Chapter Twelve
B
unny stepped out onto the porch to take a last look at the gulf. The ocean glittered in the mid-afternoon sun like bits of glass. The salty breeze tugged at her sundress and tickled her bare legs and sandaled feet. With a harsh cry, a gull swept low over the waves. The lonely sound perfectly fit Bunny’s wistful mood.
The past few days with Rafe had been bliss, but her vacation was almost over. The Fall Art Show opened at the library tomorrow and she needed to be there. It was their biggest fund-raiser. She’d worked overtime the week before the wedding to have everything set up and ready to go when she got back. Still, she had had no business leaving work at such a busy time.
But she hadn’t planned on meeting and falling in love with Rafe Dalvahni.
Or marrying him, for goodness sake.
Or having his baby.
Her hand crept to her stomach. A child, conceived and born of her love for the father; she loved their baby already. It was a boy, she was sure of it. He would be red-haired and strong and handsome, like his father.
When Rafe . . .
Grief stabbed at her. She pushed it aside. She had to be strong, for the child’s sake.
When Rafe left, she would have their child to love and remember him by. It would not be enough, not nearly enough, but it would be something. A wonderful something.
Shrugging off her gloomy thoughts, she picked up her suitcase and almost dropped it in surprise. It felt empty. She set the bag on the porch and unzipped it. The lid popped open. Clothes bulged against the inner straps. She was notorious for over-packing.
The suitcase should have been heavy, but it was not.
She closed her wheeled upright and grabbed Rafe’s duffel bag. Weightless, like hers. How odd.
Shaking her head, she carried the luggage down the steps to the parking area beneath the porch. She saw the pink Caddy and winced. She’d been so happy and loved up by a certain fellow she’d forgotten about the missing door. Until now. Audrey was going to go nuclear when she saw her car.
“What are you doing?” Rafe said.
Bunny shrieked and spun around, the suitcases swinging wildly in her hands. “Rafe, you scared me to death!”
The blue polo he wore hugged his muscular shoulders and broad chest and his massive biceps strained against the short sleeves of the shirt in a most fascinating manner. Bunny tried not to stare, but yowza! He was totally built and totally gorgeous. And how his lower body looked in a pair of jeans ought to be illegal.
He took the bags from her. “I was going to get these.”
She followed him to the back of the car. “No big deal. They aren’t heavy.” She watched him open the trunk and toss their luggage in. “I guess one of us will have to sit in the backseat. Do you drive? I mean,
can
you drive?”
“I can operate this machine, but why cannot we sit together?” He grabbed her and pulled her close, nuzzling her on the neck. “I do not like to be away from you.”
Didn’t like to be away from her, huh? That was promising, at least. Maybe he would visit her and the baby every now and then between assignments. It would be kind of like having a husband overseas in the military. Her spirits lifted.
“The front passenger door is missing.” Bunny shivered. She put her hands on Rafe’s sinewy shoulders and held on as he nibbled his way up her throat to her ear. “Remember?”
In the past few days, Rafe had grilled her at great length regarding her encounter with the demon. Not that there was much to tell. She had kicked the demon out of the car. End of story.
She figured it was adrenaline. People did strange and unbelievable things under stress. Picked up cars. Moved trees. Lord knows being around Trish was stressful enough to give the Dalai Lama indigestion. And this particular demon had been foolish enough to threaten her and Rafe while wearing a Trish Russell suit. Big mistake.
Taking out Trish
and
the demon was a twofer, as far as she was concerned.
“The door will not be a problem,” Rafe said. “I have cleaned and repaired the automobile.”
“What?” Bunny said.
Stepping out of the circle of Rafe’s arms, she slowly backpedaled around the Cadillac. The car was spotless, inside and out, the chrome bumpers and trim mirror perfect. More importantly, the missing door was back in place.
“I don’t understand.” Bunny opened and closed the passenger side door. It was as good as new. “Somebody did a nice job, but the color’s not right. Audrey will be sure to notice.” She grimaced. “I wonder how much a new paint job is going to cost me.”
“What is wrong with this color? It is pink.”
“Yeah, but it’s not Mary Kay pink.” She waved her hand at the car. “This is more of a bubblegum color. Mary Kay pink is pearlier.”
Rafe scowled. “Pink is pink.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. Mary Kay pink is hard to match. How on earth did you find a mechanic who could fix the car on such short notice?”
“I repaired the machine myself.”
“That’s impossible.”
“It is?”
“Yes, it is.” She ran her fingers over the passenger side door. The finish was mirror smooth. “You’d have to order the door, and besides, you don’t have the equipment.”
His brows rose. “I do not? I am wounded.”
“Don’t start with me, Rafe Dalvahni. You know very well I’m not talking about
that
equipment.” Her face got hot. “That equipment works just fine.”
“I confess I am relieved to hear it.”
Her cheeks burned . . . and other parts of her as well. Man, he had a sexy voice. “Stop teasing me, Rafe, and tell me the truth!”
“I am. But, since you obviously do not believe me, I will prove it to you.”
He waved his hand and the front doors came off the Caddy. One door spun through the air and smacked into the storage room wall. The other one landed forty feet away in the sand.
“Are you crazy?” Bunny’s voice rose to a shriek. “Look what you’ve done to Audrey’s car!”
“Calm yourself.” Rafe motioned and the doors sailed across the yard and reattached themselves to the automobile. “Behold! The machine is restored to its former state.”
“Oh man, oh man, oh man,” she moaned.
