Free A Daughter's Perfect Secret by Kimberly Van Meter Page B

sorry to hear of your mother’s cancer.”
    “Yeah,” she murmured, ducking her head. “It’s still kind of raw. I try not to think about it.”
    “Is that why you came to Cold Plains?”
    “Yes,” she answered without hesitation, though there was something else in her eyes, but it was gone before he could place it. She brightened. “New place. New start. I need that. You know?” She gestured to the quaint, pristine street and the overall picture-perfect quality surrounding them. “And what a place to start fresh. This is like a little slice of heaven. Clean streets and air, a community that actually cares about each other…it’s just what I needed.”
    “That’s what most people say,” he agreed. “So, just let me know if you want someone to accompany you. I’d be happy to be the person to do that.”
    “Thanks, Dr. Black.”
    Rafe knew it was wise to keep the formality between them, but it felt wrong and forced. “Please, call me Rafe,” he said. “Unless you prefer Dr. Black, of course.”
    She seemed unsure, and he didn’t blame her. Hell, the minute he offered, he wondered if he shouldn’t have kept his mouth shut, but when she slowly nodded and gave him a sidewise grin as she said, “Rafe it is,” he knew things between them would start to change.
    He just wasn’t sure whether the change was good or not.
    Either way, something had just been set in motion.
    He could feel it.
     
     
    Darcy watched as Rafe walked in his usual hands-in-pockets yet brisk style down the sidewalk toward his parked car, and tested Rafe’s name on her tongue a few times.
    It was sexy, no doubt about it.
    How many doctors were named Rafe? Doctors—like accountants or dentists—were given names like George, John or Tom.
    Not Rafe.
    Most doctors didn’t look like Rafe, either, at least not in Darcy’s experience.
    Everything about the sexy doc was surrounded by an air of mystery. Good Lord, she found that highly attractive.
    Bad. Bad. Bad.
    She should’ve politely reminded Rafe that a certain level of formality was good for employee-boss relations.
    But she liked that he’d offered.
    Darcy sighed. She supposed, try as she might, fighting her own nature was a losing battle.
    Before Louise died, Darcy had been a bit of a party girl. Not dangerous and recklessly so, but she’d enjoyed a good time or two.
    That seemed ages ago now.
    She checked her watch—it would be time for the nightly meeting soon. She had just enough time to get back to the hotel, freshen up and do some research before heading to the community center.
    But even as her mind processed the mountain of new information that seemed to come at her from all angles, she had trouble keeping her thoughts wrangled on the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, that party girl was still alive and well inside of her, even if she’d been mostly subdued as of late.
    And that party girl liked what she saw in Rafe Black. She liked the fact that he was a bit mysterious—possibly dangerous—and most definitely hiding something behind those dark eyes. Overall, Rafe was a package deal of off-limits-stay-off-the-grass, and even as sternly as she reminded herself to steer clear, that was the exact opposite of what Party Girl wanted to do.
    The question was, how could she stay the course in her mission to find answers, without succumbing to that reckless impulse to get to know the good doc a bit better?
    It was yet another dilemma placed on an already full plate—and yet another opportunity to slip up in grand fashion with potentially deadly consequences.

Chapter 10
    R afe crossed the threshold of the clinic and enjoyed the bracing rush of cold air after being in the June heat. He walked straight to the chief of medicine’s office, having made an appointment to see him personally. He wasn’t going to waste time with people who didn’t have any power. Now that he’d operated his practice for a few months, he felt he had more to offer, that he’d proven his