Chapter 18 ~ Rhett

Rhett stared out the window of his cabin. He had been up in the hills for three days now, but he couldn't bring himself to go back to the land of the living yet.

He'd told Taylor he was going to stay in the cabin, but he didn't tell her which one. No one knew where he was, and he liked it that way.

He continued to stare out the window as he washed his bowl in the sink. Luke's family had owned this cabin for years, and Luke and he used to come up here in the summer to throw parties.

He grimaced as the spoon he was holding fell through his fingers and clattered to the bottom of the sink. He hadn't been able to hold onto anything lately. He'd barely been able to make the drive up here with the way his hands were shaking.

He thought of Taylor and how he had made fun of her driving. He smiled to himself as he thought about it, then he remembered the look on her face as she told him what had happened.

His guilt hit again, and he quickly sat down in a chair. Putting his head in his hands he scrubbed his face. He didn't know what he had been thinking; keeping a secret this big from his brothers. He hoped they'd still think of him as a brother.

He thought of Axel and a sob broke loose. Axel had known every secret that Rhett had ever had since he was born. Rhett being the oldest, and Axel being the youngest, they had formed an unbreakable bond. Rhett had always protected Axel, but he didn't know what would happen this time.

He thought of every time he'd gotten Axel out of trouble, or Axel had kept a secret for him. He kicked himself for not telling Axel sooner. It was the biggest break of trust you could do. Axel would never trust him again.

He thought about everyone else at home. He didn't think Max would take the news as hard as Axel would, and Luke would probably just tell Rhett to grow up and move on. He thought of Mom and Taylor and wondered if they were hiding out at the ranch.

Taylor had called him multiple times every day, but he declined every one of her calls. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He couldn't believe this was happening to him.

He'd always wanted to tell his brothers, but he had been too scared of what they would think of him. He had told Mama, though, that if they ever decided to tell people, he would want to tell the boys first, and it would just be from him.

Now, he wished that he would have just told them. If he would have manned up and told them sooner, then he wouldn't have to be hiding in the middle of the woods for fear of them showing up mad as hell.

Thinking about his brothers, he looked down as his phone blinked back to life. It had died shortly after he woke up yesterday, and he never turned it back on.

He'd finally decided to power it up when he'd gotten out of the shower.

He opened the phone up to see Max had messaged him. He grimaced, bracing for the nasty messages that would be waiting.

He was surprised to find that Max's message wasn't brutal at all.

Rhett, it's time to come back to the ranch. We're having a

family meeting at the farmhouse at 3. We promise that we

will both listen to what you have to say. We aren't upset.

– Max & Axel

Rhett stared at the screen. He finally processed what was happening. Looking up at the clock, he saw that it was already two-thirty. He jumped up and ran out the door.

Hopping into his truck, he hoped he could make the forty-five-minute drive in thirty without being pulled over.

He pushed the speed limits to the max every chance that he had, and twenty-eight minutes later, he pulled into the farmhouse. He took a deep breath and tried to pull himself together. Stepping out of the truck, he noticed that the truck Taylor had been driving wasn't there.

He stepped into the house and could hear everyone talking in the living room. He peeked around the corner of the wall. His brothers and mother were sitting watching TV as if it was an ordinary day.

He stepped around the corner into the room and everyone looked up at him, then back at the TV. He sat down beside Max on the couch without looking at him.

Finally, Caroline spoke.

"Okay, he's here, so you two can ask him for his side of the story," she said nodding at Rhett.

Rhett waited for one of them to blow up. He looked up at each of them. Axel looked annoyed, but Max looked as calm as a cucumber.

"Well, I would just like to say that after talking to Taylor and Mom, I understand why you didn't tell us. It wasn't your secret to tell, it was Mom's," Max said.

Rhett blanked in the middle of him talking.

Taylor and Mom had already talked to them?

He'd said that he wanted to be the first one to talk to them. He thought they would respect that.

He fumed as he listened to his brother.

"Well, I wanted to be the first one to tell you," he said shooting a glare at his mother.

She flushed but said nothing.

"But since I didn't get to, I'll tell you now," he said taking a big breath.

He explained to his brothers how he may only be half-blood related to them, but it didn't change anything. He watched as his mother teared up, and Axel's stony demeanor cracked.

