Page 78 of Wild Side
The door creaks as she departs, and I don’t look back until the sounds of her moving stop altogether.
“Hey, Rhys?”
I glance over my shoulder, and her beauty steals the air from my lungs. All done up, the porch light shining down on her like a spotlight screaming,She’s the one!
I clear my throat. “Yeah?”
“Gwen seems sweet. What I meant to tell you earlier is that she told me you talk about me all the time. And the restaurant.”
I shrug. Gwenissweet. But clearly, she got to me with her chatter about opening your love chakras and creating space for your heart to heal from past bruises or whatever other hippie shit she spouts. Her salt-of-the-earth ramblings, though…
They made me loose-lipped.
They made me think of Tabitha.
And on the off chance my new yoga teacher was getting the wrong idea about me and my reasons for attending her class, I raved about my wife.
“She said she can tell that you’re proud of me.” Tabitha’s voice comes out thin, and she covers the vulnerability of the sentence with a sarcastic scoff. Always covering with dry humor and cutting one-liners, as though she expects me to roll my eyes and play it off. As though she’s spent a lifetime being overlooked and expects the same from me. I look her dead in the eye and tell her the truth.
“I am proud of you, Tabitha.”.
“Thanks. I…” Her voice fades out, and she looks away shyly. “You’re a good man, Rhys. I hope you know that. I think Milo moving in next to you was meant to be. I’m glad he has you.”
My nose stings, and I nod again as I watch her turn and retreat into the house. I desperately want to say something, to call her back out here. But I just…can’t.
Conversations like this are out of my wheelhouse. A lifetime spent keeping people at arm’s length means this thing with Tabitha has me feeling like a deer in the headlights—wide-eyed and frozen. My chest aches as if the unspoken words are burning from the inside, trying to make their way out.
But by the time I think of what to say, she’s gone.
CHAPTER 28
TABITHA
Tabby:
Give Little Willy hell.
Rhys:
Yes, wife.
WatchingRhys drive away the next morning rolled over me as an overwhelming wave of dread. Milo waved goodbye with a big smile, chattering away about how much fun they had at the park, and all I could think was,I don’t want him to go.
What worked between Rhys and me in the beginning was a mutual distaste for each other and a shared love for Milo. Our arrangement had nothing to do with us, and everything to do with one little boy.
But after months spent together and seeing all the subtle ways he supports us, I… Well, I’m not sure what our arrangement is founded on now. He told me he was proud of me, and my chest swelled. I’m not sure he even understands how badly I needed that praise.
All my hard work, all my sacrifice, it always ends up coming along with implications about Erika. There is an unintentional tendency among the people in this small town to compare us. Like anything I do is great because it’s more than what Erika did.
My accolades have always been attached to her in some way. Which not only makes me feel like shit, but it makes me feel angry on my sister’s behalf. Her mental health was a constant uphill battle, and she struggled, but she had a soft heart. It kills me that no one sees her the way I do.
Except for Rhys. I suppose we’re kindred that way.
So now the distaste is gone, and in its wake? Mutual respect.
With just a drop of obsession.
Because I have not been able to stop thinking about Rhys all day.
