7. RHETT
7
RHETT
Sweat stings my eyes as I shovel out stall after stall, but there isn’t enough work around here to purge the confusion brewing in my soul.
Seeing Paige cry because of me and Amber arguing hit me in a way I didn’t expect. My natural instinct is to do what I’ve always done—comfort her. Only there’s a helluva difference between picking up my best friend’s pint-sized little sister versus the woman currently snoozing in my bedroom.
“Bro.” Beau marches up to me with a scowl on his face. He sticks his thumb over his shoulder toward the house. “Is there something you wanna tell me?”
I shovel some fresh hay into the stall. “Like what?”
“Like why the hell Paige Lewis just stumbled out of your bedroom, wearing your clothes, looking freshly?—”
“You’d better not say what I think you’re gonna say.”
“Looking like… she just tumbled out of bed.” He scratches his chin. “ Your bed.”
“Where’s she supposed to sleep? There’s too much traffic in the living room. The girl needs to get some rest.” I grumble to myself as I push a wheelbarrow full of horse shit to the next stall.
My brother trails behind me. “I feel like I’m missing something here. Because this is the same Paige Lewis who’s been avoiding your calls for the last few years, right?”
“What’s your point?”
He chuckles. “I love how evasive you get sometimes.”
I lean the pitchfork against the stall. “Jace and I saw her car at the park this morning.” I was with Danny when he bought it for her. I’d recognize that little Kia anywhere. “Sun was barely up. Thought maybe she’d been carjacked or high schoolers had taken her vehicle for a joy ride.”
“Let me guess. That’s not what happened.”
“She was fucking sleeping in her shoebox of a car, if you can believe it. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw her all curled up in the front seat.”
Leaning one arm against a post, he frowns. “So how did she end up wearing your flannel and pajama bottoms? Which were way too big for her, FYI.”
“I gave her the flannel this morning, and the pajama bottoms?” I shrug. “She must’ve grabbed them when I told her to take a shower and a nap.” I fight the urge to go see what she looks like wearing my clothes.
“And?”
I hold out my hands. “I don’t fucking know, to tell you the truth. Jace said she should marry me so I could get that loan.” I give him the Cliff’s Notes version of our younger brother’s plan.
“You’re going to marry Paige?” The look of shock on his face tells me he thinks that’s a stupid idea too.
I’ve been wrestling with that all morning. “I decided to find someone else. Paige isn’t the right person.” There’s something fragile about her, and I don’t wanna be the person who messes with that. I’m not a soft man, and I get the sense she needs someone who’ll be tender and sweet. That’s not me.
The real shocker is how much chemistry she and I have, and that’s just wrong. I’m ten fucking years older than she is. Danny would kill me if I messed with his baby sister.
I’m not going there with her. I made a promise to Danny on his deathbed to look out for her, and I aim to do just that.
Beau helps me shovel some hay and finally breaks the silence. “I wouldn’t say it’s a stupid idea. Paige might’ve been avoiding you, but deep down we all know you’re special to her. I think she’d help you pull this off for Harlan’s sake. Only…”
“Only?”
“Only I’d be afraid of her getting hurt.”
“Which is exactly why I’ll find someone else.” I wipe the sweat from my eyes. Paige is too sweet. Too beautiful.
And too fucking tempting.
“I can appreciate you wanting to find the right person, but we’re running out of time, Rhett.”
Does he want me to do this or not? This conversation is starting to piss me off. “I know that, but I won’t marry Paige. She deserves someone better. Someone who’ll marry her for the right reasons. Someone who’ll put her on a pedestal.”
His eyebrows lift, and he whistles. “There’s a lot there to untangle.”
“I’ll call up Darlene tomorrow. See if she’s game.” I get this weird pang in my chest the moment those words leave my mouth.
He snorts. “Don’t get her pregnant. The last thing you need is to knock up someone you don’t even want to date.”
“This arrangement is for business. I’m not gonna fuck this person. It’ll blur too many lines, make her think this is more than just a transaction. In six months, as soon as I’m done paying back Harlan, I’m gonna file for divorce. Sex will just confuse everyone.”
“What are you gonna give Darlene to help you out?”
I shrug. “Probably expensive shoes and shit. Who the fuck knows?”
He smacks my back. “For once, I wish you didn’t have to worry about me and Jace and Mav and just do what makes you happy.”
“I have no clue what would make me happy, but it would probably involve sending Amber to Canada.”
Beau laughs. “Is that far enough?”
