Page 47 of Against The Tide

“I do. Take care, darling.”

“You too.”

When she hangs up, I look around the kitchen for something to do to keep distracting myself from today’s shitshow. After this afternoon, there’s been some tension. The front door is locked, and when I went to clean up the crap Carl left behind, it was all gone already. No doubt Rhett did it. He’s been unusually quiet the rest of the day, and I’ve been too embarrassed to talk to him about what happened. I don’t know whether to thank him or rebuke him for what he did. A part of me is scared that Carl will retaliate and hurt him because of me. I don’t want to be the cause of any hurt when it comes to Rhett.

“Hey, sugar,” Jo calls, nodding Iris over. “I have a surprise for you.”

“What is it?” Iris skips to her, abandoning her glass of milk on the counter.

“Since you were saying that you’re going to stay, I thought you might want your own room.”

All Iris could talk about when we were helping with the pies was the conversation we had. How I promised we could stay and get a puppy. I should’ve known she would’ve taken what she wanted from the conversation and gone wild with it.

“Really?” I smile at the excitement in her voice, noticing how she takes each step up the stairs slowly, ahead of Jo, who’s a lot slower using the handrail and her stick.

“Big girls should all have their own pretty rooms,” I hear Jo tell her as they disappear out of sight.

Piling some of the dishes from dinner at one side of the sink, I start rinsing them before loading them into the dishwasher, humming to myself.

“Here, let me help you.” Rhett brings over what is left of the dirty dishes from dinner.

I’m so aware of his presence and the silence around us that I jump out of my skin when a fork falls loudly on a plate. My heart is hammering faster than I can take. With my head spinning, I hold on to the side of the sink, reminding myself to breathe.

“I’m sorry,” he tells me as he takes a measured step back. “It slipped out of my hand.”

It takes me far too long to get myself in check, only managing a forced smile and nod that’s as frantic as my heartbeat.

“It startled me, that’s all,” I manage to pant eventually. It doesn’t even convince me. Still, Rhett nods.

We haven’t been alone since the beach. I made sure of it because it was easier than having to constantly keep myself in check. But now I feel like a fool. Especially after my conversation with Jo. And that one raindrop…maybe it was a sign. Maybe.

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.”