for calf roping.” Rafe’s hand stilled on the dog’s head, and the look on his face told Alexa he was cruising through fond memories.
“I take it those were some good times.”
He nodded. “All week my folks worked their butts off with the sheep. Sierra and I went to school. But Saturdays were special. Dad loaded King in a rickety horse trailer and hooked it up to his ancient pickup. It was so old that I wonder how it made it to area rodeos. Dad always won. He could’ve been a world champion calf roper, but with a family of four, he never could scrape up the entry fee for big-purse rodeos. But that’s another story. He and I would get home late. My mother always prepared a victory supper. Neighbors rolled in from miles around. It’s no wonder we were poor. My mom was a great cook, and her dishes had disappeared by midnight. All the kids fell asleep to the sound of laughter and Spanish guitar music.”
Alexa felt his joy. “You have great memories, Rafe. What a shame your parents died so young. Sierra’s kids will miss all the love their grandparents could have given them. Kids thrive on love, not money.”
“Yeah. I have more money put away now than my dad made in his entire life. And Sierra and Doug own a nice ranch-style home, and they’re adding on a bedroom and another bath. The house we grew up in would probably fit in Sierra’s living room, and she thinks it’s too small.”
“I take it the military has been good to you.”
Rafe sat forward, braced his forearms on his knees and made what looked like a grimace. Alexa thought that was going to be the end of their conversation.
“Good and bad,” he muttered after a long silence.
“Of course. It’s not good that you were injured. And you lost your two best friends from your old home town in the same day.”
Rafe’s head jerked up. “Who told you about Joey and Mike?”
“You did, in a way. You know, it might help to talk about your friends.”
“No. No amount of talk will bring Mike and Joey back to their families. And it won’t bring back my eyesight. I thought I was clear, Alexa. Stay out of my head. You and the VA.” He vaulted up, displacing the snoozing Compadre.
“For heaven’s sake, Rafe, stop jumping to conclusions. All my questions tonight were out of interest. I don’t have enough training to analyze you. I know you’ve had two flashbacks since you came here. And sometimes I hear you pacing around at night. But beyond the relaxation techniques I haven’t a clue how to treat post-traumatic stress.” She stood up and walked over to shut off the music. “You’re quite welcome to your ghosts, Rafe. For your information, all God’s children have got plenty of their own.”
“The military docs asked me how I felt losing half my patrol. They asked me how I felt letting my two best friends go on point together. How the hell do they or anyone else think I felt?”
“Rafe, you don’t need to talk about this. Do you want some pie and a glass of milk before you go to bed?” Alexa knew he was a bundle of nerves. It didn’t take a genius to know it wouldn’t be a good idea for him to go to bed without first calming down.
“We have pie? What kind? Where did it come from?”
“Pumpkin. Well, squash. I made it last night.”
“Ah. So who else was up pacing around last night?”
“My mother called. She gives me insomnia.”
Rafe followed her to the kitchen. “Really? Why?”
Alexa huffed out a tight breath. “She spent the first half of my life too busy with charities to pay me any attention. Then when I hit twenty, she decided she needed to control my life.”
“From Houston?”
“Since I moved here, yes. She thinks I can drop everything here and fly home whenever she calls. Or that they can pop in unannounced to check up on me.”
“Ouch. And you’re how old?”
“Thirty,” she snapped. “Weren’t we going to have dessert?”
“Hey—I just thought of something. I’ve been here, what? Close to a
“I take it those were some good times.”
He nodded. “All week my folks worked their butts off with the sheep. Sierra and I went to school. But Saturdays were special. Dad loaded King in a rickety horse trailer and hooked it up to his ancient pickup. It was so old that I wonder how it made it to area rodeos. Dad always won. He could’ve been a world champion calf roper, but with a family of four, he never could scrape up the entry fee for big-purse rodeos. But that’s another story. He and I would get home late. My mother always prepared a victory supper. Neighbors rolled in from miles around. It’s no wonder we were poor. My mom was a great cook, and her dishes had disappeared by midnight. All the kids fell asleep to the sound of laughter and Spanish guitar music.”
Alexa felt his joy. “You have great memories, Rafe. What a shame your parents died so young. Sierra’s kids will miss all the love their grandparents could have given them. Kids thrive on love, not money.”
“Yeah. I have more money put away now than my dad made in his entire life. And Sierra and Doug own a nice ranch-style home, and they’re adding on a bedroom and another bath. The house we grew up in would probably fit in Sierra’s living room, and she thinks it’s too small.”
“I take it the military has been good to you.”
Rafe sat forward, braced his forearms on his knees and made what looked like a grimace. Alexa thought that was going to be the end of their conversation.
“Good and bad,” he muttered after a long silence.
“Of course. It’s not good that you were injured. And you lost your two best friends from your old home town in the same day.”
Rafe’s head jerked up. “Who told you about Joey and Mike?”
“You did, in a way. You know, it might help to talk about your friends.”
“No. No amount of talk will bring Mike and Joey back to their families. And it won’t bring back my eyesight. I thought I was clear, Alexa. Stay out of my head. You and the VA.” He vaulted up, displacing the snoozing Compadre.
“For heaven’s sake, Rafe, stop jumping to conclusions. All my questions tonight were out of interest. I don’t have enough training to analyze you. I know you’ve had two flashbacks since you came here. And sometimes I hear you pacing around at night. But beyond the relaxation techniques I haven’t a clue how to treat post-traumatic stress.” She stood up and walked over to shut off the music. “You’re quite welcome to your ghosts, Rafe. For your information, all God’s children have got plenty of their own.”
“The military docs asked me how I felt losing half my patrol. They asked me how I felt letting my two best friends go on point together. How the hell do they or anyone else think I felt?”
“Rafe, you don’t need to talk about this. Do you want some pie and a glass of milk before you go to bed?” Alexa knew he was a bundle of nerves. It didn’t take a genius to know it wouldn’t be a good idea for him to go to bed without first calming down.
“We have pie? What kind? Where did it come from?”
“Pumpkin. Well, squash. I made it last night.”
“Ah. So who else was up pacing around last night?”
“My mother called. She gives me insomnia.”
Rafe followed her to the kitchen. “Really? Why?”
Alexa huffed out a tight breath. “She spent the first half of my life too busy with charities to pay me any attention. Then when I hit twenty, she decided she needed to control my life.”
“From Houston?”
“Since I moved here, yes. She thinks I can drop everything here and fly home whenever she calls. Or that they can pop in unannounced to check up on me.”
“Ouch. And you’re how old?”
“Thirty,” she snapped. “Weren’t we going to have dessert?”
“Hey—I just thought of something. I’ve been here, what? Close to a
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