“I’m going to fall on my ass,” I tell Jake and Molly. I’m sitting on the back seat of Jake’s truck, and we’re headed to the Baxter’s for a day of ice skating. “How did I let you talk me into this?” I ask them.
Jake laughs. “We’ll help you. It’s gonna be a good time,” he assures me.
“I don’t have skates, who goes ice skating without skates? Isn’t it bad luck or something to wear someone else’s skates?” I ask.
“No, and you have skates. I have two pair, and we’re the same size. Now what?” Molly asks, turning to look at me.
I stick my tongue out at her. “Seriously, I tried roller skating once, and it was a disaster. I’ll just sit on the sidelines and watch. You can show me what you’re made of.”
“It’s going to be fine,” Jake says, catching my eye in the rearview mirror.
“What if the ice is too thin and I fall in? What then?” I say, tossing out another worst-case scenario.
Jake pulls up to the house and turns to face me. “Saylor, it’s safe. No way would I ever put Molly”—he reaches over and grabs Molly’s hand—“or you in danger.”
I nod. I know he wouldn’t, but that still doesn’t keep me from freaking out. “I’ve told you I’m not much of an adventurous girl, right?”
“We know,” they say at the same time, laughing.
Before I can scold them for teasing me, Rhett comes out of the house, all bundled up with a pair of skates slung over his shoulder. He’s also carrying what looks like a blanket. He climbs in the back seat beside me.
“Hey,” he says in greeting. Jake and Molly reply. I, on the other hand, just stare out the window.
The more time I spend around him, the harder it is to keep up my hard-ass persona I’ve had with him. He may be cocky, but he’s not the asshole I once thought he was. He has his moments, but he’s a nice guy, and he’s so damn pretty. That thought alone brightens my mood a little.
“You good?” he asks, reaching over and gently squeezing my knee.
“She’s scared,” Jake says. “She’s never been.”
“We’ve been over this. Y’all”—I motion to the three of them—“like to torture me.” I cross my hands over my chest.
“We don’t like to torture you,” Molly says. I can’t see her face, but I know from the sound of her voice she’s rolling her eyes at me.
“Hmpf.” I spend the rest of the ride looking out the window. The snow-covered landscape looks like a Christmas card or a scene from one of those holiday Hallmark movies. The truck stops just outside of a small log cabin that sits beside the large pond. “What’s that?” I ask, pointing to the cabin.
“That’s where we can go to stay warm,” Rhett replies.
“Oh, so that’s where I’ll be while y’all are ice skating. Nice. This day is starting to look up.”
He chuckles. “At least try it.”
“Not you too,” I groan.
“Come on, crazy girl,” Molly says with a laugh, climbing out of the truck.
We follow Rhett to the cabin. I dance around in the cold while he unlocks the door. It’s small, just a living area with a tiny kitchen, if that’s what you even want to call it.
“There’s a bathroom there.” Rhett points to the only door.
“Here.” Molly hands me a pair of skates. “Get these on, and we’ll help you lace them up.”
“Fine,” I grumble. “Who’s going to take care of me when I break my ass?” I mutter.
“I’ll take care of you,” Rhett says from beside me.
I was so focused on my fear, I didn’t even notice that he’d taken the seat next to me.
“Right.” I chuckle.
“What? You don’t think I would?” he asks.
“Let’s have it,” I tell him.
“Have what?” He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind, and maybe I have.
“I know there’s a sexual innuendo in there somewhere.”
He throws his head back in laughter. I can’t look away. He’s smiling, causing his eyes to gleam. His hair falls over his eyes, and before I realize it, I reach out and push it back. His laughter dies as he watches me. “I can give you an innuendo if you want it,” he says, his voice low so Molly and Jake can’t hear him. “I can also assure you that if you need me, I would take care of you. No matter what the situation.” He winks.
Damn him. I turn away and pull off my boots, pulling on the skates. “Is there a trick to this?” I ask loud enough everyone can hear me. “Some kind of super-secret skate tying form that I’m not aware of?”
