Page 44 of Forty and Fighting Dirty
“One last photo in front of the fireplace,” the social media manager said. “Then we’ll leave you to enjoy your new house!”
I called the boys back, and we stood in front of the fireplace. I had a hand on each of the boys’ shoulders.
“A little closer,” the young woman said, gesturing with her hands as if to push us all toward each other.
I shuffled half an inch closer to Rhett while he did the same.
“A little more,” she requested, and we moved another half inch. She looked up from her phone and smiled at us. “A little closer, Mr. Baldwin. I want to frame you all against the fireplace.”
“Of course,” Rhett’s deep voice intoned, and he took one big step to close the distance between us. Before I could protest, his arm swung up and around, clamping across my shoulders and preventing my escape. A strangled noise escaped my throat at the same time the photographer said, “Perfect! We’ve got it!”
The boys took off again, and I forced myself to seem pleasantwhile we chatted with the raffle representatives for a while longer. Rhett had his town-benefactor persona on full blast, and everyone hung off his every word and laughed at his every joke.
I seethed and pretended I was fine.
Finally, Rhett said, “I think it’s time my co-winner and I explore the rest of our house,” and David took up his emcee role to call out, “We’ll leave you to it!” right before leading the exodus and leaving Rhett and me alone.
The door slammed, and I exhaled. I didn’t have to pretend to play nice anymore.
“You seem awful down for someone who just won a house,” Rhett observed.
I could feel his eyes on the side of my head, and I continued to study the fireplace. “Half a house,” I corrected.
“So you’re a house-half-full kind of person,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Let’s take a look at the rest of this place,” I said, not wanting to look at him and risk seeing that broad, bright smile of his. It was too confusing, and I found it much easier to dislike him.
The floorboards creaked as we explored further. I found two living areas and a downstairs powder room, and then I followed the sound of my boys’ voices to the three bedrooms upstairs. It was noticeably colder up here, and the room where the boys had camped out—under the angled pitch of the roof—boasted a window with some condensation beading along its surface.
So it wasn’t perfect. At the same time, it totally was.
“Mom, can this be our room?” Alec asked.
I inhaled sharply. “Remember what we talked about? Mr. Baldwin owns the house too, so we’re not going to live in it. We’re just checking it out, and then Mr. Baldwin and I will decide what we want to do with it. We’ll find somewhere else to live.”
“But there’s three bedrooms!” Nate complained.
I tilted my head. “Yes. And?”
“One for you. One for us. And one for Mr. Baldwin!” Nate lifted his brows like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Why can’t we stay here? Then no one could kick us out. We’d be home!”
I exhaled, smiling despite the sadness that swept through me. The creak of the staircase made me look over my shoulder, and I could tell by the expression on Rhett’s face that he’d heard Nate’s exclamation. My heart clenched, and I wondered if Rhett could see how badly I wished I could give my sons a home.Thishome.
Turning back to the room, I crossed over to where Nate and Alec leaned against the deep window sash and pressed a kiss to both their heads.
“We’ll always be home when we have each other, remember?”
Alec snuggled up next to me. My sensitive boy. Nate stuck his jaw out and scowled back at the entrance of the bedroom, where I knew Rhett lurked.
“Let’s go back downstairs. We’ve got to get you back to school in time for the afternoon.”
“Mo-om! Really?” Nate pouted.
“Didn’t you say you needed to get everyone at school to sign your cast?”
He looked at the blue fiberglass cast on his arm with a glum expression, then swung himself across the room on his single crutch. His ankle would heal quickly, but his wrist would take longer. Alec went with him, and I paused just outside the bedroom to speak to Rhett. He was frowning.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
