Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Rhett
T he rest of the day went in a blur. Rhett hadn’t bothered to pick up the papers where they’d fallen from Charlie’s hand that morning. He’d just turned his back on them and gone back to work. He was repairing a tear in a tent’s zipper when his cousin, Cassie, strolled into the workroom.
“Lunch, Rhett?” She said with a smile, turning down the speaker he’d been blasting rock music through. She held up two paper bags. “Chicken or beef?”
He lifted an eyebrow and put aside the canvas he was stitching.
“You have to ask?”
She laughed and handed him one of the bags. “Always worth a try. People change, you know.”
Rhett knew his cousin far too well to believe this was a casual visit. He took the bag and pulled out a beef burger, closing his eyes as he breathed in the delicious aroma. He may as well enjoy the food while he waited for whatever it was she had to say.
“Didn’t eat breakfast again, huh?” Cassie asked as she watched him from her perch on the edge of a crate.
She was wearing scrubs with octopus on them today. Bright pink scrubs with rainbow colored octopus. Rhett had lost count of how many pairs she had. She maintained that as a vet she got filthy so often she had to have multiple pairs on hand at work so she would look presentable.
He thought it was just a way to appease her cartoon animal loving side.
“Cute scrubs,” he said between bites.
She smiled. “Thanks.”
They ate in silence, the sounds of the music playing softly in the background. Cassie was the youngest of the West kids, and the only girl of five—six if you counted Rhett, and they did count Rhett as a brother more than a cousin.
When they’d finished eating, Rhett took their wrappers and tossed them in the bin in the corner.
“So, what can I do for you, Cassie?”
She titled her head to one side and pursed her lips. “Who is she?”
He knew it would be about Charlie. Just one time he wanted to make a mistake in this damned town and not have everyone know it.
“Who is who?” The only reason he stayed in the same room was he knew if he didn’t, she’d just follow him, anyway. This way, the interrogation would be over quicker.
“The woman you’ve been seen with. Everyone who’s been into the surgery this week can’t stop talking about her,” she smirked. “So, who is she?”
Rhett sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “Nobody. She’s nobody.”
“Oh really? Old Errol said you had your tongue halfway down her throat and were practically fu?—”
“Hey!” It didn’t matter what was between him and Charlie, she didn’t deserve to be spoken about like that.
“Oh?” Cassie was smirking.
Little stirrer. She always did like to cause trouble with her brothers.
“Look, Cassie. She’s a Sinclair.”
Cassie’s smirk fell. “What?”
There were no secrets in the West family. They knew all about the plans of Sinclair Properties. Hell, most people in town knew, thanks to the development proposal Charlie’s father had lodged a few years ago with the council.
“Yeah, exactly. I only found out this morning when she came to offer for the land.”
Cassie pulled a face. “Oh, Rhett.”
He grimaced. “Same old same, right? Out of town women just want me for my money.” He choked out a laugh, but it was a poor attempt at humor. By the way Cassie gave him a sympathetic smile, he knew his hurt wasn’t lost on her.
“Are you sure she’s like Lisa?”
Rhett leaned back on his hands and sighed. “I don’t know what to think.”
That’s what you got for losing your heart to a summer fling, only to have her leave town after telling you quite publicly that she was too good for a crappy little town like this. That was a long time ago, but it still smarted.
“What are they offering this time?”
“No idea. I didn’t look.”
Cassie shot him an incredulous look. “Seriously? Come on, Rhett. Aren’t you curious?”
Rhett rolled his eyes. “The packet is on the floor in the shop, if you want to have a look.”
Cassie gave a whoop and hopped down off the crate, padding into the shop in the crocs she wore when not in surgery. Rhett listened to the squeak of her shoes as she made her way to the front of the shop. He picked up the canvas tent again, resuming his stitching.
“Hey, Rhett?” She said as she walked back into the workroom.
“Hmm?” He said, squinting at the seam in his hands as he stitched it together neatly.
“Did you know she’s staying in one of your cabins?”
“What?”
No way. There was no way Charlie could be staying in one of his rental cabins. Cassie laughed as she waved a piece of paper at him. He squinted at what looked like a hand-written note.
“Give it here,” he said, holding out his hand.
Cassie handed it over, laughing. “One guess to where you’ll be tonight.”
Rhett scowled at her before running his eyes over the note. She was staying in one of the cabins that he rented out through the town’s holiday letting agency.
On the exact land she was offering to buy. Of all the sneaky things she could have done.
He was on his feet and out the door, heading towards his truck before he realized where he was going.
“Want me to lock up for you?” Cassie called after him.
“Shit!” He stopped and ran a hand through his hair. He couldn’t go racing off to the cabin now. It was barely after lunch and there was no guarantee she would be there. He had her number, but damned if he was going to call her.
“No. I have bookings this afternoon.” And that was the other thing. He had a business to run.
Rhett checked his watch. He couldn’t leave for another five hours at least. It was going to be a long day.
I t was dark by the time Rhett pulled up outside Charlie’s cabin.
No, not Charlie’s cabin. His cabin. As soon as she was packed and gone, life could get back to normal.
His truck’s engine rumbled in the still air. A light flicked on over the small porch, the front door opening to reveal Charlie in leggings and a cream-colored wraparound cardigan.
