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“I like Sunny.”
His mouth skews to one side in thought before he says, “I like Sunny too.” A gentle blush rises in his cheeks, but he clears his throat and looks away. “Are you gonna show me or not? It’s getting cold out here.”
“Give me a second, I’m still nervous.”
Rhett motions to the fading sunset. “Too much longer and I won’t see anything. You’ll be like, ‘oh don’t you like my hair?’ and I’ll just shrug and say, ‘Don’t know, can’t see anything’.”
I roll my eyes at his impression of my girlie voice. “I don’t sound like that.” But Rhett crosses his arms over his chest and raises his eyebrows as if to challenge me. I guess I’m not one to back down, because I pull my bandana off and free my hair from the makeshift bun. Not wanting to see his first reaction, I squeeze my eyes shut. “What do you think?”
Rhett
My heart has been in my throat the whole night. It’s taken everything I’ve got just to keep from saying something stupid or jumping a boundary too soon. But her new look has my mouth going dry. Caught somewhere between the color of chocolate and wine, and all the right shades to make her that much more beautiful. Tongue tied doesn’t even begin to cover my predicament.
“Well,” she squints out one eye, “is it horrible?”
I clear my throat, but it does nothing to help me. “It’s not horrible.”
Her eyes pop all the way open. “Oh my gosh, it is, isn’t it?”
Palm over my mouth, I try to hide the fact that I’m wiping away any drool that might catch in the light of the rising moon. “It’s… It’s...I mean, I didn’t know what to expect, and it’s not like I know you that well. I thought blonde might be the only color for you,” oh please, someone stop me from babbling, “but I mean, it’s… I think…”
Sunny screws her lips to one side, clearly frustrated with my lack of coherent words. “Scale of one to ten, how bad is it, Rhett?”
I open my mouth but not much comes out. Carl would know exactly what to say and how to say it. His words would sweep her off her feet, she’d swoon, and they’d be written in the stars. I’m not one for poetry or fancy words. I only know how to tell the truth.
“You… look… beautiful.” I lick my much too dry lips. “I’m speechless.”
Her unabashed scrutiny dissolves into a crooked grin. “Really? You’re not messing with me?”
“I wouldn’t know how,” I admit a little too easily, almost like I’m admitting defeat. When it comes to a girl that looks like Sunny, I might as well wave my white flag early on.
Sunny hooks her arm through mine. “You’re sweet, Rhett.” Her motion propels me forward to the path that leads back to the bunkhouse. The way we’re walking, it could be romantic, but I doubt it is. My mom has walked with me in the same way. It’s familiar, easy, and right now I feel like it’s the best either one of us could hope for. Who knows what trouble lurks in the shadows of her life, and I often feel alone even surrounded by a team full of wranglers. Sunny helps that feeling fade, at least some of the time.
“You’re a different kind of girl, you know that?”
I kick myself the second I say it. It’s the sort of thing I rarely have the guts to say, and I don’t know where I found the gumption. But Sunny seems to think nothing of it.
“Why would you say that?”
“I don’t know.” Heat rises in my face, and I cover it by pretending to check out the cypress trees. “It’s just something I’ve noticed. It makes me wonder who you really are.”
Her head starts to shake before I finish the thought. “We’ve been over this. I can’t tell you who I am.”
“That’s not what I mean anyway.” I unhook from her arm, turning around and walking backward so I can face her. “I mean, your personality, I don’t know which one is real.”
Her brow creases. Her arms fold across her body. I doubt it has to do with the chill infiltrating the air. “You think I have multiple personalities or something? Like I’m a nut job?”
“No!” How’d I stick my foot in my mouth that fast? “I mean, I keep seeing you from different angles, and—that doesn’t sound good either. Hold on—let me think about what I mean.” My back collides with a tree trunk and knocks a groan deep from my chest. I lean forward, bracing my hands on my knees, trying to catch my whirling thoughts and breath. It’s easier when she’s not looking at me. “I mean, sometimes, like tonight, you’re playful and sarcastic, not a care in the world. Other times, I catch you lost in your thoughts, more serious than the sphinx. And then even more rare, you’re timid, shy and acting like you’re out of place around here. Which feels crazy to me because I’ve never seen a girl take to ranch work like you have.”
I don’t look up, for fear of what new stupid thing I’ve said to her. “I’m not great with words, Sunny. That’s Carl’s thing. I’m just saying, I’d like to know which one of them is the real you, because I want to know the real you, and I get the feeling you’re not used to sharing it with folks.”
For a full fifteen seconds, there’s nothing between us but the rhythm of the waves. Like our breaths, steadily moving in and out, naturally falling in sync with each other’s. Finally, Sunny sinks to her knees in front of me, searching me out, not satisfied until her eyes lock with mine.
“You’re one to talk, Everett. It’s not like you share your real personality with that many people either. I rarely see you smile when you’re around the rest of them. If I didn’t get you one on one, I’d swear you didn’t know how to laugh. Your own brother calls you ‘Ol’ Steel Eyes’, which sounds nothing like the guy I met on the beach.” Her lips press together then twist. “I wouldn’t mind getting to know the real you either, because I feel like you keep yourself just as guarded as I do.”
There’s something magical about two kindred souls sparking, even if it’s only for an instant. There’s a story inside her that helps her understand me. Warmth grows in my chest, a feeling I haven’t felt since I was young starts to permeate my heart.
Belonging.
