14. Fourteen
Fourteen
Rhett
Out of all the things I expected upon returning home, having Kyla approach me as she did wasn’t one of them.
But then her mouth was on mine, and her tongue was separating my lips. She was kissing me. This wasn’t a dream. And she tasted exactly like I remembered: citrus and vanilla rolled into one. Her fingers threaded into the hair at the nape of my neck as she deepened the kiss. Or did I deepen it? At this point I couldn’t tell. We were both so immersed in it. Resting my hand on her waist I pulled her close to me. This moment could last forever, but with a soft moan and exhale, she finally pulled back.
I blinked, forcing myself to come back to reality.
I wasn’t quite sure I heard her right. Did she say husband?
Swallowing, I parted my lips. “I’m sorry . . . what? ”
“Put your arms around me.” Her voice was still a whisper, I felt her hands slip to my shoulders.
I didn’t even hesitate as I wrapped my arms around her waist, her body pressed against mine. She could ask me to do anything at this rate and I would give it to her. She felt so damn good. If she was expecting me to let her leave for Washington now, she had something else coming.
“You need to smile, and act like you haven’t seen me in days.” Her eyes met mine, and I breathed in her vanilla scent.
“I haven’t seen you in days.” I raised the corners of my lips, leaning down to kiss her again.
Kyla stopped me, tilting her head away. “That man next to your sister . . .”
I glanced up and looked at the blond standing near Abi—hands on his hips, his stance wide. Smaller, narrow shoulders began the frame for his entire body, and he was wearing a suit, with a skinny tie visible with his jacket open. His shoes were so shiny I could see them from here, although I knew they would get covered in dirt. He stepped to the side, his head moving from side to side as he never once stopped looking at Kyla and I.
This man would die on a horse.
Raising a brow I looked back at Kyla, kissing her forehead gently. She didn’t need to say anything else; I knew exactly who that man was.
“What the hell is he doing here?” I murmured back, lowering my chin so the rim of my hat shadowed us.
Kyla took a deep breath, her hands running down my arms. “He says it’s to talk about the future of the ranch, but I know he has other motives.”
“Well then.” Using my arm to pull her even closer, a small gasp leaving her lips, I kissed her again, the same shock hitting from the first time I kissed her on the dance floor. This woman was going to be the death of me. “Let’s go talk to him, Mrs. Hartwell.”
Feathering my fingers across her waist, I laced my fingers with hers. She spun, using her opposite hand to hold on to my bicep as she led me toward the house. Abi stood with one hand on her waist, one hand blocking the sun from her eyes, her smile growing wider as Kyla and I approached.
“Hi, there,” I started, trying to give my best I don’t know who the hell you are acting job, “My wife tells me you need to talk to me?” I smiled, holding out my hand to shake his and surprisingly David grasped it and shook. It was a softer handshake than I was used to, so I squeezed a little harder, my way of taking charge of the situation. “Rhett Hartwell, how can I help you?”
He let out a deep breath and then gave the widest, fakest smirk I had ever seen in my entire life. “David McIntyre, nice to meet you Mr. Hartwell. I’m representing McIntyre Holdings, we’re a real estate firm based out of Phoenix. I discovered your property a few weeks ago and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since.”
“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it.” I looked around at the tree line and turned to the house.
“Cowboy”—Kyla got my attention with my nickname—“David’s the developer for McIntyre Holdings, he’s the one who buys and builds the land up. ”
Furrowing my brow, I looked down at Kyla. Gotta keep acting. “You know him?”
Kyla scrunched her nose at me. “He was . . .”
“I’m her fiancé,” David answered for her, his voice booming.
“Well, that’s awkward because I’m her husband.” I forced myself to keep the quiet laughter in. I loved hearing the word husband possibly a little too much.
David stared at me, his eyes like daggers as they bore into mine. He seemed to read exactly what was going on. I shoved my left hand in my pocket, hiding the fact that I wasn’t wearing a ring. I moved my thumb over Kyla’s hand, feeling the small band on her finger. Turning to her I raised an eyebrow. She squeezed my bicep.
