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“Yep.”
“And your cowboy hat this time.”
“Too much?”
“Never.”
“Just making sure. I stopped wearing it after…”
“After we were over.”
Rhys nodded. “Because you always liked it whenever I wore it.”
“Because you rocked my world whenever you did.”
“Do I now?”
“Damn straight, you do. We’ve got plenty of time before church starts, so take me back to bed.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Rhys took off his clothes, and I took off mine. Then we laid down in his bed and made slow, tender love. The same as when we had sex at my momma and daddy’s house, Rhys and I got choked up. Neither of us had to explain why. We were both so grateful to have each other again and to be this close.
Sitting with our families at church before the service began, I leaned across Rhys toward his parents.
“How are those broken toes feeling today?” I asked Rob.
“A little better, I suppose, but I’ll be alright. After a couple more days, I won’t be hobbling around like an old man.”
“You might not be hobbling, but you’ll still be old,” Janice teased.
Rob placed his hand on his chest, acting offended. “Need I remind you that we’re in the house of the Lord where there’s no judgment?”
Janice giggled and gave Rob a quick kiss. The way they picked on each other and the mutual affection they openly displayed reminded me of how my momma and daddy were. Both couples were wonderful examples, regularly showing Rhys, Jackson, Rachel, and me that a man and a woman can be married for years and still be in love and have fun.
I nestled back into Rhys’s side, and he tightened his arm around my shoulders. A moment later, Reagan and Destinee Smith walked up to the pew in front of us, smiling and asking us how we were doing before they sat down. They were classmates of Rhys’s and mine, graduated the same year as us, and married that June.
As the service began, Destinee whispered something to Reagan. I noticed the strained look on her face, and then she covered her mouth and hurried out of the sanctuary. I knew she was pregnant with her first child, and I could tell that she was experiencing morning sickness.
My grandpa had been preaching for about ten minutes, and Destinee hadn’t returned. I was concerned about her, and so was Reagan. He kept looking over his shoulder in the direction of the restrooms.
“Hey, I’m going to go check on your sweet little wife,” I whispered to him.
“I was about to.”
“That’s okay. Let me do it.”
“Thanks, Riley.”
I smiled and then looked at Rhys. He nodded, and I stood up and went to find Destinee. I could hear her throwing up before I entered the women’s restroom.
“It’s Riley,” I said, tapping on her stall door. “Let me help you.”
She unlatched the door and opened it. “This is for the birds,” she said, sweat covering her face.
I stuck out my bottom lip and grabbed some paper towels. “Here, let’s get your face dried off.”
“You didn’t have to come in here.”