“Probably not.”
I don’t mention the shouting match I had with my ex-wife this morning or how I found Paige in tears afterward. It’s all too much. I just wanna work until I’m too tired to think, and then kick back on the porch with a beer and pretend my ex-wife isn’t going to crawl up my ass until our boys are eighteen.
Someone coughs from the other side of the barn, and Beau and I look up to find Paige, who’s back in her short shorts.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. I don’t have the strength to not admire her long, beautiful legs.
Beau pulls her into a bear hug that makes me clench my teeth. “So nice to have you back, Little Lewis.”
“It’s great to be back. I’ve always loved the ranch.” When our eyes meet, I see the hesitancy in them.
I hate that I fucking put it there. “We’re stoked to have you, Paige. You’ll always be welcome here.”
Beau looks between us and points behind him. “Gonna go make some lunch. Y’all want some sandwiches?”
I nod, and my brother makes himself scarce.
Paige limps up to me, and I barely keep myself from growling. “Where are your crutches? Shouldn’t you use them?”
“Yeah. I should.” She shrugs. “I’m tired of hauling them around. I wish I could fling them off a cliff.”
Her red hair’s pulled up in one of those messy buns that makes her look effortlessly sexy.
I scrub my face. I will not think of Paige in that light.
A barn cat runs up to her and rubs his head against her leg. Lucky bastard.
Turning my back to her, I reach for the shovel so I can finish shoveling out the stalls. I listen to her coo at the cat.
It finally goes quiet.
“Rhett.”
“Yeah?” I scoop up a pile of crap.
“I’ll do it.”
“Do what?”
“Marry you.”
My heart damn near stops, and I turn to face her. “Paige, you don’t have to?—”
“I want to. For six months, that is. Like you said, it’ll be mutually beneficial. I’ll get the physical therapy I need and save some money, and you’ll get the ranch back on track. Then we’ll call it quits. Everyone wins.”
I rub the back of my neck.
She must see something on my face because she takes a wobbly step back. “What?”
“Maybe you’re not the best person to do this.” This is awkward as fuck, but it needs to be said. “With our history… I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Her eyes go icy, and she lets out a hard laugh. “Are you afraid pathetic little Paige is going to fall in love with you and won’t let you file for divorce? Think again. Here’s some good news, Rhett. I don’t fall in love. I never have, and I probably never will. That dumb crush I had on you when I was a kid was just that—a crush. Let me ask you this. Do you still have feelings for people you had crushes on when you were fifteen?”
“Well, no, but?—”
“But nothing. This is no different. Guess what? Sometime in the last seven years, I grew up. And here’s a shocker— I’ve even had full-fledged relationships with other men. But if you’re squeamish about this, that’s fine. Call up your friend with benefits. Let her do the honors.”
She turns and starts to limp away.
Shit. She’s pissed.
I drop the shovel and jog after her.
“Paige.” I grab her arm and turn her to face me. “Don’t be a delicate little flower. I was just being honest. If we do this, I don’t wanna cross any lines. We’re one hundred percent platonic unless we need to be affectionate around other people to pull this off. Otherwise, we’re friends, that’s it.”
She finally turns those big blue eyes up to me. Glaciers in Antarctica are warmer. “We’re not friends. We haven’t been friends for a long time.”
Ouch.
I don’t know why, but this woman twists me up. “You’re right, and that’s my fault. Maybe… maybe we could work on that. We could learn to be friends again. I’ll help you get back on your feet, and you’ll save my ranch. I think that’s a pretty good deal for both of us.”
Some of that animosity melts away, and she nods. “It is.”
This way, I’m keeping my promise to Danny. What better way to watch out for his sister than to move her in with me?
To be honest, I’m relieved Paige finally realized she didn’t love me when she was younger. The fact that she doesn’t think she’s wired to fall in love makes me feel better about this. Because the last thing I wanna do is hurt her.
My reluctance is slowly fading. In fact, the more I think about how much this situation will help both of us, the more I like it.
I hold out my hand. “Deal?”
“On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“I want some chickens.”
Did I hear her right? “Chickens?” I snort.
“Don’t you laugh at me, Rhett Walker. I want some chickens, and you’re going to get me some.”
Chuckling, I nod. “Yes, ma’am.”
When she places her small hand in mine, I smile.
I don’t know why I’ve been so worked up about this. Paige and I are both gonna get what we need and then go our separate ways.
This will be a breeze.
Jace is a genius.