Scene 2 of Discovering Rafe
Here's a sneak peek at scene two of Discovering Rafe releasing January 5th. If you missed the first scene, you can read it here: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
Discovering Rafe
Chapter One, Scene Two
Piper Fields stared at the full-length mirror in the bathroom of the house they’d rented. The garnet sweater didn’t hug her tight and expose her fluff, but also didn’t fit her like a circus tent. It somehow accentuated her body in ways she never thought possible. She should go back and buy every sweater they had in her size.
She still couldn’t believe she’d allowed Chloe, her cousin and America’s next country music darling, to talk her into a shopping spree. She had to admit, though, that the new clothes did give her a boost in her confidence. Maybe she could even consider accepting Chloe’s newest guitarist’s, Chet Stevens, invitations to dinner. Piper’s hands slicked with sweat and her mouth went dry. Then again, maybe she wasn’t ready for that yet.
Her old clothing had become a security blanket. The habit had sprouted from her grief when her parents had died in a car accident. It had buried thick, deep roots when her aunt and uncle enrolled her into private school with Chloe. Her looming height and fleshy frame hadn’t exactly fit in with the petite, anorexic image toted by the popular crowd.
She still could hear the teasing barbs the girls would throw about how school uniforms didn’t work on Wookiees, like Piper had any say in how tall she grew. Or that she hadn’t learned to tame her hair that wasn’t curly, but also wasn’t straight, until well into her sophomore year. By then the damage had been done and the jock guys would make Wookiee calls when she passed in the hall. Her relief at missing most of their senior year because she refused to leave Chloe at the hospital by herself had been so selfish. She still felt guilty of being glad to have an excuse to not go to school.
Her mother had always claimed Piper would be a great warrior princess like all her Viking ancestors from the stories her mother had told. Piper had dreamed of Nordic fairytales growing up. Of being tall and beautiful just like her mother. Instead, she’d ended up more a frumpy giant than the gorgeous goddess her mom had been.
Piper adjusted the tunic sweater and yanked the hem a little more over the leggings, smoothing down the soft fabric. The deep red of the knit brought out the pink in her cheeks and made her green eyes pop. Huh. She cocked her head to the side. She never thought about how the dreary clothes she wore could make her look tired.
Turning one more time in front of the mirror, she smiled. Maybe there was a bit of her mother in her after all. She shook her head, headed back to the living room, and slumped on to the couch, glancing at her watch. The security team Davis had suggested should be there soon. According to Zeke Greene, Davis’s friend and owner of the firm, it would take a little over an hour for his men, Jake and Rafe, to get there. Only fifteen minutes had passed since they’d gotten off the phone, but Piper swore more like forty had.
Her stomach had twisted when Zeke had said the name Rafe. It pretzeled thinking about it again. Rolling her neck, she reached up and rubbed the knot between her shoulders. Zeke couldn’t be talking about Rafe Malone, Davis’s best friend from high school. Surely Davis would’ve told her if Rafe had gotten out of the Army.
The fact that she still crushed on her brother’s best friend after not seeing him for six years and nine months merely proved that she lived a pathetic life. What kind of person kept a secret flame going for that long? Chloe was the only one who knew Piper had pined for the unattainable back in high school.
She hoped she hadn’t been obvious in her insistence of keeping that crush alive after so many years. None of her handful of dates since getting out of high school had come remotely close to measuring up to Rafe. She hoped that fact didn’t prove she was destined to be alone for life. She shook her head and snatched a tourist magazine from the coffee table, mad at herself for letting her mind travel down the road to Rafeville yet again.
Muffled muttering and a crash sounded from upstairs. Had Chloe lost something again? The note taped to the front door came to mind, picking up her heart rate. Piper lowered the magazine as she peered up the stairs.
“Chloe, you okay?” Piper hollered.
“I’m good.” Chloe sounded out of breath. “Just doing some wardrobe adjustments. I’ll be right down.”
Piper snorted as she flipped a page she hadn’t looked at. Chloe was always adjusting her concert sets, whether it was her wardrobe, her dancing, or something else Piper didn’t realize needed adjusting. Chloe would freak if she knew that Piper still harbored her childhood dream of becoming a stay-at-home mom like her mother had been. Chloe had nearly gone into seizures when they’d talked about their dreams of the future one night under the covers.
