Page 52 of Unravel Me

“What about your family?” he asks, breaking my trance.

“My family…you already know enough about them,” I chuckle dryly. “They are not like your family.”

Rhett pauses, a flash of confusion crossing his face. “Oh, how so?”

If he knew how my family looked at me, if he knew the expectations they held for me or anyone involved with me, I wonder what he’d think. Or what he'd think of me if he knew how hard it was to shake the need to gain their approval. Maybe he’d feel inadequate or want to run away because the pressure is too much.

“They are all busy with their careers. We don’t do a lot as a family, not back then and not now. My parents like to pretend we are a tight family unit. The all-American picturesque family. It’s all a lie.” I bite my lip, hoping I didn’t say too much again.

“I’m sure they love you in their own way,” he says, and I didn’t disagree.

“I hope,” I add. They love me in a conditional way. How could I possibly explain they give or withhold their love depending on how successful I am, or by how much I’ve screwed up.

Rhett turns my face toward him again, his finger hooked under my chin. I peered into what I was beginning to see were oceans of depth, of love, of understanding. Underneath the rough exterior, the rowdy behavior, and the carefree attitude was a man who cared very much. A man who barred his heart to me in the most unexpected ways.

“You know you deserve better than that, right?”

“How can you say that? You don’t know me very well.”

“You’re right, I don’t. But I do like to believe I’m a pretty good judge of character.”

I pause, as Rhett’s blue eyes lazily trace my lips, as I silently will him to kiss me. Lacing his fingers around the back of my neck, he kisses me deeply.

“You’re okay yourself, cowboy.”

I step off the ride minutes later, with a new energy buzzing through my veins.

The truth is, I have no idea what life will be like for me in a few months, but I know this summer, I'm going to embrace the carefree girl inside me—the one who longs to be loved, seen, and heard. I’ll let her have her moment.

And I’ll help Rhett have his, too. Because he deserves it, because we deserve it.

Maybe we can be each other's lifelines. Just for a while, until we find the shore.

Back at the farmhouse, the sky is black, but under the porch lights, Mabel greets us, tail wagging fiercely.

“Look what we got you, girl!” I pull the stuffed animal out from behind my back, and she stares at it, then me, her mouth opening and closing, unsure what to do. Rhett and I glance at each other laughing.

“She is cute as hell, but I never said she was smart,” Rhett fires off, kneeling down to ruffle her long, floppy ears.

“Don’t you listen to him, Mabel. You can be both smart and pretty. Here, take the toy.” I gently nudge it towards her, and Mabel cautiously grabs it with her front teeth before galloping inside towards the living room. We follow her in, watching her drop the toy in her bed, sniffing it feverishly like a true bloodhound.

“Did I ever tell you how I got Mabel?” Rhett asks, flipping on the small lamp on the kitchen counter as I trail behind him. We stand in dim lighting, heat lightning sparkling the sky outside the kitchen window.

“No, I don’t think so, actually.”

“She was being trained for the county as a search dog. But at around nine months, she didn’t pass her tests. Guess she couldn’t stay focused on a scent long enough and just wanted to play. Anyway, Desi is the secretary at the sheriff's office, so she found out about Mabel failing her tests. Next thing you know, Desi shows up at my house with this clumsy ass dog. I had no choice but to take her in.”

“Why didn’t she keep her for herself? I can’t imagine her little girls wouldn’t want a dog.” I try to imagine my own brother, Andrew, doing anything remotely thoughtful for me.

His fingers drummed the countertop in the dimly lit kitchen. “I love my sister, but she likes to fix things. Things she has no business fixing…” Rhett pauses, puffing out his cheeks as he runs a hand through his hair. “Her and my mom thought I would end up a lonely old man in this house. I kept refusing all the dates my sister was trying to set me up on, so I guess she thought the next best thing was to dump a dog on my doorstep.”

I scoff, running my fingers down the front of Rhett’s chest, watching his pupils dilate. “I'm so glad she did. But also, I’d like to hear about all these dates you refused,” I muse but Rhett stands still with a dreamy smile on his lips, a depth in those icy eyes that makes the breath hitch in my chest.

“That’s the past.”

“So, you just decided you wanted to start dating when you met me?”

Rhett nods. “Pretty much.” He smirks. “And now I’m afraid you’re going to be the ruin of me.”