Page 23 of She's My Kind Of Rain

“Well, ain’t that something.” His smile never waivers, in fact, it almost seems to deepen. “My name ain’t dumbshit, yet here we are.”

A laugh escapes my lips, and the moment it does, Kaylee glares at me like it’s my fault that they can’t get along. I mouth,sorry,and decide to let her lead the conversation.

“So, cowboy, your ears must be as big as your ego. We were just talking about you.”

His smirk shifts to pleasant surprise. “Is that so?”

Please don’t bring up the phone call, please don’t bring up the?—

“Yeah, but settle down. We were just talking about the fact that you had sent us to The Red Fern which had helped Daisy spot a really good singer. Mr. Sawyer Mason. Is he the friend of yours that you were so eager to have us hear?”

“Yes, he sure was. Sounds like I didn’t have to tell y’all that though. Seems Miss Daisy here already knew. She told him to tell me hi.” His undeniably gorgeous eyes peer from mine and back to Kaylee’s.

“It was a good guess,” I say shyly.

“Well, it’s lucky I’m running into ya. I was actually going to call Telluride myself if I didn’t see you tonight.”

“What..I mean..why’s that?” I try to recover, but Rhett doesn’t miss a beat. His lips somehow pull wider.

“Don’t ya worry. No more friends with talents that need agents or any sort of representation,” he says, calm and collected, not offended by my reaction in the slightest. “Cowboys honor.”

“Great,” huffs Kaylee.

At this point, their song and dance has become second nature to him, or at least it appears to, and he continues on every time she scoffs at him as unaffected as the last. A part of me wonders how he isn’t fazed by her. It’s almost like he likes it.

“I talked Sawyer into going out tonight. Not entirely sure which bar we’re headed to or if we’ll be headed to a few, but I figured maybe he can sing or he can just sit back and enjoy himself for once. Y’all are welcome to join.” He looks at Kaylee. “Or not.” He winks, then turns to leave saying, “See ya, Miss Daisy.”

“Bye, Rhett.”

The prospect of seeing Sawyer causes butterflies to erupt in my chest. Maybe Kaylee was just being paranoid with our talk earlier. People have workplace romances all the time, right?

Shortly after, we too leave Southern Sip and walk toward my house.

“We don’t have to go out tonight. I know you’re sick of seeing him and I don’t blame you.” I say, glancing at her beside me.

I don’t want to make her any more uncomfortable than she already seems to be anytime he’s around.

“Who said I was sick of him?” She smirks. But her and I both know she’s done nothing but push that very message every chance she gets.

“I’ve got to know why you don’t like cowboys. You’re obvious…” I pause, trying to find a word that doesn’t sound awful “…distaste doesn’t seem Rhett-specific. But also, like, if it’s something you don’t want to share, you can totally tell me to mind my own business and I will!” I add hastily, not wanting her to feel like I’m prying.

For a moment she seems to contemplate whether or not she wants to share, and I am afraid I maybe pushed on a topic I shouldn’t have.

Her expression gives nothing away, then she offers up a shrug, saying, “Growing up here, I’ve known my fair share of cowboys, but the first cowboy I ever met was my dad. He rodeoed for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, for my mom, he also enjoyed any buckle bunny that would have him.”She must notice the confusion on my face when she adds, “A buckle bunny is basically a groupie, but for rodeo stars.When a cowboy wins their event, they get a big belt buckle to wear and show off. It’s basically like a beacon for women wanting to ‘ride a cowboy’. My dad won a lot of them.” Fury shows in her eyes. “He stuck around until I was about twelve, which looking back now, is a lot longer than he should have. He didn’t really want to have a family. Or at least not ours.”

I feel sick to my stomach for her and a little surprised she hasn’t shared this sooner, but even more disappointed in myself for not asking. My dad had always been my rock. It seems wild to me that, for some little girls, their dads were the first man to purposely break their hearts.

“It wasn’t the only incident though.” Kaylee blows out a breath, running a hand through her blonde hair before she continues, “I wanted to, I don’t know, like, prove that not all cowboys were the same. But, you know that saying of how girls go for guys that remind them of their father?” She rolls her eyes and huffs a bitter laugh, but it does little to hide the anger and sadness lurking in her gaze. “Yeah, well, I managed to find myself constantly going after the same type of guy over and over. With the same result. If I wasn’t crawling into bed with them, someone else always was. Just like my dad.”

“Oh, Kaylee, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to stir up so much heartache.”

“No, that’s ok. Best friends get to know the good and the ugly.” She offers up a soft smile, but pain still lurks close behind it. “You get to be a part of the good, and I haven’t been too shy about who I think the ugly is.”

“You really think Rhett is like the rest of them?” I say, hopeful that not only he, but also Sawyer, are different from all the dirt bags Kaylee’s met.

“Hard to tell, but the hat and the huge buckles he’s always got on lead me to believe he’s mostly just a pretty face. But, probably one with some talent.”

Huge buckles? Plural? I never even noticed. Come to think of it, I don’t actually know a single thing about Rhett or his friend, he just has such a good energy that I forget to question him and his motives. If he even has any. I don’t want to invalidate Kaylee’s feelings, but I don’t think Rhett is like those other guys. Something in my heart makes me feel like he’s a pretty stand up guy. At the very least, he seems to be a good friend.

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