Even at the age of fourteen, Chloe had wanted to be a country music star. When Piper had said she just wanted to be a wife and mom and homeschool her kids, Chloe had spazzed out about women being liberated from such nonsense until she’d collapsed into an exhausted heap. Piper hadn’t ever said anything about it again, but in her heart, that dream still held tight. Not that it looked to come true any time soon, if ever.
Her mom had been the most amazing woman she had ever known, not only strong but so happy it beamed from her. Why couldn’t Piper dream of a happiness like her mother’s? Of course, if she never dated, then she’d never find a husband to build a happy home with.
Chloe tripped down the stairs with an armful of Piper’s old clothes. Piper’s stomach twisted. What was her cousin up to now? Their security guards would be there in—Piper glanced at her watch—about thirty-five minutes. She’d just finished straightening the place.
“What are you doing?” Piper tried not to act perturbed as she flipped a page in the magazine.
“Bonfire. Remember?” Chloe’s bright smile slid ice down Piper’s back
“Now?” Piper stood, her voice coming out like a squeak. She figured with the whole stalker issue that Chloe would forget all about their agreement to burn Piper’s old clothes.
“Yep.”
Piper should’ve known that Chloe wouldn’t let it go. She probably worried that Piper would fall back into the habit of wearing the old sacks of monotone dreary. But still, the bodyguards could be there any minute.
“But what about the note? Shouldn’t we stay inside and wait for Zeke’s guys?” She stood and prepared to take her clothes back upstairs.
Chloe tossed the clothes on the entry floor and rushed back upstairs. Obviously, her cousin wasn’t worried about the men showing up. Piper placed her hands on her hips and stared at the one tone pile of ugly. Why had she wrapped herself in that for so long?
Probably the same reason she’d held onto her crush on Rafe Malone for years. Maybe it was time to light the whole mess on fire, toss her silly infatuation in the flames as well. She needed to let that go, burn it on the pyre of childish dreams and insecurities. She’d never find the happy life her mom had loved so much if she didn’t at least try, and a hot guitarist might prove the perfect first step into embracing that legacy her mother claimed Piper came from. She scooped up the clothes and stomped with purpose to the fire pit.
Preorder your copy today! Discovering Rafe
Discovering Rafe
Chapter One, Scene Two
Piper Fields stared at the full-length mirror in the bathroom of the house they’d rented. The garnet sweater didn’t hug her tight and expose her fluff, but also didn’t fit her like a circus tent. It somehow accentuated her body in ways she never thought possible. She should go back and buy every sweater they had in her size.
She still couldn’t believe she’d allowed Chloe, her cousin and America’s next country music darling, to talk her into a shopping spree. She had to admit, though, that the new clothes did give her a boost in her confidence. Maybe she could even consider accepting Chloe’s newest guitarist’s, Chet Stevens, invitations to dinner. Piper’s hands slicked with sweat and her mouth went dry. Then again, maybe she wasn’t ready for that yet.
Her old clothing had become a security blanket. The habit had sprouted from her grief when her parents had died in a car accident. It had buried thick, deep roots when her aunt and uncle enrolled her into private school with Chloe. Her looming height and fleshy frame hadn’t exactly fit in with the petite, anorexic image toted by the popular crowd.
She still could hear the teasing barbs the girls would throw about how school uniforms didn’t work on Wookiees, like Piper had any say in how tall she grew. Or that she hadn’t learned to tame her hair that wasn’t curly, but also wasn’t straight, until well into her sophomore year. By then the damage had been done and the jock guys would make Wookiee calls when she passed in the hall. Her relief at missing most of their senior year because she refused to leave Chloe at the hospital by herself had been so selfish. She still felt guilty of being glad to have an excuse to not go to school.
Her mother had always claimed Piper would be a great warrior princess like all her Viking ancestors from the stories her mother had told. Piper had dreamed of Nordic fairytales growing up. Of being tall and beautiful just like her mother. Instead, she’d ended up more a frumpy giant than the gorgeous goddess her mom had been.
Piper adjusted the tunic sweater and yanked the hem a little more over the leggings, smoothing down the soft fabric. The deep red of the knit brought out the pink in her cheeks and made her green eyes pop. Huh. She cocked her head to the side. She never thought about how the dreary clothes she wore could make her look tired.
