by C. A. Harms
“You doing okay?” I watched him from the side and saw the way his shoulders instantly tensed at my inquiry.
“I’m good.” With a nod, he chose to fill his mouth with food, as if that would stop this conversation that had not even started, not yet. I’d been told a time or two that I was a pushy bastard.
“Not what I’ve heard.”
Rhett simply nodded his head but spoke no words.
“I’m here, Rhett. I know that I haven’t been, but I am now.” Still nothing, but I could see the way his jaw started to tense over and over while he tried to continue eating. “Do you think she’s sitting around thinking about you?” That did it. He looked over at me with a glare. “If she wanted to be here, she’d be here. She had that choice.”
“You don’t think I know that already?” When he finally spoke, I was surprised that his tone wasn’t one of anger but more of defeat. “I’ve gotten past the phase of wanting her back. Why the hell would anyone want someone that chooses to place distance between them? I’m pissed because for so long she was all I knew. Now, here I am, another girl out there showing me interest, and the only thing I’ve got in me is fucking anger for another girl. Everyone sees it as me longing and wishing for her to return, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I don’t want Harley.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I want to be able to go out with AJ and not wonder what’s gonna happen if I fall for her. I don’t want to sit around waiting for the other shoe to drop and for history to repeat itself all over again.”
“You wanna know what I think?”
“No,” he answered far too quickly, and I found him wearing a cocky smirk on his lips.
“If I’ve learned anything at all over the years I’ve been gone, it’s that you don’t waste time, Rhett.” His smile faded. “Because you’ll never get it back and it ends up being just that: wasted. Don’t let Harley ruin the future you could have with someone else. Not everyone is the same, and this new girl deserves a chance to prove that for herself, not be forced to live in the shadows of some other girl.”
Chapter Two
Mike
“Hey, soldier,” I heard at the same time as, “Yo, Country Boy.”
I dropped the bale of hay and turned around to see Maddison and her friend Raven walking toward me, both looking every bit any man’s wet dream. Both wore short jean skirts, hitting mid-thigh, and skimpy complimenting tops with worn cowboy boots. From the way their hair was styled, I could only guess they had some big plans for the night.
“Ladies.” I grabbed the rag I had tucked in my back pocket and used it to wipe the sweat and dirt from my face. I’d been working all day in the heat and could have quit long ago, but sometimes sitting around with nothing to do was not good for me. Too many memories of the years, thoughts I’d rather not have running through my mind. At least not the bad ones.
“You planning on working all night long? Or you up for some fun?” Maddison scanned over me and seeing the way she took in my bared chest, my dirty jeans from a day’s work, and my muddy cowboy boots did something strange to me. My heart raced, and I’d confess, blood might have rushed to one area, but only for a few seconds. Then she opened her mouth, and all dirty thoughts were gone.
“You smell like ass, and you look like shit.” She crossed her arms over her chest, stepping in a little closer. “I told Rhett I’d drag you along for a night out at Lucky’s, but now I’m not so sure.”
Nothing’s changed, well, unless I counted the fact that Mad had only managed to get even more sassy. The fun bullying between us had always been a thing we’d done, a natural thing whenever we were together.
“We can wait.” Maddison looked over her shoulder at her friend, but she was only looking at me. “My sister isn’t exactly ready yet, either. She’s waiting on us to pick her up.”
“AJ’s your sister, right?”
I didn’t miss the skeptical look on Maddison’s face while she watched her friend and me carry on. Quietly, she observed Raven and me, wearing an expression I wasn’t quite sure how to read.
“Yeah.” Raven placed her hands into the back pockets of her skirt, rocking on the heels of her boots. “She takes extra long to get going now, since Rhett, that is.”
I’d been home for close to a month now, and I’d picked up on the budding relationship between Rhett and AJ. There was a little talk about Aunt Kori finding them doing a little bit of dirty in the area above the barn that’s on its way to being converted to an apartment for Rhett.
AJ was good for Rhett. I’d seen a change in him over the weeks, a good change. He was back to himself again, leaving behind the cranky as hell version I’d heard so much about from the others. The guy was fun again.
“How about you ladies go on without me?” Raven looked disappointed at my words.
“You scared? You can’t hang with us?” Maddison taunted me, regaining my full attention.
“I never said I wasn’t going, Mad.” She tried to hide her smile. “I just need some time to head home and get a shower. I’ll meet y’all there a little later.”
“I’m not opposed to you coming along just like that,” Raven added with a laugh, looking me over once more. “I’m okay with a little dirty.”
“Raven.” Maddison gave her a little warning about her forwardness, matched with a displeased look.
“What? He makes dirty look damn good,” Raven added, and again Maddison just stared at her best friend.
Chuckling, I nudged Mad’s hip by lifting my leg and bumping against her with my knee. “What do you think, Mad?” She wrinkled her brows. “You okay with a little dirty too?” She still seemed confused until I held out my arms like I was going to hug her.
Suddenly, she was holding her hands out before her as she began to slowly back away.
“Mike,” it was my turn to hear her warning tone, “I swear if you touch me—”
“You’ll what?” I grabbed her wrist, and her eyes widened in surprise. “You don’t scare me, Maddison.”
