had the right woman to tell you what to
do.”

Rafe
sighed. Candy Richards would be the type to tell him what to do, and that was
something he could live without. He had wanted to ask her for a date the first
time he’d met her at the hospital, but he had held out until the other day and
look what had happened. She had thrown his offer back in his face. She was a commitment
type of girl. Good riddance, he thought.

“I
can handle my own love life. You go on ahead and have a nice picnic - without
Jim. And speaking of marriage, why isn’t Lorraine with you?”

Lorraine
was Hannah’s mother. Fritz had fallen head over heels for the woman when Hannah
had come into the family.

“Lorraine
went to Denver with one of her lady friends and won’t be back for a while. Dang
it, boy. That’s beside the point. Don’t go trying to get this cowboy off the
trail.”

Rafe
looked up when his name was called on the hospital intercom. Miracles did
happen.

“Gotta
go, Dad. Talk to you later.”

Fritz
swatted the walking stick against Rafe’s leg.

Rafe’s
gray eyes widened in amazement. “What’d you go and do that for?”

“Just
checking to see if ya still got some feelings, you old goat.” Fritz rubbed a
hand across his brows. “But there’s one thing for sure...”

Annoyed,
Rafe gave his father a pointed look. “And what’s that?”

“You
ain’t got no love life, Rafe, so don’t tell me you can take care of what you
ain’t got.”

Rafe
pinched his fingers over the bridge of his nose in frustration. Saying his day had
started off on the wrong foot was an understatement.

“You
do whatever you have to do, Dad. But I have to go.”

Fritz
snapped his stick against the floor as his son strode down the hall in a huff. “You’re
dang right I’m going to do whatever I have to,” he shouted. “I got Tanner and
Hannah together. Now it’s your turn. I want to see more Clearbrooks running
around my aching feet, and I aim to see it happens before I’m pushing
up...uh...pushing up...”

“Daisies,
Dad.” Rafe’s voice echoed down the hall in a mocking laugh. “They’re called
daisies,” and then he was gone.

Fritz
tightened his hold on his walking stick. “You’re gonna pay for that.”

Later
that day, Rafe strolled into Susie’s room.

Silently,
he walked past her bed and turned off the television. She was asleep.

He
stood for a moment and stared at her, tightening his hold on his stethoscope.

Swallowing
hard, he leaned forward and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. “Sweet
dreams, Susie.” 

He
gently kissed her forehead and walked out of the room.

The
following day Candy sat in the Clearbrook kitchen, sipping her coffee and
talking to Hannah. The entire family had been to Sunday Mass early that morning.
Hannah had just taken a loaf of bread out of the oven, and it smelled heavenly.

Candy
had to admit that staying with the Clearbrooks while saving her money had been
a blessing. Since her lease had run out on her apartment, and she had her eye
on that yellow house on Main Street, the one Fritz had told her about, Hannah
and Tanner had invited her to stay with them until things worked out.

The
old Banter House, as it was called, was a block from the hospital. It was a
fixer upper. But if she saved for the next two months, it was within her price
range.

The
house was everything she dreamed of since she’d lost her parents. Of course,
she had her brother Alex, but since he was still in love with Hannah, she
didn’t see him as often as she wished.

The
little yellow house needed a lot of work, but she was willing to put in that
extra effort if she could finally have something for herself. And there was
more land than house. She could have a garden, a patio, and all the things she had
wanted as a little girl.

The
day after Hannah and Tanner had insisted she not pay them a cent for rent, even
though she felt like a free-loader, she’d made an offer on the Banter House. Of
course, that was contingent on her making the down payment in two months.

With
her two weeks of paid vacation and working for old lady Hayden during that time,
Candy figured she could make the down payment easy. She wasn’t going to ask her
brother for any money either. She wanted the house to be something she
purchased without anyone else’s funds.

Hannah
and Tanner had offered to loan her some money, but she’d refused. They were
already letting her stay at their home without her paying them, and nothing she
said would change their minds.

And
if she ever did decide to take a loan, she knew they would never let her pay
that back either. No, they were already doing enough by housing her. Not that
money was something Tanner Clearbrook needed, she thought peering over her cup
as the man entered.

Thirty-three-year-old
Tanner Clearbrook was dressed in a dark Armani suit, his hair glimmering like
gold above a fiercely tanned face. Candy loved him like a brother.

When
he smiled at his wife, she recalled how Hannah had told her a thousand times
the way Tanner had used that dimpled-smile to his advantage, a family trait
belonging to all the Clearbrook men.

Candy
watched in wistful silence as Tanner kissed his wife goodbye before he departed
on a two-day business trip to Chicago to look over some medical company he
might buy.

Candy’s
heart ached as she dropped her gaze to her coffee mug.

