Fool's Gold Collection Volume 3: Almost Summer / Summer Days / Summer Nights / All Summer Long

“You can’t blame a girl for trying.”

“I can but I won’t.” He straightened. “It’s unfortunate we both want the same thing.”

She nodded. “Home and a place to belong.”

“I was thinking more of the land.”

“One means the other. At least to me. That’s all I wanted. Somewhere to settle, a place for Glen and me. And the goats.”

“You’re not going to get rich raising goats.”

“I never needed to be rich. Until now.”

* * *

AFTER LUNCH, RAFE WENT into town. While he’d been out riding with Heidi, his mother had thoughtfully put together a list of projects she would like to see him take care of over the next few weeks. When he’d pointed out he still had a business to run, she’d actually patted him on the head and said he would figure out a way to get both done.

He loved his mother. He really did. But there were days, and this was one of them, when he would cheerfully walk away from his entire family and never have anything to do with them again.

He parked by the lumber supply yard, but instead of going inside the small office, he headed for the center of town. Stiff muscles protested the walking. As his ride with Heidi had only been an hour at best, he was going to have to step up his workouts when he got back to San Francisco. Weight training and miles on a treadmill didn’t prepare a man for life on a ranch, and according to his mother, he was going to be here for a while.

Despite how much he didn’t want to be anywhere near Fool’s Gold, he’d found himself enjoying being on a horse again. Riding in the sunlight, surveying relatively untamed land, had been kind of nice. Either the pleasure was primal, or he’d been watching too many Westerns.

He ducked into a Starbucks and bought a drip coffee and a scone. As he stepped outside, he had the thought that he should have brought Heidi along with him. She would have—

He paused in midgulp of the hot coffee, then nearly choked. Brought Heidi? Into town? What? So he could make friends with her? She wasn’t a friend, she was trouble. All sweet and pretty, with those damn, big green eyes. Yesterday he’d nearly bought into her innocent act. Sure, maybe she hadn’t known what Glen was doing, but he still couldn’t trust her. Or her goats.

He ate the scone and tossed the paper bag into a nearby trash can. He wasn’t going to think about Heidi. Not how good she’d looked on the horse, or how she’d smelled like vanilla and flowers when he’d given her a hand up to the saddle. Not the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled, or how he’d been aware of her body moving with each step of the horse. Nope, not him. Not the least bit aware. She was someone in his way—nothing more.

He turned to walk back to the lumber supply yard when an older woman came toward him. She was well dressed, wearing a dark blue suit and pearls. Her white hair was carefully styled in that poufy bubble old ladies seemed to like.

When she smiled at him, he came to a stop.

“Rafe Stryker.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m Mayor Marsha Tilson.”

The combination of her name and the steady gaze of her blue eyes triggered a memory. Rafe frowned. “You’re the lady who gave me the bike.” She was also part of the group that had regularly delivered food and clothing to his mother, but as a kid, the bike had been more significant.

Her smile widened. “Yes. I’m delighted you remember.”

“You were kind to us. Thank you.”

The words were tough to get out. Even after all this time, he didn’t like to recall the past—when he’d gone hungry and his mother had cried all the time.

“You were an impressive little boy,” the mayor told him. “So determined to take care of your family. So proud. You made sure your brothers and sister didn’t have to worry.”

He cleared his throat, not sure how to respond to her statements. “I did what had to be done.”

“You were nine or ten. Far too young to be shouldering life’s responsibilities. Now, I understand, you’re a successful businessman.”

He nodded.

“Fool’s Gold needs men like you.”

“I’m not here to stay. I’m helping out my mother.”

The mayor’s eyes twinkled. “Maybe we can change your mind. We have a very progressive business climate here. In fact, there’s a new casino and hotel going in right outside of town. The Lucky Lady.”

That caught his attention. “I hadn’t heard.”

“You should take a look at what they’re doing. The developer is Janack Construction.”

“I’ve heard of them,” Rafe admitted. Janack was multinational. They took on massive projects, like suspension bridges in developing countries and high-rises in China. If they were building something here, it was significant.

“I appreciate the information,” he told her.

“You could fit right in here, Rafe.”

Unlikely, but rather than say that, he wished her a good day and hurried to the lumber store.

He stepped around the side of the building and pulled out his phone. He dialed a familiar number.

“Jefferson,” his friend Dante barked.

“Having a bad day?”

“Rafe.” Dante chuckled. “No. I was expecting another lawyer to be calling me. You know, it’s all about attitude. What’s going on? Convince your mother to come back to life in the big city?”

“Like that’s going to happen.”

“She’s a determined woman.”

“Tell me about it. And while you’re at it, tell me what you know about a hotel casino project called the Lucky Lady.”

He waited while Dante typed on his computer. There was a second of silence, followed by a low whistle. “Impressive.” He read off the statistics, how many rooms, number of acres, the approximate cost of the project. “Janack Construction has this sewn up. We can’t get in on it.”

“We don’t have to.” He thought about his mother’s

ranch and the thousands of acres with nothing on them. “Maybe my time here isn’t a complete waste. That hotel and casino is going to need employees. There can’t be enough housing in Fool’s Gold, which means a potential opportunity for us.”

“I’ll put somebody on the preliminaries,” Dante told him. “Find out zoning restrictions, if anyone else has been getting permits, that sort of thing. You know.…” Dante paused. “You could use this to help with the judge.”

“How?”

“Your mom wants you to fix up the ranch. I say go for it. Putting money into the house and the land might give you a stronger case. Even if the judge rules against you, you can appeal. With that casino and hotel going in, you’ve got even more reason you want to win.”