19
Heath
It took a moment for Heath to remember he’d fallen asleep with Rhett snuggled under his arm. It appeared neither of them had moved an inch all night, because there she was, still in the same position she was when he’d closed his eyes. Looking at her, he never wanted to close his eyes again.
Knowing how his life could have been had he just fought hard for his family hurt so much.
Heath wanted to roll Rhett over and kiss her mouth, her neck, everywhere, but he also didn’t want to wake her. Seeing her on his doorstep after a nightmare of a day was the lift he so desperately needed. It was a pleasant surprise, and one he couldn’t let fade into another memory.
He’d been sure of himself as he led her to his room. Something felt right. Natural. And catching her checking him out whilst getting changed was a major ego boost. Sure, he’d had women give him the once over before. Muscles were always admired, but there was only one woman he wanted staring wide-eyed at his body, and that was Rhett Smithson.
I can’t believe she’s in my bed. In my arms.
Her hair was tickling his nostrils, so he wriggled his nose, not wanting to sneeze. If she woke, she would leave, he was sure, and he wanted his moment with her to last forever.
Work could wait. He could even take the whole day off. Stay in bed. Make love to her. It was all too much. Slowly, he carefully moved some of her hair from her face, waiting for her to stir.
Rhett groaned quietly and stretched, curving her body further into his, causing Heath to use all his willpower not to ravish her before she even opened her eyes.
‘Morning,’ he said, then cleared his throat of the dryness.
Gorgeous hazel eyes blinked his way, and he could see her taking her time to assess the situation. The last thing he wanted was regrets. They had a lifetime’s worth.
Act normal. Keep relaxed, then she’ll be okay.
She wasn’t giving much away as she stared at him, so Heath thought it best to take charge before anything beat up his weary heart.
‘I’ll put the kettle on.’ With reluctance, he pulled away from her warm body and headed for the kitchen, making a pitstop in Willow’s en suite for the loo and a quick splash of the face.
Heath’s home was always pretty quiet. Willow would come back and forward but mostly preferred her bedroom at his mum’s house. He couldn’t blame her. The energy at Rhett’s was enough to suck the life out of anyone, and his home was like a barn conversion showroom.
Standing in the kitchen, waiting on the kettle, he really took notice of his surroundings. There wasn’t much of a homely vibe going on. His mum’s kitchen held more life than his and Rhett’s homes put together.
Finn and Tyler’s houses looked lived in, so why did his home lack scatter cushions and board games? He didn’t even watch telly, and the fire was hardly ever lit. It was rare he lounged on the sofa, and now he thought about it, it was only his bed, bathroom, and kitchen that were used.
It dawned on him.
I converted this for her. For us.
It was the plan. A home. A family. The love of his life. But it didn’t turn out that way, and even though he still spent all his time and energy creating a home, something was always missing.
Renovating Rhett’s was sparking joy, and not just because he loved doing that kind of work. It was the new life entering the property, and the hope it would be the thing that freed her from the ghosts lurking there. Something had to.
He’d watched her for years, fading away to next to nothing, feeling useless because he couldn’t help.
I’ll get over there in a bit. Get some more work done.
Heath was on a mission. If nothing else, Rhett would walk into that hellhole of a house one day and smile, because as far as he was concerned, the whole shitshow was over, and it was time for a different life.
Rhett was still wearing his tee-shirt when she entered the kitchen, switching his thoughts from home makeovers to sex on the worktop. He quickly turned to make the tea before he made the wrong move and scared her off.
‘Are you okay, Heath?’ she asked quietly, scraping a chair from under the table.
He glanced over his shoulder. ‘Yeah. You?’ It was a small nod to match her smile, but it felt safe, so he continued with his task, wondering what she might like for breakfast.
‘It’s just, you were at the police station for a long time.’
Oh, she’s ignoring the bed situation. Okay, I can live with that.
He brought the tea over and slid the tin of biscuits on the table closer to her. ‘Yeah, it went on a bit.’ He sat opposite, reaching for a broken piece of shortbread his mum had made. ‘We both ended up with a warning. Brian sorted everything. A deal was struck, both of us agreeing not to press charges against each other.’ He shrugged and dunked his biscuit.
But I’ve got to pay for the car to be fixed.
Fran would be pleased when he reported in later, he knew that much, and he’d get a warning from her too.
They drank their tea in a silence that felt both comfy and natural.
‘I’m hungry,’ announced Rhett, glancing at the cupboards over by the oven. ‘Shall I make us a fry-up? I could get in some practice for when we have guests.’
‘Yes.’ Heath settled himself, as he had practically jumped at the chance of her sticking around. He composed his voice and tried again. ‘See what I’ve got. Erm, I’ll be on toast duties while you fry.’ He went to the lower cupboard by the refrigerator and pulled out a large frying pan whilst Rhett rummaged around above his head, pulling out bacon, eggs, and tomatoes from the fridge.
‘Nice to see you’re well stocked.’ She smiled and got to work on their breakfast.
‘I like my food.’ He waggled a tin of baked beans her way, waited for the nod, then made that part of his duties as well.
‘Does the radio work?’ Rhett removed it from the windowsill to check for batteries, but Heath leaned over and switched it on.
He didn’t want to move away, but bread was waiting to be pressed down in the toaster and those beans weren’t about to heat themselves, not that he cared. His bare chest on her back was the only food he needed.
Rhett adjusted the volume so the pop music was heard without them having to strain their ears or shout over the noise.
Heath poured the beans into a glass bowl and popped it into the microwave, because if he had to stand next to her at the oven, stirring, it was quite possible the smoke alarm would go off. The fact she was swaying slightly to the music whilst wearing his top and little else was playing havoc with his concentration as it was.
