“I want to stay,” I mumble into his chest, barely audible. There’s no hesitation. I’ve known I’ve wanted this for a while now, but I’ve been afraid to let myself want it. I don’t want to let people down, and not being able to make it work would hurt like hell, not just for me but for all the people who care for me.
“Can you look me in the eye and say it again so that I can hear you?”
A soft smile dances on his lips as he waits for me to respond. I don’t feel rushed or pressured. I just feel safe.
“I want to stay,” I say, louder this time.
“That’s good enough for me. If that’s what you want, then you are going to get it, and we will figure it out together. You are never going to deal with hard things alone anymore.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course. I don’t know if you’ve realized it, Wildflower, but I would do anything to see you happy. Yes, I selfishly want you to stay in Roots, so we can explore what this could be, but I also just want to see you find peace and experience joy and love and laughter. Your beautiful soul deserves a beautiful life, and I would go to the ends of the earth to make that happen.”
My heart is pounding furiously. It feels like it’s about to take flight. I haveneverin my life heard someone say such kind things to me. That’s what’s so incredible about Rhett. He speaks, and I know every word that comes out of his mouth is genuine. He’s not saying this to manipulate me. He’s saying this because he desperately wants me to know how much he cares for me and because he wants to see me happy above all else. If I told him I wanted to go back to San Francisco, I know he would support me, even if it broke his heart.
Unsure how to convey all the emotions I’m feeling, I stand on my tiptoes, sinking my fingers into the hairline at the nape of his neck as I pull him in.
Fireworks. There’s no other way to describe the feeling of our lips touching. Together, we are vibrant, colorful, loud, and beautiful. It’s terrifying, but I can’t help the thought crossing my mind.I want to spend forever here. I want to spend forever stringing together moments like this with Rhett by my side.
* * *
Rhett absentmindedly traces circles on my leg while we lie on a blanket under the stars in the exact same spot we did over a week earlier.
“Can you answer a couple more questions for me? I’m starting to process things, and I havea lotto ask you.”
“Go ahead.”
It feels like I’m a little kid and I was just told I could have ice cream for breakfast. I’ve been dying to get to know Rhett. Now that I’ve had a little taste, I’ll never stop seeking more.
“Why did you come to Roots? I know you said you were going to come after graduation with Isabel, but—” I pause, not sure how to end my sentence.
“The circumstances changed,” he offers.
“Yeah.”
“I felt pretty lost after her death. I didn’t know what to do. In one night, my entire plan for life after college was unraveled. Roots wasn’t necessarily my first choice afterward. I didn’t think I wanted to be in a place that would remind me of Isabel, even if I hadn’t been there with her before. I knew I couldn’t go home to my parents because they were still upset with me for proposing so young. They thought I was throwing my life away, and their lack of support didn’t change after the accident. I actually think they thought her death was God’s way of teaching me a lesson for being so naïve.”
Immediately I reach out to grab his hand. “That’s terrible.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m still working on creating a different narrative to explain why something like that would happen to such a good person.”
Hearing the way he speaks about her makes me a little jealous, and it doesn’t feel good.
I must not do a good job of hiding it because he rolls toward me, planting a gentle kiss on my forehead, then the tip of my nose, and finally my lips. “I’m sorry for talking about her so much. She was my first love, and I can’t deny that, or erase her from my past. I’ll always love Isabel, but I’m not stillinlove with her.” A weight lifts from my shoulders. “Our relationship was fun and uncomplicated, but I’ve moved on. I know it’s early, but I can tell you and I have something special. We’ve both shared our darkness with each other, and we still want to be together. You’ve sort of become like my best friend over the last couple months, but I also can’t keep my hands off you, and that’s pretty great.”
“I think so too.” I give him a soft smile. “Oh, wait! You still need to finish your story. You didn’t explain how you decided to come here.”
“I guess I didn’t know where I wanted to go after college. I didn’t feel like I had a home or a family. Callie and I were there for each other a lot through the grieving process, and she became a good friend to me. She convinced me to come here. She always loved Roots, and I think she needed a friend too. She told me she could be my family, that the people of Roots would take me in too. I didn’t think I had anything to lose at the point, so I came.”
He continues drawing circles. It tickles ever so slightly, but I’d be upset if he stopped. I’m in love with the feeling of his touch.
“We started the café together. She and Isabel always talked about opening one someday, and when Callie came to me for help financially, I couldn’t say no. I quickly fell into a good life that I was happy with.”
“Did it help to have Callie around? You know, since she was someone who actually knew what happened.”
“It did. Her parents moved out of Roots pretty quickly after I got into town, so we both bonded over the shared experience of losing Isabel and our parents. Callie helped me slowly realize that maybe everything that happened didn’t have as much to do with me as I thought. I have her to thank for finally getting the courage to tell you everything tonight.”
“What do you mean?”
