19. RHETT
19
RHETT
The expression on Paige’s face when she sees my boys is adorable. “Hi, guys, I’m Paige. It’s so nice to meet you.”
I bounce the big one on my knee. “This is Gabriel. He’s six. He loves fishing and Hot Wheels.” Then I bounce my little one. “And this tough guy is Austin. And he loves food. Of any kind.”
Austin buries his head in my chest while Gabriel looks away. Damn, I was hoping they’d love her.
I squeeze my boys a little. “What do we say, fellas?”
Gabriel mumbles hi, and Austin shakes his head no.
My brothers give me a sympathetic smile, and Beau points toward the barn. “We’re gonna give y’all some space.”
Let’s try this again. “Do y’all remember those incredible cheerleaders at Uncle Mav’s games? Paige is one of them.”
My sons love the cheerleaders. I admit I always look for Paige when we’re watching Mav’s games.
When the boys don’t say anything, Paige’s smile slowly falls.
But then Gabriel lets out a huff. “Are you our new mom? Because we have one already.”
Shit.
I jiggle my leg again. “Buddy, I know this is a lot, but let’s try to be welcoming.”
I hate the rejection in Paige’s eyes, but she pastes on that fake smile and leans forward. “I know y’all have a great mom. I’m not trying to take her place. I just want to be your friend.”
Amber, a great mom? That’s a stretch, but Paige is just trying to be nice.
When Gabriel doesn’t say anything, she tries again. “Would that be okay? Can we be friends?”
It takes effort to bite my tongue. I wanna be encouraging without pushing the boys too hard.
Finally, my older son nods. “Yeah. I guess.”
Austin finally looks at Paige. “You’re pretty.”
She gives him a glorious smile that makes him bury his head in my chest again. “Thanks, handsome. I’m kind of a mess today, but I appreciate the compliment.”
Her red hair is in one of those haphazard buns that looks sexy as hell. And I fucking love that she grabbed one of my flannels. It makes me wonder what she would look like in just that shirt and nothing else.
I squeeze my kids. “Boys, I was thinking we should go fishing this weekend like we talked about. Would it be okay if we asked Paige to tag along?”
“Aww, Dad,” Gabriel grouses. “I thought it would just be us. Girls are no fun.”
I sigh. This is gonna be tougher than I thought, but Paige rolls with it.
“It’s totally okay if y’all go without me. I don’t want to scare your fish. Would it be okay if I made you some sandwiches and cookies for your trip?”
Gabriel looks at his brother, then Paige. “Can you make some chocolate chip?”
“Sure can. Any other requests?”
“I like grilled cheese and pickle sandwiches.”
“Can’t say I’ve ever had that before, but it sounds tasty. I’m not sure that would be good for a fishing trip, though, because they’d get cold. What if I made them tonight for dinner? Would that be okay?”
Damn, she’s sweet.
Gabriel nods. “Yeah. Can you add extra pickles in mine?”
“Of course.”
I wink at her. “Thanks, wildflower.”
The smile she gives me is genuine, and I love that I put it on her face.
I bounce the boys on my knees. “Okay, my tiny terrors, who wants some ice cream? I need to drop off a contract at the bank, and then I was thinking the four of us should head into town for a scoop of pralines and cream. Paige is gonna help me organize my office, and I need to butter her up so she doesn’t quit on the first day. Think we can trick her into thinking she’ll have fun figuring out Daddy’s messy office?”
Gabriel giggles. “No one wants that job.”
“You stinker.” I tickle him until he squeals. I set the boys on the ground. “Go potty. We’ll leave in ten minutes. Gabriel, help Austin use the bathroom, okay? And y’all wash your hands afterward.”
The boys race away, and I watch Paige watch them.
She has a wistful smile on her face. “They’re beautiful, Rhett. They look so much like you.”
I take her hand in mine. “Thanks for being so patient with them. They’ll warm up to you.”
“Don’t worry about me. They’ve been through so much. I just want to make this easy for them. Who watches them during the day? They can stay with me if you need them to.”
“Wayne’s wife Pauline babysits while I’m working, but she might like a break once in a while.”
“I’d love that.” She gives me a smile that reaches her eyes. “I should get dressed.”
As she walks away, my eyes linger on her legs that I’ve been fantasizing about for the last week.
Although I’m grateful we didn’t fuck at the cabin, because that would’ve made things more complicated than they already are, I can’t stop thinking about the what ifs. What if I hadn’t had my phone with me and we’d continued things back in the cabin? What if I’d pulled her on my cock and fucked her till she screamed my name?
What if we’d simply carried on like a normal married couple once we got home?
Guess I’ll never know.
