Chapter 8
RHETT
Morning light filtered through the hotel curtains, painting golden stripes across the rumpled sheets of the king-sized bed.
I watched Moses sleep beside me; his face relaxed in a way I rarely saw when he was awake.
The perpetual furrow between his brows had smoothed out, the guardedness that normally shadowed his eyes replaced by peaceful vulnerability.
Twenty years. We had lost twenty years that could have been spent waking up like this, learning the cadence of each other’s breathing, mapping the subtle changes in each other’s bodies as we aged.
The thought should have been bitter, but somehow, in this moment, it wasn’t.
Perhaps because for the first time in two decades, I could envision mornings like this stretching into our future.
Moses stirred, his eyes fluttering open. For a second, confusion crossed his features before recognition and memory cleared them. His lips curved into a smile that hit me square in the chest.
“Morning,” he murmured, voice rough with sleep.
“Morning,” I replied, resisting the urge to touch him, to ensure he was real and not some elaborate dream my lonely mind had conjured. “Sleep well?”
He stretched, the sheet slipping down to reveal the smooth expanse of his chest. “Better than I have in years. You?”
“Same,” I admitted, finally giving in to temptation and reaching out to trace the line of his jaw with my fingertips. “Though I didn’t get much actual sleep, thanks to someone.”
Moses caught my hand, pressing a kiss to my palm that sent warmth cascading through me. “I don’t recall hearing any complaints last night.”
“Nor will you,” I assured him, leaning in to replace my fingers with my lips, capturing his mouth in a gentle kiss that quickly deepened, morning breath be damned.
When we finally broke apart, both breathing a little harder, Moses glanced at the bedside clock and groaned. “We should get up. The replica statue unveiling is at ten.”
Reality crashed back in, the reunion, the revelations of yesterday, the uncertain reception we might face today. I sighed, reluctantly pulling away. “Right. Duty calls.”
Moses sat up, running a hand through his sleep-tousled curls. “Are you sure you want to go with me? After yesterday, it might be... uncomfortable.”
I fixed him with a look that brooked no argument. “I told you yesterday, and I meant it, we’re in this together now. I’m not leaving your side for any of the remaining reunion events, especially not the statue unveiling.”
The irony wasn’t lost on either of us, that after twenty years of avoiding anything to do with the infamous Paul Bunyan statue, Moses would now stand beside the replica at an official unveiling, his name cleared but his presence still controversial.
“Thank you,” he said simply, the two words carrying the weight of decades of loneliness and misunderstanding.
I nodded, understanding everything he wasn’t saying. “Always.”
We showered separately, despite temptation, we really were running late. We dressed and headed down to the hotel restaurant for a quick breakfast. The moment we entered, conversations dimmed, heads turned, and curious eyes tracked our progress to a corner table.
“Well, word has definitely spread,” I muttered, unfolding my napkin with more force than necessary. “Subtlety has never been Gomillion’s strong suit.”
Moses actually chuckled, the sound surprising me. “Did you expect anything else? We just dropped a bombshell that implicated the town’s first family in a twenty-year cover-up. Of course we’re the main attraction.”
His apparent ease with the situation caught me off guard. “You seem remarkably calm about being the center of attention.”
He shrugged, scanning the menu with deliberate casualness. “After carrying that secret for twenty years, having the truth out there, even with all the accompanying gossip, feels freeing. Besides,” he added, his eyes meeting mine with unexpected warmth, “I’m not alone in the spotlight this time.”
Something inside me melted at the simple trust in that statement. “No,” I agreed, “you’re not.”
The waitress approached, her professional smile not quite masking her obvious curiosity as she took our orders. As she walked away, I noticed a familiar figure entering the restaurant, Vanessa, looking uncharacteristically somber in a simple blue dress, her usual vibrant accessories notably absent.
She spotted us immediately and made her way over, sliding into the third chair at our table without invitation. “Morning, boys. Mind if I join you?”
“Too late to say yes, isn’t it?” Moses replied, but his tone was affectionate rather than annoyed. “How are you holding up?”
Vanessa sighed, helping herself to my untouched water glass.
“About as well as can be expected when you’ve publicly denounced your father and brother as corrupt and predatory.
