Page 71 of Forty and Fighting Dirty
With his hand tangling in mine, Rhett pulled me deeper into the home. We entered the kitchen, which still needed window treatments and?—
“Appliances!” I exclaimed, eyes widening at the sight of the brand-new stainless steel items. “And a coffee maker!”
“Figured you’d need a cup first thing in the morning.”
“What?” I said, my fingers already wrapped around the fridge handle. I pulled it open, but my head had turned in Rhett’s direction.
He leaned against the doorway, a smile toying around the edges of his lips. “I said I figured you’d need a cup first thing inthe morning, so I got you a machine. That way you can avoid causing a ruckus at Peak Coffee.”
I chose to ignore his playful dig to focus on what really mattered. “What do you mean, first thing in the morning?”
“You need a place to stay, Piper. You own this house. Move in here with the boys, at least until springtime. There’ll be more rentals available then, and we can list the house once you find somewhere suitable.”
My grip on the refrigerator door tightened as my vision went fuzzy around the edges. Rhett straightened, arching his brows. I didn’t understand. “What are you talking about?”
Instead of answering, Rhett crossed the kitchen and pulled open the drawer next to the sink. “I tried to get everything you’d need, but I’m sure I forgot something,” he said, glancing at the gleaming utensils in the drawer. “It’s a start, anyway, and it’s better than Ridgeview.”
“I can’t stay here!”
He closed the drawer and faced me. “Why not?”
“Because you own half the house! Would I pay you rent?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Well, what? I’m just supposed to accept your charity?”
“You’re supposed to take a breather. It makes no sense for you to move somewhere unsafe with Nate and Alec when there’s an empty house right here. An empty house that you own, that’s renovated and ready to move into.”
“With you,” I said. “An empty house that I own with you.”
“Are you saying you want me to move in too?”
“What?” I screeched.
Rhett laughed, his palms rising to try to calm me. But it wasno use. My breaths were coming faster, and my heart felt like it was trying to punch right out of my chest. “The schedule…”
Rhett’s arms wrapped around me, so warm and safe that I couldn’t hold back the flood of tears that began to stream down my cheeks. “Hey,” he murmured, holding me close. “Hey, babe, Piper, stop.”
“I can’t accept this,” I said, my body shaking. “I can’t… What if you change your mind?”
Rhett’s voice was calm and low, his lips brushing the top of my ear. “What makes you think I’ll change my mind?”
“It’s too much. You’ll hold it over my head.”
“You must not think very highly of me,” he noted.
“I’m—h, God, Rhett, I’m so sorry.” I covered my face with my hands as a sob tore through me.
Rhett hugged me tighter, his big hands coasting up and down my back as he tried to calm me. Finally, when I caught my breath, he let out a sigh. “I gotta be honest with you, Piper, this wasn’t how I pictured this conversation going.”
I let out a watery laugh, wiping under my eyes with the heels of my palms. I shook my head. “I’m sorry.”
“You’ve got to stop apologizing for things that you shouldn’t be sorry for, Piper.”
“I’m—” I bit off the rest of my sentence and let out another half laugh, half sob. “Right,” I said. Lifting my gaze up to meet Rhett’s, I was struck by just how warm and tender the look in his eyes was. I couldn’t believe he ever thought badly about himself when he was the best man I’d ever met. “After the divorce, my ex told me I could stay in our house. He said he’d let me have it, but when it came time to do the paperwork, he wentback on his word.” My voice came out as a whisper, and I had to drop my gaze to Rhett’s jaw. I didn’t want to see the pity in his eyes. But I felt that I owed him an explanation for my tears and my less-than-grateful reaction. “I had to leave the house. He tried to keep the boys, but I managed to get a part-time job bagging groceries, got an apartment, and fought him while I looked for better work. He used every lever he had against me. He pretended he wanted to be amicable and then fought dirty every step of the way. And I was caught off guard, because I’d trusted him.”
Rhett’s hand had stopped its strokes up and down my back, but he started them up again. “That’s why you want everything to be fair between us.”