"Rhett, you know you'll always be our big brother, no matter what maternal blood is running through your veins," Max said with a sly grin. "Anyway, now we've finally got the one up on you. We've got better blood."

Rhett laughed and shook his head. Being a veterinary student, blood was a big deal to him.

"He's right Rhett, no matter how much it hurts to say it, you are still just as much our brother as you were last month," Axel said smiling slightly.

He knew it wasn't manly, he knew he'd have his cowboy card revoked, but he broke down and cried as he side-hugged both his brothers. Max wiped his eyes, and Axel blinked trying to pretend he wasn't tearing up.

They fell back in their usual swing and they filled him in on what he'd missed during his stay in the woods.

Apparently, the town had actually run Jack out of the feed store when he was in it, and they all had a good chuckle at his expense.

As they were leaving, Axel spoke up.

"I don't know what we would have done without Taylor," he said. "She stepped in, and took care of the situation."

Rhett's anger rose again. The last thing he had told her was that he wanted to talk to his brothers, and what had she done? She'd talked to them instead.

He headed to his house upset. He pulled into the front to see the lights on inside. Quickly stepping inside the mudroom to take his boots off, he tried to reign in the temper that was flaring. When he opened the door, he saw Taylor standing in the kitchen cooking something.

She looked up at him, shocked. He watched as relief flooded her eyes.

"Rhett," she whispered.

He shook his head.

"Yeah, thanks for talking to my brothers without me. That was really nice of you, Taylor," he said.

She looked at him, clearly startled. She dropped her spoon in the bowl with a thud.

"You have to be kidding me, Rhett Montgomery. You go off and disappear, to God knows where, and I don't hear from you for days. My calls go straight to voicemail, you don't answer the phone. I've been worried sick about you, and the first thing you have to say to me is a cruel comment about me talking to your brothers before you could?" she shouted at him.

She was in tears. She stared at him. He stood staring right back at her.

"I told you I wanted to talk to them," was the nicest thing he could say.

She threw her hands up.

"If you tried to talk to your brothers, Axel would have done something stupid. He was beyond mad at you. You have the closest relationship with him, and he thought the world of you. He couldn't believe you would lie to him."

He fought to point out that that was why he had wanted to talk to him.

"Caroline told me that she wanted to talk to them, and I told her exactly what you told me. She then proceeded to tell me what I just told you about Axel. I knew it would break your heart if you saw him like that, so I said that she may be right," she said to him, mad as a wet hen.

He blinked at her.

"That wasn't your decision to make," he spat at her.

Her eyes began to water again.

"Your mother had already made the decision. I just said that I would be there with her," she said.

Rhett shook his head again.

"You don't get it," he started, but she cut him off with a hand.

"No, what I don't get is why I'm still here. You clearly don't want me here," she said shaking her head.

He watched as she walked to the nursery and brought Levi out. She wrapped the sleeping baby in a blanket, grabbed the playpen pack from the ground, took her keys out of her pocket, and walked out.

He looked out the window to see her put Levi in the car seat and put the playpen in the bed of the truck. She had tears running down her face, but her eyes were filled with stony determination.

She pulled out of the drive, and Rhett let out a sigh. He didn't need a baby anyway. It wouldn't work with his lifestyle, and Tae, she was... well, she was just too bossy. She didn't let him do what he wanted to do.

Even to his own ears, his excuses sounded weak. He kicked himself for regretting anything though. It was better off without them.

He was better off without them.

He decided he was going to take a shower. The cabin was a nice getaway, but there wasn't any hot water. It meant he had taken cold showers. Not very relaxing.

Letting the water wash over his head, he tried to forget about everything else around him. When the water started cooling, he finally washed off and got out.

He hadn't slept well the last couple of nights, and he was exhausted. He crawled into his own bed and sighed.

Rolling over, he took a deep breath in, and Taylor's smell filled his senses. She was in every thread of the sheets, every fluff of the pillow. He punched his pillow. Yeah, he was screwed.

He rolled over again and closed his eyes. He willed sleep to come, but it never did. The image of Taylor's eyes filled with tears kept flashing in his head.