She
had always yearned for a man who would love her like Tanner loved Hannah. But
it was not to be, not after Roger had shattered her heart, breaking it like
Humpty Dumpty, never to be put back together again.

“You
two don’t get into trouble before I return,” Tanner said, casting one of those
dimpled winks in Candy’s direction.

Candy
smiled. “Us? How could you think such a thing?”

“You
just make sure my wife wears her ring when you go out, that’s all I’m saying.”

Hannah
gave her husband a jab in the arm. “And you be sure you wear your ring when
those female flight attendants ask if you need anything else,” she said,
chuckling.

Tanner
palmed his hands in the air. “All right already. I can see I’ll be beaten to a
pulp if I don’t leave now.” He whispered an
I love you
in Hannah’s ear
and then he was gone.

Hot
tears dammed in Candy’s eyes as she stood to refill her coffee.

“Candy?”
Hannah asked. “What is it?”

Candy
shrugged, keeping her back to her friend. “Oh, just a bit melancholy, that’s
all.”

“Is
it Rafe?”

Candy
spun around so fast, a dash of coffee spilled on her skirt. “What has Rafe got
to do with this?”

Hannah
pursed her lips. “What is it then? You seem so distant since yesterday.”

Candy
swallowed, avoiding her friend’s discerning gaze while she dabbed the spot on
her skirt with a wet washcloth.

After
a few seconds, she took a seat at the table and drew in a deep sigh. “I never
told you that I was engaged before I met you, did I?”

Hannah’s
coffee mug hit the table with a splat. “No, you conveniently left out that
miniscule detail of your life. Not that you should tell me everything of
course, since I am your best friend and all. I mean, people do have some
secrets.” 

There
was a slight pause before Hannah jumped out of her chair and shouted, “What do
you mean you were engaged before and didn’t tell me?”

The
beginning of a smile tipped the corners of Candy’s mouth at the sight of her
friend’s shocked face. “He was a doctor, okay?”

“A
doctor?”

“He
jilted me.”

“No?”

“Afraid
so. He was dating one of the other nurses on the side and ran off with her. I was
young and foolish. I couldn’t face going back to work, so I packed up my bags
and ended up here. I’ve never told a single soul in Colorado...but you.”

Hannah’s
eyes narrowed as she sat down. “That’s despicable. What a jerk.”

“Gall
dang it! If I ever get my hands on him, I’ll tie him to a post and feed him
Pete’s Sunday special!”

Both
women turned their heads as Fritz came flying through the kitchen door in a
huff. Candy should have felt mortified, but she burst out laughing and so did
Hannah.

Fritz
was still fuming as he dropped a fatherly hand on Candy’s shoulder. “Now,
honeybunch, I know your parents are gone to heaven, so I’m taking it upon
myself to take care of ya, and if I ever see that fellow you’re talking about,
there’s no telling what I’ll do.”

Though
genuinely touched by the older man’s affection, Candy pressed her lips
together, trying to control her amusement at his outburst. “Really, Fritz,
there’s nothing to worry about. It was over three years ago.”

Hannah
turned to her father-in-law and held his hand gently in hers. “Fritz, I don’t
want to have to tell Tanner that you were an accessory to murder while he was
gone. Pete’s Sunday Special is going a bit too far.”

Fritz
shook his head, patted Hannah’s hand, and fixed Candy with a set of furious blue
eyes. “Now, tell me, was this man with you in Chicago?”

Candy
smiled. “I haven’t heard from the man in years and I don’t want to.”

“What’s
his name? I got to know to settle my nerves.”

Candy
shook her head, realizing Fritz might truly do something to Roger. He wasn’t
joking. “No. I can’t tell you that.” She stood up and gave Fritz a kiss on his
cheek that made him blush, then sat back down. “There’s nothing you could do
now anyway.”

“Dang
it! You women are all alike, thinking you can handle us men. But it’s not like
that.” He turned to the cupboard to fetch his tea. “Not like that at all. We
have our protective instincts, you know. All us Clearbrooks do. Take Tanner for
example, he went after Hannah as soon as he saw that your brother Alex wanted
her.”

He
glanced over his shoulder and frowned. “Not that I don’t like Alex, honeybunch,
but he wasn’t the one for our little Hannah here.”

Candy
and Hannah sent each other a knowing wink and slowly rose from their chairs
without Fritz the wiser.

“And
take my second son,” Fritz went on. “Handsome as they come and bright too. Why
Rafe would sooner lie on a train track than let someone take his woman.”

Candy
held a hand to her mouth, slipping through the kitchen door before she found
herself on the floor in a heap of laughter. Hannah followed.

In
the meantime, Jeremy came to sit down and watched his grandfather fix his tea
while talking to thin air.

“And
another thing, if I tell you women once, I’ve told you a thousand times, you
need a man by your side. You can see that Hannah and Tanner finally saw the
light. Though, I have to say, I did have something to do with it.”