Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Olivia
The feeling of Rhett’s lips on mine is electric. His touch is simultaneously gentle but passionate. The feeling of his hands on me, one around my waist, the other in my hair, is intoxicating. We pull apart for just a second, but it’s enough for reality to hit me.
Before he can lean back in, I reach a hand out to his chest, slipping out of his lap as my eyes grow round. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
His brow furrows, and he stands up. “ I kissed you . Why are you apologizing?”
“You may have been the one to lean in, but I spurred this on by telling you I wanted to kiss you.”
“I’m still not seeing the problem.” His rich laughter makes my whole body tingle.
“I know I’m trying to stay in Roots, but I haven’t checked off a single box on my to-do list yet. What if things don’t work out? I couldn’t bear to be responsible for breaking your heart again.”
He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close. With my cheek against his chest, he gently cradles the back of my head. We stand there for several moments before he tilts my chin up to meet his gaze. “I’m going to ask you something, and I need you to be brutally honest.”
I nod, anxiety swirling in my stomach. Its tendrils wrap around my lungs and gives them a squeeze.
“Do you want to stay in Roots? If you put me aside, put your parents and Callie aside… if you put your job in San Francisco, everyone else’s opinion, and what you think is truly possible out of your mind, what do you want to do?”
“I want to stay,” I mumble into his chest, barely audible. There’s no hesitation. I’ve known I’ve wanted this for a while now, but I’ve been afraid to let myself want it. I don’t want to let people down, and not being able to make it work would hurt like hell, not just for me but for all the people who care for me.
“Can you look me in the eye and say it again so that I can hear you?”
A soft smile dances on his lips as he waits for me to respond. I don’t feel rushed or pressured. I just feel safe.
“I want to stay,” I say, louder this time.
“That’s good enough for me. If that’s what you want, then you are going to get it, and we will figure it out together. You are never going to deal with hard things alone anymore.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course. I don’t know if you’ve realized it, Wildflower, but I would do anything to see you happy. Yes, I selfishly want you to stay in Roots, so we can explore what this could be, but I also just want to see you find peace and experience joy and love and laughter. Your beautiful soul deserves a beautiful life, and I would go to the ends of the earth to make that happen.”
My heart is pounding furiously. It feels like it’s about to take flight. I have never in my life heard someone say such kind things to me. That’s what’s so incredible about Rhett. He speaks, and I know every word that comes out of his mouth is genuine. He’s not saying this to manipulate me. He’s saying this because he desperately wants me to know how much he cares for me and because he wants to see me happy above all else. If I told him I wanted to go back to San Francisco, I know he would support me, even if it broke his heart.
Unsure how to convey all the emotions I’m feeling, I stand on my tiptoes, sinking my fingers into the hairline at the nape of his neck as I pull him in.
Fireworks. There’s no other way to describe the feeling of our lips touching. Together, we are vibrant, colorful, loud, and beautiful. It’s terrifying, but I can’t help the thought crossing my mind. I want to spend forever here. I want to spend forever stringing together moments like this with Rhett by my side.
* * *
Rhett absentmindedly traces circles on my leg while we lie on a blanket under the stars in the exact same spot we did over a week earlier.
“Can you answer a couple more questions for me? I’m starting to process things, and I have a lot to ask you.”
“Go ahead.”
It feels like I’m a little kid and I was just told I could have ice cream for breakfast. I’ve been dying to get to know Rhett. Now that I’ve had a little taste, I’ll never stop seeking more.
“Why did you come to Roots? I know you said you were going to come after graduation with Isabel, but—” I pause, not sure how to end my sentence.
“The circumstances changed,” he offers.
“Yeah.”
“I felt pretty lost after her death. I didn’t know what to do. In one night, my entire plan for life after college was unraveled. Roots wasn’t necessarily my first choice afterward. I didn’t think I wanted to be in a place that would remind me of Isabel, even if I hadn’t been there with her before. I knew I couldn’t go home to my parents because they were still upset with me for proposing so young. They thought I was throwing my life away, and their lack of support didn’t change after the accident. I actually think they thought her death was God’s way of teaching me a lesson for being so na?ve.”
Immediately I reach out to grab his hand. “That’s terrible.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m still working on creating a different narrative to explain why something like that would happen to such a good person.”
Hearing the way he speaks about her makes me a little jealous, and it doesn’t feel good.