” She took a long sip, her hand trembling slightly despite her show of nonchalance.
“Dad’s not speaking to me. Apparently, I should have discussed the situation before becoming involved in matters that can affect the family business. ”
“I’m sorry,” Moses said quietly. “You didn’t have to get involved.”
“Yes, I did,” she corrected him firmly. “This has gone on too long. And you,” she reached across the table to squeeze his hand, “you’ve paid a price you never should have had to pay.”
Moses looked uncomfortable with her gratitude. “I don’t know about that. I made my choice, Nessa. I could have spoken up sooner.”
“Could you have, though?” she challenged. “Really? In this town, twenty years ago? With your family, your business, your future at stake?”
He didn’t answer directly, which was an answer enough for me. Instead, he asked, “What’s the word around town this morning? How bad is it going to be at the unveiling?”
Vanessa grimaced, releasing his hand to wave at the waitress for coffee.
“Mixed. About sixty percent of people believe you even though Soren said as much. The rest either think it’s a vendetta against the Hayes family or are reserving judgment after Mayor Hayes did some work behind the scenes according to my father. ”
“And my... our... relationship?” Moses gestured between himself and me, his voice carefully neutral.
“Honestly? Most people already suspected,” Vanessa replied with a small smile.
“You two weren’t exactly subtle back in high school.
The longing glances across classrooms, the ‘study sessions’ that never produced any actual schoolwork, the way you both lit up whenever the other entered a room.
..” She shook her head fondly. “The shock isn’t that you’re together; it’s that it took you twenty years to figure it out. ”
Heat crept up my neck. Had we really been that obvious? I’d thought we were being so careful, so discreet. But Vanessa had always been perceptive, especially about matters of the heart.
“And those who didn’t suspect?” I pressed, needing to know what we were walking into.
She sighed. “The usual suspects. But even they’re more focused on the allegations against Soren and Mayor Haye’s blackmailing than on your relationship status.”
“Small mercies,” Moses muttered.
Our food arrived, momentarily halting the conversation. As we ate, I noticed more and more people entering the restaurant, many casting curious or outright staring glances our way. The unveiling was clearly going to be well-attended.
“So, what’s the plan?” I asked between bites of my omelet. “For the unveiling, I mean. Are you still planning to attend, Nessa?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” she said grimly. “It’s going to be suitably awkward for all involved.”
Moses pushed his barely touched breakfast around his plate. “Maybe we should skip it. I’ve made my statement. No need to stir the pot further by showing up at an event celebrating the very statue that started all this.”
“Absolutely not,” Vanessa and I replied in unison, then exchanged amused glances.
“You have every right to be there,” I continued. “If you don’t show up, people will think you’re hiding, that maybe you weren’t telling the truth after all.”
“He’s right,” Vanessa agreed. “Optics matter in small towns. You need to be there, head held high.”
Moses looked between us, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips. “When did I acquire two such stubborn advocates?”
“Twenty years ago,” I replied promptly. “You just didn’t notice and then don’t even think about adding Bronwyn to the mix.”
His expression softened, his foot finding mine under the table in a subtle gesture of affection. “I noticed. I just didn’t know what to do about it then.”
The moment was interrupted by Vanessa’s phone chiming. She checked it, her face paling slightly. “Soren’s arrived. He’s at the town hall with Mayor Hayes who’s demanding a public apology from Moses before the unveiling.”
“He’s what?” I straightened, indignation flaring. “If anyone should be apologizing, it’s him!”
Moses remained calmer, though I could see the tension in the set of his shoulders. “Let him demand whatever he wants. I’m not retracting a word of what I said yesterday.”
“Good,” Vanessa nodded approvingly.
“It’s time to stop hiding. Stand tall and fight him. We should go,” I said, checking my watch. “The unveiling starts in forty minutes, and if Mayor Hayes is making demands, we need to be prepared.”
Moses nodded, his face set with determination I’d rarely seen from him. “Right. Let’s finish this, once and for all.”
We paid our bill and left, the three of us walking together toward the school grounds where the replica statue had been installed.
As we approached, I could see a crowd already gathering, larger than yesterdays.
Word had spread, and it seemed like half the town had turned out for what promised to be more dramatic than a simple unveiling.