Chapter 7
CHAPTER
Rhett
The Past
Late May—Fifteen Years Ago
“SO, RHETT, HOW are classes going?” Mr. Herbaugh asked without even looking at me. It was after seven and thankfully, the evening was nearly over. Drinks at the Herbaughs was always something to get through rather than enjoy.
“Good, sir. I have my final exams coming up that my teachers think I’m going to ace, so I’m not too concerned about them.”
It was all lies.
I was failing.
I was falling asleep in class and while studying. I could barely get through a paragraph in the expensive, overly wordy law books that Mr. Herbaugh had bought for me without wanting to scratch my eyes out.
I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket with an incoming message, and as was the norm recently, I knew it would be Jenn.
I was itching to read it and see what she had to say.
Even sitting here, being grilled by Clifford Herbaugh, I felt the buzzing of excited anticipation.
Knowing she was waiting somewhere to hear from me filled me with a heady power.
Jenn had a way of making me feel like I was in charge.
She looked to me to dictate the pace of our friendship.
I had never been in a position to make decisions in a relationship before, and I was finding it oddly addictive.
We had been hiking up at Jagged Point for weeks now.
Our time together felt loaded with a gradually building tension that neither of us could ignore.
I spent at least three days a week at the cliffs with her.
And when we weren’t together, we were messaging back and forth.
Sometimes our conversations were surface level, and other times I found myself telling her things I had never told anyone else, not even Lucy.
Jenn had become important to me. So important that I was becoming less patient with Lucy’s family and their heavy handedness in our lives.
Mr. Herbaugh was clearly perturbed by something I said, or hadn’t said. It didn’t take much. He had always made it obvious that he didn’t like me. That he thought Lucy could do better.
At one time it had mattered that Lucy didn’t agree with him. That she believed in me and thought me worthy. But lately, her opinion mattered less and less to me.
“Well you should be concerned—failing to prepare is preparing to fail, and having such a lax attitude will get you nowhere.”
“Oh, Dad, of course he’s studying.” Lucy laughed. She stared at me, her eyes wide as she sipped her Shirley Temple. Her unspoken communication was obvious.
Tell him what he wants to hear.
My phone vibrated again. The feeling of it against my leg was comforting. Like Jenn was there with me. Her presence was a balm for my battered ego. She made me feel better when Lucy—and her family—wore me down.
We were sitting in the living room, in front of the grand wooden fireplace.
It wasn’t lit—it wasn’t the season for it—but it was Mabel’s spot for entertaining.
Artwork hung on the walls, flowers and landscapes between portraits of long-deceased family members.
It was decorated with red maple furniture and fussy floral curtains that probably cost more than my mom’s monthly salary.
The home I shared with my mother was the complete opposite in every way, with our sagging sofa, large rug that covered the hole in the carpet, and our one luxury, the high-definition flat-screen television for my mom to watch Family Feud on during her lunch break.
My mom had never been to Lucy’s house, despite Mabel’s invitations, and I honestly never wanted her to go there.
I couldn’t wait for the day I could buy her a house just as nice as this one.
One she didn’t have to rent, but with her name on the deed.
I owed it to her to give her the one thing she could never get for herself.
I realized that Mr. Herbaugh was still looking at me expectantly, waiting for an update.
I shouldn’t need to say the words. I had made sure to tell him often enough how much his help meant to me.
How much I looked forward to following his plan for my life.
Even if saying the words felt like razor blades on my tongue.
But, as with everything with Clifford Herbaugh, he expected verbal recognition. He wanted to be told exactly what I had been doing. Exactly how hard I had been working.
Which made it all the more awkward because I was lying. I was wasting the opportunity. And all because his profession bored me to tears.
“Yes, sir, Lucy’s right. I’ve been studying nonstop, of course.” I swirled my alcohol-free old-fashioned. I didn’t know what the point of drinking it was if I couldn’t at least get a buzz. I needed one to get through this interrogation.
“Lucinda,” Mabel interrupted with a disapproving look from where she was sitting across from us. “She’s not a puppy or a doll. She’s a woman, and her name is Lucinda.”
“I like it when he calls me Lucy, Mom.” Lucy’s voice was high-pitched and nervous. I knew how hard it was for her to speak up to her parents. I should appreciate the effort she made, but honestly, this evening had exhausted me too much to care.
