Page 91 of Forty and Fighting Dirty
Nate and Alec were already on their knees, trying to coax the cat out from behind the sofa. “What’s his name?” Alec asked.
I glanced at Rhett, who inhaled deeply, pulling his lips into a straight line. “I, um, don’t know.”
The boys tore their gazes away from the cat to look at Rhett. I frowned. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”
“I’ve just been calling him ‘cat.’”
I rolled my lips inward to stop from giggling. That was so Rhett. To be so kind, take in a stray, care for it, but tell himself it was all an act. He didn’t realize that actions spoke louder than words. Rhett was a good man, no matter what he thought of himself. I hoped that over time, I’d be able to convince him of it.
And we’d have time, I realized—because this was my home.
“I think his name is Jeff,” Nate proclaimed.
“Hi, Jeff!” Alec said.
Rhett’s eyebrows lifted, and he shrugged. “Jeff,” he said, as if he were testing the name.
The cat had slinked out from behind my beautiful sofa and was stepping lightly over the boys’ legs. “It suits him,” I said.
Rhett approached, his arm moving around my waist. He stroked me softly, then dropped his hand and moved to sit on the floor next to the boys. “I think he likes you,” Rhett said.
The cat hopped clean over Nate’s legs and settled on top of Rhett’s lap, curled into a ball, and went to sleep. Rhett looked incredibly put out, but his hand moved to stroke the cat’s head, big fingers stroking gently between Jeff’s ears.
A giggle escaped my lips. “I think he likesyou,” I said. “And I don’t think you’ll get rid of him so easily.”
Rhett sighed. “I’m used to him now, I guess,” he grumbled.
“Can we come visit Jeff at your house?” Alec asked, creepingcloser. “Does he like fish?” He turned to Nate. “Cats like fish.”
Nate nodded solemnly. “They do.”
“You can come visit him anytime,” Rhett answered, his eyes lifting to meet mine. I smiled, heart light, and mouthed the words that kept spinning around my head:I love you.
Rhett stayedtrue to his word—of course—and let me buy him out of his half of the house. It was easy to do, with the gigantic bonus I got. Maybe to some people it would have been silly to go about things this way, but to me it felt significant. I knew Rhett was being incredibly generous. I knew I was accepting a gift. But officially buying him out—with money I’d earned—was significant to me. It honored my need for independence while still accepting his generosity. It was a gift that felt balanced.
It was exactly like Rhett, to find a solution that was lavish without being imposing. That was why everyone in town loved him so much. He really was a good man—mygood man. I intended to spend the rest of my life reminding him that he wasn’t wearing a mask when he did good deeds. He was just being himself.
We broached the topic of our relationship with the boys after the holidays. They took the news well, especially when I told them that we’d be staying in our new house. No more moves. No more packing boxes. No more new schools.
This was our home now.
Jacob didn’t take the news so well. He chewed me out on the phone when I told him I was seeing someone, but I felt oddly detached from his tirade. He had no power over me anymore. And the next time he came to town to spend time with the boys, he told me ahead of time, and he never made it past my new front door.
The next LoversPeak Charity Home Raffle night was held at the ski resort. The whole town gathered in the lodge in mid-October my second year in town. Rhett, predictably, went all-out. He hired caterers and insisted on funding all the carnival games that were set up throughout the lodge. I had a lanyard around my neck to match Mila’s, two precious tickets on full display over the fabric of my favorite lucky dress.
One was for this year’s raffle—and one was the winner from last year.
I stood on the edge of the room, watching Alec and Nate throw rings at a pole, a plastic cup full of bad wine in my hand.
“Imagine if you won again,” Mila said beside me.
I grinned at her. “I’d feel bad.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course you would.”
“Someone else needs it so much more than I do,” I told her. “I’ve already got my home.”
“And everyone here is glad for it,” she said. “You’re one of us now.”