“That’s interesting because she’s been engaged to me for two years, and then she disappeared.” David’s attention turned back to Kyla.
“No, David, I left you. I handed you the ring and told you we were over,” Kyla spat, taking a step closer to him.
“Are you here to discuss your past with my wife, or my ranch?” I changed the subject. “Because I’ll be honest, neither sound very interesting to me.”
That one statement was all it took to get David to look at me. He inhaled sharply, and smiled—back to business. “I’m here to talk about the ranch, I see how much potential it has.”
“Bullshit,” Kyla muttered. She let go of my hand quickly, spinning to look at me. “I’ll be inside. You talk about . . . whatever it is he really came here to talk about.” She touched my chest, leaned up and kissed my cheek. “I can’t wait to hear about the rodeos. ”
I watched as Kyla and Abi made their way into the main house, then gave David one last glance over. Turning, I left him standing there, but when I heard his footsteps start up, I wasn’t shocked.
“Mr. Hartwell, I’m just as surprised to see Kyla as she is to see me,” he shouted as soon as he was closer to my side.
“I’ll repeat what my wife said . ” Damn I liked the sound of that, almost as much as when I said “husband.” “Bullshit. You think I don’t know who you are.”
I opened the trailer more forcefully than expected.
“Well sir, with all due respect, you do now.” David’s voice was sinister, one I would never care to hear again. “I came here . . .”
“I know, I know. You ‘found my ranch on a site and have to buy it because it has potential.’ Again. Bull. Shit. You wouldn’t have known about Hartwell Hills if you didn’t know Kyla was here. I highly suggest you get off my land and leave her alone.” I took a step towards him. I towered over him, my frame bulkier and heavier than his. I was six-three, and I could tell just by standing near him, David was barely six feet. Three inches was enough to force his eyes to move up.
I expected him to leave. I expected him to turn, get in his Lincoln, and drive off. My fifteen minutes of being Kyla’s husband was over and right now, all I wanted to do was go into the house and make sure she was alright. But instead, his eyes narrowed, and his lips formed a thin smile. No—I wouldn’t call that smile. A sneer. One fit for a villain.
“No, I won’t be leaving. When I do leave, it will be with my fiancé on my arm.” The villain transformed into a business man as he rolled his shoulders and straightened his jacket. “I brought this for you.” He held out a leather portfolio. “I’m interested in buying your land. Not all, just some—for housing, or a business center. Something more fit for the community.”
I looked at the portfolio, not taking it and then back at him. “It’s not for sale.”
“Everything is for sale.”
“Not this.”
“I’ll say it again Rhett, everything is for sale. Take this, look it over, and I’ll be back. I’m staying in town until I land this deal, so I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot more of me. Tell Kyla I say goodbye, and that I’ll see her soon.” David narrowed his eyes, his true colors coming to life as his eyes screamed. “I do remember the way her body feels, I can guarantee you she remembers mine as well.”
I grabbed the portfolio from his hand and took a single step towards him. “After feeling mine, I can guarantee you, she doesn’t.”
After I settled Buckle in the pasture, I made my way into the main house. Kyla sat at the kitchen island, her hands laced in front of her as Abi cleaned up from lunch. Kyla was silent, her lips pursed together as she concentrated on anything but me. She was nervous, possibly still worried that David was still outside. I looked at them, my eyes moving from Abi to Kyla, until I finally focused on Kyla.
“He wants to buy the ranch,” I mumbled, finally breaking the silence.
“Asshole . . .” Abi breathed .
Placing my palms on the counter I leaned into the kitchen island.
“No, he doesn’t.” Kyla shook her head. “He somehow figured out where I was and that was his way in. He has no interest in buying the ranch. He sells commercial real estate for god’s sake, not ranches.”
