She expected—or at least hoped—that his CT scan would be negative, which meant he’d be cleared to go home with concussion protocol. She told herself Rafe would be fine.
He had to be fine.
Then she could get back to doing her job without having Rafe so close. Without needing to worry about him.
Which meant she could stop thinking about him, and stop remembering how he smelled, and what it felt like to touch him.
Because none of that was good for her sense of well-being. She didn’t need or want a man in her life, despite what Tess thought. She’d already had a man in her life once, and that had ended in disaster.
She wasn’t about to go through that again.
CHAPTER 3
STAYING AT HOME SUCKED. RAFE WAS ON A NO-ACTIVITY restriction, which was total bullshit. After a half-assed sleep last night because his brothers had taken turns waking him up every damn hour, he thought maybe he could nap this morning. But his body didn’t work that way. The sun was up, and that meant coffee and awake time.
Jackson and Kal had gone to their mom and dad’s. Becks, Jackson’s live-in girlfriend, had left for her job at her tattoo shop early today, because she needed to stop and buy some ink.
He’d thought about going along with his brothers just to hang out, but his mom would come home at some point, and when she saw him not working on the house she’d ask questions. He’d asked his dad not to say anything to her. He was going to be fine, and his mom had enough on her mind with her job and getting the house ready to sell.
He leaned back in the kitchen chair and finished off the mango juice he’d poured for himself, then stood, wincing as he did.
He lifted his shoulders and turned his head from side to side, feeling the strain in his neck. Then he held on to the chair and bent forward to stretch out his back, taking it slow in case he got dizzy. His muscles felt tight, but when he straightened, he felt okay. That was a good thing, because he’d definitely felt woozy last night in the ER.
At least things were moving in the right direction there. He wished he could go to the gym and do a solid workout, but he’d been banned from doing anything strenuous—including his damn job—for the next five days until he followed up with his doctor and got cleared to return to work.
He looked around, wondering how to occupy himself in a useful way that wasn’t considered strenuous. He’d already made breakfast and done the dishes, which wasn’t much. He’d wiped up the stove and counter along with the table, which also hadn’t been much, since everyone who lived here always cleaned up after themselves.
Becks was even cleaner than him and his brothers. She routinely did a thorough scrubbing of the house, and yesterday was her day off, which meant she’d done a top-to-bottom scouring of the entire place. In fact, Jackson and Becks had gotten into an argument about it, because Jackson was worried she was doing more than her fair share. He’d said they could all pitch in and clean the house, but Becks claimed cleaning was one of the great joys in her life.
That had been a fun argument to watch. Jackson had lost, of course, because Becks was amazing, and who was going to deny her something she enjoyed? Rafe didn’t understand how mopping floors or scrubbing bathrooms could be a life-fulfilling task, but to each their own.
Rafe ventured into the game room and played a few video games, but the flashing lights on the TV gave him a headache, so he quit, disgusted.
Running out of ideas, he slid on his sunglasses and went outside to sit by the pool. Since it was summer and hot as fuck, he slid onto the bottom step of the pool to cool his body down.
He closed his eyes and let the water lap around his chest, content to relax here. It was better than staring up at the ceiling. He’d rather be swimming laps, but he knew that would be considered strenuous activity.
It was going to be a long five days.
He jerked his eyes open when he heard the gate to the backyard swing open, then smiled when he saw Carmen come in. She was holding a baking dish in her hand. She spotted him and waved.
“Hey, Rafe. I rang the bell, but no one answered,” she said. “I’m going to put this in the fridge.”
“Sure.”
He climbed out of the pool and dried off, then put his T-shirt back on and went into the house.
Carmen was just coming to the door. “Oh. You didn’t have to get out of the pool. I’m headed out again. I just stopped by to leave you some food. You shouldn’t have to worry about cooking in the next couple of days.”
She looked amazing in her shorts and skimpy tank top, her hair piled on top of her head. Her skin was glowing like wet sand, and all he wanted to do was lick the drops of perspiration beading between her breasts.
Okay, dude. Take a step back.
Which he did. “You don’t have to leave. How about a glass of iced tea? It’s hot out there.”
“Sure is,” she said, following him back inside. “And I made it even hotter by baking in my kitchen this morning.”
She’d done that for him. He appreciated it. He moved around her and went into the kitchen, pulling two glasses from the cabinet. He poured tea, handing one to Carmen, who’d taken a seat at the island.
“You baked? For me?”
“Enchiladas verdes.”
He walked around and pulled up a chair next to her. “That’s my favorite.”
She took a sip of tea and laid the glass on the counter. “I know.”
“Thank you, Carmen. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to. I know you’re stuck at home for several days, so I wanted to make sure you had something to eat.”
Even though he’d just finished breakfast a little while ago, his stomach was already rumbling at the thought of Carmen’s enchiladas. “It’s probably time for lunch.”
She laughed. “It is not. And there’s plenty there for everyone.”
“Yeah, as long as Jackson and Kal don’t see it. I’ll have to bury it somewhere.”
“Seriously. There’s more than enough to share.”
He shook his head. “Not a chance. I’m marking it Rafe’s Recovery Food.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I can make more, you know.” He picked up her hand. “Can you? You’d do that for me?”
“Sure. As long as you don’t milk this injury for weeks. I do have a full-time job, a grandfather to take care of, grocery shopping and housecleaning, bills to pay. You know, an actual life.”
He let her hand drop. “Okay, now I feel guilty.”
She laid her hand on his arm. “Not my intention. I was joking with you. We all have things to do.”
“Not me. Not for the next five days, anyway. I’m not allowed to do a thing. I can’t go to the gym, I can’t swim laps, I can’t go to work. I can’t do anything . . . strenuous.”
She made a sad face. “Aww, you poor baby. Relaxation must be killing you.”
“You have no idea.”
She slid off the barstool. “Come on.”
“Where?”
“For a walk. You can’t do anything strenuous, but you can go for a walk. With me.”
“I thought you were busy.”
“Not too busy to take a walk with you.”
He wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to spend some time with Carmen. And getting out of this house sounded like the best idea ever. “Sure. Let me grab my shoes.”