by C. A. Harms
“Fine. What if I offer ice cream, and chocolate syrup, hot fudge maybe?”
“Let me guess.” She grunted more as she continued on with her back facing me. “You are only offering those items because you expect me to offer up myself as a serving dish.”
A large hand cupped my shoulder, and I looked to my left just in time to see Uncle Gavin step up to my side. He was wearing a smile with an intrigued look in his eyes. Of course, AJ didn’t even know he was there and she just continued on as if it was only the two of us.
“I was referring to an actual dessert, Rhett, one we eat off a plate or out of a bowl, and not one we have to wash your sheets to clean up.” She huffed. “Last time I swear to it, I found syrup in places syrup should never be in and—” She spun around, and instantly her words fell silent. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open.
“Please do go on,” Gavin said, waving his hand out in front of him.
I bit my lip to keep from laughing and AJ glared at me. “You knew he was there and you just let me carry on?” I shrugged innocently, but she didn’t buy it. “You, Rhett Jackson, are on your own.” She leaned the rake against the wall, ripped off her gloves, and tossed them at me. “I’m leaving, and on my way home, I’m stopping for cheesecake. Which I will each alone after a long, hot shower.”
She huffed past me, stumbling over a huge pile of hay in the process before quickly regaining her composure.
“Oh to be young again,” Gavin said with a chuckle. “I remember the time Maria and I—”
“Stop right there,” I told him, holding up my hand in the air. “There are some things I never need to know, and your dirty adventures with my aunt are among those things.”
I moved into the stall and grabbed the rake. “Since you’ve managed to run off my help, grab a shovel.”
“I didn’t run her off,” he added as he stepped in and began to help. “But I know what it feels like to be in the doghouse, so I’ll help ya out. You’ve got some groveling to do.”
***
I showed up at AJ’s house with a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream in one hand and cookie dough in the other. They were both her favorite and there was no way I was taking a chance of bringing the wrong one.
I stood outside the door waiting for her to answer, knowing that most likely she’d still be agitated. I also had full confidence that I would soon be able to weasel my way through that irritation and make everything all better again. She had a hard time resisting me, and, yes, I did use that to my advantage. But she also had the ability to make my knees buckle, so it was fair game.
When the door came open I looked up fully prepared to start on my way to apologizing, only it wasn’t AJ in the doorway.
“Evening, son,” a tall, dark-haired man greeted me. “You must be the Rhett boy I’ve been hearing my daughter grumble about unhappily for the last couple hours.”
Oh shit, I thought as I forced a smile. “That’s me,” I replied. “Though I’m thinking maybe I should deny the fact.”
Great first impression, I thought to myself as he pushed open the door and motioned for me to come inside.
“You sure got her feathers all ruffled up,” he added as I stepped past him. “Seeing her flipping through all the cabinets while she mumbled and wrinkled up her face, I knew I shouldn’t have found the humor in it, but I did.”
I turned around and watched as he closed the front door and then walked back toward the recliner only a few feet away.
“Word of advice, son, do not laugh at her when she’s irritated.” He let out a low whistle before chuckling once more. “I was waiting for fire to shoot out her nose and her eyes to start glowing red.”
“She threw her car keys at me the other day when she found me smiling.” His eyebrows lifted in curiosity. “Barely missed my forehead, had I not ducked at the last minute. She’s got a little fire inside her that’s for sure.”
It’s then he looked down and saw the bag I was holding. “Reinforcements?”
“Ice cream,” I said in response.
“Mint chocolate chip?”
“And cookie dough.” He nodded, and suddenly I feel a little less tense.
“Good man,” he stated, picking up the controller and began to flip through the channels. “I would have went for both options too. She’s in her room, third door on the left.” He points toward the hallway. “Knock, open, and duck. Those are my suggestions. If you get a pillow or hairbrush to the head, remember I warned ya.”
I walked in the direction he pointed, thinking how much I liked her father. Hell, I’d just met the man and found at this point I would have much rather hung out watching football with him than dodging bullets with AJ. I adored the girl, there was no doubt, but I preferred the sweet and cuddly versus the angry and dangerous version.
So, I took his advice—I knocked, turned the handle, and hid off to the side, with only my arm extended outward holding the bag in view. “I brought sweet stuff,” I said with a smile, “and I’m not just referring to myself. There really is something inside this bag.”
When she didn’t respond, I took a chance and peeked around the edge of the door frame with extreme caution. The moment she came into view, I swear my heart slammed against my chest cavity. AJ was curled up on her bed, atop the comforter. Her dark hair fanned out around her as her legs were all tucked up near her body. A soft snore filled the room as I moved in further, allowing myself to take her all in.
She was so damn beautiful.
Her lips were puckered up, one hand tucked beneath her cheek while the other reached out for the pillow at her side. Covering her body was my blue Georgia State University team shirt. It looked like it was four sizes too big for her. I’d seen her in my shirts before, but that was when I’d convinced her she was staying at my place and it was the only thing she had to wear. Now, seeing her here in her home, wearing my clothes, it was an even stranger feeling.
