Page 60 of Against The Tide

“I’m here because I do, Rhett. I trust you enough that I don’t want to go back to my life, or what’s left of it. I want to be here…with you.”

“I bought this land from Jo a couple of years back. After Duke died and when she started showing obvious symptoms, she had to close down the rehab part of the ranch. I used to keep it going, but having so many people around was too much, and she chose not to go on with it.”

“It’s a shame because she’s as hospitable as someone can be. Even when she’s having a bad day.”

“Yeah, she’s always been a character, and it was obvious it was killing her to sell off part of the land to pay off some of the debts that had been building up.”

“So, you bought it. Just like that?” It seems far too easy. I may be new to the picture, but I know for a fact that Jo loves to help others, but she struggles to let others help her in return.

“No,” he chuckles with a shake of his head. “Jo gave me hell because I bought it for the exact amount that Duke’s half of the practice was worth. She never wanted to take the money when he passed, and she’s too proud to let me help.”

“I’m amazed she didn’t kick your butt.”

“I told you I’m a great doctor and a fucking genius.” Rhett winks, and wrapping his arm around me, he pulls me into his side.

Being this close to him is the best thing I’ve ever felt. Being in his arms is the best place I’ve ever been.

“One of my patients’ parents is an architect, and I had them draw up some plans. I figured it was a great investment, and it would keep my offer from being charity. It never was—that money is hers, and so is this land.”

“Okay, Mr. Genius, so what are you going to do when…you know…Jo’s not going to last forever.” The sadness that darkens his eyes has me turning closer to him.

“I haven’t thought about it,” he states, but something about the way he breaks our eye contact tells me that it’s not true.

“Rhett.” I cup his face, drawing it back to me. “One day, you’ll have to think about it. I hope to God that you get to make peace with it before it happens too.”

Choked at my own words, I look away, finding Iris watching us from the edge of the water. When she smiles, my heart sighs. My precious girl.

“I don’t know if I can.” He clears his throat, and when I look back at him, he’s as enamored as I am with my baby girl.

I think if there is a possibility that someone could love her even a smidgen as much as I do, Rhett is the person to do it. That revelation makes me cling tighter to him, hoping that I can offer him some of the comfort and strength he’s offered me over the last two months.

“Maybe you’re right—making peace with death doesn’t seem like a possible thing to do until it happens. My dad was here one day and gone the next.”

“A STEMI, huh?”

“STEMI?”

“Callie said he suffered a heart attack. We call it a ST-elevation myocardial infarction. STEMI for short.”

“It sounds familiar.” Taking a deep breath, I burrow into him. Without hesitation, Rhett pulls me between his stretched legs. “I didn’t get to say goodbye. Uncle Mike, you know his partner? He found him the next morning.”

It was a fool’s decision to fall into this conversation, and even more foolish to suggest that there could be some kind of peace because talking to Rhett about my dad feels like it’s the first time I’m voicing it all. Even though it’s breaking my heart, I can’t stop. It feels safe to be vulnerable with him. I’m certain that he won’t trivialize my pain or hold it against me.

“For as long as I can remember, he never went to the office on a Sunday. Sunday was the holy day. When I was little, we used to go to church, then we’d go visit my grandparents or we would go for Sunday lunch at this quaint little restaurant overlooking the river.”

“Hmm…” Rhett chuckles by my ear, pressing a kiss to my bare shoulder while he wraps his arms tighter around me, holding me prisoner to him. “I can imagine you going to Sunday school in your pretty dresses and Princess Leia knots. A bit like Iris.”

“Darker hair…” I muse. He’s not wrong. I was that child in her fancy cotton or velvet dresses with braids, bows, and buns. “There was no Sunday school at our church. We sat in the front row every week, come rain or shine.”

“Is that why Rafe goes to church too? I’ve heard Rowan give him shit, and I don’t think Callie has ever stepped foot in a church since I’ve known her…”

“Maybe. I know that Rafe started attending church with our family five or six years ago. I stopped going after Mom died.”

“Why?”

“I guess I was angry. They were good people, you know? Always doing the right thing and following all the rules…and one day she got sick and ended up in hospital. We thought it was pneumonia, turns out it was advanced-stage lung cancer, and within four months she was gone. Just like that. She didn’t smoke, barely drank, and she was the best person I’ve ever known. So much like Jo.”

“I’m sorry.”