“Don’t you dare.” I had to laugh at the attempted glare. She was trying for fierce, but she looked terrified instead. “I’ll tell my daddy,” she threatened.
“And he’ll laugh.”
“Not if I tell him you hurt me in the process.” I could imagine Colt’s face when Maddison shed tears while looking up at him with those big brown eyes of hers. The irritation that filled him as she faked it all out perfectly.
“You don’t play fairly,” she shrugged, “threatening me with your dad.”
“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”
I continued to hold her wrist, staring back at her, showing no signs of if I would or wouldn’t carry things all out. Then, I released my hold on her, and she seemed satisfied.
“I’ll give in this time, but you should know that it’s only a one-time deal. Next time, there is no way I’m letting you walk away without getting you a little dirty.” Her gaze remained locked on mine, and though I realized that what I’d said to her sounded extremely sexual, I didn’t falter.
“I’m not the kind of girl who doesn’t like getting dirty, Mike,” she countered. “You should know that about me by now.”
I forgot about her friend standing only a few feet away until the sound of her phone broke through the tension I was feeling with Mad.
“AJ says she’s ready,” she announced, and I backed away, taking in a deep breath and mentally shaking off the shit that had just taken place.
What the fuck?
This was Maddison, not just some girl.
“So, we’ll see ya there?” she asked, still watching me closely.
“Yeah.” Another nervous look was exchanged between us before she turned and started walking toward her awaiting Jeep.
I watched them until the Jeep started down the driveway and all that remained was the red taillights when she slowed at the end before pulling out onto the main road.
***
I ended up skipping th
e bar. Instead, I hung out with Garrett, which was something I’d done very little of since I’d gotten back home. It was the better choice, anyway. There was a weird shift between Maddison and me that needed to be avoided at all cost.
Garrett kicked my ass more times than I could count. I was way out of practice when it came to videos games. I guessed I’d spent too many years doing the real shit that playing them during that time seemed pointless.
When Mom joined us in the living room and gave the game a shot, I was thrown back into a time from my past. Shortly after I’d come to live with them, Maria had joined me in my room at a video game-off of sorts. I could still see her with that damned determined look on her face, eyes squinted, narrowed into small slits. Her mouth puckered up as she gripped the controller so tightly, I thought at one point, she might break the thing. But the funniest part of it all was the way her body moved along with the movements on the television, her torso jerking from side to side, her arms going left and then right.
You had to be careful sitting next to her so you didn’t end up being on the wrong end of a thrusting elbow and sporting a black eye for weeks after.
She was vicious.
And nothing had changed.
Garrett and I laughed for hours just watching her. When our father joined us, Mom didn’t seem to care. She played, and she played hard. In the end, she too beat my kill ratio and performed some victory dance in the center of the living room that had us all laughing.
This was home—exactly where I belonged. This was my life, and though I’d had to suffer loss to get there, I loved where I was; I loved the people I shared my life with. I loved times just like those. They were irreplaceable and what was important.
Chapter Three
Mike
I’d managed to avoid Maddison over the last couple of weeks. I’d gotten my schedule for the hospital, and I’d be starting in less than a month. I knew that once I started my internship, chances of seeing her would increase. I’d just felt strange about what had taken place, and maybe I didn’t need to. There was a little flirting there, something that had never happened with us before, or maybe I didn’t notice, which only confused me more. I knew I needed to talk to her. Truth was I missed her.
She was a huge part of my life and always had been.
I pulled up on the left side of AJ’s tiny-ass little blue car and placed my truck in park. Grabbing my phone, I shot Rhett a warning text. Whatever it was that he and AJ were up to, I was pretty sure I knew, but they needed to wrap it up. I knew my dad and Uncle Colt weren’t far behind me. It was just a matter of time before Reed came out of the house to join us all.
Just as I was climbing up the stairwell toward the door at the top, the sound of a horn started blaring. I chuckled when I heard a shriek on the opposite side of the wooden door, followed by Rhett’s laughter and then AJ chastising him.
Apparently, my warning text hadn’t helped them prepare for the arrival of all the men in the family.
Lifting my hand, I pounded on the door and held in my laughter. Loud thumping, the sound of something tumbling, and then more arguing took place. I could hear Rhett continuing to laugh, and even I knew he should probably hold that shit in. I was sure it was only firing AJ up even more.
“Get some clothes on and let me in, asshole.” I was met with complete silence. “Tell that cute girl of yours that if she doesn’t want all the men in your family to see the aftermath of your night together, the two of you better move. You got less than three minutes before the rest of them are standing here with me.”
“What the hell are you standing outside the door waiting on?” I looked back over my shoulder to see Colt walking up behind me, carrying a tool belt and what looked like a sander.
“Rhett’s got company.” I shrugged, leaning back against the wall and choosing to relax. If what I was hearing on the other side of that door was any indication, we’d be here a while.
I watched closely, waiting for the news to finally hit Colt, and when it did, a sly smile covered his lips, and he nodded his head in understanding.
Colt joined me on the large platform at the top, also leaning against the wall after placing the sander at his feet.
