Page 97 of Unravel Me

“Do you have a name yet?” she asks.

“I thought of a few, but none really fit. I’ll know when it’s right.”

The contractor and his crew arrive as Penny is heading out, so I thank her for coming and hug her goodbye. I plan to stick around. It’s finally a renovation project that I'm fully invested in.

By noon, the framing of the walls takes shape. I step outside for a breather, letting the warm sunshine wash over me. The air somehow feels different here; crisp, clean, as if it carries a kind of clarity I hadn’t noticed before.

Main Street is calm, the quiet broken only by the faint chatter of mothers pushing strollers, and the shuffle of customers filtering in and out of nearby businesses. I settle onto a bench along the sidewalk and people watch. I’m still waiting for the fact that this will be the view from my new ‘office’ to sink in. A few feet away, an older gentleman stops, leaning heavily on his cane. He stands there for a moment, his gaze fixed on the papered windows of my shop.

“Good afternoon.” I put my phone down and smiled at him. He nods at me, still leaning on his cane.

“Do you know what they’re putting here?” His gentle eyes are full of curiosity. I bought the building under my LLC, so it hasn’t publicly been announced I’m the owner yet.

“I've heard it’s going to be a bakery,” I say, waiting for his reaction.

“Hmm.” His lips twitch into what I think is a tiny smile. “I hope they have cinnamon rolls.” He turns to face me. “My wife, Glenda, loves them. She’s in a wheelchair, so it’s hard for her to go places, but I used to get her a cinnamon roll every Sunday after church. She’d love it if I did that again. Maybe this place will have them.” He shrugs and an unexpected lump forms in my throat.

Pinching my lips together to prevent the tears from spilling, I clear my throat. “I bet they will have cinnamon rolls. When this place eventually opens, you’ll have to bring Glenda in. I bet she’d love it.”

“Alrighty miss, I will try.” He smiles, nodding at me and continues slowly down the sidewalk.

My heart doesn’t recover from the interaction right away, so I close my eyes and let the early fall breeze blow across my face.

I hope someone loves me that much in fifty years.

What happens next isn’t a decision. It’s an unstoppable pull, something I can’t fight. I break into a jog across the street, slide into my car, and grip the steering wheel, driving down Main Street, leaving the bakery behind.

My heart thunders, each beat reverberating in my chest as I cross over the railroad tracks.

The narrow road, lined with cornfields, feels endless, but there’s no time to think. I let my heart guide me toward the one person I can’t bear to be without for another second.

The large oak tree comes into view as my tires slide into the driveway, kicking up gravel as my car skids to a jolting stop right in front of the house.

Don’t think. Don’t think. Just tell him exactly what you feel.

Rhett’s truck sits in front of the workshop, and the barn doors are wide open. He’s so close, he’s right there.

My feet hit the ground with a quick, steady rhythm, and I don’t bother shutting the door behind me. Each moment feels more important than the last as I make my way toward the back of the house. My body moves instinctively here, my feet on the soft grass, as the quiet rush of adrenaline fills me.

“You tryin’ to get yourself killed out there?” Rhett's voice echoes across the yard, halting me in my tracks. I stumble forward, my green rubber boots slipping on the grass as I grip the fabric of my blue cotton dress, fists clenched at my sides.

My heart hitches in my chest as I turn to see Rhett standing at the edge of the meadow. His favorite baseball hat on his head. The worn white cotton shirt spans across his chest, a rag in his grip.

The yellowing leaves, tall dry grass, the blue sky; it all fades behind him.

Because all I see is him.

My throat goes dry, and my eyes sting. Blinking away the water collecting on my eyelashes, all the emotions I’d suppressed for weeks bubble to the surface.

“I need to say a few things,” I start, well aware I’m shouting across the yard, but I can’t get my feet to move, so Rhett takes a few steps toward me.

From behind him, Mabel comes barreling through the tall grasses, right into me. Her nose finds my hands, and I run my hand down her back, but I can’t take my eyes off the man slowly approaching me. He doesn’t stop until he’s so close that I have to tilt my head back to look at him, straight into his icy, blue eyes. The eyes that warm to the color of the sea for me. He wears a few days of unshaved stubble, lining his square jaw, his narrowed eyes gazing down at me.

“Audrey, what are you doing here?” His voice is low, rough, strained. My name on his lips giving my heart the courage to say what’s etched on the surface of my skin.

“You were wrong, Rhett.”

He cocks his head, lips pulling back to reveal a smile that causes my lungs to squeeze. He might be the most stubborn man I ever knew but I was not going to let him get away without hearing everything I had to say.