Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Brynlee
Leaning back on my heels, I wipe my forehead with the back of my wrist and peel off the yellow gloves I wore to scrub the clawfoot bathtub.
I loved the beautiful thing until it took two hours to scrub away the stains and calcium buildup.
It’s vintage and gorgeous, and now that it’s clean, I’m not so upset about the work that went into it.
“I never want to scrub anything that hard ever again,” I say and let out a long breath.
It’s like I’ve just done an intense workout, but that likely has more to do with the lack of air conditioning in my house right now. There’s no power in the master bedroom or bathroom, either, so luckily, the windows provide enough sunlight to not need them. Yet.
When the doorbell rings, I stand and stare at my reflection in the mirror with wide eyes.
I look terrible. My hair’s thrown up on the top of my head with a clip, and what little makeup I put on this morning has been wiped away with the sweat.
Not to mention the clothes I’m wearing are the grungiest I own.
Mama would be horrified if company saw me like this.
In fact, she’s probably rolling over that I look like this at all.
“Calm down,” I say. “I can’t change how people see me, and if they don’t like me because I’m a sweaty mess while moving and cleaning my house, there’s not much I can do about it.”
But no one will like you. This is why you must be presentable at all times. Game face on, always. Mama’s voice never seems to stray too far, but I shake it off and walk to the front door.
Opening it, I smile when I see Rhett on the porch, but I’m horrified to let him see me this way. “Oh, hi, Rhett.”
“Hey, Brynlee. I tried callin’, but you didn’t answer. I wasn’t sure if it was okay to just stop by or not, but I thought you might want the list of things to order for the system you asked for,” Rhett says and hands me a couple of pieces of paper.
I try to ignore the way our hands graze as I take the list, and I hope he doesn’t notice how I steal glances at his appearance. His biceps in the T-shirt he wears has a strange effect on me I didn’t expect. Or maybe it’s just the heat.
Wait, he tried calling? I didn’t hear my phone. Slapping my forehead, I sigh. “I’m charging my phone in the kitchen and forgot it on the counter while I cleaned the bathroom.”
He gives me a small nod and enters when I remember my manners and step aside. His brows lift as his brown eyes captivate me. “It’s a little stuffy in here.”
“I know,” I groan. “The air conditioner isn’t working.
It just blows hot air, and I’m not sure if it’s related to why I don’t have any electricity in the bedroom and bathroom or not.
The electrician can’t come out until tomorrow, and I’m starting to think I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and just melt away. ”
“Care if I take a look?” he asks, reminding me how he asked the same thing before looking at my car two days ago.
“Please.” I’d do just about anything to get cool air flowing through the house.
“Any idea where the utility closet is?”
He doesn’t live here, Brynlee. “Oh, yes, this way.”
I lead him around the stairs to the laundry room combined with the utilities. It’s rather convenient for me, actually. Not quite as convenient as having the washer and dryer in the closet like my last place, but at least it’s not in the basement.
Rhett opens the door on the gray box on the wall, and he flips two switches, a popping sound echoing in the quiet air.
“Bedroom and bathroom should have power now. Somethin’ must’ve tripped it.
I’m not an electrician, but I think you should be good there.
This looks a little strange, though. I know your grandparents had work done within the last ten years or so. ”
“Maybe it has to do with the renovations to the bedroom and bathroom. As beautiful as the house is, I doubt the walk-in closet and steam shower are original to the eighteen hundreds. Or central air,” I say with a chuckle.
Smirking, he nods. “Knowin’ your grandparents, they probably hired an apprentice to give him experience. They were like that.”
My eyes widen, and my smile grows as hope fills me. “You knew them? My grandparents?”
“A town this small pretty much means we know everyone. I didn’t know them well, but well enough. Mom and Pop probably did, though.”
I swallow as I push down my disappointment. “I hope I can find someone who knew them. I didn’t get a chance to, and now they’re gone. With no other family, this house is really all I have left of anyone.”
He gives me a sad smile and nods. “I’ll check with my parents. They’ll know who to talk to at the very least. But first, I’m goin’ to check out the air conditioner. I honestly don’t know how you haven’t passed out yet.”