“What the hell are you dumbasses doing?” Reed held a cup of coffee in his hand, looking between us and the door. “The work won’t get done with us all just standing out here.”
I was just about to tell him that we were waiting for Rhett and AJ to get decent when the door opened, and there, beyond the threshold, was a disheveled-looking AJ. Instantly, her mouth gaped open and her face paled.
“Morning, AJ.” I looked back toward Reed and noticed the knowing smirk on his lips.
“Morning.” I had never heard her voice sound quite that high pitched. “Well, uh…” The poor girl was failing fast.
Movement over her shoulder caught my attention. Rhett strolled up wearing nothing more than his jeans that were still unbuttoned and paused, looking out at all of us. “Hey, Unc,” he zoned in on Colt, “you think we can install one of those firemen poles or something? AJ thinks I need a second exit.”
Before, when I thought AJ looked like she might puke, it had nothing on the way she looked now. She stood there, shifting her shocked gaze around between all of us, her lips pressed together in a tight line, her eyes wide. Then suddenly she threw her hand up into the air awkwardly, giving a rushed wave before hurrying past us and down the stairs. A few times, I was fearful she might fall, but she made it to the bottom safely and practically ran the second her feet hit the ground.
“Have a good night?” I heard one of the guys ask, and I turned back just as they all stepped around me and into the construction zone. Rhett remained where he was, looking like he’d won the lottery. In a way, he had. AJ, though embarrassed, and I was sure mortified, was one hell of a girl.
“You do understand that you’ll have some groveling to do the next time you see her.” His smile faltered just a small bit. “By the way, do you think she knows that she had her shirt on backwards? And inside out too?”
We shouldn’t have laughed, it all felt so wrong, but come on.
We joined the rest of the guys inside, and shortly after, my dad showed up. Colt, Reed, and my dad spent the rest of the day terrifying Reed on how AJ was gonna bust his balls for embarrassing her the way he had. He seemed confident that he had it covered, but when the guys weren’t looking, I could see he was a little concerned. At one point, I caught him groveling through a few text messages to AJ, and each time she didn’t reply, he grew even more anxious.
***
I’d just finished sanding the last part of the bedroom floor when I gathered the sander and turned around to walk back down the hall. I found Rhett hammering nails into the wainscoting that lined the entire place on the lower half of the walls. He was putting a little more power than necessary behind each swing of his hammer.
“We still on for Friday?” I stepped up to test the waters.
He smacked the last nail sticking out before looking at me with an unreadable expression.
“Trouble in Happy Land?”
He didn’t appear impressed with my sarcasm. I continued to hassle him, and after a while, he lowered the hammer and leaned back against the wall, looking somewhat defeated.
“Harley,” he mumbled.
His first love, a high school sweetheart. The girl who was his first everything and then she broke his heart. Okay, so she didn’t just break it; she disintegrated it, and it took a long time before he was willing to open up again. “She’s back?”
“No. Not physically anyway.” He took in a slow, deep breath. “She sent something in the mail, and when I went inside earlier, Mom told me it was there.” Rhett looked tormented. Just when he’d finally found happiness again, his past found a way to interfere.
“What’d she send?”
He shrugged. “Didn’t look. I guess I just can’t figure out why now.” Him and me both. “When she left, we’d made plans to go to college together. We’
d made plans for our lives together. I know things change, I get that now, but she just stopped, ya know?” I felt for the guy. “She quit calling; she quit responding. It all just ended. Now here we are, and, out of the blue, she sends whatever the fuck she sent.”
I could see the anger and the irritation in his eyes, and I looked out through the living room to ensure we were still alone. My father and uncles were still working on the window placements and completely unaware of what Rhett and I were doing.
“Let me ask you something.” I finally turned back to Rhett, finding him staring back at me, waiting for me to continue. “Whatever’s inside that envelope, is it gonna change the way you feel about AJ?”
“No.” There wasn’t even a second of hesitation. “It wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Then you have two ways you can go with this.” I held up one finger, checking off the two routes he could take. “You can open the envelope, or you can throw it away and forget all about it.” It was really that simple, but only he could be the one to decide.
I just hoped he'd made the right one, and in the end, no one would get hurt.
Chapter Four
Mike
“Is he coming?” Terrance, Rhett’s friend from school and also one of the guys on his college baseball team, asked for what felt like the hundredth time. He was already hammered. I’m pretty sure he was when he showed up here at Lucky’s in a taxi with three other guys.
It would seem out of all the guys that joined us for Rhett’s birthday guys’ night, I was the only sober one.
“He’s on his way.” I tucked my phone back into my pocket and turned around toward the bar, holding up my hand to signal the bartender.
“What’ll it be?”
“He’ll have a Heineken.”
I knew that voice. Looking back over my shoulder, I felt like I’d been hit by a freight train when I saw Maddison. Tight jeans hugged her hips and thighs, showing off her long-ass legs even through the material. The silver shirt she wore looked like nothing more than two straps of material crisscrossed and tied together at her back. I momentarily forgot that she was off limits and had to count in my head to keep from reacting to what I felt inside. But damn, she was looking really good.