There was something so serene going on in his kitchen. Rhett was showing signs of happiness, and his home suddenly felt like one.
Heath glanced at the clock on the wall as a memory hit. ‘Erm, Willow’s due to call for a video chat in about an hour. Do you want to stick around for that? We can get back to work at yours after. What do you think?’
‘Ooh, lovely, yes please.’
Heath needed to get a grip, as he couldn’t stop smiling. His cheeks were starting to hurt, and he was pretty sure he looked weird. He kept himself busy with plates and cutlery. ‘Feel free to use the shower. Mine or Willow’s. She’s got sweeter smellies in hers and spare toothbrushes.’ He sat at the table as Rhett started to serve. ‘I don’t know why she buys everything in bulk.’
‘She’s always been like that, hasn’t she?’
‘Tyler’s the same. He always has a spare everything, which, not going to lie, does come in handy at times.’
Rhett splodged brown sauce on her bacon, then offered him the bottle, which he happily took to add to the streaks of tomato ketchup he’d already lined his plate with.
‘Hmm,’ she groaned, tucking in. ‘Not bad, Silver. I think our new business has potential.’
It’s not the only thing.
He smiled into his breakfast. ‘You know Mum’s going to take over in the kitchen each morning, right?’
‘Yeah, I know, but at least we know we can step in any time she can’t be on duty.’
‘True.’
They carried on eating, and he returned each small smile that came his way in between mouthfuls. The morning was going down as one of the best moments in his life.
Once they had finished, and after another round of tea, Heath suggested she go pick a shower whilst he slung everything into the dishwasher and set up the laptop on the table, ready for Willow’s call from India.
He heard her use Willow’s shower, which made sense, but he so wished she was in his, preferably with him. That thought had to go. There was no way he’d have his head on straight all day if he kept that up.
By the time he made it back to the kitchen, Rhett was ready and waiting by the laptop, sipping orange juice and looking mighty fine in one of his tracksuits.
‘Hope you don’t mind, but I didn’t fancy putting yesterday’s clothes back on after that lovely shower, and this looked so comfy.’ She flashed the drawstring tied up to the max around her much slimmer waist. ‘I’ve gone commando though, but don’t worry, I’ll change as soon as I get home, and I’ll wash your clothes.’
His gaze automatically dropped to her thighs as the desire to pick her up and sprawl her on the table hit hard. It was all there, the need, the love.
Rhett poured him some juice and sat by his side at the table, waiting for their daughter to pop up on the screen. ‘It’s lovely, isn’t it?’
‘What?’
‘Willow travelling the world.’
Without thinking, Heath blurted out, ‘We should go away.’
Rhett’s smile weakened. ‘We should?’
He’d said it now. Time to back it up. ‘Why not? When have either of us been anywhere?’
She gave a slight shrug, her shoulder rubbing against his. ‘We work. A lot.’
‘Finn and Viv are in Honeydale. We could go up to the Scottish Highlands one day.’
Her fingers lightly brushed over the keyboard as her lips pursed, and he wished so hard he could read her mind, even better, feel what she was feeling.
‘Or Jersey,’ he added, knowing what that meant to them.
She met his waiting eyes. ‘We chose that place for our honeymoon.’
‘I know.’
‘You still want to go there? With me?’
I want to go everywhere with you, especially the bedroom right now.
He went to reply but Willow’s call came in.
‘Hey, Mum. I wasn’t expecting to see you.’ Willow homed in on them, causing them both to lean back a touch. ‘Are you in Dad’s kitchen?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Why?’
Heath admired Rhett’s poker face. He hoped he was doing well in that department himself.
‘Your dad asked me to join the chat,’ she said casually, and she wasn’t fibbing, as that was his request.
Willow smiled widely and went to speak again but then narrowed her eyes their way once more. ‘Are you wearing Dad’s tracksuit?’
Heath glanced at Rhett’s grey sweatshirt, or rather, his. He quickly turned back to the screen as Rhett responded, again with ease and poise. He figured years of living with her dad had trained her well in the art of lying.
‘Nope. It belongs to Florence.’ Rhett’s thigh pressed slightly into Heath’s, bringing him back into the conversation.
‘How you getting on in India, sweetheart?’
Willow beamed, warming his heart. Her big smile, cute freckles like her mum’s, and sun-kissed face brought the laptop to life. ‘Oh, it’s wonderful. So much better the second time around. We weren’t going to come back this way, but Sully wanted to visit a temple we’d missed, so we swerved slightly. It’s just us two here at the moment, but we’re meeting back up with the others next week.’ She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. ‘No one wanted to come back this way with him, so I said I would. I wasn’t about to let him travel alone.’ She sat back and waved a hand behind her, indicating he was somewhere around.
‘That’s good, Willow. He’s the only one I really know out of your group, so I want you sticking with him,’ said Rhett.
Heath agreed. ‘Best friends should always stick together.’
‘Are you eating properly?’ asked Rhett.
‘Do you need any money?’ was Heath’s question that came out at the same time.
Willow laughed. ‘Gran’s already put more in my bank account, and I didn’t ask, before you moan. I don’t need any, but she did it anyway. So tell her off for me.’
‘As long as you’re eating.’ Rhett glanced his way for the first time since Willow called.
Heath quickly turned back to his daughter, sure he would give away something about last night if he stayed looking at Rhett for more than two seconds. He steered the conversation to her travels, listening to her tales, and halfway through, his mind drifted to travelling somewhere with Rhett.
Rhett’s hand was resting on her thigh, and her finger suddenly touched the tip of his that was resting on his leg. The jolt brought him back to the present moment, and he carried on chatting happily to his daughter whilst not daring to move his hand a millimetre from Rhett’s light touch.