“He said he wouldn’t leave without you on his arm,” I said softly. Just the idea of her with him sent my stomach in knots. She deserved so much more than him. She deserved somebody . . . somebody like . . .
“I’m not going anywhere with him,” she muttered under her breath.
“Come on.” I pushed myself off the island. “We need to talk.”
I held my hand out to her and let out a breath of air when she took it. Leading her off the porch we walked in silence to my house, but her hand was in mine the entire time. I used my thumb to twist the ring on her finger. I knew that ring. The simple diamond, the gold band—it was my grandmother’s. How it happened to fall on Kyla’s finger, I could only imagine. Lachlan had told me she fit in, and the phone calls we shared told me she was comfortable. I could just see Kyla and my mother sifting through her jewelry, Kyla finding the band and slipping it on her finger not even thinking about where it came from or what meaning it held to my family. That was something I could tell her later—after we figured out this David situation.
I opened the door to my cabin and stepped inside, feeling the air hit me. Home. I loved being on the road, but nothing compared to this place. And with Kyla here, it had a different feel to it. Her purse sat on the dining room table and her phone was face down on the counter. There was a vase of daisies sitting on the kitchen island and one single plate and mug sat next to the sink. I took a quick glance into the bathroom and saw her lavender towel on the hook, as well as a blow dryer and straightener on the counter. Not only was she comfortable on the ranch in general, but she was comfortable here.
“I’ll pack up and get out of your hair. Maybe when I leave, he’ll leave, and you won’t have to worry about your ranch,” Kyla began, holding her body as she walked into the living room.
“Kyla.”
“I can’t believe he found out where I was. Grace was telling me she saw him, but that she didn’t tell him anything, which tells me he was looking . . .”
“Kyla,” I repeated, a little louder.
“I’ll call him, talk to him, and tell him to fuck off. Convince him that, yet again, we are done.”
“Kyla!” I basically shouted.
She stopped, her lips still parted, but her eyes met mine and I could see exactly how stiff she was. After what felt like forever, her shoulders slumped as she let out a long breath.
“There’s more to the story here isn’t there?” I asked. “You told me he never hit you, but . . .” I trailed off, making my way towards her. I was tempted to reach out and hold her, just like I had when David was standing in front of us. It felt natural to have her in my arms. “Why did you leave? Why did you feel like you needed to start over? ”
Kyla’s brow pinched as her jaw tensed, and I swear she stopped breathing. She was silent for a few moments before she exhaled, the color returning to her face. “I’m the black sheep of my family.”
“I doubt that,” I said softly.
“No, I am. I didn’t go on to be a trophy wife like my mother, I actually wanted to do something with my life. So, I became a teacher and refused to let my parents pay for my schooling. I racked up debt and rented an apartment. Can you believe it, Rhett?” She plopped on the couch, then put on an affected, haughty tone I imagined was a mockery of her mother’s. “I rented an apartment.” She grasps at fake pearls at the shock of such a thing. “My mother wasn’t proud or happy of the life I was building, but then she met David. She introduced us and at first it was perfect. He was a gentleman and showered me with gifts. He asked me to move in with him after three months and then proposed after six. My mother was ecstatic.”
“Well of course she was,” I said with disdain. “So, what happened?”
“I didn’t really notice it, but I began to feel anxious. Like everything was my fault. I felt overworked and overwhelmed. I tried to talk to David about how I felt, but he would say, ‘You need to take time for yourself. Relax . . . enjoy the weekend.’ Then the weekend would come, and I would do exactly what he said, but then he’d say, ‘You didn’t do anything productive this weekend.’” She looked small sitting there, telling me about this miserable time in her life. I just wanted to reach for her, but I wasn’t sure that was what she wanted. Her eyes caught mine as she continued. “It would turn into a fight, but it would always stop. He would yell, make me feel small. Then once he saw how it got to me, he’d stop and pull me into his arms. He’d tell me he was sorry, that he loved me and that he didn’t mean it. Then it would be good again—sometimes too good to be true. Flowers, jewelry, chocolates . . . he fawned over me.
