Falling for Rayne (5 page)

             
Rayne shook her head automatically. “No Graham, I’m sorry but
no
.”

             
Graham frowned and moved closer, making her edge up against the door casing. “I’m tired of you pushing me away Rayne.”

             
Rayne stared at Graham wondering if he could have killed her parents. All she knew was that someone had purposefully sideswiped her parents’ car and that if she and Ivy were out of the way, Graham would be the one to benefit.

             
“
Problem here
?”

             
Rayne let out a breath and looked over Graham’s shoulder to see Garrett staring at them coolly. He had a laptop case over his shoulder and he was dressed similarly to Becket in jeans and a nice shirt. She watched as Graham straightened from the door and turned to face him. The two men looked each other up and down, sizing each other up.

             
“Garrett, this is Graham Mitchell and he just stopped by to say hello.”

             
Graham narrowed his eyes at Garrett and looked back at her. “A
friend
of yours Rayne?”

             
Rayne nodded and decided to leave out the part where Garrett worked for her. “That’s right. Garrett, why don’t you come in? You can wait for me in the living room.”

             
Garrett frowned and shook his head. “Nah, I’ll wait here for you if that’s okay.”

             
Graham glared at Garrett and then turned around, blocking him as he faced her again. “I’m serious about spending time with you Rayne. If not tonight, then soon. Very soon. There are things that we need to talk about. Just you and me.”

             
Rayne shivered at that and rubbed her cold arms. “Graham, I need to go now,” she said quietly.

             
Graham nodded and reached out and touched her cheek again before turning and walking away. She watched him get into his rental car and drive away as Garrett stood next to her silently. As Graham’s car disappeared around the corner she sagged against the door feeling a moment of despair.

             
Garrett put a finger to her chin, tilting her face up to his. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

             
Rayne shuddered slightly but nodded her head. “I am now. Thanks for showing up when you did.”

             
Garrett nodded and looked back over his shoulder before putting a hand on her shoulder and gently turning her to walk into the house. He shut the door and set his laptop case on the floor as he studied her face.

             
“You’re not okay. That man was scaring you. What’s going on Rayne?”

             
Rayne licked her dry lips and wished she could unburden herself on Garrett. Just telling someone that she feared for her and her sister’s lives would sound too crazy though. She could give him something though.

             
“Graham Mitchell is my half-cousin. He’s not the nicest person I know,” she added hoping Garrett would drop it.

             
“Half-
cousin
?” Garrett said with a shake of his head. “Does he know that? The way he was looking at you wasn’t very cousinly.”

             
Rayne blushed and looked away. “He’s brought it to my attention that half cousins can marry in California.”

             
Garrett made a humming sound in his throat and shook his head. “I do not like that guy.”

             
Rayne smiled weakly and jumped when Cleo appeared by her side. “What’s taking so long? You and Garrett have been out here talking forever.”

             
Rayne shook her head but Garrett spoke before her. “No, I just got here, but her cousin Graham was sure making her miserable.”

             
It was almost comical watching Cleo’s face turn white and then red as she rushed out the front door. Rayne moved to stop her and pulled on her arm. “Cleo, he’s gone. Garrett scared him away.”

             
Cleo turned on her, glaring. “Why didn’t you come get me? Why didn’t you shout? What in the world were you thinking Rayne? What am I even here for if Graham can just walk up to your front door and you stand here talking to him while I’m in the other room completely oblivious?”

             
Garrett looked back and forth between her and Cleo with a confused frown on his face as Asher walked out of the living room.

             
Rayne glanced at Garrett and Asher pointedly before looking back at Cleo. “Everything’s
fine
Cleo.”

             
Cleo closed her eyes and sighed loudly. “Yeah, everything’s fine Rayne.
He knows you’re here
. How in the world is that fine?” she demanded and then walked toward the kitchen muttering under her breath.

             
Rayne cleared her throat in embarrassment and tried to smile at Garrett and Asher. “Sorry about that. Um, why don’t we go over the bid in the living room? Asher, I believe you have the contracts.”

             
Garrett and Asher looked at each other silently before Garrett nodded and finally followed her into the living room. He turned on his laptop and ran her through his plans almost as if he were reading from a dictionary. Asher listened almost grimly and then pulled out a contract from a folder and walked her through the deposit and all of the legal jargon.

             
Rayne was so flustered from Graham’s appearance that she signed the stupid thing and handed it back to Asher, just wanting everyone to go away so she could lie down and think of what they were going to do now.

             
Becket and Ivy walked in just as Garrett was slipping his laptop in his case. Becket was smiling and looking happy as Ivy stood next to him.

             
“So is it a go then?” he asked Garrett and Asher with a raised pale blond eyebrow.

             
Garrett smiled briefly and stood up. “It’s a go. If you don’t mind, I’m going to walk Rayne around the yard and point out a few things that weren’t on the plans.”

             
Becket shrugged and looked at Asher. Ivy smiled widely and clasped her hands. “Why don’t you two come into the kitchen and I’ll get you some lemonade. Cleo picked us up some cupcakes from the bakery this morning if you’re hungry.”