Lifting my hand, I trailed my fingertip along her jaw and over her lower lip. Her body shifted, and I couldn’t keep myself from smiling as I leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips.
As I pulled back, I watched her eyes flutter open as she attempted to refocus. “Hey, baby,” I whispered. “I came in here fully prepared for you to toss something hard and dangerous at my head, but I found this sweet version of you, all curled up on your bed.”
“I can still throw something at you.” She smiled as she stretched, bringing my attention to her long, gorgeous legs. “I hate to disappoint you.”
“You could never disappoint me, sweetheart, you’re too perfect.”
“I don’t know about that. You’re just trying to soften me up so that I forget about earlier.”
“You're perfect for me,” I assured her and watched as she simply stared back at me as we both remained silent. There were so many times I wanted to tell her I loved her, only I was terrified that she would feel it was too early. I’ll admit I never thought I’d be feeling and thinking the things I was in regard to any girl, but I was head over heels, in real fucking deep with AJ.
“I brought ice cream,” I said, pushing back the feelings and swallowing past what felt like a huge ass lump in my throat. “Your two favorites, and I don’t even expect you to lick them off my body. Unless of course you want to, that is.”
“I can’t believe your uncle heard me talking the way I was earlier.” She covered her face and groaned. “How embarrassing.”
“He was young once.” I tried to soothe her, but who the hell was I kidding? I’m sure by now he’d told Aunt Maria, she had told my mom, and so on as it slowly trickled down the family tree.
“They’ll all think I’m some sex-crazed fool that’s corrupted their sweet Rhett.”
“Babe,” I said, causing her to only part her fingers and peek through the cracks. “They all know that it’s me who’s corrupted you.” I waggled my brows, causing her to laugh. “What do ya say we go dish out some of this ice cream and watch the game with your dad?”
AJ lowered her hands and her forehead wrinkled up as she looked back at me.
“What?” I shrugged. “I like that guy. He’s laid back and cool.” I grabbed her hand and yanked her up. “I think I made a good impression by showing up with the two things you love most when you’re pissed.” I held up the bag and shook it. “Let’s go hang with Mr. Duncan.”
Chapter Nineteen
AJ
“Rhett seems like a good young man.” I reached into the refrigerator for the gallon of milk and turned around to face my father. “He is,” I agreed with a smile I couldn’t control.
“Is he the same Rhett they talk about on the local news in reference to the unstoppable shortstop at Georgia State?”
“The very same,” I assured him as I poured the two of us a glass.
My father was a sports fanatic, maybe a little too much at times. I felt like it was a substitute for what he was lacking in his personal life. I wished he would put the same amount of passion into meeting a nice woman to share dinner with, or even a simple walk on occasion. I just felt like he really didn’t have anything to look forward to, so he got lost in the world around him instead of facing his own wants and needs.
“What are his plans for the future?” he asked as he sat down at the table in the space across from me. “After college, I mean. Does he plan to carry out the baseball career, or does he have something else he’d like to do?”
“I don’t think baseball was ever something he wanted to do as his lifelong dream. He’s actually pursuing a major in Business. He wants to help his father expand his construction firm and eventually takeover himself.” I watched as my father nodded in approval. “I do, however, see him doing something like coaching junior high, or even high school baseball so that he still gets in his love for the game too.”
I’ll admit that I had imagined him coaching his own children, our children, one day. Premature maybe, but I loved those visions.
“His dad owns Jackson’s Construction.” I quickly pulled my head out of the clouds and back to our conversation. “He works for him now on the side, and I think he’ll probably end up doing something with him. Drawing up plans for new constructions. He talked about them wanting to expand into that market, hire more people.”
“Ambitious.” My father nodded as he lifted a spoon full of hash browns into his mouth. We both sat in silence, eating and thinking until he finally spoke again. “Your mother called.”
“Wha—” I begin to choke and reached for my glass of milk.
Instantly he was up out of his chair and beating on my back while trying to lift my arm in the air like I was a toddler. “Are you okay?” he asked, concern etched in his features.
Waving him off, I attempted to regain my composure as I wiped away the tears from my eyes. “When? Why?” I had a few choice words I really wanted to say, but my poor father did not need to hear those words coming from his daughter’s mouth.
“Last night,” he finally said as he slowly moved back toward his own side of the table. “She wanted to know how you girls were, and me.” He paused, looking down toward his plate. “She said that she made a lot of mistakes, and she knew that it was too late.”
“A lot of mistakes.” I repeated his words, unsure if I’d heard him right. “Which ones is she referring to? The one where she decided that she wanted a whole new life, other than the one with her family? Or how about the fact that she just vanished before the ink was dry on her divorce papers?”
“Ever heard that saying, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side?”
“Don’t,” I said, shaking my head in an attempt to clear the irritation. “You can’t make excuses for her. It’s not okay that she just picked up and left like none of us even existed. Raven and I are her daughters, yet we’ve heard from her twice since she left. Oh, wait, how can I forget the birthday boxes she sent full of shit neither of us actually needed?” I took in a deep breath, trying to rein in my anger that my father did not deserve. “It’s just really hard for me to pretend that the last few years haven’t happened. Not only did she move away, she disappeared, Dad.”
