When the Sun Comes Out

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.