Turning one more time in front of the mirror, she smiled. Maybe there was a bit of her mother in her after all. She shook her head, headed back to the living room, and slumped on to the couch, glancing at her watch. The security team Davis had suggested should be there soon. According to Zeke Greene, Davis’s friend and owner of the firm, it would take a little over an hour for his men, Jake and Rafe, to get there. Only fifteen minutes had passed since they’d gotten off the phone, but Piper swore more like forty had.
Her stomach had twisted when Zeke had said the name Rafe. It pretzeled thinking about it again. Rolling her neck, she reached up and rubbed the knot between her shoulders. Zeke couldn’t be talking about Rafe Malone, Davis’s best friend from high school. Surely Davis would’ve told her if Rafe had gotten out of the Army.
The fact that she still crushed on her brother’s best friend after not seeing him for six years and nine months merely proved that she lived a pathetic life. What kind of person kept a secret flame going for that long? Chloe was the only one who knew Piper had pined for the unattainable back in high school.
She hoped she hadn’t been obvious in her insistence of keeping that crush alive after so many years. None of her handful of dates since getting out of high school had come remotely close to measuring up to Rafe. She hoped that fact didn’t prove she was destined to be alone for life. She shook her head and snatched a tourist magazine from the coffee table, mad at herself for letting her mind travel down the road to Rafeville yet again.
Muffled muttering and a crash sounded from upstairs. Had Chloe lost something again? The note taped to the front door came to mind, picking up her heart rate. Piper lowered the magazine as she peered up the stairs.
“Chloe, you okay?” Piper hollered.
“I’m good.” Chloe sounded out of breath. “Just doing some wardrobe adjustments. I’ll be right down.”
Piper snorted as she flipped a page she hadn’t looked at. Chloe was always adjusting her concert sets, whether it was her wardrobe, her dancing, or something else Piper didn’t realize needed adjusting. Chloe would freak if she knew that Piper still harbored her childhood dream of becoming a stay-at-home mom like her mother had been. Chloe had nearly gone into seizures when they’d talked about their dreams of the future one night under the covers.
Even at the age of fourteen, Chloe had wanted to be a country music star. When Piper had said she just wanted to be a wife and mom and homeschool her kids, Chloe had spazzed out about women being liberated from such nonsense until she’d collapsed into an exhausted heap. Piper hadn’t ever said anything about it again, but in her heart, that dream still held tight. Not that it looked to come true any time soon, if ever.
Her mom had been the most amazing woman she had ever known, not only strong but so happy it beamed from her. Why couldn’t Piper dream of a happiness like her mother’s? Of course, if she never dated, then she’d never find a husband to build a happy home with.
Chloe tripped down the stairs with an armful of Piper’s old clothes. Piper’s stomach twisted. What was her cousin up to now? Their security guards would be there in—Piper glanced at her watch—about thirty-five minutes. She’d just finished straightening the place.
“What are you doing?” Piper tried not to act perturbed as she flipped a page in the magazine.
“Bonfire. Remember?” Chloe’s bright smile slid ice down Piper’s back
“Now?” Piper stood, her voice coming out like a squeak. She figured with the whole stalker issue that Chloe would forget all about their agreement to burn Piper’s old clothes.
“Yep.”
Piper should’ve known that Chloe wouldn’t let it go. She probably worried that Piper would fall back into the habit of wearing the old sacks of monotone dreary. But still, the bodyguards could be there any minute.
“But what about the note? Shouldn’t we stay inside and wait for Zeke’s guys?” She stood and prepared to take her clothes back upstairs.
Chloe tossed the clothes on the entry floor and rushed back upstairs. Obviously, her cousin wasn’t worried about the men showing up. Piper placed her hands on her hips and stared at the one tone pile of ugly. Why had she wrapped herself in that for so long?
Probably the same reason she’d held onto her crush on Rafe Malone for years. Maybe it was time to light the whole mess on fire, toss her silly infatuation in the flames as well. She needed to let that go, burn it on the pyre of childish dreams and insecurities. She’d never find the happy life her mom had loved so much if she didn’t at least try, and a hot guitarist might prove the perfect first step into embracing that legacy her mother claimed Piper came from. She scooped up the clothes and stomped with purpose to the fire pit.
Preorder your copy today! Discovering Rafe
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