Summer Days (Fool's Gold #7)(71)

But he hadn’t read it, because, apparently, he was a slow learner.

“Mom?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Where are you getting the money to do all this?”

“I sold my condo.”

“The one I bought you?” The one with the perfect view, in Pacific Heights. The one easily worth over a million. Dollars.

“Uh-huh.”

May wandered toward the man holding on to the elephant. Heidi glanced at him.

“You would have had to sign the closing papers on her condo, too.”

“Thanks for pointing that out.”

* * *

HEIDI LAY CURLED UP on her bed, reading. It was late and she should probably be asleep, but she felt she’d slept enough while recovering from the flu. Besides, there were a lot of things on her mind, and reading helped distract her. Getting lost in a juicy romance always made her feel better.

A light knock on her door caused her to look up. The fluttering in her heart told her who she wanted her visitor to be, but a small, sensible part of her brain mentioned having it be May would be much safer.

“Come in.”

Rafe opened the door. “Got a minute?”

She nodded and put her book on the nightstand, then shifted so she was sitting cross-legged on her bed. He walked to the chair by the window and sat down.

He looked tired, she thought. As though he hadn’t been sleeping well. Maybe his couple of days in San Francisco had consisted of late nights with beautiful women. The thought made her want to work herself up into righteous indignation, but she had a feeling he’d spent his time working. At least, she hoped he had, because she found herself wanting to move close to him and hold him. To tell him that everything would be all right. Crazy, when she remembered he was the cause of her problems.

“Do you think there’s something wrong with my mother?” he asked. “Some kind of dementia?”

Heidi’s instinctive response was to laugh, but she could tell Rafe was serious.

“May is one of the most lucid people I know. There’s nothing wrong with her.”

“She bought an elephant.” He swore and ran his fingers through his hair. “Name one normal person who doesn’t work for the circus who does that.”

“She said she wanted the ranch to be a place for old animals to retire. We assumed she meant llamas and sheep. Obviously, she had more in mind.”

“What’s next?”

“I don’t think there’s anything else as surprising as an elephant. Seriously, would a zebra shock you now?”

“Not really.”

“So, she’s peaked. That’s good.” She tilted her head. “I swear, she’s fine. It’s not what you would have done with the money, but then, you would never have bought the ranch.”

She thought about what May had said that afternoon. “I’m sorry about the condo. Was it nice?”

“I thought so. Two bedrooms, two and a half baths, twenty-five hundred square feet, with a killer view.”

“You take good care of her. I’m sure she appreciates that.”

He shrugged. “I started early. That kind of thing never goes away.”

Meaning, he would be taking care of his mother the rest of her life. That was nice, Heidi thought. Comforting to know Rafe was consistent. In so many ways, he was a good man, so why was he planning to develop her land without even talking to her?

She wanted to ask, to explain that was why she’d done the cave paintings, but what had been done couldn’t be undone, and talking about it wouldn’t change that.

“I’m sorry,” she said instead.

“Me, too.”

She doubted they were apologizing for the same thing, but that was okay.

“My mother told me that elephants need companionship.”

Heidi winced. “So she’s buying another elephant?”

“No. She wants to try some of the animals already here, to see who the elephant bonds with. She wondered if you would mind if she introduced Athena to the elephant.”

“Does the elephant have a name?”

He drew in a slow breath, his expression changing to that of a man about to walk the plank. “Priscilla.”

Heidi pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. “Seriously?”

“Do you think I could make that up?”

She felt the laughter building inside her and finally gave in. She laughed until she had to collapse back on the bed, where she struggled to catch her breath.

“Priscilla, the elephant? I love that. May might have bought her based on the name alone.”

“She said she bought her because she looked sad in her pictures.”

Heidi wiped away tears. “Sure. Priscilla can meet Athena. Or any of the goats.” She chuckled. “Your mom is the best. I really like her.”

Rafe moved without warning. One second he was sitting in the chair by the window, the next he was crossing the room and reaching for her.

She wasn’t sure who got there first, but then she was in his arms and it didn’t matter. His mouth settled on hers as he kissed her deeply.

His lips pressed against hers, claiming her with the hunger of a man who had been without too long. His need fueled hers, and she dove into the liquid desire washing through her. She parted her lips for him, then met his tongue with eager thrusts of her own.