Chapter 5 ~ Rhett

Rhett sat on the couch and contemplated what to do while Tae changed her shirt. Her fit had thrown him completely off guard. He didn't know where her attitude was coming from.

From what he understood, she was a woman who had worked hard to give herself a good life. She seemed to have worked hard to give her dad the best last few years of his life too. She was a stubborn one though.

He understood that she liked to do things herself, but from where he stood, he thought that she could use some help. Getting help didn't mean you weren't capable of doing it yourself, it just meant that there were people who believed that you could, and they wanted to help you on the way.

Now if I could only get her to see that, he thought to himself.

When she came back and sat down stiffly beside him, he realized that she was serious. She really wanted him to take her to a motel, but he didn't think that that was where she needed to be.

After her rough day, she needed to be taken care of. Looking at her out of the corner of his eye, he saw her staring at the wall. He could see the exhaustion written all over her features. She wasn't fooling him; he could tell that her energy had run out.

It wasn't just her physical health though. He knew by fact that he had held her in his arms while she cried for thirty minutes, that her mental health had been affected as well.

One thing his mom had made clear to him when he'd become old enough to make his own adult decisions was: it didn't matter how confident you were in your decision, if you were physically or mentally unwell, then you shouldn't be making life-altering decisions.

Thinking of that now, he got up from the couch and walked down the hall. He opened up the side door quietly and slipped out. He hoped he'd done it quietly enough for her to not take notice.

Walking through the rain, he decided a nice trip to the barn would help clear his mind. He always thought better in the barn. Walking in, he stopped to pet Moony, his horse he'd had since he was sixteen. Scratching under his chin as he liked, he rubbed behind his ears.

"What are you doing, Ol' Moon?" he asked the horse.

Of course, the only response he got back was a soft neigh.

As Moony neighed, he thought about introducing Taylor to him. Now that would be something to see.

"You and Tae would make a great pair," he told the horse, "you're both stubborn as mules."

As he laughed at his own joke, he cursed himself. Spinning around from the horse, he moved on.

Reminding himself that he had to get Taylor home apparently, he continued through the barn. Seeing the harvester, and the toolbox sitting beside it, he decided a little mechanics work would be nice.

Sliding under the machine, he grabbed a wrench and started loosening the bolts only to realize his wrench wasn't the right size. Huffing, he crawled out from under the harvester to rummage through the toolbox.

"Where is it?" he grumbled to himself.

Not finding what he was looking for, he kicked the toolbox. As he whimpered over his stubbed toe, he thought about how Taylor had commented on him tripping over his boots. Laughing at the thought, he stepped back.

His irritation grew as he realized he was laughing again. He was supposed to be mad that the woman had come in and messed around with his house, not laughing at the fact that she made fun of him earlier.

Battling with his inner self, he crawled under the harvester for the third time. Cursing as the wrench slipped out of his oily hands and landed on his head, he let out a long line of dirty words the lord wouldn't have been proud of. His mama would have already skinned his hide if she heard the way he had acted today.

When he heard someone clear their throat, he craned his neck to see out from under the machine. Seeing Taylor's feet, he slid out from under the harvester. Taylor stood in a sassy pose, her hands on her hips and her legs spread apart over his so that he was directly under her. He could tell the stance was meant to make her feel like she was in control and, looking straight up at her, he felt like she was in control.

Shaking his head, he told himself to man up and get on with it.

Looking up at her above, he gave her a smirk before asking, "Did you need something darlin'?"

"Matter of fact, I did," she nearly growled.

Rhett lowered his eyes away from her angry ones.

She huffed and blew a piece of wet hair out of her eyes. He met her gaze again and gulped when he saw the anger simmering there.

She had on one of his black hoodies, which fell to her mid-thigh. It reminded him just how small she really was. After finite studying and realizing he didn't have a black hoodie, he looked closer, and sure enough, it was one of his grey work hoodies that had been soaked through from the rain.

When she started wringing out her wet hair over him, causing it to all splatter on his chest, the realization struck that she had come all the way to the barn in the pouring rain.

"Crazy woman, you are not supposed to be out in the rain!" he shouted up at her.

"What?" she blinked, obviously confused by his shouting.

She took a tiny step back at his outburst and he rose to stand. Standing, he towered over her.

Looking down on her now, he continued, "You are worse than a child. Don't you think that if you're already severely sick because of the rain, then you should probably avoid being in the rain?"

Her jaw dropped open, and he watched as the emotion that had drained out because of her confusion only seconds before, came flooding back. There was only one problem, that emotion was faced at Rhett, and that emotion seemed to be pure, unavoidable, fury. He looked down at her as she worked herself back up.

She stepped forward and put her finger in his chest.

"Don't you tell me I'm acting like a child, Rhett Montgomery, when you're out here pouting by yourself for god knows what. I asked you to take me to a motel so that I could get out of your way. What do you do? You sneak out of the house and go hide in the barn," she said putting her hands back on her hips.

