Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Rhett
T he good thing about it being the summer was that Rhett could work himself half to death to avoid thinking about Charlie with little trouble. One week turned into two, which turned into three, and the ache in his chest didn’t ease one bit.
He knew he was avoiding his family. He wasn’t answering Cassie’s calls, and hadn’t turned up for the weekly family dinner with his cousins and his aunt for over a month, using the excuse that the season was busy and he needed to work.
And he hadn’t heard a peep from Charlie.
In the first week, he thought he’d at least get a text from her to apologize. Then in the second, possibly an email. He was ashamed of the number of times he’d sat on his porch staring out across the marina, a beer in one hand and his phone in the other, thumb hovering over the ‘call’ button.
But he hadn’t called.
He had looked her up online and seen her smiling face in a corporate headshot, looking so polished and perfect that he’d known he was right. He was nowhere near good enough for her. He hadn’t looked again.
What had she seen in him? He was just a small-town guy with a rundown business and no education.
It was late one afternoon towards the end of the summer when Rhett pulled up at the back of the shop. His cousin Logan had offered to look after the shop for the day while Rhett took a group hiking, and was waiting when Rhett returned.
“About time you got back,” Logan grumbled. He grabbed his keys out of his pocket and jiggled them impatiently as he stood next to the storage shed at the back of the building.
Rhett ignored his cousin as he let down the truck’s tailgate to unpack the gear. Logan stuffed his keys back in his pocket with a sigh and came to help. He might have the reputation for being a bit of a loner, but would always pitch in to help his family. As long as he didn’t have to deal with too many people, he was happy.
The two men worked in silence like only those who have worked together for a long time can. They’d just grabbed the last of the gear from Rhett’s truck when he stopped and turned to Logan.
“Can I ask you something?”
Logan paused, hands tucked into his belt. “Sure.”
“Do you ever get lonely?”
Logan frowned, dropping his head down so the brim of his tattered ball cap obscured his face. “Yes… and no.”
“Care to explain?”
Logan grabbed the last box as Rhett packed away the straps and folded up the tailgate. Rhett knew not to push his cousin. A man of few words, he’d answer when he was ready and not a moment earlier. It was a trait Rhett usually appreciated, but right now, he was impatient.
Logan returned from putting the trunk away and pulled the door of the storage shed shut. His booted feet scuffed the worn concrete as he ambled back to Rhett.
“I like my life,” he drawled. “I had plenty of busy before…” he shrugged, a half smile on his face briefly before his face settled into its habitual scowl.
It had been such a long time ago that Rhett often forgot that Logan went to college on a football scholarship. That he’d even made the draft… and then given it all up to come back to Cape Wilde before even seeing a single NFL game. All because his family needed him.
If Logan wanted more from life, he’d go chase it.
“I like my life,” Logan said again. “I enjoy living in a place where I know what to expect. Where the seasons mean change but of a predictable type. I like living where I do.” He jerked his head towards the road out of town where the house he had painstakingly renovated over the past two years was on a wooded rise overlooking the ocean.
“I like my job. I love my family.”
Rhett nodded, and the two leaned against the truck. He tilted his head back, watching as a seabird circled overhead on the air currents, looking for its next meal. Rhett envied its simple life and its freedom.
“So you never get lonely.”
“I didn’t say that,” Logan smiled a rare smile. “I like a woman’s company. I’ve dated a time or two.”
Rhett’s mouth dropped open. “Who? When? How come this is the first I’m hearing about it?”
Logan barked out a laugh, clearly enjoying surprising his younger cousin. “I’m not someone who enjoys people knowing his business.”
“Yeah, I know,” Rhett mumbled, a bit embarrassed for having started the conversation.
“You started this conversation.” Logan elbowed him in jest.
“Are you a mind reader now?”
He smiled again and cuffed Rhett on the shoulder. “When someone asks a question like that, it’s usually because they want someone to ask them the same thing.” He shot Rhett a pointed look. “You in love with Charlie?”
Rhett choked, and Logan slapped him on the back.
“Ah well, never mind. You’ll see her soon enough, I bet.”
That stopped Rhett. “What?”
Logan gave his cousin a pitying look. “You’re not stupid, Rhett. You’ve been moping around for the last month. Before that, you were the happiest I’d ever seen you. All you could talk about was Charlie this and Charlie that.” He lifted an eyebrow. “It was kind of sickening, to be honest.”
Rhett pulled a face. “What do I do?”
“You make it up to her, idiot.”
“You just said I wasn’t stupid!”
Logan snorted. “So don’t act like it. If you love her, get her back.”
Rhett suddenly felt like he ate rocks for breakfast. “Oh.”
Logan pulled his keys from his pocket and swung them around his finger. He patted Rhett on the back with one meaty hand, sending his cousin forward.
“You just going to just mope around here hoping she gets some kind of telepathic message about how you feel?” He asked, lifting one eyebrow.
“Ouch.” Rhett winced.
“You asked, buddy. And someone needed to give it to you straight.” He shrugged and ambled over to his truck. He climbed into the driver’s seat and started it. Before he pulled away, he stopped and leaned out the window.
“Rhett?”
He turned to look at his cousin. “Yeah?”
“Sure I’m lonely. I want a family one day. But I haven’t met a woman who wants me and all this.” He waved his hand out the window, gesturing at the town. “They’re fine with me, but they want to live in a city. And as soon as they see my place, they run for the hills.” He smiled, but it was a sad smile. “I’ll give you some advice, cousin of mine.”
“Oh?” This should be good.
“Regrets eat at you like cancer. If you love her, show her every day.”
Rhett groaned, and Logan laughed at him before driving off.