Fool's Gold Collection Volume 3. Susan Mallery

mouth, then closed it. Talk about a minefield. She was going to stay safely out of that conversation, she thought. If she was smart, she would also stay away from Rafe, but she didn’t seem to be very bright when it came to him.

      Fine—she would risk her feelings, but she would stay out of his bed. Because to cross that line would be to gamble with everything she had.

      * * *

      THE FOOL’S GOLD SPRING Festival always fell on Mother’s

      Day weekend. Many a father had taken advantage of that fact, bringing his wife to the event and letting her choose her own gift. Sunday morning, the food vendors served brunch fare, and the jewelry designers did an especially brisk business.

      The weekend celebration started on Friday evening with a chili cook-off. The winners (and losers) sold their entries all weekend long. Saturday morning, there was a parade featuring kids on bikes and pulled in wagons, all decorated with flowers and ribbons. Family dogs accompanied the children, the furry family members also festively dressed.

      Rafe winced as a Great Dane in a dress strolled by.

      “That’s just wrong,” he muttered. “What happened to dog dignity?”

      Heidi laughed. “She looks adorable.”

      “She’s humiliated.”

      Heidi looked at the dog’s happy face and wagging tail. “I think she’s channeling her inner diva. Maybe next year I’ll dress up Athena and bring her to be in the parade.”

      “She’ll eat the dress.”

      “Maybe. But she’ll be pretty until then.”

      The streets were crowded with locals and tourists. Even though it was still a couple of hours before noon, the smell of barbecue filled the air. Heidi sniffed the scent.

      “You did say something about lunch, right?” she asked.

      “Don’t worry. I’ll feed you.”

      After she’d come in from milking, she’d found Rafe sitting at the kitchen table. Weekends had a different rhythm at the ranch. The hired construction guys had the two days off. While Rafe often went out and continued the construction projects on his own, the pace always seemed slower.

      After she’d stored the fresh milk in the mudroom refrigerator, he’d surprised her by asking her if she wanted to go to the festival with him. She’d known that saying yes was risky, but she had been unable to resist. So here they were, blending in with the other people watching the parade.

      When the last of the kids on bikes had gone by, Rafe suggested they tour the booths.

      “You sure you feel all right?” Heidi asked.

      “I can play tourist.”

      “I’ll believe that when you buy a Fool’s Gold refrigerator magnet.”

      “Mom would love that.”

      “May enjoys most things.”

      He chuckled. “I’m ignoring the implication that I don’t.”

      “I didn’t say that. I’m sure you have your moments.”

      They walked toward the booths. The crowd grew around them, with kids running between them. When they reached the corner, Rafe grabbed her hand and drew her close.

      “I need to make sure you don’t get lost.”

      He was being nice, she told herself. Friendly. Nothing more. But the feel of his hand linked with hers was more than friendly. It felt…right. The strength of his fingers, the calluses. His hand was bigger than hers, and if she allowed herself a moment of girly foolishness, she would admit that being with him made her want to flutter her lashes and sigh.

      She reminded herself that he wasn’t for her. He would never be for her. He wanted someone sophisticated. A woman who fit in anywhere and looked good doing it. Someone who always knew what to say. Heidi’s

      idea of high fashion was to wear her hair loose. While she technically knew how to wear makeup, she would rather just slap on some sunscreen and call it a day. Her clothing choices were driven by the fact that she started her day milking goats.

      “Tell me where you met your wife,” she said, blurting out the instruction abruptly.

      Rafe glanced at her. “At work. My first job after college. She was an intern with a guy my boss wanted to do business with.”

      “Not exactly romantic.”

      He grinned. “It wasn’t. The two principals couldn’t agree on contract terms. Ansley and I escaped to the coffee room. I’d just made my first deal. It was small—I didn’t have much extra money, but it had gone through, and I saw the potential.”

      They were by the park. Heidi pulled them toward one of the benches and sat down. Rafe settled next to her.

      “Let me guess. Ansley was a tall, cool blonde with family money and a pedigree.”

      He angled toward Heidi on the bench. “You’re partly right. She did have a pedigree, but she was a brunette. Smart. Her family had started out rich, but the money had been lost a couple of generations ago. She was ambitious. We had that in common. I asked her out and she said yes.”

      “Then you fell madly in love?”

      “Then I got to know her. There wasn’t any ‘madly.’ More of a certainty. That we could make a life together. We shared the same values, we both wanted children and to make our mark on the world.” He stared past her. “We got married. Everything seemed fine until she told me she didn’t love me and that it was over.”

      He shrugged. “I realized I didn’t mind losing her.”

      The only romantic love Heidi had seen got bigger with time. Passion exploded and rational thought wasn’t possible. Love consumed, and she knew she didn’t want that. Didn’t want to be ruled by emotions people couldn’t control.

      He returned his attention to her. “What about you? Any townies steal your heart?”

      “No. I avoid townies.”

      “You’re with me and you claim I’m one of them.”

      “You’re not interested in me.”

      One eyebrow rose, but he didn’t respond to her statement. “So, who’s the guy who got away? He must be with the carnival. Unless it’s Lars. And if it is him, I think you have a shot.”

      She swatted his arm. “Leave Lars alone. He’s very nice. And there wasn’t anyone. I’ve had boyfriends, but no one serious. A couple of times, I thought the relationship was going somewhere, but it didn’t.”

      To be honest, she’d never felt that sick-to-her-stomach, intense longing Melinda had talked about. Or the desperate-to-be-with-him-even-though-he’s-bad-for-me feeling Nevada had admitted to last summer. Before Tucker had come to his senses and realized he was completely in love with her. The scary truth was the closest she’d felt to any sort of out-of-control emotion was when she thought about Rafe. And that was still an easily managed out-of-control.

      “Maybe there’s something wrong with me,” she admitted.

      “Maybe love is a myth,” Rafe told her.

      “You don’t believe that. Look at your mom and how long she’s loved your dad. It’s been over twenty years, and she’s never loved anyone else.”

      “Okay, I’ll accept her feelings were genuine. Name three other people who have that.”

      “I can name a lot more than that. The Hendrix triplets all fell in love and got married last year. You mentioned you know their brother Ethan. He’s wild about his wife. Their mother was happily married for years. After being a widow for a long time, she’s back together with her first love, and they’d spent over thirty years apart. Love is real.”

      Maybe