quick nod, her throat closing up as a lump gathered there. She finally swallowed and said, “I know.”
“It’s time to move on. Find someone who’ll treat you nice. Who’ll appreciate the fine woman you are.”
She laid a smile on him. “Thank you. I’ll think about it.”
“You do that.”
For the remainder of the afternoon, thinking was all she did. Unfortunately, all she thought about was Rafe. His amazing body, the way he smiled at her and how she’d unceremoniously said no to his offer of a date. She felt badly, and she shouldn’t.
So what if she’d said no to him? She had every right to turn a man down. Yes, he’d helped her out with her grandfather on occasion, but that was just him being a good neighbor. She owed him nothing. Nothing.
Oh, come on, Carmen. The real issue here is you wanted to say yes. But you’re afraid.
She shook her head and carried the load of folded towels into the bathroom.
CHAPTER 5
AFTER TWO DAYS OF UTTER DULLNESS, RAFE GOT UP early to watch his brothers get ready for their shift at the fire station. He even made breakfast for everyone, since he had nothing else to do with his time.
“You? Making breakfast again, Rafe? This is getting to be a habit.” Becks, the first one up, surveyed the smorgasbord of food he’d laid out on the kitchen island.
“What can I say? I’m bored.”
He’d prepared biscuits and gravy, plus eggs. He’d sliced a couple of melons and placed those in a bowl and then had squeezed fresh orange juice. At least he’d felt he’d used his muscles—in the most minor way possible.
Jackson came downstairs, slinging his arm around Becks to brush his lips across hers before looking at the spread Rafe had laid out. He arched a brow. “Maybe we should keep you at home more often.”
“Funny. Shut up and eat.”
Kal was the last one downstairs. “Hot damn. Becks made breakfast?”
She laughed as she took her plate to the table. “Not me. Rafe.”
“What? Is it the apocalypse?”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “Come on. It’s not like I can’t cook.”
“No,” Kal said, “but you usually don’t. And besides, I’m the best cook out of all of you. Other than Becks, of course.”
Becks blew him a kiss.
“Hey, this is good,” Jackson yelled from the table. “You’re on cooking duty for your entire house arrest.”
“Screw you, Jackson.”
Rafe filled his plate and joined the others at the table.
At least they’d been home with him last night, so he’d had some company. Today they’d start a twenty-four-hour shift at the station, and Becks would be at her tattoo shop until after eight, so he’d be completely alone. Not that he couldn’t handle being alone; it would just up the boredom factor.
“I don’t know, man,” Kal said. “If I had five days off to just lie around, I’d catch up on some sleep, float around in the pool, watch some TV and play video games.”
“The TV and video games make my head hurt.”
Kal grimaced. “Sucks for you.”
Becks gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry this is so hard for you. Hopefully, you’ll start feeling better soon.”
“You don’t have much downtime left,” Kal said. “You’ll be on next shift.”
Rafe was so ready for that.
Jackson took a swallow of orange juice. “How did you sleep last night?”
“Fine. Though it was hard to fall asleep.”
His brother shot him a look of concern. “Headaches?”
Rafe shook his head. “No, I think it’s more the inactivity. I’m used to working out or running or being on shift. Even on my days off I’m active. So my body was restless. But no headache.”
Jackson nodded. “That’s good. Not that you couldn’t sleep, but that it was attributed more to restlessness.”
“Yeah. I’ll get through it. I feel less sore this morning, so I’m healing.”
“Good,” Jackson said. “Try to walk if you can. Just getting the blood going a little will help with healing.”
“I plan on it.”
After breakfast, everyone else headed upstairs and Rafe did the dishes. At least he felt like he was doing something. Jackson and Kal came down and headed out to work. Becks wasn’t due in to the shop until ten, so she hung out with him on the sofa in the game room.
“Maybe you could call one of the women you date and go do something with them,” Becks said.
“Not really seeing anyone right now.”
She smiled at him. “It doesn’t seem to be a hardship for you to find someone to go out with, Rafe.”
He wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or