Chapter 10
Jakob
After going into work for a couple hours on my day off, because there was a mix-up with my paycheck and I had to redo some paperwork, I came home hoping to spend some time with Rhett.
Though Hansel only had six months until heading to university and the relationship with Rhett was brand new, I’d spent the previous week wondering if I could take Hansel and Rhett in.
Helga was horrible, and they deserved better after losing both parents.
Rumors at work were about how the Hinders only got to stay in the bigger cabin rent-free—and Helga at her job in the office—because she had threatened to sue. She blamed Holzhauer for Noah’s injuries and deteriorating state.
Despite the recent funeral, and the newness of us, I wanted to date Rhett. I was hoping to talk to him about the possibility of moving in with me, Helga be damned.
Except, Rhett wasn’t home. No one was home.
Hansel had been bringing Rhett along to school to look for jobs a few times, but Rhett said he’d be home all day. Plus, it wasn’t a school day, and most businesses were closed on Sunday. My boss had made me come in so I didn’t have to wait longer to be paid.
Helga wasn’t at the office, but her car was gone, and it had been there when I left.
It was all a mystery and something about it had me on edge.
Opening social media, even though I rarely went on those sites outside of checking up on my family, I found Hansel’s page. It wasn’t set to private, and I could see the most recent picture was of Rhett. He looked a little surprised and a lot sexy with his windswept brown hair and blue eyes reflecting the clear sky.
Checking him out, I almost missed the sign in the background for a trail. I tapped the location Hansel had tagged, and saw it was a lightly forested area where a lot of people went for hikes about twenty minutes up the road. The picture was posted a few hours before and had a bunch of hashtags underneath.
The picture was captioned: Hitting the trails for a boost of happy endorphins with my big brother and evil stepmother. Only an evil person would suggest hiking… #exceriseisgoodforyou #foresttrail #brothertime
Evil stepmother, indeed. Zooming in on the picture again, I saw the front end of Helga’s red car in the frame.
Could Helga have taken the brothers for a hike?
The idea seemed outside of her capabilities, since it felt like a caring thing to do and she was far too narcissistic for those kinds of notions. Still, the evidence was right there.
Though it went against everything I knew about the woman, she had actually done something nice.
Sighing, I realized a part of me was disappointed, because one of my main arguments to move Rhett in with me was Helga’s cruelty. This was the opposite, and hard to reconcile with the woman I knew. Still, if she was going to put in an effort to be there for Rhett and his brother, I should let her.
Truthfully, I wanted Rhett in my arms all the time. I didn’t want to sneak around to avoid Helga’s dirty looks and attempts to ban me from seeing him. She wasn’t my boss and he was an adult.
There was something about the young man that made me want to protect him and encourage his own inner fire. I could tell he had it in him, only it had been trampled down from years of Helga’s abuse.
Rhett didn’t need me to take in his brother too, but they were a package deal. While Rhett could act as a guardian to Hansel, legally, I sensed that he still felt more brotherly. Rhett had to be responsible for too long, taking care of his sibling and the house when their mother passed, then of his father in recent years.
I could be his shoulder to lean on.
Scrolling further back on Hansel’s social media posts, I found pictures and captions from before their father got sick. He was a tall, bearded man, with Hansel’s square jaw and Rhett’s bright blue eyes.
Never having met the man when he was alive, I went down a bit of a rabbit hole. Hansel had a social media presence back to a couple years before Helga came into the picture. Their father looked thinner and more tired after the time I knew he had an injury at work, but it had nothing on after the pictures of a small civil ceremony in which he married Helga.
One thing I didn’t see much of was pictures of Rhett further back. It was as if Hansel had scrubbed all evidence of the brothers before Rhett started dressing more masculine and cut his hair short.
Rhett and I had discussed his transition to the boy he always felt like inside, but I hadn’t wanted to ask prying questions. I liked him as a person, and couldn’t get enough of his whimpers when I kissed him, so I didn’t care about his hormones or what his genitals were shaped like.
Rhett had seemed surprised when I’d told him I didn’t need to know unless he wanted to share. I got the impression a lot of rude people asked invasive questions. I didn’t want to be one of them.
Deciding to read to pass the time, I took a seat in the chair outside my cabin and kept an ear out for a car arriving next door. The sun was high in the sky, and caught my attention when it got far enough west to pass my roof overhang.
Pulling out my phone, I saw it had been over four hours since I’d gotten home. The family still wasn’t back.
More concerning was that Hansel hadn’t replied to any comments or added any more pictures on social media. He rarely went an hour without making his presence known, from what I’d seen, and I started to worry again.
While Hansel was healthy-looking, Helga and Rhett were all on the smaller side, and I’d never seen any of them so much as run. Rhett was a hard worker, but mostly did things with his hands. Hansel spent all of his time sitting for lectures, studying at home, and scrolling on his phone. Helga, I’d never seen without heels and a full-face of makeup.
None of them were up for hours of hiking, even in the mild autumn weather. Had they brought enough water? Food? Worn appropriate clothing and shoes? What if they got lost without cell service for their GPS?
Nope. I couldn’t sit still any longer.
Throwing my boots back on, I filled up a few bottles of water and grabbed a couple granola bars, just to be on the safe side. I had other survival things in my truck, in case I’d ever gotten stuck in a snow storm up north. I would find the brothers and make sure they were alright, and I’d even help Helga… unless this was all her fault.
My mind couldn’t help blaming her, though I hoped I was overreacting.
On the highway, I thought I saw her red car on the other side, but it went by too fast to be sure. I took a deep breath and reminded myself there were no predators out during the day and they couldn’t have died from dehydration in less than half a day.
Rhett—and Hansel—would all be alright. I knew it. Because I wouldn’t allow any other result.