“I can see how you’d think that about Rhys,” Sara said, fluffing her ponytail and talking casually. “Some people are reachers.” Her eyes landed on me and there was something scorned there. Something hiding behind the chipper girl next door façade. “And that’s always been Rhys’s problem. He constantly reaches for women who are beyond him. It’s like he needs a project person.”
She openly ran her glare over my entire body, as if she were looking at a barrel of toxic sludge.
“You see, Emma, the reason Rhys and I didn’t work out, was because there was nothing about me to fix. I knew it and so did he. He may not have physically strayed, but he left our relationship long before I did.”
This woman was all kinds of bitchy. My hand was twitching with wanting to slap her so badly. I didn’t even care that she was insulting me by association. I was furious that she was tearing down Rhys. And that shit wouldn’t fly. I shook my head and took one last swallow of coffee.
“You’re bitter because you lost an incredible man and it’s obvious you’re making a play to get him back. And that’s fine.” I shrugged. “You can go after whoever you want. I’m not Rhys’s keeper.”
Something in me wanted to mark him and demand everyone acknowledge that he was mine. The notion was ludicrous.
I leaned in and looked at her the way I did when I stared down Box-Top Freddy twelve years ago when I caught him stealing my shoes. Whatever came from behind my eyes made Sara take a step back and swallow hard. “But if I ever hear you say or even insinuate a single negative word about Rhys Striker again, you and I are going to have problems.”
She pursed her lips and lifted her chin a little but she was nervous, as well she should be. I didn’t like the way she was trying to blame Rhys. Didn’t like the way she looked at me and called me a “project person.” Because truth was, I already knew Rhys took on things like this. Felt it in how he treated me. Like I was a wounded dove in need of fixing. But Sara took my bad mood and confused mind to a whole new level.
My grand plan of getting space and thinking just turned into a f**kall storm with Rhys’s ex and her two cents now swarming dead center.
“How much for the coffee?” I said.
Sara just put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. “It’s on the house.”
“Thanks.” I stood up and when I got to the diner door, I turned back and told her, “Rhys doesn’t reach for things he has no interest in obtaining.”
Sara’s face fell a little. Good. She needed to realize that Rhys was the catch in all this.
~
After I drove around for a bit, I finally came back to the cabin around eleven and had no more peace of mind than I’d left with. I thought about what Sara had said. There was something about Rhys that screamed protector. Problem was, I didn’t know what to do with that. There was a line between need and shame. A big part of me was feeling like I needed Rhys in certain ways, but that idea was shameful to someone like me.
I didn’t want to be looked at with pity, or sadness, or anything else. I didn’t want to be saved. That ship had sailed a long time ago and I didn’t need saving — not anymore. But there was something about Rhys I connected with. A sense of loss. Like we were both lost in some way. Both running from things in the shadows of our past.
I opened the front door of the cabin quietly and peeked in. Dark, except for a small lamp near the corner. With the back of the couch facing me, I could see Rhys’s long legs sticking out at the end.
I placed the keys next to his wallet on the kitchen table. Taking the fifty-dollar bill from my pocket, I picked up his wallet, opened it and slipped the money back in.
There was a small photo stuffed into the corner. Opening the wallet a little wider, I saw a beautiful woman with dark eyes and hair. Young, early twenties maybe, she looked happy. Judging by the crinkles in the photo and the fact that it was printed and in his wallet instead of on Facebook, I figured this must have been from years ago. I looked a little closer and saw just the hint of yellowish background and a tent.
Sand.
I knew right then that this was taken when he was deployed overseas.
I closed his wallet immediately and set it down. I glanced at the couch and still saw his feet, unmoving.
Now a fresh slew of questions flooded in. Who was that woman? What happened over there? Whatever it was, I’m pretty sure she was involved. Of all the things that were racing through my brain, one question stood out. Did Rhys love her?
I walked over to the couch and glanced over. Rhys looked at me.
“If you’re planning to ever sneak up on someone, you should work on your ninja skills.”
I let out a breath and grinned a little. Even though I’d left in a huff, he was still so calm. Funny, even. “Sorry to wake you.”
“You didn’t. I was waiting up.”
Something beneath my skin warmed, like him waiting for me made me feel better.
“For a guy that runs a security company and is hiding me out, you let me go pretty easily,” I said.
He reached just below the blanket that was covering his navel and lower body. His bare chest was as edible-looking as ever as his abs flexed with his movements.
“I know this town and knew where you were the whole time.” When I frowned, he pulled up his cell phone and showed me the screen. A little GPS point was flashing on a map.
“You bugged the car?”
“Like you said, I run a security company.”
His cute teases made me relax a little. I hadn’t realized how exhausting fighting with Rhys was, how tense it made me. I sat next to him on the couch, deciding to go with simpler talk.
“And what if I was on foot?”
“Well, that’s a different screen.” He winked and switched it over to show a different point on the map. Me.
“You bugged me? How? When?” Shock fueled me. I wasn’t mad, I didn’t think. Just surprised. It was actually kind of sweet how cautious he was while letting me assume a sense of freedom.
“The bug is in your shoe.”
I glanced down at my boots, the only pair I had brought. He didn’t bother explaining further, which I was fine with. I didn’t want to get into the logistics either. Could this be considered weird and a bit much? Sure. But it also made me feel safe, something Rhys was proving to be good at, so I’d focus on that.
“I don’t want to upset you, Emma, ever.” His eyes turned serious and he tossed his phone to the little coffee table nearby. “I want to keep you safe.”