“Always, son. I was just asking Rhett if he was okay still eating the soup you made or if he’d like something else.”
Rhett reaches for his glass of juice. Soup and juice have been the only things he’s ingested for the past 36 hours, and he has to be starving. “Chicken soup never steers you wrong. I’ll eat more of that.”
My dad sets out bowls and crackers and fills the pot with soup from the container in the fridge to warm on the stove.
“How was the move? You told Warren I’d pay him, right? I still feel like shit for not helping move my own stuff. I owe you and Levi big time.”
Pulling out the stool next to him, I settle in and face him. “Warren wants enough to buy another rabbit, and Levi was morethan happy to help us. If you cook for him, he’ll be over the moon.”
My dad snorts. “Make lots. That boy eats his weight daily. Not sure where he puts it, but he loves tomatoes.”
“Good to know. Maybe I’ll make you both gnocchi and sauce, then, once my hand is better and I’m settled.”
Rhett’s good hand has shifted to my knee, and his thumb rubs the inside of my thigh. A place he knows damn well I like when he touches me.
“I had Levi help me put your bed together, and I found your linens. It’s all ready for your first night, cowboy.”
He leans in close until his lips touch my ear. “Do I have to spend my first night alone, or will you come keep me company?”
“Is that what you want?” I whisper.
“I asked you before this whole hand mess came about, and I meant it. But if you’re already sick of taking care of me, I understand if you need your space.”
“No!” I almost shout it and bring my palm to his cheek. “I don’t think I could ever get sick of you.”
“I’m going to get sick of both of you if you don’t take this out of the kitchen,” my dad says with his back to us as he stirs the soup, and I shake my head with a laugh.
“Fine. We’ll be back in a few minutes.” I motion for Rhett to follow me, and he does. Tater lifts her head from the sofa as we walk by, but stays put as we walk to my room.
Rhett made the bed today, and his duffle bag sits packed on the end of the bed.
“You’ve had a very productive day. Even did some housework,” I tease.
“Diamond…you’ve been…”—he rubs at his neck—“amazing. I don’t have any other words to describe you right now.”
“I’ll take amazing. It’s a good word and incredibly accurate.”
Rhett’s lips tilt with a smile I can only describe as fond, and my heart skips a beat.
“Yeah, it is. I, uh…” He puffs out a breath. “I really want you to stay the night if you can. You’ve put your life on hold for me for the past few days, and I’m truly grateful, so I understand if you can’t.”
He’s not begging, but at least he’s acknowledging the help. That was a chore when he insisted he didn’t need help and I should let him throw up and leave him alone. I compromised and sat in the hallway and talked to him from there. I told him what made me feel better when chemo made me sick, and he told me how his mother always made him feel guilty if he was sick because it inconvenienced her.
My heart broke thinking of poor ten-year-old Rhett vomiting and feeling like shit, only to have his mother nag him about missing a party or a date, or heaven forbid, having to help him change the sheets. He just needed someone to care about him, and I felt that to my core.
I never thought we’d have a breakthrough with whatever it is we have, while he battled side effects of a medication, and I talked to him from the hallway. But we did, and honestly, my life is so messy that it feels almost perfect for us.
“I wouldn’t miss it, Rhett. Honestly. It’s a great place, and who will make your coffee if I’m not there in the morning?”
He grins and reaches for me. “I’m sure I can make coffee.”
“Yeah, but is it as good as mine?”
He dips his head and kisses me softly. “Probably not. Nobody makes it like you.” He kisses me again before trailing his lips down my neck. “There’s nobody as good as you, Dee.”
Does he even know what those words mean to me? How they make me feel?
“Of course I’ll stay. I can never say no to you.”