“Let me,” Rhett says. He slides off the couch and kneels in front of me.
I sit on my hands to keep from reaching out and touching him. I watch him as he carefully laces each skate.
“You’ll be wobbly at first, but I’ll help you.” He looks up at me, and I get lost in his eyes. I’ve never seen anything like them before. “I won’t let you fall, Say. I promise.” There’s conviction in his voice, and I’m reminded again that Rhett Baxter the third is one of the good guys.
“You guys ready?” Jake asks.
“Let me lace mine up,” Rhett says, taking the seat next to me and slipping his sock-covered feet into his skates.
I close my eyes and try to calm my nerves. I’m not sure now if I’m more nervous about ice skating for the first time or because of Rhett. It’s both, but I’m thinking a little more of Rhett now. He’s managed to calm my nerves about skating. There is something in his eyes and in the conviction of his voice that makes me trust him. He saved me in the grocery store—not that I needed saving, but he helped me out of an awkward situation. Last night walking me home, when I didn’t need it. He’s just one of those guys that you know deep in your gut that what you see is what you get.
When I feel him stand, I open my eyes. He’s holding his hand out for me. “I don’t think I can do this,” I tell him.
“You can. I’ve got you.”
Reluctantly, I stand and take his hand. I wobble immediately, and he places his hands on my hips to steady me. Suddenly, this idea just got a whole lot more appealing.
“Take it slow, one small step at a time. You’ll get used to it,” he tells me.
“Have you never used rollerblades?” Jake calls as soon as we’re out of the cabin.
“No,” I yell back.
Rhett puts his arm around me, his hand resting at my hip. I’m pressed against his side, holding onto his other hand with a death grip. “I’m not going to let you fall.” He chuckles when I wobble and dig my nails into the skin on his arm.
When we reach Jake and Molly, she gives me a big hug—well, me and Rhett since I refuse to let go of him. “You got her, or you want me to take her out?” Jake asks.
“I’ve got her,” Rhett tells him. “You ready, Short Stack?”
Taking in a deep breath, the cold air burns my lungs. “Yes, as ready as I’ll ever be.” With that, I follow him to the edge of the pond. He steps on the ice, his arms outstretched, still holding on to me on the bank. With small wobbly steps, I move toward him.
“That’s it, one at a time,” he instructs.
I step onto the ice and slide into him. He immediately wraps his arms around me, hands resting on my hips. I feel him rest his chin on the top of my head. “We’re going to go slow. I think, maybe, me being behind you is best so I can help guide you until you get the feel of it.”
“Okay,” I agree meekly.
“You stand still. I’ll move behind you, and then we’ll start slow.”
He steps away from me, and I miss the warmth of his arms wrapped around me. He does just like he said, moves behind me and places his hands on my hips. He’s close, way closer than I’m sure he needs to be, but I’m not going to say a word. His presence is making this so much better.
“Slow,” he whispers, his hot breath against my cheek. “Slide one foot in front of the other.”
Ever so slowly, I push one foot, just barely, then the other. Each time, I get a little braver. I wobble a little, and Rhett tightens his hold, moving in closer.
“I’ve got you, Say.”
I nod. One foot in front of the other, I focus on the simple movement of my feet, blocking out everything else. It’s not until I hear Molly cheering that I realize I’m halfway around the big-ass pond.
“Woohoo, you go girl!” she cheers.
“Don’t distract me,” I yell back through my laughter. I’m doing it. I’m actually ice skating. Well, if you can call it that. I do have the sexy Rhett Baxter guiding me.
“You ready to go on your own?” he asks.
My hands fly to my hips to grip his hands, causing me to stumble. Rhett pulls me tight against him, my back to his front, and steadies me. “I’ll take that as a no?” he asks, amused.
“That’s a hell no,” I say, laughing.
“Take a spin with me,” Molly says, appearing beside us.
“Molly, can you not see that I’m not exactly doing this on my own?” I ask her.