“I’d get so caught up in him during those times, he was all I’d see. Grace and I began to talk less and less, and I stopped participating in school events and speaking to co-workers. The only thing that mattered was David. I didn’t realize it at first but depression took over, and then the anxiety. So much anxiety.”
“Kyla,” I breathed, my heart began to ache for her. She must have felt so hopeless. I reached out to her, my fingers barely brushing the hair from her shoulders. She shivered and heaved a long sigh.
“I finally began to see it when loneliness sank in, and I took it upon myself to find a therapist. She helped me unpack everything—and I mean . . . everything. Things I didn’t even know were happening. Like, the way he could make me feel stupid with just a word. He’d manipulate me into believing things had happened differently than I remembered, twisting his or my words to fit his narrative. I was always the problem, or Grace was. Anyone but him. And I believed it . . . I’d agree with him.” Her eyes shuddered closed, I could tell this was hard for her to talk about, but I soaked in every bit of the vulnerability she shared with me. “When I finally figured out that it wasn’t about me, I wasn’t the problem, that I wanted and deserved more, that’s when I told him I was leaving.”
“Thank god,” I breathed, probably harsher than I intended. My internal thought was good girl, but given the moment, I didn't think that was the most appropriate thing to say.
“Yeah, well, we had been engaged for two years by then. The wedding was almost planned, and my mother had just lost my father. David told me I was speaking out of grief—out of fear—and that I wasn’t making any sense. But when I defended myself, I told him that I was making complete sense. I wasn’t happy, and the only thing I was afraid of was losing was myself because . . .” She paused and took a deep breath. Swallowing, she met my gaze. “Because of him.”
I stayed silent, listening to her as she finished.
How long had she been holding all of this in?
“He raised a hand to me that night. He was holding onto my arm so hard he caused a bruise.” She rubbed her bicep, most likely the same place where the bruise once sat. I clenched my jaw at the thought of him touching her that way. Taking a deep breath, she continued. “He didn’t hit me. He said, ‘No, I won’t hit you. I could, but I won’t. I’m too nice.’” She sneered. There was a shake to her tone at just the memory of his words. “I gave him my ring, told him we were over, and then packed up my belongings. I left that night, and he just . . . watched.
“I went and stayed with Grace until I could figure out what to do. I would lay low at first, but after a month or so I started thinking I was fine. I would go to the grocery store on the other side of the city, but I swear I would see similar faces and I got it in my head that he was having me followed. Grace assured me it was all in my head, but I just couldn’t shake it. So, after that, I came up with my plan to move to Washington, and it was all going smoothly, right up until you asked me what I was drinking. I never knew it would lead me here, and I never thought I would like it. And now I’ve pulled you and your family into this. ”
She didn’t pull us into anything. If anything, I welcomed the pull. I had been trying to ignore it, trying to force myself to say she was just a friend, but to me she was more.
Not knowing what to say, I started with the one thing that festered in my mind. “Where did you get the ring?”
She let out a laugh, one I had grown to crave as she slid the ring off her finger. “Your nephew. He proposed to me this afternoon. Right before you got here.” She handed the ring back to me.
Staying silent once again, I took the ring and watched as she stood and rubbed her hands on her hips.
“Stetson,” I let out a breathy laugh. Of course it was Stetson.
“I’ll pack.”
“Kyla.” I stopped her, holding the ring between my fingertips. “I think you should stay.”
She inhaled heavily, lifting her chin. “If I stay, David will stay. He’ll push buying the ranch and try to get me back. It would be a complete mess.”
“Not if we stay married.”
I don’t know why it slipped from my mouth, why I even thought it was a good idea. I just held the ring in my fingers, watching the small diamond sparkle even with its age and it seemed like a good idea. It would help her finally be rid of David. It would allow me to keep her for just a little longer and maybe show her she deserved more.
Maybe she deserved somebody like me.