I must not do a good job of hiding it because he rolls toward me, planting a gentle kiss on my forehead, then the tip of my nose, and finally my lips. “I’m sorry for talking about her so much. She was my first love, and I can’t deny that, or erase her from my past. I’ll always love Isabel, but I’m not still in love with her.” A weight lifts from my shoulders. “Our relationship was fun and uncomplicated, but I’ve moved on. I know it’s early, but I can tell you and I have something special. We’ve both shared our darkness with each other, and we still want to be together. You’ve sort of become like my best friend over the last couple months, but I also can’t keep my hands off you, and that’s pretty great.”
“I think so too.” I give him a soft smile. “Oh, wait! You still need to finish your story. You didn’t explain how you decided to come here.”
“I guess I didn’t know where I wanted to go after college. I didn’t feel like I had a home or a family. Callie and I were there for each other a lot through the grieving process, and she became a good friend to me. She convinced me to come here. She always loved Roots, and I think she needed a friend too. She told me she could be my family, that the people of Roots would take me in too. I didn’t think I had anything to lose at the point, so I came.”
He continues drawing circles. It tickles ever so slightly, but I’d be upset if he stopped. I’m in love with the feeling of his touch.
“We started the café together. She and Isabel always talked about opening one someday, and when Callie came to me for help financially, I couldn’t say no. I quickly fell into a good life that I was happy with.”
“Did it help to have Callie around? You know, since she was someone who actually knew what happened.”
“It did. Her parents moved out of Roots pretty quickly after I got into town, so we both bonded over the shared experience of losing Isabel and our parents. Callie helped me slowly realize that maybe everything that happened didn’t have as much to do with me as I thought. I have her to thank for finally getting the courage to tell you everything tonight.”
“What do you mean?”
“After we didn’t kiss the other night, I immediately went to her place to talk with her. I told her about how I was getting in my own head, and she helped me see that I could either keep denying love and be miserable or go after what I want and maybe find happiness. She encouraged me to be open with you about what happened. She said you’d be supportive.”
Realization hits me as I connect the dots. Lauren said she heard Rhett was at Callie’s late the other night. That’s why.
I roll over to lie flat on my back again, looking up at the sky. The clouds have been slowly rolling in, and it’s growing darker and darker out here.
“I’m sorry the stars aren’t better tonight.”
“It’s okay. The company is all I need.”
A droplet of water splashes down on my skin. I brush it from my cheek, giggling. Another droplet falls, this time on my arm, followed by one on my lip. Rhett leans in to brush it off with his thumb. It’s crazy how natural this already feels, even though this is all new to us.
“Were you afraid of me before?”
“What? You mean when you answered the door with a frying pan? Yeah.”
I shake my head, laughing. “No! I just got the sense you were trying to avoid me when we first met. Things didn’t feel this natural at first.”
“Of course I was afraid. The slightest brush of your skin against mine was enough to power the entire state of Texas. I was terrified of what you’d do to me. I thought if I let you in too much I’d lose control, that I’d wind up letting you in and falling in love. I was right.”
I blush, feeling a little guilty. “I’m?—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence. I don’t want an apology. You are exactly what I needed.”
Now I’m blushing for other reasons, and I don’t know what to say, but I’m saved as the gentle rain quickly turns into a downpour. My clothes soak through in seconds, and my hair turns into a sopping mop.
As I leap up, shrieking, Rhett swipes the blanket from the ground and wraps an arm around me, sheltering me from the rain as we quickly wind our way down the path back to the house.
The rain continues to soak us to the point that I can feel it in my bones. I’ve never been in such an intense downpour. The path quickly turns into a muddy mess, and as I try to shuffle through it, my foot slips. Rhett has to grab me to keep me upright. Thunder claps overhead, shaking the ground. I’ve never heard, or felt, thunder like this before. I guess the saying is true. Everything truly is bigger in Texas.
As I cower, Rhett pulls me in closer. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. We’re almost back.”
“I’m so glad we left Maverick at home.”
“Me too.”
The wind begins to pick up, swirling and howling.
“Did you know it was going to storm tonight?” I have to shout and still don’t know if he can hear me.
“I had no idea. I wouldn’t have brought you out here if I did.”
The dim light of the house comes into sight. Thank God.
We hurriedly shuffle into the house, leaving a trail of mud across the back patio and into the kitchen. I close the door with a little extra effort, and Rhett flicks the locks behind me, trapping me between his broad chest and the door.
We both take a deep breath, assessing the messes that we have become from being exposed to the elements.
I finally break the silence, swiping a bit of mud off his cheek and murmuring, “You look like a monster.”
Instantly, the look of concern on his face is wiped clean, and we burst into a fit of laughter.