“I can guide you,” she says. “Step away, Baxter.” She pushes on Rhett’s arm, causing me to stumble.
“Molly!” I scream, laughing. “You about made me fall.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t.” She grins.
“You ready?” Rhett asks.
“No.” I feel him slowly step away. Molly steps up beside me, linking her arm through mine. “Uh, Molly, what are you doing?”
“We’re going to make a lap around.”
“You need to get behind me,” I tell her.
“Nope. We’re going like this.”
“You good, Short Stack?” Rhett asks.
“Probably not,” I mumble.
“Race ya,” Jake says, flying by us.
Rhett looks over at me, and I wave him on. “Go.”
He takes off after Jake, leaving me and Molly with our arms linked. “Okay,” she says, “let’s do this.”
With my arm clutching hers, we start slow. “You’re doing great. Is this as bad as you thought it would be?”
“No,” I admit.
“Could that have something to do with Rhett?”
“He’s been… helpful.”
“Right.” She laughs. “He’s had his hands all over you. I think he likes you.”
“What?” I turn to look at her and lose my balance. She’s not strong enough to stop us as we tumble to the ice. We both hit with an umpf in a tangle of limbs. We manage to roll onto our backs and fall into a fit of laughter.
“You okay?” Jake asks, offering Molly a hand.
“Up you go, Say,” Rhett says, holding both of his hands out for me. He already knows that just one isn’t going to be enough to get me on my feet and steady. I take his hands and allow him to pull me up. I’m like a new baby deer with wobbly legs. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close to his chest. I take a few seconds to breathe him in. Damn, he smells good.
“What happened?” Jake asks.
“Nothing, we were just talking and lost our footing,” Molly tells him.
“We can’t leave you girls alone for five minutes,” he jokes.
“Ready to go again?” Rhett asks me.
I pull away from his chest, now aware that I remained snuggled up to him. Molly’s going to have a field day with that. “Do we have to?”
“Yes. If you don’t get back on the horse, so to speak, you never will. Just a few more laps, and then we can go in and get warm.”
“Right. Okay, let’s do this.” He smiles down at me, and my heart skips a beat.
He moves behind me, hands on my hips, and we’re off. As we skate several more laps, I grow more confident with each one. Rhett doesn’t let go, and I don’t want him to. We’ve had a day where we’ve called a truce so to speak, and it’s been… nice. When we’re all numb, we head inside to get warm. I expected to have to light a fire, but this place has a full electric heating and cooling system. Rhett said it’s nice in the summer when you go fishing and need to get cooled off or use the bathroom. I wouldn’t know, that’s not exactly my thing. What I do know is that his grandfather’s property is amazing, and if I were him, I’d never want to leave. Then again, this might be nothing in comparison to where he lives. I don’t really know much about him outside of our time here in West Virginia.
After warming up, we head back to the house to drop Rhett off. Molly and Jake are talking, engrossed in conversation, so I take the opportunity to thank Rhett. “Thanks for your help today.”
“Anytime, Short Stack. You looked good out there,” he says with a gleam in his eyes.
“Oh yeah, you only seen me from behind,” I say, and as soon as the words leave my mouth, I know I’ve talked myself into a corner.
“I know.” He wags his eyebrows.
He’s back to being flirty Rhett. I find that I like both versions of him, so much so I don’t even offer a comeback. I just wear my blush and look at the window.
“See you soon,” he says, leaning into me. I don’t get to reply before he’s thanking Jake for the ride and hopping out of the truck.
“Tell your grandfather I said thanks and I’ll be over to see him in a couple of days.”
“You do that a lot?” Rhett asks through the window.
“Yeah, Jerry and I come out at least once a week. Molly comes sometimes too to keep him company.”
“Right. Yeah, I’ll tell him. See you later.” He turns and runs to the house to get out of the cold. I watch him until he disappears behind the door. I have this nagging feeling that I should be with him. Today was unexpected and fun. Days like this have been few and far between for me lately, and I find myself wanting to hold on to it. Or is it him I want to hold on to?