Filthy Doctor(238)

He followed the address in the letter his stepmother had sent him. She was a good woman, and he knew this turn of events would be devastating for her to accept. He moved his bike down the long roads in town, only turning to ride up into the Northerton Hills. He frowned as he drove, knowing his bike would raise more than a few eyebrows when he pulled up to the front of the elegant townhouse. Why they were doing this here was beyond him. He wanted to go home, to the house he had been raised in. He jumped off his bike, take the long strides into the house to find the one woman who knew his father better than he did.

She was standing by the kitchen door, her face was sad, but she was doing her best to keep it together. She saw him and her smile seemed to be genuine as she held her arms out to him. He had been 18 when he left home, but for the years that he had been there, she had been good to him. His father had done the best job he knew how to do, but when he met and married Alice, his world had shifted and changed. Suddenly there was the person who made sure he ate dinner every night and made sure he took a bath regularly.

He hugged her close, reminded of her perfume and the old days when things had been simpler. He moved back and she smiled up at him.

“Rafe, I’m glad you’re here. He would have been happy for that.”

“I’m not sure about that, but I am glad out think so Alice.” He ran a hand through his lanky black hair and his blue eyes glanced around the room as they spoke.

“Well, I know he missed you Rafe, he told me so. But I understand why you did what you did.”

“I hope one day I can understand it. I am sorry I wasn’t here Alice.”

“No one could have known Rafe, it’s not your fault.” She patted his arm.

“Why are you doing this here, I this stuffy townhouse Alice, not at home?”

She sighed, “I couldn’t go home, not yet anyway. I just wasn’t ready.” She blinked, frowning slightly as she looked past him. “As for the townhouse…” She trailed off.

“It’s my stuffy townhouse Rafe, sorry if you're uncomfortable.” A voice behind him rang out.

He spun around to smile at the imp who had driven him crazy for years with her rambling about boys and bully’s. He felt the look she gave him like a punch to the stomach. Lacey was gone… and had been gone for years apparently. In her place was a striking young woman. Her blonde hair fell in soft layers down her shoulders, and the green of her eyes was almost piercing.

“Lacey? Oh my God Lacey is that you?” He squinted his eyes doing his best to not seem shocked by her appearance.

“Yes, Rafe, I’m Lacey.” She crossed her arms over her chest, which was doing its best to break free from the shirt containing them.

He felt something stir in him deep down and immediately hated himself for it. She has his step-sister not some bar chick he was picking up for a night of fun. He sobered as he realized she had heard his comments on her home.

“I didn’t mean...”

“Yes, you did. It's ok, we don’t like the same things, never have.” Except that shirt you're wearing. He tried to stop the thought from creeping in but it rushed to the forefront of his mind far quicker than he intended.

“If you two will excuse me, I have to go; some people are leaving.” Alice leaned up to kiss Rafe on the cheek before she turned to go, leaving him two of them staring at each other.

“I should go too, if you need anything Rafe, I’m sure you will figure it out.” She spun around to leave, giving him a focused view of her ample derriere. He shook his head to clear the thought, before he followed her.

“What the hell is your problem Lacey, why the cold shoulder?” He was there beside her, waiting for a response, but she simply smiled up at him, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“I’m not being a very good hostess; I apologize Rafe. Is there something you need?” She blinked at him and he let his gaze linger just a second too long on the fullness of her bottom lip as it protruded just slightly.

“I’m good right now, I just thought we would talk a while.”

“Fine you want to talk meet me at the house later, I have to go get some things for mom.”

He had no chance to respond as she walked away, putting the ball in his court. As he worked his way through the room, he was reminded of the actions in a small town like this. There were no store owner or churchgoer unaccounted for crammed into the tight walls of the townhouse, making him think of Lacey once more. She had obviously done well for herself, though she never communicated that to him. Now that he thought about it, it had been a long time since they had written anything at all. He had to wonder what had changed for her so much since then. Not to mention Lacey was no longer a kid sister, she was in fact a full grown woman and a beautiful one at that.

