Page 26 of When You're Gone
“But if it’s a surprise from Rhett, it’s something practical albeit over-the-top. Ergo, new car.”
Tori nodded along with her reasoning. That suggestion was very on-brand for her golden boy.
“There you are!” Fielding exclaimed, squatting low in front of her chair and placing his hands on her knees for balance. Her first reaction was to smile at him, but she coughed instead when she smelled the musty stink of weed clinging to his hoodie.
“You’re causing trouble tonight,” she teased as she playfully shoved him away.
His eyes were wide—or, as wide as he could manage given his current state—and his usual megawatt smile was more flirtatious than usual. “Did Daddy Wheeler ground you?”
“Be-have,” she scolded. She knew Rhett would flip out if Fielding tried to pull anything else tonight. His Haas tolerance was completely depleted. He had made that clear.
“No, seriously. Is he going to punish you for my little stunt?”
“Not in any way I don’t want,” she replied before she could catch herself.
Fielding’s eyebrows shot up, and his face reddened with apparent shock. Lia pinched her thigh as she realized what she had just said and to whom.
But even now that she made things awkward, Fielding wasn’t done playing the overly concerned friend. “Tori, I can go talk to him if—”
“Go away, Fielding,” Lia dismissed forcefully. Her voice was loud enough to carry across the yard, her intent on tattling clear.
He turned to glare at her, but Lia’s face transformed from unamused to impish in an instant.
“You know, I think I saw Maddie sitting by herself in the kitchen a few minutes ago. Rhett and Jake are busy setting up the projector, so…”
Fielding rose to his feet, running a hand through his blond curls a few times in an effort to mess them up in his signature tousled style. He preened as he swaggered away from their group before calling over his shoulder, “Thanks for the hot tip.”
Lia snickered as they all watched him retreat. “Too easy,” she muttered.
Tori rolled her eyes, unsure whether to scold Lia or thank her. She settled on non-combative defensiveness as a compromise. “I can handle him, you know.”
Lia turned her head slowly, her eyebrows raised in challenge. “Yeah, I know. But your husband can’t. You’re either too tipsy or too determined to keep the peace to admit it, but it looked like Rhett wanted to punch Fielding earlier. I assume that’snotthe vibe we’re going for tonight?”
Tori grimaced as she thought back to Christmas at the cabin when Rhett actually had charged Fielding and tackled him to the ground. The guys tried to be cordial for her sake. But she knew in her heart there was no love lost between her husband and Fielding Haas.
“You’re right,” she conceded. “Thank you.”
She linked her arms with both her friends and rested her head on Cory’s shoulder contentedly. She felt a little tug on her heart as she thought back to her birthday last year. They had been together then, too, just the three of them out at Lia’s family farm. So much had changed over the last year, but some things—the best things—had stayed the same.
“Alright, everybody, if I can have your attention for just one moment, please.”
All eyes turned toward Rhett as he stood confidently before the crowd. A thrill shot through her as she assessed her husband. He looked devastatingly handsome tonight—his posture and easy confidence oozing charisma. She couldn’t wait to see what this surprise entailed.
“In case you didn’t know, we’re all here tonight to celebrate my wife’s birthday.”
A roar of wolf whistles and cheers filled the night air. Tori blushed at the attention, locking eyes with Rhett and grinning from ear to ear.
“We’ve put together a little slideshow to honor all twenty-five years Tori has graced us with her presence.” Rhett pulled a remote out of his pocket, and the inflatable screen came to life.
The first notes of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” started playing over the outdoor speaker system as a kindergarten picture of her, Rhett, and Jake lined up against the bricks of their elementary school filled the screen. Her hair was in pigtails, and Jake was missing his two front teeth. Rhett just looked like a baby version of himself in tiny khaki pants and a light blue polo with the collar popped. They were all holding hands, grinning at the camera.
The pictures started to change—photos of the three of them, pictures of her and Rhett. Baby pictures and all her school portraits throughout the years. There were high school dance pictures and photos of her helping her dad work on cars in the garage. There was even a picture of her and Rhett holding hands while hiking at the Ledges.
She had no idea where all the pictures had come from—some of them were totally new to her. Rhett’s mom must have contributed to this project. Her dad must have helped, too.
Tori covered her mouth with her hands, overcome with emotion as she watched the highlights of her life play out on the screen.
Lia squeezed her arm affectionately as the tears started to fall. Tori forced herself to stop gawking at the screen and look over at Rhett and Jake, but neither of them was looking her way. They were standing tall, shoulder to shoulder, arms crossed over their chests as they watched the slideshow together. A picture of a preteen Jake wearing all the jewelry from Maddie’s Pretty Pretty Princess game filled the screen. Tori smiled to herself as she watched Jake punch Rhett in the arm for including that one.