“If I wanted to name you Lucy, it would be on your birth certificate. I’m sure Rhett understands why it’s important to call a young lady by her proper name.” Mabel gave me a frosty smile.
“Yes, sorry, ma’am. Lucinda it is.”
We finished our drinks and the evening came to a close.
After exchanging tense goodbyes with my future in-laws, Lucy saw me out.
There was no dinner tonight, which I was thankful for.
I couldn’t sit through another hour or two of question and answer time with the Herbaughs.
I’d rather be anywhere else, preferably with Jenn Moore.
“Rhett!” Bailey came bounding down the stairs and launched herself at me. I couldn’t help but laugh as I wrapped my arms around Lucy’s sister, giving her a tight hug.
“Be careful, Bailey, you’ll hurt him jumping on him like that,” Lucy admonished.
“It’s fine, Bai. I’m big and strong. I can handle you.” I gave her a wink, making her giggle.
Lucy rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything else.
“You still want to play basketball after school tomorrow?” Bailey asked me, her eyes sparkling.
“I wish I could, but I have to study.” Truth was I planned to see Jenn at Jagged Point. We were going hiking again. I had been looking forward to it for days.
Bailey didn’t try to hide her disappointment. “But you promised,” she whined.
“Bailey, you heard him. He’s busy. Leave him alone.” Lucy scowled at her sister.
“Fine, whatever,” Bailey retorted, but I noted the sadness in her expression.
I grabbed her hand briefly. “Another time, Bai. You know I love hanging out with you.”
Her face brightened. “Okay, how about Friday?”
“Sure,” I answered, already knowing that wouldn’t happen either. But I’d make up an excuse, and she’d understand. She was just a kid, so she trusted me unconditionally.
After Bailey headed back upstairs, Lucy opened the door for me. “Do you want to do something? We could go for a drive,” Lucy suggested, her eyes hopeful.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Honestly, I’m beat and need to get some sleep. Also, I told my mom I would help her with some stuff when I got home.”
“Oh, okay.” Lucy looked hurt, and I felt guilty for lying to her. I considered taking her for a drive. We used to do it all the time. Pulling over on an out-of-the-way road to kiss and talk. We hadn’t done that for a while, and I knew it was my fault.
I had been preoccupied, primarily with thoughts of Jenn, and though I knew it was wrong, I wasn’t ready to stop yet. Jenn made me feel calm, while Lucy stressed me out.
“Breakfast tomorrow as usual, though?” I asked instead, placating her.
“Sure, tomorrow,” she replied, her voice sad even as she tried to hide it from me. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, barely touching her lips to my skin, and closed the heavy wooden door behind her.
I strode to my car, glad to be getting out of there. I took in a huge lungful of air, feeling like this was the first proper breath I had taken all night.
It was dark now, and I couldn’t wait to get home. I wanted to lie on my bed and text Jenn, as had become my nightly routine. Sharing stories and confidences that felt safely contained within the confines of the phone screen. It was shocking how quickly I became dependent on our evening messages.
As I pulled out my car keys, I heard footsteps on the gravel. Confused at who it would be this time of evening, I was surprised to see one of the guys on the landscaping crew coming from around the side of the house.
He stopped in his tracks when he saw me. There was a moment of panic on both our faces. His because he had clearly been caught doing something he shouldn’t, and mine because the guy was much bigger than me.
He had an ugly scar that ran down his face all the way to his lip that made him look scary as hell, especially in the dim light. I didn’t know much about any of the staff that worked at the Herbaughs’, but he didn’t seem like he fit in with Sal’s guys.
“I forgot my stuff.” He pointed to the backpack on his shoulder, and his expression relaxed when he saw me more closely. “Oh, I thought you were one of the assholes that live here.”
I should have said something about his characterization of my future in-laws, but after the round of “put Rhett on the spot” I had just endured, I wasn’t feeling particularly magnanimous. “Nope. No assholes here.” I chuckled.
The guy grinned and held up a crumpled baggie. “I actually forgot my weed. I stashed it in the pool house. I need a toke if I’m going to get through hours of listening to Sal talk about his mother’s gout.”
I held up a hand. “I get it, no worries, man.”
“Any chance I could get a lift?” he asked.
I hesitated, but only for a moment. The guy looked fierce, but he seemed harmless enough. “Sure thing, hop in.” We climbed in my car, and I started the engine. “I’m Rhett, by the way.”