Chapter 39 Violet
VIOLET
Rhett is discharged from the hospital a couple of hours later, and we bundle him back up and get him in the jeep to go home. His wrist is splinted, and he’s under strict instructions to try not to move it for the next month.
When we got those instructions, Sawyer snorted and rolled his eyes, giving me a look that said he was already dreading trying to keep Rhett from making his injury worse.
For the moment at least, Rhett isn’t fighting any of it. He lets us drive back to my house and get him set up on the couch. The drugs gradually start wearing off, and the clarity returns to his eyes.
He’s obviously fine, getting back to his old self, but it’s still so hard to get the image of him getting hit by that car out of my head.
It makes me want to be doubly sure he’s fine, and I spend the rest of day doting on him, making tea and fixing him a plate when we order dinner.
Lennox and Sawyer tease me about it, but I can tell they understand why I’m doing it.
I can’t help but realize how truly attached to these men I’m getting. When I saw Rhett get hit, I felt it all the way down to the pit of my stomach. If it had happened to either Sawyer or Lennox I would feel the same way.
They matter to me now, and that means I can’t bear to see them hurt. Especially considering how far they’ve come. They have their relationships with each other back, or at least the beginnings of it, and the thought of one of them being badly hurt or worse makes my heart ache.
Sawyer takes over Rhett’s usual job of keeping the fireplace stocked with wood and the house cozy, which Rhett grumbles about.
“I feel useless,” he says, lifting his splinted wrist.
“You’re not useless, you’re hurt,” I insist. “There’s nothing wrong with taking a break so you can heal. Sawyer can make the fires, and we have plenty of wood thanks to you.”
“Sawyer’s building the fire wrong,” Rhett says.
Sawyer rolls his eyes. “That doesn’t make any sense. There’s a fire happening, right?” He gestures to the small fire trying to catch in the fireplace. “So how can it be wrong?”
“Because you’re not giving it enough room to breathe. It’s going to smother itself like that.”
“Oh my god, fine. How should I be doing it, oh Guru of the Fireplace?”
Rhett gives him a lecture on how to arrange the wood and kindling for best effect, and Lennox smiles down at his phone, clearly amused by his brothers’ antics.
If it weren’t for the fact that Rhett’s still banged up, it would be the perfect evening.
It gets late, and eventually we decide it’s time for bed.
I lean into Rhett’s good side, touching his arm. “Will you sleep in the bed with me tonight?” I ask him.
He smiles down at me, going to raise an eyebrow and then wincing when the movement pulls on his stitches. “Don’t want me out of your sight?”
“Something like that.” It’s true, but it’s not the only reason.
Lennox and Sawyer are watching, but neither of them say anything against it. Maybe they realize that Rhett needs the closeness tonight but probably wouldn’t ask for it himself. Maybe they realize that it’s definitely partially for me, too.
Either way, they bid us goodnight, and I take Rhett to bed with me. We arrange ourselves so I’m tucked against his good side, and his wrist can be propped up on a pillow.
“Is this okay?” I whisper in the darkness.
“You don’t have to worry so much, Tink,” he replies. “I’m going to be fine.”
“I know, I just don’t want to make it worse.”
“You couldn’t if you tried.” He reaches up and ruffles my hair. “Get some sleep.”
“That’s my line. You’re the one who got hurt.”
“Oh, I’m gonna pass out any second now. It’s been a long ass day and the painkillers I took after dinner are kicking in.”
I lean up on one arm and drop a careful, gentle kiss to his lips. They curl against mine in a smile, and he presses his forehead against mine when I pull back.
It only takes about five minutes for him to drop off to sleep, and surprisingly, I’m not far behind.
When I wake up again, it’s morning.
Rhett stirs next to me, and I hear him make a grunt of what I can only assume is pain.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Fine. Fucking forgot about the wrist for a second and hit myself in the head with the splint.”
I cover my mouth to hide my giggle.
“I feel better though. My head is clearer. I didn’t like being all woozy yesterday.”
“That’s good then. And your arm?”
“Still hurts, but I can manage.”
We take our time getting up, and by the time we make it out to the living room, Sawyer and Lennox are already awake. Lennox is in the kitchen making breakfast, and Sawyer has coffee ready in my fancy coffee machine.
“Take your pills, Rhett,” Lennox says, once we’ve eaten.
Rhett makes an irritated noise. “They’re going to make me drowsy.”
“You don’t have anything to do but rest today. And if you don’t take them, you’re just going to get grouchy from the pain.”
“I don’t get grouchy.”
“Sure you don’t,” Lennox and Sawyer say at the same time.
Sawyer smirks. “Remember when he broke his leg?” he asks Lennox.
“God, he was such a terrible patient. I really thought Mom was going to tie him to the bed at one point.”
Rhett rolls his eyes. “That was your fault, Sawyer. You don’t get to be upset about the consequences.”
Sawyer gives me a look that clearly says ‘see what I mean?’ and I grin, enjoying the tone their brotherly banter has taken on these days.
A few minutes later, there’s a knock on the door, and Lennox goes to answer it. He comes back with Isabelle and Andrew in tow.
“What are you two doing here?” I ask, trying not to sound immediately annoyed. It’s like they knew we were enjoying our morning and had to come ruin it.
“I heard Rhett got hit by a car,” Andrew says. “I wanted to come make sure he was okay.”
“We were very concerned,” Isabelle adds.
I fight the urge to roll my eyes and paste on a smile instead. “That’s really nice of you.”
“Of course it is,” Isabelle replies, tossing her hair. “We’re about to be family, after all. And family checks in on each other. I had a nail appointment this morning, but I canceled it when I heard what happened. I just had to come right over.”