Speechless, he watched as she caught her breath from her outburst.

When he finally got the sense to say something, she held up her hands.

"I'm not done yet. I stepped out in the pouring rain looking for you. I finally saw the light on in the barn, and then I nearly broke my ankle three different times trying to make it out here. Then, when I finally do make it out here, what do I find?" she stopped and looked at him as if waiting for an answer.

Rhett blinked and looked at her, dazed.

At the moment, he felt like a deer caught in the headlights of a ford. Shrugging his shoulders, he looked over her head at the barn door. He wondered if he could make an escape. He soon realized that silence was the wrong response when she threw her hands in the air and turned around in a circle.

"I found Rhett Montgomery out in the barn throwing a temper tantrum. He was throwing tools, and cursing out a woman that he hadn't even known for a full day," she said spinning to look at him again. "Please explain to me what I did to deserve that?"

Taking a big swallow he looked down at her to try to read her mind. Her features weren't giving him much to work with.

She's a feisty little thing, he thought to himself.

But as he watched her look at him, expecting an answer, he was more confused than ever. His anger mixed with his confusion, and soon he began to have enough of her outburst.

"Wait just a minute now, woman," he said straightening and taking a step towards her, causing her to back up as he stalked in her direction. "We were sitting in my house, having a perfectly nice conversation, when you blew up on me and demanded that I take you home. Now did I deserve that?"

Her eyes widened and gave a startled expression.

"I offered to help you out of a tough spot," he continued, "I didn't say that you weren't capable of doing it on your own." She stepped back again as he continued approaching her. "You have an attitude towards the world because you're scared of getting hurt," he looked straight into her eyes. "You won't let me help you, because you're afraid that I'll think less of you. Well, sweetheart, grow up. Everyone needs help from time to time, and you can't think that you're too good for it."

"Excuse you?" she all but bit out.

She stood there for a moment, and he watched as she took a deep, gasp-like breath and squared her shoulders. Her flame was lit bright as ever.

He didn't back down from her this time, but instead, stood ready for her next blow.

"Don't tell me that I think I'm too good for help. I don't take help from people because nothing is permanent. My life is not a happy tale of family, it is a sad story of a lonely one person with the odds stacked against her. The world didn't give me anything; I had to make it for myself," she said with angry tears rolling down her cheeks.

"The world did give you something," he said.

"No, I was given nothing!" she angrily shouted, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Yes-," he started but she cut him off with an angry shout.

"You don't understand," she shouted. "You don't know what it's like to be so poor that everyone looks at you with pitying looks because your clothes barely fit and have holes in them."

She took a big breath, but Rhett didn't interrupt her.

"You don't know what it's like to rush home from one job, to sleep for two hours before you have to get up for the next job and work for another nine hours, and then come home to finally sleep your full five hours."

He opened his mouth, but she held up a hand.

"You don't know what it's like to not take a shower because you didn't make the utility bill, so they shut off your water. You don't know how it feels when you turn eighteen, and suddenly, the last person you had, is ripped away from you, and you're left entirely alone," she said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm completely alone. The world took the two people that I had away from me. It didn't give me anything to work with. I had to do it myself!" she shouted.

She'd gone through the shock phase when Rhett met her on the road, she had her emotional stage sitting in his arms on the couch, and now, she was finally having the angry stage. He felt a tiny bit guilty for provoking her, but it was for her own good.

Shaking his head, he looked back down at her.

"That's where you're wrong. The world did give you something. You have a gifted brain and a work ethic of a mule. You were given the strength to push through the hard situations of your life. God gifted you with a heart that was kind and compassionate. That is more than many people have," he said to her softer now.

He watched as her tears continued to fall, and the fire slowly dimmed in her eyes. He waited to see realization set before he continued.

"There are lots of people who aren't given these things. They're born special because their brain didn't form entirely. There's nothing wrong with them, they just have different setbacks. There are people born without the capacity to learn and think quickly enough to make decisions," stopping, he reached down to pick up his wrench and moved under the harvester. "Some people are born mean and selfish, and they don't have the caring gene in them, but you weren't."

He craned his neck to watch her legs give out as she plopped down on the bale of hay sitting beside his toolbox. Smiling to himself, he started his last bit.

"Tae, you were born strong and independent. You don't have to rely on anyone, and you have a brain that is smart enough to make the decisions, not just for you, but for the people of your family as well. Your heart was made full of compassion and love for your family. That makes you a hell of a woman."

He heard her sigh and started cranking on his wrench. He would give her a minute before he invaded her space again. He thought about what he had told her, and he gave himself a pat on the back.

Bet she didn't expect that from this ol' cowboy, he thought to himself. Smiling like a fool, he slid out from under the harvester.

Looking over, he found her sitting on the bale staring at her hands. Her eyes showed sadness, but what shone through the brightest was humility. He could read her emotions well enough now to tell that she was ashamed of her outburst. He cleared his throat and she looked up at him.

