“I hope you’re right.” I wanted to say more, tell her about the test, yet I wasn’t even sure the results. At that point, my dad was the only one to know, other than Maddison.
“I’m gonna head to bed,” Grace said as she stood up and leaned over to offer me a hug. “If you love her as much as I think you do, then she’ll have no choice but to come back to you.”
“That or there’s always kidnapping.”
Grace laughed as she stood tall once more. “I’ll be an accessory to that crime in a second. You just name the time and place, and I’m there.” I looked up as she took a step back. “Good night, Rhett.”
“’Night.” I forced a smile as she walked away.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
AJ
“Did he say he wanted to be with her?” I shook my head as I stared at my sister, who at this point looked more confused than I felt. “So where the hell are these feelings coming from?”
“He didn’t tell me.”
“Because you were already upset about Mom and stuff.” She threw her hands up in the air in front of her. “That guy is head over heels, lost over you. My god, AJ, he didn’t want to upset you more than you already were. He can’t even stand to see you cry over a sad movie, yet you want him to throw another line of shit at you when you’re already in tears. That man is not gonna kick you when you’re already down.”
“But the pictures and the letters…” She rolled her eyes at me, and suddenly I only felt even more stupid. I was fighting an already lost battle with a group of Rhett lovers. My god, Maddison and Raven were looking at me like I’d lost my mind.
“I have letters from my eighth-grade boyfriend, and then William, the guy that proposed to me when I was a sophomore in college.” Raven shrugged her shoulders. “Does that mean that I’m secretly harboring feelings for the both of them? Does it mean they hold my heart and no one will ever fill the void they left?”
I narrowed my eyes at my sister; her sarcasm was hard to miss.
“If he wanted to be with Harley, he never would have fell for you.”
“It’s true,” Maddison said as she too looked at me like I was dense. “Rhett wasn’t raised to treat women like they were dispensable. His mom would throttle him, and Reed, well that guy is nothing short of remarkable. He was raised right, AJ. I can vouch for that.”
“So what the both of you are saying is that I overreacted?”
Maddison held her hand up, with her thumb and forefinger just barely apart. “Just a bit.”
“Hell yes you did.” Raven didn’t even attempt to sugar coat it.
Now I just felt like a dumb ass.
Chapter Thirty
Rhett
I held on to the reins of Dusty, my grandad’s horse, and led him out to the edge of the fence. I’d spent the entire morning feeling like I’d been kicked in the gut over and over. I’d never felt so unsettled.
Mikey, Dad, and even Colton had tried to drag me out of my mood. Each offering one distraction after the next, but nothing worked. I’m sure it had a lot to do with the fact that I didn’t want anything but AJ. She was the only person who could make this better.
Dusty huffed, shaking his head from side to side, as I gathered the reins and tossed them up and over his head. “What’cha say, boy,” I patted his shoulder, “wanna go for a ride?” Again, he huffed and sidestepped as I moved in to place my foot in the stirrups.
I grew up riding, and it had been something I hadn’t done a lot lately. I remember being a kid and spending hours out in the fields, getting lost for hours on the trails with Dad and Grace. I remember the feelings it would bring me, like I was free.
I guess I just wanted that feeling back now. To pretend that even for an hour, I wasn’t lost.
I climbed up on his back, taking the reins in my hands as I looked out over the open land around me. Hundreds of acres, lakes, and hills, and for a short time I was able to let go of the heartache I felt.
My mind explored the idea of becoming a father. I’ll admit it was a terrifying thought but one I could honestly say would be an adventure. AJ and I being tied together by a small little person who looked to the both of us for guidance. It was an amazing thought.
It was times like these I thought of my father, my biological father. I admired Reed; he was the man that taught me to be who I am today. To be honorable and strong, he guided me when I felt lost and turned me back around, setting me off once again in the right direction. He was my dad and I would always be grateful for the life he gave me, but it never fully stopped me from wondering what life would be like had my father not been killed before I got the chance to meet him.
I used to be afraid to ask about him, fearful it would make Reed feel as if I loved him less. But it was him who came to me and told me that