“I know.” I saw his shoulders visibly sag in defeat. “And maybe I shouldn’t still love her.” He looked up, and it gutted me to see the unshed tears in his eyes. “But I do, and I think I always will, Allison. Why do you think I haven’t moved on? It was never because I didn’t want to. It was because I couldn’t.”
I hung my head, looking down at my plate before me, no longer feeling hungry but feeling nauseated instead. “Does Raven know?”
“No, I haven’t gotten the chance to talk to her yet.”
Again, I’m met with silence, my stomach still feeling like it’s twisting and turning. I wasn’t sure what this meant for my family, or where this newfound information would lead us. Maybe it was selfish or childish of me, but at this point, I wasn’t ready to forgive her and pretend that what she’d done didn’t still hurt.
***
“Do you wanna go out and get something to eat?”
“Not really.” I didn’t look away from the television as Rhett sat on the couch at my side. I couldn’t even tell you what the movie we’d been watching was about, because though I stared ahead, my mind was somewhere else.
“Want me to throw something in?”
“I’m not really hungry,” I told him, curling into the blanket I had wrapped around me.
For a few seconds, he was silent at my side, and I contemplated apologizing for being so short and even distant. But he spoke before I could.
“Is there a reason why you're pissed off?”
“Today just hasn’t been one of the greatest days.” I hadn’t shared much about my family but the basics. I was ashamed to talk about it. What did it say about me that my own mother didn’t even give a shit about being in my life? I might have some insecurities when it came to that topic.
“Okay, so…” He paused, and instead of explaining, I did the worst possible thing. I deflected my irritation and disappointment on him, which he didn’t deserve.
“So, I don’t wanna talk about it.”
“Instead we’re just gonna sit here and ignore one another,” he mumbled. “That’s a much better solution. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of that.”
Rhett’s sarcasm did nothing to ease the mood I was in. “Or I can just go home and ignore you there.” I threw off the blanket and immediately was met with a chill that I ignored.
“What the hell did I do to you?” He stood at the end of the couch, his hands on his hips, his nostrils flaring as those jaw muscles of his I’d kissed so many times before flexed over and over.
“Not everything is about you, Rhett.” I grabbed my keys from the coffee table and began moving toward the door. “I’m gonna go home.”
Part of me wanted him to stop me, chase after me and convince me that I was just being stupid. But then an even greater part of me knew that I wouldn’t listen. The feelings I had boiling inside of me couldn’t be soothed by sweet words or even the comfort of his arms. It only ensured how much my mother’s resurfacing had affected me, because there really wasn’t much that Rhett’s embrace couldn’t make feel better.
Chapter Twenty
Rhett
Normally I was able to hold my shit together, but the last few days had been hell. AJ had been distant, and though she tells me that it was family issues and not us, I found it difficult to believe. I felt like something was off between us.
“You need a shoulder to cry on?” Wyatt, a teammate asked as he entered the batting cage next to me. Instead of responding, I stared straight ahead awaiting my next pitch. I’d been in here for over an hour. My arms ached, but I needed to get some of this frustration out of me. The problem was, I was trying too hard and was only managing to get more pissed off.
“Rhett.” I looked over my shoulder and was met with Terrance. Standing just to his left was AJ, her arms curled around her, a solemn look on her face. It made my heart ache to see her appear so fucking sad a
nd not knowing how to fix it.
In that instant, something snapped, and I dropped the bat, moving toward her with purpose. I didn’t care if I had to lock her in a room and force her to talk to me, I’d do it.
“Hi,” she whispered, yet I said nothing. Instead, I bent at the waist and placed my shoulder against her middle, lifting her up and over my shoulder. I could hear the guys laughing, but I continued to move forward. “What are you doing?” she asked as she held on tightly, not attempting to fight me.
I carried her through the field straight for the parking lot.
“Rhett?”
“We’re talking,” I assured her, refusing to put her down and give her the chance to run, or worse, hit me for being so over-the-top. But I was desperate. The last few days had sucked, for one thing, I hadn’t been able to hold her or kiss her, but also because we’d rarely talked.
“Okay,” she agreed, and I wasn’t sure if she was being reasonable just so that I would put her down or if she actually meant it. Either way, I wasn’t willing to take the chance.
Once we reached my truck I opened the driver-side door and practically tossed her up into the cab. Crawling in after her, I reached for her hand and kept her in the center, versus allowing her to go toward the passenger side.
“You’ve told me this change,” I waved my hand in her direction, “had nothing to do with me, but I’m not convinced. You’ve avoided me, you’ve snapped at me more times than I can count, and, babe, you are a gorgeous girl, but right now you look like you’ve had a rough time.” She looked tired, and AJ was always so happy and spunky even. Now she looked defeated; I didn’t like it at all.
“It isn’t us, I promise.”
“Then what is it?” I asked, reaching out to cup her cheek in my palm. Flashbacks of the day Harley told me she was leaving all those years ago hit me. There was no fucking way I was doing that with AJ; I’d kidnap her and chain her to my bed if I had to. She wasn’t going anywhere; that was a promise.