Watching her roll her eyes as she took in his big smile and raised eyebrow, he smiled bigger.

"Would you quit looking at me like that? You're right, okay. No need to rub it in," she huffed, staring down at the ground. "I'm really sorry for blowing up on you, I'm an emotional mess," she sighed. She didn't look at him with her tear-filled eyes.

She was so uncertain of herself that she still wouldn't meet his gaze after everything they'd gone through in the last twelve hours.

"Hey, there will be none of that. We all go through bad times and get a little emotional now and then. Now come on, you're exhausted and shouldn't be out in this weather. Let's get you home," he said making his way over to her.

"Okay," she said softly.

She was still staring at her foot, which was moving the hay on the ground around in little circles. He held out his hand, and she took it. Pulling her up, they turned to head to the house, but when they made their way past the horse stalls, Moony neighed and knocked Taylor in the shoulder.

Rhett watched awestruck as she turned and started petting his head. She scratched behind his ears, and Moony laid his head against her chest.

"Aww, sweet boy, I'm sorry did I not stop and scratch your ears?" she crooned to his horse.

He watched in wonder as she softly touched the horse. Moony was a stubborn old thing that wouldn't let anyone but Rhett touch him. He was a great horse, but his loyalty lied only to Rhett, and he didn't trust another soul. Moony had never let anyone near him, let alone pet them.

"Moony, what did she do to you buddy?" Rhett asked, shaking his head in wonder.

Taylor looked over her shoulder with a questioning smile.

Seeing the question in her eyes, he explained, "Moony is a very stubborn horse. He's only ever allowed me to touch him. He doesn't let anyone near him, let alone that," he made a wide gesturing gesture at Taylor and his horse.

"Oh, he's just a big old softie, aren't you, old man?" she asked the horse.

Turning to his horse, he laughed, "Jeesh, traitor, you aren't even this affectionate with me. You like Tae, huh? Who would have thought?"

Scratching the animal's neck, he attempted to remind his horse who he belonged to. Moony simply sidestepped away from him, still keeping his head on Taylor's chest.

"Well, damn. Looks like I just lost my horse," he said to Taylor who was looking at Moony with aww.

"He's gorgeous," she said stroking his neck.

"Okay, Moony, your girlfriend has to go get some sleep, or I'm not going to let her come out to play with you tomorrow," he said nudging Taylor towards the door.

Taylor sent him a sassy look that told him to stop pushing, and he chuckled.

"Ms. Sassy, it's your health, not mine," he said shrugging.

She sent him another look.

She sighed, "I know, but he is so beautiful. I hate to leave him."

"He'll be here tomorrow, trust me. Now come on," he said while steering her towards the door.

"Fine, but I'm holding you to that. I want to spend more time with him tomorrow. I've never really been around horses since I was little, and I miss them," she said as she followed him out.

When she went to step out, he grabbed the hood of her hoodie, or well his hoodie, and slipped it over her head.

"It sounds like a deal to me," he said with a smile.

"Good. We used to go out to a ranch when I was younger. The rancher and my dad were friends. I learned to ride then, and I fell in love with it. I miss it," she said quietly.

"What, being on a horse," Rhett asked.

"No, the happiness that came from being there. My mother didn't ride, but she loved being around the horses and the views of the ranch. She was a bit of an amateur artist, and she'd take her stuff with her to try to capture the beauty of the land. She made hundreds of works out there, but she was never happy with how they came out. She said it was impossible to capture the beauty of something so natural," she said smiling sentimentally.

"She sounds wonderful," Rhett said.

He watched as her smile widened.

"It wasn't just her though. My dad loved it out there as well. He loved to ride, and he'd ride beside me through all of the trails. He had been a bit of a rodeo star in high school and college, but he gave it up when my mom got pregnant. They moved into town, and he moved on with his life. I think he missed it though. I'd catch him watching the rodeo on TV with a longing look in his eyes that only comes from regretting something you gave up," she explained.

"You think he regretted giving it up?" Rhett asked.

He could understand how someone could regret it. Giving up the cowboy lifestyle was hard to do.

"No, I don't think he regretted giving it up for our family, but I do think he regretted not going back every once in a while. I think he just missed it," she said solemnly.

"Ahh," he said with understanding.

"Anyway, now you know more about my parents. But it would mean a lot to me if you let me around the horses," she said shyly.

"Of course, I'll let you interact with them more once you get to feeling better," he said smiling.

She sent him a megawatt smile.

"Thank you, Rhett," she said beaming.

"All right, all right, let me lead the path because I know this yard like the back of my hand. I'll avoid all those holes you found on your way over here," he said with a smirk.

"I'm still mad at you about that," she said with a pout.

"Oh, you'll get over it," he said with a chuckle.

Grabbing her hand, he headed for the house.