You’d be surprised what I can weather.
Grabbing two glasses I’d washed after finding them in the cabinets, I pull out a pitcher of sweet tea from the fridge.
One of the few things Mama kept from her time in the South was her love of the sugar drink.
And she made sure I knew how to make it properly. The one indulgence she allowed herself.
I wait for him to come back inside, and I think about what I figured out last night in bed. The thing about Rhett that calls to me is his kindness. The nice guy. There’s nothing he expects for his generosity, and it’s extremely attractive.
While his looks aren’t what I’d conventionally go for, I know from personal experience there’s more to someone than looks.
Not to mention the fact that my luck with men has been highly unsuccessful.
Hence the reason I’m standing in the kitchen of a house with broken air conditioning rather than sitting in a penthouse in Chicago planning a wedding.
The vent on the floor by my feet rattles, and the cold air hits my bare ankles. After a few moments, it’s not just cool but cold. Really cold.
Rhett walks back inside, and I hand him one of the glasses. “You are my hero, Rhett Dillon. If I wasn’t so gross right now, I’d kiss you. I really think I was about thirty minutes away from melting like a snowman come spring.”
The smile he gives me makes my stomach flutter, and I can’t help but imagine what it would be like to kiss him. Would his beard tickle my chin? Is it soft or scratchy?
“It was pretty easy. Plus, now you don’t have to waste your money on a service call. Let Clint know you don’t need him to stop by anymore. He’ll ask you who helped, but tell him it was a neighbor. He’ll be annoyed as all get out if he knows I was the one who cost him a call.”
“You know this Clint?”
“Kind of. He’s one of my older brothers.”
I laugh. “I won’t rat you out to your brother. Not after all the help you’ve given me in such a short amount of time.”
“Rat me out? Yeah, you’re definitely from Chicago. All those mobsters out there,” he says, his drawl deepening for effect that makes me laugh.
“I’m actually from Ohio, originally. Mama always wanted to go to New York City, but she found herself pregnant with me. She had to give up her dreams, and we went west instead of east.”
Sipping the tea, Rhett’s eyebrows shoot up, and a nervous pit forms in my gut. “Wow.”
“What? What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothin’. I just didn’t know a northern girl could make sweet tea like this.”
I let out a breath of relief. “Mama would kill me if I couldn’t make tea properly. But it’s the only thing she taught me. Honestly, I think she hoped it would make people believe I was a Southern belle. She was from Fox Trot Valley.”
“Your mom grew up thirty miles from here. What made her want to head towards the Big Apple?”
Sighing, I lean my hip against the counter as he sits on the stool in front of me. “Mama always wanted a big life. She and Daddy took off right after graduation, and she never looked back. But after having me, her body didn’t quite bounce back, so her model aspirations went up in smoke.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Tell me about it,” I say and give a small laugh.
“Because of it, her dreams got pushed onto me, and it wasn’t until recently that I realized just how much I don’t want any of it.
The life she planned out wasn’t what I wanted, and I realize that’s why I was never really happy.
Nothing she pushed me towards ever felt right. ”
“How’d your mom take your decision? She can’t be too happy you’re out here, can she?”
I sniffle and look at my glass. The tears don’t come like they would have even a month ago, but I hate the pitying looks from everyone the moment I say the words aloud.
“Mama’s probably rolling over in her grave right now.
Theoretically, of course, since she was cremated.
She may have been the one to break the AC out of spite.
I learned a long time ago to never underestimate my mama’s powers, even from beyond the grave. ”
“Oh, Brynlee, I’m so sorry,” Rhett stammers. “I didn’t mean—”
“It’s okay. We were close, but not really at the same time. I don’t know that we ever really knew each other, but I spent a lot of time trying to please her and live up to the dreams she had for me. My heart was just never in it,” I say and look up into his eyes.
He nods, and instead of pity, I see compassion. So much so that it nearly takes my breath away. “Still, can’t be easy.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I was devastated when she passed. It was, thankfully, quick. We found she was sick, and three months later, she was gone. It’s still hard, though. Even though she wasn’t always the easiest to get along with, I talked to her every day. And then suddenly, I didn’t.”
