I look up into his eyes, and I see the anxiety behind them. “I love it. It’s more than I thought it would be, which is surprising. Usually, I build things up too much in my mind, and the actual experience can be a bit of a letdown.”
“I understand how that goes.”
“But now that the sun has gone down, and all the lights are on, it’s magical. I’ll never forget this night. It’s as close to perfect as it can get.”
We reach the head of the line, and Rhett hands the remaining tickets to the man. He rolls his eyes at having to count, but he stumbles when he looks at me. “Go on in,” he says and pockets them without counting them.
“I bet we could give him two tickets as long as you flashed him a smile,” he whispers into my ear as we sit on the same side of the cart.
It doesn’t tip as much as I expect it to, and I like that no one else was let on with us. I hold his hand and shake my head. “Maybe we should try it. Get a free right out of it.”
“If you’ve got it, might as well bank on it, huh?”
“Nah, it’s all smoke and mirrors.”
His free hand reaches up and touches my cheek, and I turn towards him. His lips touch mine just as my eyes close, and his beard tickles my chin. I love the scratchiness of his callouses against my skin. A working man’s hand. A desire unlike any I’ve ever known before takes over, and I can’t get enough of him.
Our hands separate, and we cling to each other, our mouths warring as our tongues tangle in unbridled passion. I’m so lost in him that I barely feel the movement of the ride. All I sense is Rhett. Taste him. Smell him. Feel him. Every little movement and shift of his face to tickle my chin or the skin beside my lips. Nothing has ever felt so magical.
The clearing of a throat pulls me from my trance, and we jump, finally separating to see the carnie at the bottom of the ride. Rhett smirks, and I take his hand as we exit the cart.
Carter surprises me by running over and stopping us. “Brynlee, can I talk to you?”
“Uh, sure,” I say, glancing up at Rhett.
“What’s wrong?” Rhett asks.
“I just… I need to talk to her for a minute,” he says and pulls me away from my date. “What did Darla say?”
His eyes look frantic, almost like a wild animal being hunted by some sort of large predator. “I don’t—”
“Look, I know she told you we’re tight on money, okay? That’s why you paid for the pictures. Which I could have paid for, by the way.”
“She didn’t tell me,” I say.
“Then how’d you know?”
Swallowing, I feel anxious. I’ve never liked confrontation. Not like this. “We heard you telling Rhett.”
He closes his eyes and tilts his head back. “I don’t need your charity!”
“I know,” I say, hoping to pacify him. “I forced you to do it. You dressed up in a costume. Seriously, it’s all good. Not charity.”
His hand wipes over his face, and he looks at me as though he’s lost. “She’s cryin’ again. She’s not drunk anymore, and she’s cryin’. Brynlee, please. My wife is upset, and we’ve been fightin’. She won’t talk to me. I can’t fix it if I don’t know what’s wrong. Please… I’ll beg on my hands and knees if I have to.”
A war plays in my head. He looks so terrified and upset, but she’s my friend. Is telling him betraying her? In the end, though, isn’t doing everything I can to help her feel better the best option?
“She heard you call her dream crazy, and she doesn’t think you believe in her.”
“What?” Carter’s mouth drops open. “I didn’t… That’s not what I meant.”
My stomach flips with nerves. I hate how much it feels like I’ve made the wrong choice, but I’ve opened Pandora’s box already. I can’t put it back now. “She feels like she’s lost herself, and that her dreams don’t matter, basically. She doubts herself, and she thinks you doubt her abilities, too. What you said hurt her.”
“She thinks… How did she… That’s not true!”
“I told her I didn’t think that’s how you meant it. She has dreams she never got to chase, and I think she feels like she has limited time to achieve them. That’s what I gathered from what she said, so maybe I’m wrong.”
“We don’t have the money to build a business from the ground up. If we didn’t have the kids, or if she was gettin’ more hours, maybe…”
