14. AVERY #2
I continue rinsing the dishes and piling them on the side, trying to ignore the fact that he’s standing on the other side of the dishwasher looking at me as though he expects me to fall apart. Maybe I would if he wasn’t standing there, but with him near everything feels like it might be okay.
Rather than putting the glass I’m rinsing back down on the side, I hold it out to him. Like a peace offering.
“You told me to let you help me. Staring isn’t helping, Doc.”
“I enjoy staring at you.” His entire demeanor changes, as though I’ve given him the okay to breathe.
“That’s kind of creepy.”
“I guess it is. You can add creep to my list of traits, sunshine.”
My heart sputters at his words and the lopsided smirk on his face.
Everything inside me vibrates, and I feel something other than fear and trepidation.
All my worries sink somewhere into the distance.
In longer than I can recall, the sound of my racing heart isn’t making me sick to my stomach.
There’s no dread, only him, with his bust lip and bruised knuckles.
Exactly like it has since our conversation, Jo’s words echo around my head. He would do anything for you, but you’ve got to trust him and let him in.
Rhett takes the glass from me, and as I watch him slot it into the tray, I ask, “Why do you call me sunshine?”
The long strands of his hair fall in front of his eyes, and I can hardly resist the urge to brush it back. My hands are aching to touch him and feel the scratch of his stubble on my skin along with the warmth of his flesh and the hardness of his muscles.
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” he laughs, and I freeze.
I don’t know if it was seeing Carl today, or whether somewhere in the back of my mind I still believe that he can make good on that one threat. My breath hitches awkwardly before I compose myself.
Awareness dawns on his face. It hits him so hard that his entire body stiffens. “Shit. Fuck…Avery…”
“It’s okay.”
He takes a deep breath, snapping his mouth shut along with his eyes.
Scrubbing his hands along his face, he turns and walks away like he did earlier.
Cold assaults me, an instant loss that rampages through me.
The only feeling trampling through me is fear that if he walks away, he won’t ever come back. That thought is enough to gut me.
“No, Rhett, wait!” I start after him through the partly open concertina doors at the back of the house, following down the porch steps. “Doc!”
I pause beside him in front of the water, listening to him breathe so hard that the rasp vibrates through me.
Rhett shoves his hands into the pockets of his shorts.
The warmth from his closeness is so welcome.
So needed. I crave it so damn much. The way it makes me feel.
I’m not alone when he’s near. He doesn’t understand that I’ve been in so many places, surrounded by so many people, and been so terribly alone. But not with him.
“It really is all right,” I murmur into the dark night.
The moon is behind the clouds along with the stars, and the only light is cast from the house. It’s so still out here that the sounds from the crickets and the birds and the mice—all the critters I can’t see—are magnified.
“No, Avery,” Rhett expels with his bated breath while he turns to see me. “It’s not okay. It’s not all right. Or fine.”
In the darkness I can’t see his movement as clear, and when his hand cups my face, I relax. The wave of warmth courses through my body, shocking my heart into overdrive, knotting my stomach with need, turning my knees into jelly.
“There is nothing acceptable about anyone hurting you. Ever.”
Fragments of diluted light flicker through his eyes.
He’s so close that I can smell the lightly musky, citrus tang of his cologne.
Rhett’s gaze locks on mine, searing deep, and something inside me gives.
It grows hot and promising, flowering in my chest until it feels so full that my lungs ache.
My heart beats wildly with so much possibility that I might combust.
“But you can joke…you can touch me. I’m not afraid of you—it’s all an impulse that—” I stop, unable to catch my breath.
Without breaking our stare hold of each other, he draws me to him as he steps closer, pulling me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me tightly.
Neither of us moves or speaks. But there is a switch that flips inside me, making me very aware that I am a woman and he is a breathtaking, beautiful man. And he is holding me without any expectation. And it feels better than anything I’ve ever felt.
Time stops and everything fades—it’s just me and him—and I can’t help but ask myself why I asked for time.
Why was I so frightened to believe that maybe I am as different to him as he is to me?
“I lost my shit today, and I’ve spent all afternoon hoping that I hadn’t scared you away.” Rhett lifts my face to his.
We’re so close that his breath licks over my lips, making me thirsty for him. Taking his hand in mine, I bring it to my mouth, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.
“No one has ever thrown down for me. Ever.” I stroke over his hand with my lips. “I was so angry, and I wanted him to feel at least a whisper of the pain he put me through. I’ve been waiting and waiting for him to show up, and I thought I was ready to see him, but now I’m on edge.”
“I called Rowan. He has Jesse and another of his guys keeping an eye on the ranch, and a PI looking out for Carl in DC. Adrian’s apparently one of the best, and he trusted him with Callie.” He kisses my forehead, sweeping his thumb over my lips. “So I know I can trust him with you.”
“Jesse is Alison’s husband, right? I remember Callie asking something about him on the phone to her before.”
“Yeah, he’s spent a lot of time here after he returned from Afghanistan.”
“Oh.”
“He got injured pretty bad, but he knows this place inside out. If he’s watching, I know you and Iris are safe.”
The intensity in his eyes takes me aback. Even in the muted light, it’s burning so damn bright.
“I’m sorry I flinched—it really was a reflex. The only thing that scares me about you is…this.” Placing my hand on his chest, I rest my head over it. “It’s not only me, Rhett.”
“I know that Iris is a part of you, Avery. I’ve known it from the beginning, and although I’ve made some dubious decisions in the past, I’m not a stupid man.”
“No, you’re a great doctor. The best, I’ve been told.”
“I’d say whoever told you that is an intelligent guy.” With a kiss to the tip of my nose, he wraps his arm around me and guides me back to the house. “You know, I think Jo’s right. You might be the easiest soul in the world,” he tells me when we reach the kitchen.
“What makes you think that?”
“She got her shotgun out for you. The last person that caught sight of it still crosses the street when they see me.”
“She had it coming,” Jo states with a gruff edge to her voice before looking at Rhett and telling him, “I think our girl likes her new room.”
Looking between them, I’m greeted with conspiratorial grins. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Since you’re staying and all, we need to get you settled in.” Jo shrugs, leaning on her stick.
A wicked grin splits her face, and it’s so infectious that I can’t help but mirror it. “You don’t need to—”
“Please,” she cuts me off, winking at Rhett again. “I can’t in good mind let you live with the Wild Thornberrys.”
“The what?”
“It’s a crazy-ass cartoon Caleb used to watch when he was little.” Rhett heads back to the sink and starts putting the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher.
“Oh.”
“I read her a story and tucked her in,” Jo calls while she backs away, leaving Rhett and me alone as she disappears in the direction of her bedroom.
“Want to help, sunshine?” He holds a glass out to me with the broadest smile I think I’ve ever seen on his face.
Even with a bust lip, he’s handsome as all hell. With his dark blond hair falling in front of his eyes, and a confidence that radiates naturally from within, he is totally breathtaking.
The butterflies in my belly flutter wildly, making me squirm as I take the glass from him and place it in the dishwasher.
“Feel free to hum too. I’m getting really fond of the Care Bears.”
He teases and I laugh. Maybe Iris is right—Rhett makes me happier than I’ve been in a very long time. Even with the storm brewing overhead.