“A town this small pretty much means we know everyone. I didn’t know them well, but well enough. Mom and Pop probably did, though.”
I swallow as I push down my disappointment. “I hope I can find someone who knew them. I didn’t get a chance to, and now they’re gone. With no other family, this house is really all I have left of anyone.”
He gives me a sad smile and nods. “I’ll check with my parents. They’ll know who to talk to at the very least. But first, I’m goin’ to check out the air conditioner. I honestly don’t know how you haven’t passed out yet.”
You’d be surprised what I can weather.
Grabbing two glasses I’d washed after finding them in the cabinets, I pull out a pitcher of sweet tea from the fridge. One of the few things Mama kept from her time in the South was her love of the sugar drink. And she made sure I knew how to make it properly. The one indulgence she allowed herself.
I wait for him to come back inside, and I think about what I figured out last night in bed. The thing about Rhett that calls to me is his kindness. The nice guy. There’s nothing he expects for his generosity, and it’s extremely attractive.
While his looks aren’t what I’d conventionally go for, I know from personal experience there’s more to someone than looks. Not to mention the fact that my luck with men has been highly unsuccessful. Hence the reason I’m standing in the kitchen of a house with broken air conditioning rather than sitting in a penthouse in Chicago planning a wedding.
The vent on the floor by my feet rattles, and the cold air hits my bare ankles. After a few moments, it’s not just cool but cold. Really cold.
Rhett walks back inside, and I hand him one of the glasses. “You are my hero, Rhett Dillon. If I wasn’t so gross right now, I’d kiss you. I really think I was about thirty minutes away from melting like a snowman come spring.”
The smile he gives me makes my stomach flutter, and I can’t help but imagine what it would be like to kiss him. Would his beard tickle my chin? Is it soft or scratchy?
“It was pretty easy. Plus, now you don’t have to waste your money on a service call. Let Clint know you don’t need him to stop by anymore. He’ll ask you who helped, but tell him it was a neighbor. He’ll be annoyed as all get out if he knows I was the one who cost him a call.”
“You know this Clint?”
“Kind of. He’s one of my older brothers.”
I laugh. “I won’t rat you out to your brother. Not after all the help you’ve given me in such a short amount of time.”
“Rat me out? Yeah, you’re definitely from Chicago. All those mobsters out there,” he says, his drawl deepening for effect that makes me laugh.
“I’m actually from Ohio, originally. Mama always wanted to go to New York City, but she found herself pregnant with me. She had to give up her dreams, and we went west instead of east.”
Sipping the tea, Rhett’s eyebrows shoot up, and a nervous pit forms in my gut. “Wow.”
“What? What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothin’. I just didn’t know a northern girl could make sweet tea like this.”
I let out a breath of relief. “Mama would kill me if I couldn’t make tea properly. But it’s the only thing she taught me. Honestly, I think she hoped it would make people believe I was a Southern belle. She was from Fox Trot Valley.”
“Your mom grew up thirty miles from here. What made her want to head towards the Big Apple?”
Sighing, I lean my hip against the counter as he sits on the stool in front of me. “Mama always wanted a big life. She and Daddy took off right after graduation, and she never looked back. But after having me, her body didn’t quite bounce back, so her model aspirations went up in smoke.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Tell me about it,” I say and give a small laugh. “Because of it, her dreams got pushed onto me, and it wasn’t until recently that I realized just how much I don’t want any of it. The life she planned out wasn’t whatIwanted, and I realize that’s why I was never really happy. Nothing she pushed me towards ever felt right.”
“How’d your mom take your decision? She can’t be too happy you’re out here, can she?”
I sniffle and look at my glass. The tears don’t come like they would have even a month ago, but I hate the pitying looks from everyone the moment I say the words aloud. “Mama’s probably rolling over in her grave right now. Theoretically, of course, since she was cremated. She may have been the one to break the AC out of spite. I learned a long time ago to never underestimate my mama’s powers, even from beyond the grave.”
“Oh, Brynlee, I’m so sorry,” Rhett stammers. “I didn’t mean—”
“It’s okay. We were close, but not really at the same time. I don’t know that we everreallyknew each other, but I spent a lot of time trying to please her and live up to the dreams she had for me. My heart was just never in it,” I say and look up into his eyes.
He nods, and instead of pity, I see compassion. So much so that it nearly takes my breath away. “Still, can’t be easy.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I was devastated when she passed. It was, thankfully, quick. We found she was sick, and three months later, she was gone. It’s still hard, though. Even though she wasn’t always the easiest to get along with, I talked to her every day. And then suddenly, I didn’t.”
