Taming Rafe by Susan May Warren Page A

life.”
    Rafe glanced at Stefanie. “Hey, she’s not—”
    Stefanie held up a hand, wearing the same expression she’d had when she volunteered him to take her best friend to junior prom. “Yes,” she said with a slow smile, “I think we can accommodate you.”

    John walked into the diner at his usual time, thirty minutes before closing, slid onto his regular stool, and ordered his usual, a Reuben.
    Lolly gave him a smile before making change for the customer at the counter.
    He’d lost count of how many years he’d been doing this, helping Lolly sweep up, then walking her over to her trailer, where they’d sit under the stars while she shared gossip she’d heard that day. He’d put his arm around her and lull himself into thinking that they were really married, that she wouldn’t eventually shrug out of his embrace and disappear into her trailer while he drove home alone.
    Back in the days when he had high hopes for them, he’d steal a kiss or two. Lolly had never truly yielded to him, however. But, strangely, although he spent quite a few years trying to stamp out the flame of illicit rumor, she did nearly nothing to defend her honor.
    As if she didn’t care.
    It took him years to understand why and to accept the fact that she’d probably never say yes to his proposal. So John bought Reuben sandwiches instead.
    She set down a piece of rhubarb pie in front of him and poured him a cup of coffee. “Did you get the truck fixed?”
    “Nope,” he said, cutting the pie. “Fixed the hole in the fence, though.”
    They could be talking about the weather for all the intimacy of their conversation. Or maybe, in ways, their conversation resembled true marriage, caring about the intricacies of the day, embracing the mundane, bearing witness to each other’s lives.
    “Lolly had some interesting company today,” Egger Dugan said from the other end of the counter. He had the uncanny ability to know everything that happened in Phillips within moments, and Lolly’s Diner was his personal dispatch center. He started his mornings with a cup of stiff coffee and ended his days eating the leftover pie. John had never seen him out of his coveralls and oily canvas jacket.
    This time, however, Lolly didn’t bite. In fact, she ignored Egger, pocketing a tip. “Want fries with that sandwich, John?”
    Had he ever wanted fries with his Reuben? He frowned at her, trying to read her eyes, but they avoided his.
    She took a washcloth and cleanser and went out to clean the booths.
    John turned to Egger, raised one brow.
    Egger took the bait. “Cute thing with a New York accent came in here. Recognized Bobby Russell’s autographed picture to his sister.” He glanced at Lolly. “I didn’t know ole Bobby had a sister.”
    Lolly didn’t even look up as she scrubbed tables.
    Yeah, Bobby had a sister all right. A pang went through John at Lolly’s obvious efforts to act as if the information didn’t hit her like a two-by-four. “Who was she?”
    “Richard Breckenridge’s niece, I guess.” Egger finished his coffee. “Went up to the Silver Buckle, thinking they was still running the dude ranch.” He laughed, a deep rumble that ended in a cough. “Remember the trouble they had last summer, trying to start a dude ranch? Betcha Nick takes one look at her and sends her packin’.”
    John gave him a look. Last summer had been differentcircumstances—and Nick had changed a lot since then. He didn’t miss the sharp look Lolly gave Egger at his prophecy.
    Then she went back to spraying, washing, cleaning. As though her past hadn’t come knocking on the door today and shaken her world.
    How John longed to get up, take the cleanser from her hands, and wrap his arms around her. To tell her that everything was going to be okay. That her demons weren’t so huge that they couldn’t be tamed by the right force in her life.
    But he didn’t. Instead he sat there and watched the woman he loved carry her burdens alone, hating himself