Chapter 7 – Rhett
“Come on, Penelope, we’re going to miss kick-off,” I gesture impatiently, urging my date to hurry up but she’s currently focused on fixing her lipstick using the rearview mirror of someone’s truck parked in the high school’s parking lot.
“One second, Rhett!” she calls out sweetly, smacking her lips together then pocketing the tube of lipstick into the front of her short, denim skirt. “Okay. I’m ready.” She hooks her arm through mind as we make the short walk into the stadium.
Penelope and I have been on-again, off-again hook-ups since the day I unclogged the adjoining bathroom in her kindergarten classroom thanks to a toy race car gone rogue. Six months later, here we are. Spending our evening watching high school sports.
She’s rocking a short jean skirt, cowboy boots, and a red tank top.
It’s definitely not your standard teacher-at-a-school-event uniform, but that’s Pen.
She’s bold like that. Never worried about fitting into anyone’s mold, never pretending to want more than she actually does.
She’s fun, easy, and honest about not being interested in anything long-term—which, if I’m being real, are exactly the qualities I’ve been looking for.
Our casual relationship, if it could even be labeled as one, has somehow managed to remain discreet in our small town, where gossip flows freely. We had "the talk" right away and agreed on keeping things simple.
No strings attach. No feelings. Not exclusive. Penelope has plans to move to Charlotte in the fall to get her master’s degree at the University of North Carolina, so we both know that our time together has an expiration date. Luckily, we’ve both been fine with that, too.
I hand a five-dollar-bill to the ticket counter for our game entry. “Enjoy the game,” the young boy says as we walk through the gates into the small stadium. The place is filling out now and the cheerleaders are warming up the crowd, and there are only a few open seats.
My hand guides Penelope to the side where we find two open seats among the chaos.
“Will you get me something to eat?” Penelope asks as we take our seats, her big blue eyes pleading. “I haven’t eaten all day.”
I nod. “Sure, no problem. I’ll be right back.”
Heading back toward the concessions area, I scan the options, looking for the shortest line so that I don’t miss too much of the game. I didn’t play football in high school but in Whitewood Creek, there isn’t much to do on an evening in the late summer but watch sports and swim in the creek.
As my eyes scan the crowd, they snag on a familiar face I haven’t seen in weeks.
“Cash Marshall,” I call, lifting a hand toward one of the Marshall brothers.
I grew up in the trailer park, running wild with the other park rat kids, but the Marshalls have always been woven into my story one way or another.
Cash’s younger brother, Colt, was thick as thieves with my neighbor Maverick Patrick.
Colt ended up marrying Maverick’s little sister, Molly, last year.
Maverick himself… well, he got swallowed whole by his father’s gambling debts and went out way too young, way too brutal.
Unfortunately, they still haven’t found the person responsible for his death.
And Cash, his family ties run even closer. His older brother—technically cousin—is Lawson Marshall. My half-brother and a guy I’ve been spending a lot of time with this summer.
We didn’t grow up knowing it, but blood has a way of crawling out of the dark. Lawson showed up at my mama’s trailer not long ago, sat me down, and told me the man I’d spent my whole life hating, the piece of shit who abandoned me and my mom, was also his father too.
His mom died when he was just a baby, and the Marshalls took him in, raised him like one of their own. He never knew anything different and neither did they. That’s the type of people that the Marshall’s family are. They’re practically royalty in our small-town.
“Rhett Miller,” Cash says with a grin, gripping my hand. “Man, good to see you. Lawson told me you had dinner with him last week?”
“Yeah,” I nod. “He stopped by before jetting off with Dani to Hawaii.”
Cash chuckles. “Figures. Those two can’t sit still. I’ve been trying to pin him down to talk marketing for the egg farm expansion, but he’s always on the move. You gearing up for another crazy state fair season? Rae said turnout’s supposed to be even bigger this year.”
“Yeah,” I say. “Last year’s profits just about knocked out the rest of my loan. This year should finally put me in the clear, especially if this Meadowbrook expansion goes the way I’m hoping.”
Cash nods, approving. “I heard about that. Sounds like a great opportunity for the business. Let us know if you need anything. You know we’ve all got your back. Folks around here seem glad to have Whitewood Creek Plumbing in your hands. Not so many out of office signs on toilets these days.”