Rhett turned the engine off and climbed out of the truck, not wanting to delay this confrontation. Thunder rumbled in the distance, mirroring his mood.
She’d come here to take away the one thing he loved most. The peace and quiet of Cape Wilde. That monstrous resort that he’d seen the plans to would destroy everything he held dear.
He paused at the front of his truck, the light from inside the cabin throwing her into relief. He couldn’t see her expression, but she had her arms crossed over her chest, tugging the cardigan tightly around her.
He stopped. The last thing he wanted to do was make her afraid, but how else would she feel? He was bigger than her. The cabin was in the woods with no neighbors that would hear if she screamed. And he had been very angry the last time they had spoken. Rhett ran a hand over his face, his anger deflating.
“Hi,” he said, not stepping any closer to her.
“Hi.”
The wind gusted, sending leaves blowing around his feet.
“This cabin is my favorite,” he said. “It’s where my grandfather and I used to stay when he took me fishing. On a clear day, you can see for miles out to sea.”
She nodded. “It’s a pretty spot.”
Rhett rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “Yeah.”
They’re both silent for a moment.
“What are you doing here?”
That was an excellent question. A few minutes ago he would have answered it with perfect certainty. He was there to tell her to leave and make sure she did. But now? He found he wanted to believe her. He wanted her to have not known who he was that first night. He wanted?—
He wanted her.
“Did you really not know I owned the land?”
She nodded, her eyes unwavering as they met his. “I swear I didn’t know.”
“Alright,” he said and gave a small smile. “I’m sorry for this morning. I reacted badly and I shouldn’t have.”
She nodded again, her arms relaxing so she was no longer hugging the cardigan tightly around her. Something loosened in Rhett’s chest as she returned his smile with a small one of her own.
“It’s ok. I can see how it would have looked.” She scoffed and looked away. “Though I’m the last one anyone would have chosen as a femme fatale to seduce you out of your property.”
Rhett’s confusion must have shown when she darted a look at him.
“I mean, look at you,” she waved her hand towards him, “and look at me.” She gestured down her own body.
A bolt of lightning lit up the sky, followed almost immediately by a deafening crack of thunder that made them both flinch. Rain started falling and Rhett moved without thinking, dashing towards the doorway and ushering Charlie inside.
“It’s not safe out here. Let’s get inside,” he said by way of explanation.
Anybody who spent as much time as he did outdoors knew to seek shelter when thunder followed lightning that quickly.
He stooped to unlace his boots and pulled them and his socks off, leaving them by the door, more out of something to do than habit.
“You’re right, you know,” he said. “I’m not good enough for you.”
She blinked, her mouth dropping open. “That’s not what I meant.”
“You have money, Charlie. I don’t.”
She stepped towards him, her eyes shining. “That doesn’t matter to me. It’s never mattered to me.”
Rhett ran a hand through his hair. “You can’t say it doesn’t change things.”
She sighed and turned away, shaking her head slightly. “You never said what you were doing here.”
Rhett straightened and looked around the cabin. The floor plan of the cabin was roughly square, with one room for the living and dining area, shaped like the letter L. In the corner there was a bedroom that held a cast-iron bed big enough for two. Next to it was a small bathroom with doors to both the bedroom and the main area.
Charlie curled up in one of the two overstuffed armchairs, her feet tucked underneath her legs. She must have been reading when he arrived as there was a book face down on the side table next to her chair.
“To be honest, I was coming to kick you out.”
She barked out a laugh. “Considering this cabin is yours, I’m not surprised.”
He scuffed his bare foot on the floor and looked cautiously at her. “Yeah?”
The wind howled outside, rain lashing at the windows.
“Come and sit down. I can’t imagine you’ll be going anywhere for a while.”
Rhett went to the window and peered into the dark. “This storm has come in fast.” His phone beeped, and he pulled it from his pocket, swiping at the screen to open up a weather alert with a frown.
“What’s wrong?”
Rhett took a moment to answer. “I don’t like the idea of driving in this,” he said, his voice gravelly. He stalked to the French doors that open onto the small ocean-facing deck and stepped outside.
Charlie got up to follow him and gasped as she spied the sky over the ocean. Dark and foreboding, and she shivered as the wind picked up further, sending salty spray into the air. Her hair was blown around her face, as the trees were whipped into a frenzy by the violent wind.
“So you wait out the storm out here,” she said. Lightning streaked across the sky. A roll of thunder boomed so loudly she clapped her hands over her ears and shrieked.
Rhett ushered her back inside, pulling the doors shut behind them. He cursed under his breath and raked a hand over his face. “Yeah, I’ll have to wait here.” But he didn’t sound happy about it.
“This cabin has surely weathered lots of storms,” Charlie said.
Rhett barked out a laugh, lifting his head to the ceiling and shaking his head, hands on his hips. “That’s not the problem.”
“Oh?”
“The weather service is predicting it won’t clear until morning.”
She blinked up at him. “So you’ll stay until morning.”
He stepped towards her. “You’re still not seeing the problem, beautiful.”
“So tell me.”
He hesitated before meeting her confused amber gaze. “Charlie, there’s only one bed.”