“And you have no siblings?”
Laughing, I shake my head. “No, one child was enough for Mama. She and Daddy split when I was five, and I only saw him three times after that. As far as I know, he didn’t have any other kids, and he died about five years ago in a car accident.”
“I, uh, I know. About your pops. The funeral was here,” he says. “He was one of six kids, and all six passed away before your grandparents. You’re the only grandchild on the Carmichael side.”
“On Mama’s side, too. But I didn’t know he had five siblings. They all died before my grandparents?”
It bothers me how much a man I barely know has more information about my family than I do. He grew up here, but people should know the basics about their own ancestry, shouldn’t they?
“Nope, none of them had kids but your pops. They all passed young. He was the last of them.”
“I kind of hoped I’d have cousins or something. Mama’s sister never had kids, and she passed away with her partner over ten years ago.”
“How? Car accident?”
Smirking, I shake my head. “Bungee jumping. Mama was both amused and annoyed about it. We didn’t go to her funeral, though. Or her parents’ funerals, either. Same with Jensen and Kathleen. I always had a pageant or gig, and Mama would tell me afterwards.”
“Really?”
I sigh. “Like I said, Mama had dreams for me. She knew I’d want to go to the funerals, but my career was too important to risk.”
“I’m sorry, Brynlee. Let’s stop talkin’ about that. On the bright side, we can get you a filtration system.”
“Oh, you are just a sweet talker, aren’t you?
” I say and look over the list he gave me.
“I haven’t figured out an internet provider yet, and my laptop is buried in a packed box still.
I can do it on my phone, though.” He smirks at me when I glance up, and I shake my head, mirroring his smirk.
“Okay, I hear how ridiculous that sounds considering how many items you have here. Don’t laugh.
It’s the first time I’ve been on my own without a landlord to take care of things. I’m kind of winging it.”
“You’re doin’ a fine job,” he says. “If you need any help, you can call. How about this? I’ll order the parts, and you can pay me back.”
The offer makes me want to wrap him up in my arms and kiss him. I’m not so sure about this constant urge around him. It’s very foreign. “Really?”
He nods and gives me one of those smiles of his that makes me melt. “I’ve already done it, and I have internet at my house. Just gotta reorder what was in my cart.”
“Gatekeeper,” I say with a laugh. “I’ll figure it out eventually.”
His eyes glance to the floor, something he’s done both times he’s been inside. “Are these floors original?”
I smile with pride as I nod excitedly. The lawyer sent me the specs for the house when he thought I’d want to sell, and they were a huge selling point.
“They’re so pretty, aren’t they? I spent the first night scrubbing them on my hands and knees.
The bedroom floors have been replaced, and they don’t quite match up, but I kind of like the imperfection. ”
“You like imperfection?”
The way he says it, like it’s ridiculous, makes my smile falter. Just like everyone else, Rhett’s made assumptions about me, likely based on my looks. “I spent my entire life trying to attain perfection, and I find it much more satisfying to let things fall where they may.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean…”
“It’s fine. I focus far too much on my own imperfections after years of conditioning, but we all have things to work on, right?” I say, chuckling to ease the discomfort.
Rhett reaches out and touches my hand on the counter. “I didn’t mean it the way it came out, Brynlee. Honest.”
“It’s okay,” I say and plaster on a smile. “Thank you for getting the air conditioning running. I don’t have to worry about melting now. You stopping by was a godsend.”
“Anytime,” he says and stands. “And I meant it when I said to call if you need anythin’.”
“Thank you.”
We walk towards the door, and he turns to give me another beaming smile that makes me swoon. “See you later, Brynlee.”
I wish I could invite him to dinner, but I have nothing to offer other than prepackaged salads. And he looks like a meat and potatoes kind of guy.
Nothing comes to mind to try and keep Rhett here to spend more time with him.
To get to know him and let him get to know me.
Beyond the pretty face. He’s so different from anyone I’ve ever met, and I want to get to know him better.
His genuine nature calls to me in a way I feel in my core.
And other unexpected body parts since our first meeting.
“I hope so,” I say to the closed door, sighing as I lean against it. Maybe one day.