Page 69 of Peaches

He shakes his head as he shrugs, and I’ve never seen him look so defeated. “It’s complicated. The land technically needs to be inherited, and there are stipulations we can no longer meet. My uncle somehow knows that, and he wants it all for himself.”

“Wh-what would that mean?”

Rhett’s pale eyes grow distant, and I wrap my arms around myself. “Doesn’t matter. It’s not gonna happen.”

“How?” I brave the question.

“We need . . . money. For a good lawyer, for a goddamn funeral . . .” The look he gives me is full of so many emotions I almost can’t pick them apart. But it’s the apology that scares me most. “There are ways I can get it.”

“Rhett,” I whisper.

“I will always protect my family, Olivia. No matter the cost.”

“But who’s protectingyou?” My eyes burn with tears. “Why don’t you ask for help?”

“Who’s going to fucking help us?”

“Me!” I say louder, chest heaving as my own emotion tears through me. “Iwill help you!”

He frowns. “I would never ask you to do that.”

“Why not? You cantrustme.”

“It’s not about trusting you, peaches,” he bites out. “It’s about protecting you.”

“I don’t need protection!” I shout.

“Yes you do!” he shouts back, and I almost stumble backward from the force of it. “You have no business being in the middle of shit that can hurt you, Olivia.Iwill hurt you, it’s only a matter of time.”

“You wouldn’t hurt me, Rhett.”

He scoffs, head tipping to the sky, and it slices into me like a knife. “Of course I would!” When his eyes settle back on me, they’re near-pleading. “Haven’t I already, Olivia? You were madder than hell when I picked you up tonight.”

“Because you justdisappeared!” I cried out. “One second you were there and everything was . . . good between us. And then you were gone, and I couldn’t reach you, and?—”

“And you thought everyone was right,” he says through clenched teeth. “Isn’t that what you said? I ghosted you, and you thought everyone was right.”

There’s real hurt in his eyes, and I hate myself for it. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “I should have known?—”

But he shakes his head. “No. The thing is, youwereright. I ghosted you because we can’t keep doing this. Not when I can’t be who you need me to be.” He shifts on his feet, like he hates the words as much as I do, and I want to scream for him to stop saying them. “It was supposed to just be practice for you anyway. I’m not ready for something like this. I’m . . . I’m not the guy for this.”

“Practice,” I repeat. The word tastes like ash on my tongue. “Practice for what?Otherpeople? Is that what you want, Rhett? You want me to date other people?”

His jaw tightens. “I want you to be happy,” he says simply. “I want you to be brave. And I want you far away from me.”

A tear spills over and glides down my cheek, and I watch him track it, his frown deepening. “I don’t believe you.Youmake me happy,” I tell him, because it’s the truth. “Youmake me brave, Rhett. Why don’t you try it? Be brave with me. Let me in so I can help you.”

He lets out a frustrated breath. “No. I willnotpull you into my shit, peaches. I’m sorry, but I won’t do it.” And I know by the tone of his voice that he means it. He isn’t going to budge on this.

My shoulders slump as the reality of his words sink in. The damn irony of it—for all he’s done to help me build confidence and belief in myself, Rhett was the one who needed it more. It’s . . .maddeningto think I might have missed an opportunity to prove him wrong about himself.

I want to remind him of all the ways he’s shown me the kind of care and attention that’s done anything but harm me, want to shove it all in his stupid self-deprecating face. I hate to think of how alone he must feel, the pressure he’s put on himself to throw himself in danger for the greater good of others. That he thinks he might deserve it. I want him to see what I do when I look at him: his strength and intelligence and howtenderhe can be, how raw and wide open. His ability to protect is powerful, but not if he loses himself in the process. What kind of a life is that?

But I know I can’t win this argument—not now. Rhett Bennett will keep fighting fire with fire, as he’s been made to do. To prove he’s capable of anything else means playing a long game. He’s not going to trust it until I force his hand.

“Take me home,” I demand, ripping my gaze from him. I refuse to let myself find his eyes again, to let him see me break.

“Olivia,” he breathes. His voice cracks with emotion and I have to dig half-moons into my palms to keep from breaking with him.

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