How did life go by so fast? What exactly had he missed, really? He knew the only way to find out was to stay and have a real conversation with her. He made his way outside to take the drive to his old home, and wait for her to show up.



Lacey

Why did he have to be so attractive… so damn good looking? She wanted to hate him, to be angry but when he stood in front of her all she wanted was to kiss him, expressing her love for him that had been buried since she was a child. She knew better than to even consider it, after all he was her step-brother and if that weren’t enough reason she knew better than to think a tall and gorgeous man like Rafe would have any kind of feeling about her at all.

She glanced around the room, noting her mother was still chatting happily with a few ladies from church. She knew she would be fine for a few hours while she went to the house to pick up some things… and talk to Rafe.

Slipping into her car she found herself putting the top down, enjoying the feel of the heat on her face on such a sad day. It was the trip that made her relax, the air blowing on her face and the idea that her life was finally on track, and she was exactly where she wanted to be. She felt her heart lurch as she pulled up to the house and saw his bike parked there. There was something intensely sweet in how he had pulled right back into the same spot he used to park so many years ago. In some ways it was as if he had never even left, and had never left her.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the front door, moving inside to find him sitting on the couch, sorting through hundreds of pictures on the table in front of him. He glanced up at her and then back down to them

“I’ve missed a lot I guess?” He held up a picture of her in her prom dress, causing her to roll her eyes and snatch it out of his hand.

“Well, that was your choice wasn’t it Rafe?” She left walking into the kitchen to sort through the fridge to find something to drink. She settled for a bottle of water and she felt him come in the room behind her.

“Ok, so I get it your pissed Lacey, you’ve made that abundantly clear. What the hell are you so mad about?”

“I’m not mad Rafe, not now. IN fact, I just feel sorry for you now, for missing out on everything your father was.”

He sighed loudly, “I had a situation Lacey, something you wouldn’t understand. You think I don’t feel it, but I do. But even that is between me and dad, what does that have to do with you?”

She wanted to scream at him, tell him how he had deserted her leaving her alone when she needed him most. She felt the words form in her throat, but she couldn’t let them out. Instead, she moved the conversation on.

“You can have some of those, the pictures I mean. We made copies of everything.”

He glanced down at the pile, and then back up at her. “Thanks, I will.”

She left the room then, wanting to be anywhere but there, with him and his intense look as he watched her move around the room. She went into her old room, almost laughing at the way it had all stood still, the same pictures and stuffed animal strewn about in various groups, somehow sorted since that was how she did things.

“Stop running from me Lacey and talk to me, no more BS.”

She turned to face him, a frown on her face. “You just disappeared Rafe, just one day here one day gone. Like it was nothing… like I was nothing.” She felt the tears well up, threatening to spill but she held them at bay.

He frowned, his brow furrowed. “I’m sorry Lacey, I didn’t know it was that big a deal. I got caught up in life and I thought you were too. You were a teenager, I assumed you had far better things to do than write me emails all the time.”

“Yeah, well you were wrong.” She glared at him, her eyes blazing and she saw him look at her differently. Something shifted in his gaze as he took a step towards her.

“I’m sorry Lacey.”

He was close… too close and she felt her heart beating faster than it had before. She heard him curse under his breath before she felt the heat from him as his mouth captured hers in a deep and searing kiss.

She was consumed in heat, his kiss branded her in a way she had never felt. He moved then, pushing her backwards until she felt the cold wood behind her head, pressing her to the wall, holding her there as the kiss went on and on deeper than ever. She knew she had lost control of herself as she kissed him back, his mouth, creating a stir in her deep down.

His hands were everywhere at once and she felt his hands in her hair, pulling her head closer to his as he kissed her, pressing the length of him against her. She was alive for the first time in a long time, her body was reacting to him on its own. She had lost control the moment she saw him at the townhouse.