Always on My Mind (13 page)

“Duncan Rothe. I know the story. A bootlegger from Chicago. He came up here with some kind of fortune, only to vanish.”

“Right.”

He seemed to forget Casper now as he leaned forward, stirring his water with his straw. “It’s just a tall tale. My grandfather looked into it but could never find any evidence that it was true.” He
looked at her. “Did you find anything else that might corroborate his story?”

It touched her lips to tell him about the diary and Aggie’s mention of Duncan on the pages, but it felt like maybe Aggie’s thoughts should remain private.

Or at least between Raina and Aggie.

“No. But it does feel a little strange to go through her house. It’s like she’s speaking to me through her things. What she kept, how she cared for them.”

“Raina! You’re back!” Claire’s voice parted the conversation, and Raina got up to intercept her hug. “You look great. Catering with Grace seems to agree with you.”

Raina didn’t know what to make of that comment, except, okay, maybe she had been too skinny before. “Thanks?”

“I wish I had your hair. It’s so full and gorgeous. I heard pregnancy is supposed to make your hair thick and shiny, but mine is still sad and thin.”

Raina’s eyes widened. How
 
—?

“I have to know
 
—what shampoo do you use?”

Raina let out a shaky laugh. “Nothing special.”

“Well, you look great, and . . . Oh, hi, Monte.” To Raina’s eye, it looked like Claire’s smile fell, but she recovered fast. “Nice to you see again.”

Monte’s eyes, however, seemed cold. “Claire.”

Claire squeezed Raina’s hand, shot another look at Monte, then said, “Call me if you want. I’ve missed you.”

Raina nodded, warmed by Claire’s greeting, even if she’d seen a few heads in the crowd turn.

She sat, glancing past Monte to Casper’s chair.

He’d vanished, just as she’d hoped. Except she couldn’t deny
the faintest twinge of disappointment. What, did she want him to see her out with another man? Stupid. Oh, so stupid, because she knew what happened when Casper got jealous.

Another good reason to forget him.

“What did Claire mean by ‘you’re back’?” Monte asked. “I thought you just moved here.”

“I . . . I lived here last summer. But I moved to Minneapolis this past fall
 
—worked as a caterer.”

“Mmm,” he said, staring at his glass.

She had the unsettling feeling that he thought she was lying.

Signe showed up with the hamburgers and fries, and Raina’s appetite returned with ferocity. She cut the burger in half, dug in. “This is fantastic.”

Monte smiled then, a twinkle again in his eyes. “I know, right? Stick with me, Raina. I’ll bring you to all the best places.”

He winked, and suddenly the strangeness in his demeanor vanished. Perhaps she’d simply read into it
 
—after all, she did have secrets to keep, and sometimes it felt like they sat right on top of her skin.

The Blue Monkeys returned and played a set of oldies that had her singing along. She noticed Monte singing too, and at the break, he told her about crazy Nona Lillibridge, who insisted that she had ghosts living in her attic and had roped Gust into sitting up every night for a month to catch them.

“I think she just had a thing for Grandpa, but he’s never gotten over losing Grandma. He’s very loyal that way.” Monte took a sip of his water, finishing it off. “We all are, actually.”

He asked her to dance once and didn’t push when she turned him down. But later, as they left, he slipped his hand into hers.

Raina let him because his hand was warm. At the door, he
donned his gloves and ducked out into the icy blast to retrieve the truck.

When he pulled up, he helped her into the cab and drove her home, walking her to the door.

“Thanks for going out with me, Raina. Can I call you again?”

See? Gallant. The perfect Valentine’s date. She nodded, and he left a kiss on her cheek.

Raina pressed her hand against it as she watched him drive away. Now that was the kind of man a girl could fall in love with.

And she hadn’t thought of Casper once.

In at least an hour.

Casper shouldn’t let it bother him.

What was Raina doing with Monte Riggs? The sight of them dug a tunnel through him, and he’d had to leave after the Blue Monkeys’ second set. He’d heard Claire greet Raina
 
—who hadn’t, really?
 
—and Casper had to wince, just for a second, as he saw her glance at Claire’s belly. But . . .

But yes, she seemed to be moving on, exactly like she’d stated at the historical society.

Moving on with Monte Riggs.

Casper had fumed in silent frustration in the shadows, watching them eat their hamburgers, watching her laugh at his jokes, and then left before he could call himself a stalker.

He eased up on the gas around an icy corner, clamping a fist over his emotions. It shouldn’t bother him. Not with his anger over her recent choices. He should let her walk away before she did any more damage to his family.

To him.

Except . . .

Monte Riggs.

He pulled up to the lodge, let the fact that he had to hunt for a parking space cheer him. Maybe with the resort nearly full, Darek would stop grousing about the bills and how Casper left the lodge lights on.

Still, the frigid cold burned his skin as he got out to run to the lodge, and by the time he stamped his feet off in the private entryway, the boil had returned to his chest.

“Whoa, you sound like a herd of elk.” Darek emerged from the office area carrying a cup of coffee. “What’s with you?”

“Nothing.”

He should have ordered food at the VFW because now his stomach clenched, empty and churning. Opening the fridge, he found leftover stir-fry Ivy had left for him
 
—or probably Darek. He pulled out the container. “Do you mind
 
—?”

“Have at it. I’m going to eat with Ivy.”

Casper glanced at the clock. “You should take off. The roads are getting icy.”

