He just stared at her, alternately hungry and ferociously furious, and paced, taking in all the aspects of her new home. Touching objects. Watching her.
The room was dim and cozy from the single lit lamp. Too intimate a setting for what she had to say. She flicked on the Christmas tree and the blinking colored lights went into full action.
Rafe blinked as if disoriented. “For a second — ” he swallowed hard — “for a second, the colored lights reminded me of Zeb’s colored-bottle windows. When the sunlight came through. Like a stained-glass window.”
He remembers the time travel, too.
Shaking his head as if to rid it of unwelcome thoughts, he turned his steady, questioning gaze on her. Hurt and longing lay naked in the depths of his burning eyes.
He’s hurt? How dare he be hurt? I’m the one who was crushed here. She had to pull herself together. Glancing down, picking nervously at the nubby fabric on her sofa, she asked, “Have you been ill, Rafe? I had heard you were in Mexico. I assumed you were vacationing. Especially after reading about your gold nugget.”
He made a snorting noise of disgust. “You assume too damn much.” He threw the words at her, like stones, then added with a tired sigh, “You always did.” He shot her a look of searing condemnation.
He’s condemning me? “Let’s cut to the chase here, Rafe. It’s midnight. I’m tired. You look like you could use a blood transfusion. I haven’t heard from you for three months. Where the hell have you been?”
“Prison.”
She staggered under that unexpected answer, thankful for the support of the sofa.
“Why?”
“My brother, Ramon, screwed up, and landed us — ” he waved a hand dismissively — “it doesn’t matter why. You and I have more important things to discuss.” Suddenly, all the anger left his face and he held his arms out for her. “Come here, Helen. I missed you so much.”
A whimpering sound of distress escaped her lips before she pressed them firmly.
When he saw that she wasn’t coming to him, an icy shield came over Rafe’s vulnerable eyes, and he sank into a chair. “So, it’s true. You really are going to marry Colonel Sanders.”
She didn’t bother to correct the name. “Yes, Elliott and I are going to be married. On New Year’s Eve.”
“Why?”
“Why? What kind of question is that?”
“Do you love him?”
She should have said yes, but the word lodged in her tight throat. “You have no right to interrogate me.”
“I have every right.”
Angry herself now, she went to the desk and pulled out two newspaper clippings. She threw them in his lap. “You lost the right with these.”
He studied the two articles. At the picture of his brother holding up the gold nugget, Rafe cursed under his breath, “Stupid idiot,” but at the picture of him with the woman, he just shook his head in confusion. “So?” he snapped.
“So? I’ll tell you ‘so.’ You couldn’t wait to get back and get your precious gold, could you? No concern for me, or my safety, or all the… all the love you claimed to have for me.” Helen had to stop and inhale deeply. Her voice was unsteady with emotion. “And the other… Well, you two-timing bastard… you couldn’t wait to find another piece of tail, could you? That’s all I was to you. A little diversion.”
“Are you done?” he seethed, standing and heading toward her with feral intent. “That woman you’re calling a piece of tail is my sister Inez.”
She gasped. “It is?”
“Yeah, babe, it is. And Inez would strangle you for the insult. However, I get first dibs.”
He moved closer.
She eased herself around the sofa toward the hall, turning on a light behind her.
“You thought I wanted another woman, Prissy? How could you? I told you I would love you forever.”
She put the back of her hand to her mouth to muffle a cry.
He moved several steps closer.
She moved several steps backward.
“What about the gold? It’s always money with you, Rafe. More important than anything. Even…”
“Even you? Is that what you think?”