He spread out on the bed trying to get comfortable, but he couldn't. He had gotten used to having Tae curled up against him. He had too much room now.

He finally gave up after three hours of tossing and turning. He got up and walked through his house. When he stopped at the closed door of the nursery, he took a deep breath. He pushed open the door.

The smell of baby powder and bath wash filled his nose. He looked at the empty crib and stopped. Then, he sat down in the rocker with a groan. Looking at the walls, he noticed Taylor had hung up pictures. His eye caught on one of Taylor holding Levi. Rhett was standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist. He had his chin resting on her shoulder, and they both were looking down smiling at the baby.

His mother had taken it at lunch a few weeks ago. He stared at the picture. They looked like the perfect happy family. He felt the loss of Levi finally. He had honestly fallen in love with the little guy.

He got up, mad at the world again. He knew he didn't deserve the two angels that he had been given. It was his fault that they were gone. He stomped into the living room to lay down on the couch. There, he finally drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Rhett woke up sore. He'd fallen asleep with his head at a weird angle on the arm of the couch, and now he had a crick in his neck. He climbed off the couch and headed toward his room.

Opening his closet door, he saw all of Taylor's clothes beside his. She had wrapped herself completely in his life. It would take a lot of untangling to get her out of it.

He grabbed some jeans and a t-shirt. He put his boots on as he walked out of the house. He couldn't stay in the walls that Taylor had filled and decorated anymore.

He breathed in the fresh air as he walked to his truck. Climbing into the cab, he looked down at his phone. He didn't know why he was looking. He knew there wouldn't be a call from Taylor.

He didn't deserve one.

He put the truck into gear and headed towards the barn. He sat through the morning meeting, trying to avoid the stares from the guys around him, and completely zoned out to nothing. He was numb, not capable of feeling anymore.

The meeting ended, and he walked across the lot to the bunkhouse. Stepping through the door, he looked for Taylor. He knew she wouldn't be there though.

He headed towards the kitchen to where he knew his mama was. He stepped into the warm kitchen where Caroline was looking out the window.

"Hey, Mama," he said as he gave her a hug.

She looked up at him worried.

"Rhett, is Taylor okay?" she asked.

He looked at her surprised.

"This is the first time that she hasn't come in," she said.

He shook his head.

"Taylor left," he said simply.

His mother glared at him while she shook her head.

"Come again?" she asked.

He sighed. He knew she had had high hopes for the two of them.

"Mom, she left, okay?" he repeated.

His mother's glare intensified. She shook her head and turned back to the stove.

"You, stupid man," she said.

She pointed at the door with her wooden spoon.

"Get out of my kitchen."

Rhett's mouth dropped open in shock. She was really upset about this. He walked out of the kitchen to sit at a table with his brothers.

"Where's Taylor and the little guy at this morning?" Axel asked.

Rhett shrugged.

"I don't know," he said, looking at the table.

He was beginning to get irritated. He looked up to see his brothers share a look, and then they both pinned him with a glare.

"You seriously didn't?" Axel asked.

Max shook his head as well.

"I seriously didn't what?" Rhett asked, mad now.

He glared as Max rolled his eyes.

"You were your normal moody self, and pushed Taylor to leave, didn't you?" he asked.

"I'm not moody, and I didn't push her to leave. She should have left already. I specifically asked her not to do something, and she did it anyway," he said shrugging.

Axel grunted.

"What did she do?" he asked, acting as if he didn't believe Rhett.

Rhett took a drink of his coffee.

"I told her I wanted to talk to you before anyone else did, and what did she do? She talked to you before I could," he said grimacing.

Axel leaned across the table and smacked him across the face.

"You are an idiot, you know that right?" he asked.

Rhett looked at him in shock. He couldn't believe he had just smacked him, and truthfully, his face stung a bit from it.

"If Taylor and Mom didn't talk to me before you did, I would have shot you. I was far from being able to see anything from red, let alone listen to you. If you had tried to approach me, there would have been a fistfight," he said.

Rhett rubbed his face as realization sunk in. Taylor hadn't been lying last night. He groaned as he realized that he'd been outrageously wrong.

Max looked at him sympathetically.

"Well, I guess it's time to plan operation Get Taylor Back.