Staggering over to a plastic beach chair, she sat down and dropped her head in her hands. Everything was spinning and her whole body felt funny and light. As if at any moment, she might float out of the chair into the clouds, weightless as a balloon.
“Bunny?”
“Give me a minute. Please.” She took deep breaths. “I need a little time to adjust.”
“Adjust to what?”
“You’re kidding, right? Like the stunt you just pulled is
normal
?”
“Bunny, you know what I am.” Rafe’s tone was gentle. “You have seen what I can do.”
She lifted her head to glare at him. “Did I say it was your fault? I’m an idiot, that’s all. The past few days have been so wonderful that I forgot you’re . . . That you’re not . . .”
“I cannot change what I am. If you regret marrying me . . .”
“I didn’t say that!”
“—then that is too bad, because I am not letting you go.”
Hope bloomed. This was it, the moment she’d been waiting for. She loved him so much he
had
to love her a little in return.
“Because you love me?” she asked without thinking.
Way to go, Big Mouth, Bunny thought miserably. Hadn’t she promised herself she’d be patient and wait for him to say it? Oh, no. She had to push him into a corner.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
“Love is a human emotion,” Rafe said without inflection. “I am Dalvahni.”
She
hated
it when he got all cold and detached, like he was made of stone or something. Her chin came up. “Brand loves Addy and he’s Dalvahni.”
“Brand is an aberration. I enjoy being with you. I want to make you happy and to keep you safe. Is that not enough?”
She dug her fingers into the palms of her hand. She would not cry. She would
not
cry. “No, it’s not enough. But I guess it will have to do.”
Rafe’s steely expression softened. “
Cara
.”
She shook her head. “Don’t look at me like that, Rafe. When you look at me I melt into a big puddle of Bunny goo. For goodness sake, leave me a little dignity.”
“It was never my intention to hurt you.”
His voice was like liquid sex. Deep. Compelling. Mesmerizing. Even when he said things like
Sorry, babe, I don’t love you,
it did things to her, made her weak with longing.
He had all the advantages. It was so unfair.
He stepped closer. “
No
,” she said, flinging out her hand.
Rafe’s body flew backward, like a puppet pulled by an invisible string. He smashed into one of the house supports and tumbled into the driveway.
“Rafe!” Bunny ran over and knelt on the ground beside him. “Are you all right?”
He groaned and sat up. “My head hurts.”
“It ought to hurt. You thunked that post pretty hard.” Frowning, Bunny ran her fingers along his scalp. “Oh, my goodness, you’ve got a goose egg. What on earth made you do such a crazy thing?”
He opened his eyes and looked at her. “I did not do this thing, Bunny. You did.”
She recoiled in surprise. “What?”
“You are no longer human.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Rafe stood and pulled her to her feet.
“I told you before, but you would not listen. You are Dalvahni now, ageless, changeless and powerful.”
Bunny stared at him in disbelief. This was crazy. This couldn’t be true, right? Oh, sure, he’d said something to that effect on their wedding day, but she hadn’t believed him. How could she?
Hellooo? Remember what happened with the mayonnaise jar at your mama’s house?
Oh God, Smart Bunny was flapping her jaws again.
It was a new jar and she asked you to open it. You gave the top one itsy bitsy turn and the jar exploded in your hands. Your mama’s kitchen looked like double coupon day at the sperm bank.
Smart Bunny wasn’t just a pain in the butt. She was also gross.
You told your mama the glass must have been cracked, but it wasn’t, was it? You cut your hands to pieces and there was blood everywhere. Your mama freaked out and wanted to take you to the hospital. But when you ran your hands under the faucet the cuts were gone.
It was just a paper cut,
Dumb Bunny retorted.
Uh huh. What about the door at the library then, the one you pulled clean off the hinges?
That door was defective,
Dumb Bunny protested.
No, it wasn’t. And the door to the beach house was locked tight as a drum when you got here. Until you turned the knob. Think about it. You heard the dead bolt turn over. And what about two weeks ago at the library when you had a sudden craving for watermelon and found yourself standing in the produce aisle at the Piggly Wiggly with no memory of how you got there and—
Shut up, shut up, shut up,
Bunny screamed inside her head.
Smart Bunny’s voice subsided, but it was too late. A floodtide of panic started at Bunny’s toes and swept up her body, choking her, making her heart pound and her brain spin.
“No,” she whispered. Sweat trickled down her back and between her breasts. The air seemed thick and she found it hard to breathe. “It’s not true.”
“Why do you refuse to accept what I am telling you?” Rafe asked. “I changed you. I had no choice. You would have
died
.”
He reached for her, but she skittered away from him. “There’s always a choice, Rafe.”
“Do you think I wanted to do it?” His face twisted. “What I did is forbidden by the Great Directive. But I could not let you die.” Closing the gap between them, he took her by the shoulders. “I could not do it, do you hear?”
She jerked free. “Why not, Rafe? Why break your precious rules when you don’t love me? You’re not making sense.”
“I do not know. I looked at you and I wanted you. That is all.”
“You wanted me? Well, you got me didn’t you?” Her voice shook with anger and resentment. “Pathetic little Bunny, in love with a guy who can’t love her back because it’s not part of his
directive
.”
“Bunny, I—”
She slapped him, hard. “You should have let me die, Rafe. It would have been kinder than leaving me here to face forever alone.”
There was a red mark on his cheek where she’d slapped him, but he did not seem to notice.