To Catch a Thief by Sherryl Woods Page B

now than he had then.
    Nor was he crazy about the fact that he hadn’t even discovered why Gina’s trip had already lasted several days longer than originally anticipated. Just when the query had been on the tip of his tongue, George Petrillo had cleverly distracted him with his own barrage of questions.
    The fragile trust Rafe had begun to feel for Gina was already wavering. He’d give her one more day. If she didn’t turn up tomorrow, he was going after her. And heaven help her if she wasn’t where she had told him she would be—at Mrs. Collins’s bedside in Denver.
     
    For some reason Gina wasn’t the least bit surprised to find Rafe sitting in a parked car just down the street fromher house when she finally got back home several days after she’d intended to. She hadn’t been on such an emotional roller coaster in years. A confrontation with him fit right in.
    She watched him strolling toward her, a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. One word, she thought. Let him say just one wrong word and she would belt him. After what she and her friends had been through, she was just itching to take her anger out on somebody.
    Rafe bent down to peer in the car window. “You okay?”
    “No.”
    He seemed taken aback by her response. “What’s wrong?” he asked eventually.
    “Everything.”
    “Are you planning on sitting in there all evening?”
    She scowled at him. “I might.”
    Rafe shrugged and walked around to the other side of the car, then got in. He sat there, staring straight ahead, seemingly perfectly comfortable with the silence.
    “Caleb died,” she finally murmured, barely able to get the words out. “Karen’s husband. He just collapsed and died. It happened while we were in Denver. By the time we got to the hospital in Laramie, he was dead. I’ve been staying with Karen at her ranch for the last few days.” She glanced at him. “In case you were wondering where I’d run off to.”
    “Never crossed my mind,” he said.
    She almost managed a smile at that. “Liar.”
    “I’m sorry about Caleb,” he said.
    Gina regarded him with faint surprise. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
    “I do. I didn’t meet him at the reunion, but I saw youand the others with him. It was obvious how close you were. It must have been a terrible shock.”
    “It was. I don’t know how Karen’s going to manage without him.” Gina hoped she would never experience the kind of loss that Karen was going through. Karen was heartbroken and racked with guilt because she hadn’t been there. Nothing anyone had said had been able to console her.
    “She could lose their ranch,” Gina whispered. “That will kill her. It meant everything to Caleb, but I don’t know if Karen can keep it running on her own. I would hate to lose Café Tuscany, but it’s not the same. I love it, but it’s just a business. Even I can see that. That ranch meant everything to Karen and Caleb. And there’s this man, Grady Blackhawk, who’s just waiting in the wings to take it from her.”
    She shuddered at the thought. “How can something like this happen?” she asked bitterly. “Caleb didn’t deserve to die. Karen certainly doesn’t deserve this.”
    Gina glanced at Rafe to see how he was reacting to her tirade. Not until he reached over and brushed away the tears on her cheeks did she realize that she’d been crying.
    “I’m sorry I’m so emotional,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean to dump all of this on you. I just can’t bear the way Karen looks, so lost and alone. She’s one of my best friends. How can I even think about going back to New York in a few days and leaving her here to cope?”
    “The others—” Rafe began.
    “Will be leaving, too,” Gina said. “Except for Cassie. She’s staying because of her mom. At least that’s the excuse. I think there’s more to it. Her son’s father is here and they have a whole lot of unfinished business between them. Lauren says she can stay a little longer.