Page 50 of Nailed

Brock didn’t say anything after that, just ignored me and went straight back to whatever he was pretending to focus on. I sighed, picking up my camera again and going through some of the pictures.

Maybe fifteen minutes later, the doors opened and Rafe slunk back into the firehouse. But there was something different about him. He looked pale, his eyes hollowed out and darting to all corners of the space as though looking for something. I didn’t like how his smirk was replaced by a frown so deep it looked out of place on the face of someone half as cocky and self-assured as he at least claimed to be.

“Rafe?” I asked, trying to strain the concern out of my voice. It evidently wasn’t effective.

Callum came walking downstairs and even Brock turned to look at him. “Merrick? What’s got you looking so spooked?”

“Nothing,” Rafe replied and that simple answer only amplified my budding worry.

“Rafe, are you okay?” I asked, walking over to him. I wanted to reach out and touch him, not for anything less than wanting to ground him, to remind him that there were people around him he could confide in. But I didn’t know if whatever we had going between us would allow for that.

“I’m fine, Lauren,” he said.

He went right back to working on the wall, this time looking like a shell of the powerful man who’d been wielding that sledgehammer like a toy. The walls still came down.

I noticed that Brock didn’t ask him about the caulk.

*

It was a little later that I worked up the courage to follow Rafe on his journey to collect something from the equipment room. It was far enough away from the other two that I knew they wouldn’t see or hear as I closed the door behind me quickly.

Rafe turned to look at me, the same dead expression on his face that he had earlier. My heart sank. I wanted him to rile me up, to make some kind of stupid comment, to smile….anything to show that he was okay.

Our dynamic up until now had been built on electricity and sex. It didn’t feel stable enough for me to probe for answers to whatever it was that had clearly left him haunted and isolated. But that didn’t take away the ache I felt when I saw his eyes.

“If you were serious about me showing you the ropes, we could start Lesson One right now,” I said, keeping my voice as unaffected as possible by the painful constricting in my chest. I walked towards him and ran my hands down his sweaty torso, backing him up against the wall. “I can even help you with your time management skills. We can be done before Brock even notices either of us are gone.”

To my horror, he shook his head, gently prying my hands from his chest. “We’re on a tight deadline. Maybe another time.”

And with that, he slipped past me and out the door, leaving me alone with a thousand reeling questions.

19

Lauren

I couldn’t sleep at all that night.

It was like some twist on the uncanny valley effect to see Rafe that rattled. He looked like Rafe but at the same time that acute look of fear on his face was such a far cry from any version of him I knew that it felt terrifying.

I was terrified for him. Then terrified of my terror for him.

I woke up with dark circles under my eyes and knew it was going to be a concealer-heavy day today. Brock and Callum arrived very early in the morning, already rearing to go. I wasn’t surprised at all to see Callum with a bunch of beautiful hand-picked flowers. Even though he knew about Rafe, that didn’t stop him from noticing my concern and trying to make me feel better about it, regardless of how he tried to couch the action as casual thoughtfulness. Nothing about Callum was ever just casual.

“I saw these on the way here and thought of you, Miss Lauren,” he said, handing them over with his characteristic charm.

“You’re so sweet, thank you,” I said, smelling them. Seeing his familiar face with its usual calm and warm expression, I wanted to give him a hug and feel his comfort. I missed that anchor. I needed something solid in the face of whatever the hell was going on with Rafe.

But I realized I couldn’t because Brock was right next to him, his face looking like a slapped ass and I knew a hug was only going to make it worse.

“I’d be worried about that if I were you,” he grunted at me, ignoring the glare Callum shot at him. “He stole those from your neighbor’s garden.”

“All that proves is that I have a bad side, too,” Callum said, turning his attention back to me and ignoring Brock’s snort. “If you like that kind of thing.”

I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face. My cheeks actually hurt. “I happen to like you just the way you are, Cal.”

“And I more than like you,” Callum said, then went the reddest I’d ever seen him to date. I didn’t think he meant to actually voice that thought out loud. But the air was heavy with that unsaid word, and I felt like a deer in the headlights until Brock cleared his throat emphatically.

“Yeah, we have a clock to beat and we’re one man down until Rafe decides to show up,” he said in his foreman voice. Then he turned to Callum. “It’s gonna be an extra load for the two of us while we pick up his slack. Ready?”