I’ve got Austin in my arms while Gabriel walks on one side of me with his finger hooked in my belt loop. Paige, who’s at least two feet away, strolls next to me.
Main Street isn’t all that busy at this time of the afternoon, but a few people look at us funny.
“Darling, come here.” I hold open my free arm, and she realizes what I need and scoots closer.
“Sorry,” she whispers. “I don’t want to intrude on your time with the boys.”
Stopping, I turn to her. “Wildflower, no matter what happens, you’re family. You and Danny have always been family, you hear me?” Because I hope she realizes that just because we get divorced in a few months doesn’t mean I won’t be there for her.
She bites her bottom lip and nods.
I grab her hand and tug her closer. “This okay?”
“Yes.” Her lips twitch in what I think might be a smile.
When we reach Scoops, I catch our reflection in the window. Me and the boys and sweet, lovely Paige. It makes me think about what Sylvia said. That I could be happy in love if I do shit differently.
But what does that mean? I’ve been in this grind on the ranch for years. If I let up, everything’s gonna fall apart. Even before my father got sick and retired, the responsibility to keep our family afloat fell on me, especially after he disowned Isaiah.
I guess I need to be grateful. My brother has had a worse time of things than I have.
“Rhett, are you okay?” Paige asks softly.
“Yeah. Sorry, just got a lot going on.”
She’s such a good woman. And damn, I swear she somehow gets more beautiful every day. My little wife’s wearing a white floral dress and some sneakers. No one should look that sexy in sneakers.
An image of us at the cabin flashes in my mind. Paige naked and wet and writhing in my lap in the hot tub lives rent free in my head.
Not the time or place, dumbass.
I open the door. “After you.” Once she enters, the boys and I follow. I yell out a greeting to the woman behind the counter. “Hey, Mabel!”
“Howdy, Rhett,” she says. She sees Paige and grins. “Hey, stranger. It’s been a while.”
“Hi, Mabel. It’s so nice to see you.”
I think they went to high school together.
Mabel leans over the counter to wave to the boys. “What can I get y’all?”
Once we order our cones, we sit in the corner. I set Austin on my knee because he’s not quite himself yet. Gabriel and Paige sit on either side of me.
She takes a lick of her dessert, and suddenly, I’m thinking of other things she’s licked.
I clear my throat. “Paige, you should have your insurance soon. Let’s get your physical therapy scheduled.”
“Thank you. I’m really grateful to have that.”
“We’ll get you whatever you need to get back in top form. I should have that loan deposited by the end of the week, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” I dropped off the signed contract to Harlan on the way here.
The bell over the door rings, and I look up to find Paige’s stepmother, Irma. I’m instantly pissed off knowing she put Paige on the street.
“Incoming,” I mutter. “Boys, here’s some money. Go get a pint of something for your uncles.”
They hop out of their chairs and race to the counter as Irma approaches our table.
She barely glances at Paige. “Why, Rhett Walker, it’s been an age.”
I saw her two weeks ago at the grocery store. “How’s it going, Irma?”
“I was just wondering when you and the boys were gonna come over for dinner. Ty would love to see you.”
Most notably absent from that invitation is my wife.
Paige looks like she wants to curl in on herself. After I scoot my chair back, I grab her hand and tug her into my lap. “Irma, did you hear I got hitched?” I kiss my wife’s temple, and Paige turns a beguiling shade of pink.
“I mean, I heard, but I figured it had to be a rumor.” She looks like she just sucked on a lemon. “I never figured you’d be dating someone so young.”
I scratch my chin. “Wasn’t Paige’s father ten years older than you?”
Paige snorts. “Fifteen years older.”
Irma rolls her eyes. “That was a different time.”
“You still hoarding all those dogs?” I ask because it’s time to cut the crap.
Her mouth drops open. “We’re not hoarding them. We’re breeding them.”
“Do you have a license to do that? Because as far as I know, you’re only allowed five animals unless your property is zoned for agriculture.” She huffs, but I cut her off before she spouts more nonsense. “I’m just thinking you should be nicer to my wife, seeing as how she’s trying to get her bearings in Wild Heart. I’d hate for people to give her a hard time again like they did when she was in high school when some asshole shared my private business with the whole town.”
She pales. “Why… why… I’d never do such a thing.”
“Good to hear it.”
Irma starts to shuffle backwards. “Well, I’d better go. I saw you in the window and just wanted to say hi.”
“Wait. Don’t you want to congratulate my wife on our marriage before you take off?” I ask, just to be a dick.
Her expression goes flat. “Congratulations, Paige. Looks like you got what you always wanted.”
Paige flings her arms around my neck and kisses me. With a huge grin, she looks at her stepmother. “Damn straight I did.”
Fuck, I like this woman.