Page 65 of Seeds of Christmas
“You did the hard part. You made the choice to ask for help. That takes courage.” He pauses. “Your mother and I, we’re…so proud of you. For being you.”
“Dad—”
“We love you, Carter. For whoyouare. Not who you think you need to be. You understand?”
I’m crying now. Quiet tears running down my face. “Yeah. I understand.”
“Good. Call your mom soon, okay?”
“I will.”
When I hang up, Rhi’s watching me from the rock she’s perched on holding her ankle.
“You okay?” she asks softly.
“Yeah.” I wipe my face. Thankfully, she doesn’t push it. “Let’s get you back, hold onto my shoulder. I’ll help carry you down.”
Back at the cabin,I sit beside her, and she immediately curls into my side. I wrap an arm around her, and we sit there, watching the fire, processing what just happened.
“Carter.” She looks up at me. “Thank you. So much. You saved me. I just…I feel safe with you.”
My pulse quickens.
“You’ve…surprised me, Carter. You’re amazing,” she confesses.
“You think?” I pull back slightly, searching her face. “I thought you still saw me as some frat boy slacker.”
She shakes her head,. “I stopped seeing you that way after our first day in the field. You were... different than I expected. More careful. More thoughtful. And you’re really smart.”
My heart swells.
“You were exactly what I expected—brilliant, focused, passionate about everything you do.” I smile. “Just also funnier. And morefirey.”
She blushes, and I wish I had my phone nearby to take a picture.
“Carter,” she whispers, “I know this is fast. And complicated. And maybe just adrenaline from what happened, but?—”
“It’s not just adrenaline,” I interrupt. “At least not for me. I have been asleep in my own body for so long, Rhi, and I finally feel like I’m waking up.You’rewaking me up.”
Her eyes soften, filling with something that makes my heart stutter in my chest. “I feel the same way. Like I’ve been walking through my life a zombie, letting other people tell me who I am and what I want. And then”—she traces her fingers along my jawline—“then I got stuck with you.”
I laugh, the sound vibrating between us. “Best research assignment ever.”
“Definitely.” She shifts closer, settling more firmly against me.
She says something about the cabin, and I’m not even listening to the words anymore. Just watching the way her nose scrunches when she’s trying not to smile. The way she tucks the hair behind her ear, even though it’s not in her face.
“What?” she asks, catching me staring.
I should say something clever. Something light.
Instead, I just pull her closer, press my forehead against hers, and try to remember how to breathe like a normal person.
“Carter?”
“Nothing,” I manage. “Just—nothing.”
But my hands are shaking when I cup her face, and I think she knows it’s not nothing at all.