             
Rayne smiled at Asher and Becket’s twin grins and followed Garrett outside. She felt a sense of relief to get out of the stuffiness of the house and outside into the fragrant moist air. Sitting in the living room with Asher and Garrett looking stone faced and grim had been exhausting.

             
Garrett walked toward her side yard and pointed to the large fir tree that towered over everything, including the house.

             
“That’s the first thing to go. We’ll have a crew here tomorrow to work on it. You and your sister and your uh,
friend
might want to stay clear of this area tomorrow.”

             
Rayne nodded her head and stayed silent as she listened to him talk and explain everything he’d already told her. But it felt good to be outside with him. His strong presence beside her pushed the ickiness from Graham’s visit away.

             
“So what’s the deal with Cleo? Why is she here with you and your sister?” Garrett asked, still staring at a group of firethorn bushes.

             
Rayne frowned and stuck her hands in her pockets. “That’s kind of a personal question,” she said stiffly.

             
Garrett turned and looked at her silently.
Waiting
. Rayne sighed loudly and threw her hands in the air. “She’s a bodyguard, okay? She’s here to make sure Ivy and I don’t get killed off the same way . . .” She stopped and bit her lip, refusing to say more.

             
Garrett stepped closer and touched her arm. “Your parents died recently. You think someone killed them?”

             
Rayne nodded and stared at his hand still on her arm. Garrett’s other hand grasped her other arm making her look up at him.

             
“Your cousin. Sorry, your
half
-cousin Graham. You suspect him?” Garrett asked in a low voice.

             
Rayne swallowed hard and stared at Garrett’s neck. “Yes,” she whispered and felt cold again.

             
Garrett pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her gently. Rayne stiffened in surprise but then softened, bringing her arms up around his waist.

             
“I’m so sorry,” he said against her hair.

             
Rayne nodded her head and wondered why his quiet sympathy should leave her so completely undone. “We’ll be okay. Cleo’s actually an amazing bodyguard and she’s nice to Ivy.”

             
Garrett pulled back and looked down into her eyes, his concern obvious. “Maybe it’s a good thing that we’ll be doing work on your property then. We’ll look out for you too.”

             
Rayne smiled and stepped back away from the warmth of Garrett’s chest, missing it immediately. “That’s very sweet of you Garrett, but that’s unnecessary.”

             
Garrett frowned, flinching when his ringtone on his phone went off. He grabbed his phone and switched it to silent, ignoring the call completely. “Cleo seemed pretty upset that Graham was here and knows where you’re living now. Do you have a security system?”

             
Rayne nodded her head. “And I’m thinking about getting a guard dog too. Ivy loves dogs and it just makes sense to have that added protection.”

             
Garrett nodded his head and sighed. “You’re so sweet Rayne, I’d hate to see anything bad happen to you,” he admitted, running a hand through his short brown hair.

             
Rayne smiled and straightened her shoulders. “There’s really nothing to worry about. I promise I’m on top of things. I have a team of investigators working on my parents’ crash. And in the meantime, Ivy and I will hang out here, away from all the hustle and bustle of things until we figure out what’s going on.”

             
Garrett sighed and looked away. “Staying low or being a sitting duck?”

             
Rayne narrowed her eyes at Garrett and stepped back. “You think I’d put my little sister in danger after everything she’s been through? She collapsed after my parent’s death. She’s just now functioning and smiling again. I’m not just here to hide out from Graham, I’m here to make sure my sister can regain a sense of balance and stability.”

             
Garrett held up his hands and stepped forward. “Sorry, sorry. Listen, that came out wrong. I’m a Marine and I look at situations differently than other people do. If you’re in danger, then you need to look at all the angles. That’s all I was trying to say. Your being here with your sister is probably a good thing. You can’t get quieter than Fircrest. And I’ll be around and so will Becket and Asher.”

             
Rayne blushed and bit her lip feeling stupid and helpless. “Thanks Garrett. I appreciate it. Should we add onto the bid for security services?”

             
Garrett grinned and shook his head. “Nah, you get that for free. And it would be my pleasure. Like I said, I don’t think I could stand the thought of anyone hurting you.”

             
Rayne stared up into Garrett’s eyes and felt caught as he looked directly at her, not moving or blinking. He was serious.
Oh wow
.

             
“I don’t know what to say.
Thank you
. You’re the best landscaping company I’ve ever worked with.”

             
Garrett laughed and looked over her shoulder. “I’m guessing I’m the only landscaper you’ve ever worked with.”

             
Rayne blushed and smiled as she looked at him, liking the way the sun glinted through his hair and made his eyes look silver. “You’d be right. Well, come back to the house and I’ll get you some lemonade.”

             
They walked companionably back to the house as she pointed out the flower beds she wanted to work on herself. She couldn’t wait to get her hands in the dirt and put on an ugly hat.

             
They walked into the kitchen to find a very somber group of people sipping lemonade silently. Rayne raised an eyebrow at Ivy before walking to the cupboard to grab two glasses.

             
“So are we moving tonight then?” Ivy asked in a quiet, toneless voice that had her looking at her sister sharply. “I know you think Graham is dangerous.”