I laugh and shake my head. “Tell Colt to call me sometime, will you? Feels like ever since he and Molly had the baby, he fell off the face of the earth.”
Cash barks a laugh. “You’re not wrong. Guy went soft the second he became a dad to Colt Junior. These days it’s all about the house, the creek, and occasionally showing his face at the distillery. I swear he doesn’t work but don’t tell him I said that. The old grump’ll fight me.”
I smile, though there’s that pinch in my chest. Everyone’s got someone now. I’m happy for them. But it gets lonely sometimes. Now that I’m unofficially part of the Marshall family that realization is even more apparent.
“Ah, I better get back,” Cash says, glancing over his shoulder. “Old man Smythe’s eyeballing me for his hotdogs. You know he has to have at least two when we watch the games together. I’ll make sure Colt reaches out!” he calls over his shoulder before disappearing back into the crowd.
I turn back to the concessions, finally finding a line that isn’t too long.
But I realize too late that one of the people in the line is Jael, who’s currently staring up at the menu above the hot dog stand like she’s trying to decipher the meaning of life and completely oblivious to everyone else around her.
Her long brown hair is styled in loose waves today, and the floral sundress she’s wearing, paired with thick golden wedges, only serves to highlight her sun-kissed skin. The curve of her lips, the swell of her breasts, all of it has me freezing in place, unable to look away.
Before I can step forward to say hello, my thoughts are interrupted by someone that I wish I’d never have to see again- Owen.
He moves behind her from the crowd, his arms slipping around her waist much too comfortably as he pulls her back against his chest.
She might be a beautiful reminder of my younger years, but every time I see her, she reminds me exactly why she left and only drives the proverbial knife deeper into my chest.
“Oof,” she stumbles backward, turning to face him with a smile that used to be reserved for me.
And because I could never stop myself when it comes to her, I stand there, staring at them both, completely unable to look away.
“Hey, beautiful,” Owen murmurs to her, their eyes locked completely oblivious to my presence.
I finally snap out of it and step in front of them both, cutting in the line. If I’m going to have to be witness to their pathetic reunion, at least let me get my hot dog first.
“Eh, excuse me, buddy, we were here first,” Owen’s voice rings out, his finger tapping my shoulder in a way that he has no business doing.
I turn slowly, mostly to get a grip on reality and unclench my jaw.
“Oh, look Jael. It’s Rhett,” Owen says. He looks surprised, though I’m not surprised to see him. Guess Jael didn’t mention our little run in earlier this week. Can’t say I’m shocked by that.
Jael shifts nervously beside him, lips pressed tight, and it makes me chuckle under my breath, shaking my head.
Because for whatever reason, being around Owen still turns Jael into a meek little girl.
Unfortunately for her, he’s never had that effect on me.
For all his height, Owen never could step out of my shadow—no matter how hard he tried.
He sticks his hand out for a shake, and I take it, firm and steady, adding that extra squeeze just to remind him I haven’t forgotten what went down between us over ten years ago. And I never fucking will.
Whitewood Creek’s small, sure, but I’ve managed to steer clear of his orbit all this time.
We never shared the same friend group, didn’t have the same interests unless you count Jael, so when she left town, it was easy to avoid a run in.
The odds of running into him tonight would’ve normally been zero.
But with Jael back in town, the odds aren’t just higher—they’re inevitable.
Because when she’s around, for some goddamn reason, I can’t stop finding my way to her.
“Hey Owen, Jael,” I nod to them both. “Surprising to see you here,” I say coolly even though Jael told me she was coming tonight.
Sure, I’d hoped that Penny and I would have been able to avoid witnessing their little date night, but I had a feeling my streak of bad luck would have had us bumping heads at some point. Just didn’t imagine it’d be in the hot dog line.
Owen shifts his eyes down to Jael as he hooks his arm around her shoulder in a way that makes it seem like he thinks nothing has changed between them. Well, it sure as shit has.
“Yeah, Jael’s in town working for the next month. She’s a big-time nurse in Richmond now,” he says proudly.
As if it he has the right to be proud of any of her accomplishments.
As if he isn’t the whole reason that she even stayed in Richmond after graduating.
As if I didn’t already know where she’s been.
As if half the town hasn’t already heard this shit from Meredith.