“I still have one more check-in.” Darek slid onto a kitchen stool. “Then I’ll go.”

Casper dumped the beef and pea pods with rice onto a dish and stuck it in the microwave. “I can check them in.”

Darek’s silence dug into him, and Casper rounded on him. “Seriously? You don’t trust me enough to do check-in?”

Darek shook his head. “It’s not that. It’s just . . .” He sighed. “You wouldn’t get it.”

“I wouldn’t get responsibility? Needing to stick around? Is that what you mean?”

Darek held up a hand. “No. That’s not what I mean. It’s just,
I’m worried, and it’ll make me feel better to know everything is okay. Listen, I’m counting on you to be here should there be any problems this weekend.”

That tempered Casper’s heat. “Okay. Yeah. But you know, I can handle checking in guests. You can let go a little.”

Darek stared at his coffee. “So can you.”

Huh? Casper frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Ivy saw Raina in town.” Darek looked up, met his eyes. “Please tell me that’s not why you returned to Deep Haven. Some sad attempt to win her back?”

Casper’s mouth closed, his jaw tight. “No. I had no idea she’d returned. It was just a
happy
coincidence.”

He turned back to the microwave, took out the food and stirred it, then stuck the dish inside and heated it again. He stared at himself in the reflection of the glass. “I saw her tonight, though.”

“Go figure.”

Casper turned and Darek held up his hands in surrender. “I’m just sayin’, you have angry ex written all over you. I’m seeing a flashback
 
—”

“Don’t go there, Darek. I very much regret the fight, okay? I agree I lost it, but if you knew all the details
 
—”

“I know Owen slept with the girl you had a thing for.”

“Thanks. Thanks for that.” Casper opened the microwave.

“If it were me, I might have beaten the tar out of him also. But then you walked away, Casper. And now you’re back, and so is she, and she’s clearly not out of your system.”

Casper put the food on the counter, his appetite evaporating.

“That’s the problem, isn’t it? You can’t let her go.”

“I can let her go. I want to let her go, but she’s right here.”
Casper pointed to his head. “And every time I think I’m past it, she shows up. With Monte Riggs.”

“Huh?”

Casper stirred the food, then set his fork down. “She went out with Monte tonight
 
—for Valentine’s Day. She was at the VFW.”

“And that’s a disaster because . . . ?”

“Because she doesn’t know Monte like I do. Like most of us do. The guy’s a jerk. He always thought of himself as the world’s gift to women. He did a lot of locker room bragging.”

“I sort of remember that.”

“Well, Monte was not only arrogant, but he’s mean too. He once took a baseball bat to Rhino Johnson’s truck just because the guy parked in front of him.”

“Rhino did have issues with parking
 
—no wonder his truck looked so wrecked.”

“Did you hear me? A
baseball bat
 
—”

“Dude. We all did stupid things in high school. Doesn’t make us the same people today.” Darek raised an eyebrow. “You gotta stop acting as if she belongs to you.”

“I’m not
 
—”

“Yes, you are. She’s not yours to control or judge.”

Casper leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “I can’t help but think that God put her in my life for a reason. If not, then why is it so hard for me to let her go?”

“He probably did, but maybe not for the reason you’re hoping. The fact is, when God brings Christians into the lives of the hurting, it’s because He intends to use us to be truth and light to them. Not fix their problems but point them to the One who can.”

Casper looked away. Yeah, he’d spent most of his summer
trying to fix Raina’s deep wounds with no idea that his brother was the source.

“If you really want to help her, maybe you should step back and just start praying for her. You’re a fixer
 
—I know this
 
—and I know that you want to push your way into her life, make sure she’s okay, but you can’t. If you have to be anything, be truth to her. Be patience. Be light. But let all this anger and darkness go.” Darek took a sip of coffee. “Trust me on this. Hanging on to the past will only eat you alive.”

“So pray for her and then watch her destroy her life with Monte Riggs? Ouch. No, I’m not interested if that’s God’s plan.”

“You seem to think that God owes you an explanation for what He does in people’s lives. You want to be involved, but only if you get to choose what happens. You don’t. God tells us to be light, but you can’t make her choose the right path. Nor should you.” He got up. “Because you’re not God.”

Casper pursed his lips.

Darek paused, considering him. “I think if Dad were here, he’d say something like, the thing about light is that it doesn’t come from us. It’s God in us that provides the light to the world. So if you want to be light to her, you’d better make sure that light is shining in you first.”

Yeah, their dad would say that.

The bell rang in the office.

“Our guests have arrived. I’ll tuck them in, and then I’m going home to my beautiful wife to celebrate Valentine’s Day.”

“I think I hate you,” Casper said, smiling.

“Of course you do,” Darek said as he closed the door behind him.

Casper stared at the food. He could go for a hamburger. Fries. But here he was, eating leftovers.

Fine. Clearly he couldn’t shake free of Raina. So, yeah, maybe he’d pray for her. Be a true friend, somehow.

Maybe, in fact, that’s what he should have been doing all along.

Darek had spent nearly the entirety of Valentine’s Day helping other people find romance. He’d tucked guests into ten of the twelve cabins
 
—a triumph, especially given the slick roads and frigid temperatures that had the northland in an icy lockdown.

But by the looks of the couples who’d arrived for the weekend special he’d advertised, the temperatures outside wouldn’t put a damper on the heat inside.