When I'm With You. Donna Hill

owed society a debt, and that debt was to pay it forward. Each of his siblings, minus himself and Dominique, embraced the Lawson mantra. As the two rebels of the family, Rafe and Dominique were hell-bent and determined to do whatever was necessary to tick their father off. Their track record in that regard was impeccable. Dominique should have been his twin instead of Desiree’s. He and Dom were true sibling soulmates. However, that pesky thing called love swept through the Lawson clan like a summer storm and took each of them out one by one, Dominique included. Rafe remained the last holdout—until Avery.

      He parked on the side of the house, used his key to open the front door. The aroma of backyard barbecuing mixed with laughter beckoned him. He followed the lip-smacking scents and was met by the wide-eyed surprise of his aunt Jacqueline, his brother Justin and his fiancée, Bailey.

      “Rafe!” Jacqueline greeted him, her smile wide. “I thought you were in DC, baby.”

      “Hey, big bro,” Justin said, raising a bottle of beer in salute.

      Rafe rounded the white wrought-iron table, leaned down and gave his aunt a hearty kiss on the cheek. “Hey, Aunt J, good to see you. Where’s Ray?”

      Raymond Jordan had long been his aunt’s freelance photographer. They’d traveled the world together, chasing that elusive story in some of the most exotic and often dangerous places on the globe. Finally they realized that what they needed—beyond the excitement of the next assignment—was each other. More than that, Raymond was instrumental in seeing his aunt through one of the most difficult times in her life. As much as her brother Branford’s bone marrow saved her body, Raymond’s love saved her soul. Now that the Lawson children were either married off or working on it, the house for the most part was empty. Jacqueline and Raymond decided to return to Jacqueline’s childhood home and finally put down some roots.

      Jacqueline laughed at her nephew’s question. “Down in the wine cellar. He swears he’s a wine expert now.”

      Rafe chuckled and went to bear-hug his brother. “Hey, bro. Didn’t expect to see you here. When did ya’ll get in?”

      “Came in from New York this morning. Just for the weekend.”

      Rafe turned to his sister-in-law-to-be. “Bailey, woman, you still hanging out with this guy,” he teased and buzzed her cheek.

      Bailey giggled. “No other choice. He’s stuck with me.”

      Justin draped his arm around Bailey’s shoulder and winked up at his brother.

      “You two keep it up and somebody’s gonna write a book about you,” Rafe playfully warned.

      “Very funny,” Justin groused. “But I see you’re still in the headlines.” He lifted his chin toward a magazine tossed on top of the side table.

      Rafe’s eyes narrowed and zeroed in on the magazine.

      “My man,” came a hearty greeting from behind Rafe.

      Rafe looked over his shoulder. Raymond stepped out onto the veranda with a bottle of wine in each hand.

      “Now it’s a party,” Raymond joked and set the bottles down on the table.

      Rafe grinned. “Was just asking about you. Looking good, man.”

      “Other than the snowcaps,” he said, running a hand over his head and then stroking his tapered goatee, “I’m feeling good.” He patted his chiseled belly. “Gotta keep up with my gorgeous wife.”

      “How’s Avery doing?” Bailey asked.

      “She’s good,” Rafe said on a breath. “Heading back to work next week.”

      “So soon,” Jacqueline said with a frown. She held out her flute, which Raymond filled with chilled red wine. “Seems like that mess in France was just the other day,” she softly said and mouthed her thanks to Raymond, who took a seat next to her. “Your father is still recovering. Still needs a cane to get around and rehab once per week.”

      “Dad’s injuries were a little more severe, Aunt J. He had broken bones, and he’s no kid.”

      “Still...” She sipped her wine. “As long as she’s better.”

      The headaches, the nightmares... The family didn’t need to know all that. “Yeah, me too.” He stepped around his brother and pulled up a chair from the back end of the veranda.

      “Beer’s in the cooler,” Justin offered.

      “Thanks.” He flipped open the cooler and took out a can and then reached for the magazine. His jaw tightened. There was a picture of him holding open a car door for Avery, with the caption “Louisiana playboy Rafe Lawson a person of interest to Secret Service Agent Avery Richards.” He muttered a string of curses under his breath. “You wanted to know what brought me here,” he ground out, flashing a look at his aunt. “That’s why.” He tossed the offending magazine onto the table.

      “Guess you haven’t seen the local daily paper,” Justin said with a raised brow. “Big spread.”

      Rafe’s jaw tightened.

      “Rafe,” Jacqueline began, her tone soft and entreating. “You know how this works, especially with our family.”

      “I do. But Avery doesn’t.”

      “Maybe not, but unfortunately when she agreed to marry you it came with all the Lawson baggage. Media has been tracking your every move since you were a teenager.”

      “Gotta admit, big bro, you always give them plenty to feed on,” Justin added.

      And now Avery was paying for his wild ways. Rafe pushed out a breath and plopped down in the available chair, stretched his long legs out in front of him. He snapped off the top of the beer and took a long, deep swallow. “Yeah,” he muttered in reluctant agreement. “Pictures are one thing, but giving details is something else.”

      “What do you mean?” Bailey asked.

      “Announcements in the papers about our engagement. Someone had to tell them, and it wasn’t me.”

      Everyone got quiet.

      Rafe looked from one averted face to the next. “Dominique,” he said for all of them. He shook his head.

      “You know Dom,” Jacqueline offered, stretching out her hand to cover his. “She’s so happy for you and Avery. Making the announcement wasn’t done to hurt you.”

      “I know.”

      “Your wedding is all she talks about.”

      Rafe sighed. He knew his family was sincerely happy that he was finally settling down, that he’d found someone to fill the space in his life. After Janae, he’d gone on a buck-wild, non-stop binge of reckless living. When he met Avery, his world finally came into focus and his nonchalant attitude shifted. He finally, for the first time in years, wanted more than the thrill of the moment. He wanted a forever. His aunt and brother were right, of course. He’d lived his life, along with the rest of his family, under the glare of the spotlight. However, it was a part of his reality that he didn’t want for Avery, especially when the glare of the spotlight was intentional. Add the zeal of his sisters into the mix, wanting to have their hands in every aspect of the wedding, and it was a blowup waiting to happen. As much as he may not have a problem with his sisters planning his wedding, his first obligation now was to Avery. She was the only one he wanted to make happy. Dominique was going to have to take a step back. Two steps.

      “Dom coming by this weekend?” Rafe asked.

      “Probably,” Jacqueline said. “I was planning Sunday dinner. She usually drops by.”

      Rafe nodded. He pushed up from the chair and stood. “In the meantime, what’s a brotha gotta do to get some of that barbecue?”

      The tense air filled with relieved laughter.

      “That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout,” Raymond said.