“Right. Well, sorry you can’t get your nails done.”
“Oh, I rescheduled for later.”
“Of course.” I keep the smile in place, wondering if secretly Isabelle is fuming that Rhett getting hit by a car has taken even more of the spotlight off her.
She’ll do a lot to stay the most important person in the room, but I don’t think she’s going to walk into traffic right before her wedding so she has a better injury story.
That would be dramatic, even for her.
“What happened?” Andrew asks.
Sawyer tells the story of what happened, playing it up a bit for dramatic effect. “Rhett shoved Violet out of the way, and then shielded Lennox and me with his body like some kind of big stupid hero.” He grins, softening the words. “It was crazy, but actually really brave.”
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Rhett insists. “I saw the car coming, and I wasn’t just going to stand there and let you get hit.”
Andrew’s eyebrows climb into his hairline, and Isabelle smiles, but it looks a bit like she swallowed a lemon.
“That’s so sweet of you, Rhett,” she says. “Protecting your family like that.”
“And Violet,” he adds.
“Right. And Violet.”
It’s interesting, watching her digest that. Andrew would never in a million years shield anybody from an oncoming car with his body. It wouldn’t even occur to him to do it. More likely, he would get himself out of the way and then be standing there looking silly when Isabelle got hit.
Maybe Isabelle is starting to realize that Andrew isn’t the catch she thought he was. He’s got certain things going for him, but when compared with his brothers, it’s hard not to notice all the things he lacks.
He’s nowhere near as protective and thoughtful as they are, and it must be hard to see that in real time.
Either way, I can’t really feel too bad about it. Isabelle did just swoop in and snatch up Andrew as soon as we had broken up. Whatever happens because of that is on her.
I zone out a little while Andrew talks to his brothers, and when I look up, Isabelle has come to stand in front of me.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asks. “In private?”
“Oh. Sure?” I can’t think what she could want to talk about, unless it’s got something to do with the wedding and more favors she wants from me. But it’s more likely that she would have just announced that in front of everyone so she could have the attention back on her.
We get up and go into the kitchen, leaving the four men in the living room.
“What’s up?” I ask, hoping she’ll get to the point quickly.
“So, I found out something interesting,” she says, a weird smile on her face. “Did you know Grandma wanted to give me the building your bakery is in?”
I freeze, already not liking the way this is going. “Yes,” I say slowly. “But you didn’t show any interest in it, so she left it to me instead.”
“Right, but the thing is, the building was actually put into my name.”
“What?”
“She left it to you, but legally, it’s mine.”
My blood runs cold. “What are you talking about, Isabelle?”
She smiles and pulls a document out of her purse. “See here?”
I scan it quickly, and my stomach drops out when I see that she’s right. Apparently our grandmother didn’t transfer the building out of her name after she changed her mind about giving the business to Isabelle.
“You… you didn’t want it,” I tell her. “You had no interest in it.”
“That was then, Violet. I’ve grown up since then.” She gives me a sad little smile. “I know you’ve made it your own now, but it’s really not fair for you to keep something from me that was supposed to be mine, is it?”
“Supposed to be yours?” My voice rises a little, and I know I sound borderline hysterical, but I really can’t believe this is happening.
Isabelle just nods. “I mean, if you think about it, it’s kind of perfect, right? I’m getting married, and it’s the perfect time to start my own business. Maybe I’ll even ask you for some tips.” She laughs, like it’s an absurd thing to say.
She keeps chattering on about it, talking about all the different things she could do, but her voice has faded into a background hum. All I can really hear is my blood rushing in my ears as my heart pounds.
My breathing comes faster and faster, but it feels like I’m not getting any air at all.
Everything I’ve worked for. Everything I’ve built on my own, with no help from my family, about to be ripped away from me because of a technicality.
If my grandmother were still alive, she could fix this, but she’s gone.
The only member of my family that I could trust is dead, and my dreams are about to be buried right alongside her.
I desperately gulp for air, staggering away from Isabelle.
“Please, stop!” I gasp. “Oh my god.”
“Violet?” I hear one of the guys call my name.
All of them come into the kitchen, and immediately Lennox, Rhett, and Sawyer can tell something’s wrong.
Andrew rolls his eyes. “Oh wow, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a Violet freak out. I thought maybe you had finally chilled out.” He looks at his brothers. “She likes to overreact to things. It’s not a big deal.”
“I don’t think you get to decide what’s a big deal to her,” Lennox snaps. “And if that’s how you act when someone you used to care about is clearly in distress, then I feel bad for your future wife.”
“She’s having a panic attack.” Sawyer’s tone is deadly serious. “And if you can’t be useful, then you can get the fuck out.” He comes over to me, putting his hands on my shoulders as his voice softens. “Hey. What happened, Peaches? Can you tell me what happened?”
“She’s just being dramatic,” Isabelle says, talking louder. “I told her something she didn’t want to hear, so now she’s throwing a fit.”
“That’s it,” Rhett bites out, drawing himself up. “Time to go.”
“What?”
“It’s time. For you. To get out.” He enunciates each word, raising a hand to point for emphasis. “You’re not helping, and this is obviously your fault. So get the fuck out.”
He doesn’t back down until they’re gone, and I hear the front door slam behind them. Then he comes back, joining his brothers as they hover around me.
“What can we do?” he asks.
I shake my head. I don’t know how to answer them. I can’t breathe properly, and my head is spinning. I just keep thinking that I’m losing everything. Isabelle always wins, and even this, the one thing I thought I could never lose to her, is about to be snatched away from me.