When the Sun Comes Out

Chapter 6 ~ Tae

Tae awoke to sunlight streaming through the windows. It had been the longest weekend ever, but surprisingly she had enjoyed it. After the terrible day Friday, Saturday turned out to be a day of relaxation and rejuvenation.

Since they'd been up until four-thirty in the morning, they both had slept past noon on Saturday, and then she had spent the day resting and talking to Rhett.

On Sunday, Rhett had brought the laptop to her on the couch and told her they were going to look for jobs. After zero luck, they gave up and took a break. The rain had died down a little, and he took her out to see Moony. Taylor was quickly falling in love with the horse, and it cracked her up how jealous Rhett would get when Moony turned from him to her.

Waking up today, Taylor felt like a new person. Being it was the first time she'd seen sunshine in almost a week helped. Getting out of bed, she looked out the window, it was a beautiful day. Rhett had told her yesterday that he would need to get out this morning, and actually report to work on the ranch, but he would be back by noon.

Deciding she needed something to eat, she headed towards the kitchen. She walked down the hallway, but stopped when she heard the clanging of pans ahead. Confused about why Rhett was back at eight-thirty in the morning, she continued into the kitchen.

Much to her dismay, it wasn't Rhett who was in the kitchen. No, it was the middle-aged woman that she had seen in the picture on the wall. She shrieked as she came around the corner, and quickly jumped back to hide. She hoped that the woman hadn't seen her, but she was quickly disappointed when she heard the woman say hello.

"Hello there, sweetheart, I'm glad you're looking better. I thought you might be hungry this morning, and I decided I would come down here and fix something since Rhett is out on the ranch," she said in a sweet southern voice. "Now, you don't have to hide, step on around and say hello."

Taylor stepped into the kitchen and stammered, "H, h, hi," taking a gulp of air, she cleared her throat as she gathered her bearings. "Hi, I'm Taylor. Rhett said you didn't know I was here." She felt bad about that, and quickly added, "Not that I'm trying to hide from you or anything, but Rhett had said it was better if you didn't know."

The woman showed the face of a disappointed mother and shook her head. "Of course he did. The first time he brings a girl to his home, and he won't even let me meet her," still shaking her head, she threw her dishrag down on the counter.

Taylor thought this over in her head.

I'm the first girl he's ever brought home?

That couldn't be true. Rhett was a little muscled in his buffness and a somewhat handsome man. She snorted to herself.

Very handsome, and good lord, yeah, he had muscles.

He'd had to have had a girlfriend some time. Staring at the ground she continued to ponder this.

"Well now, why don't we sit down with some coffee and get to know each other," the mother said gesturing to the table.

"Sure," Taylor said quietly.

Taylor moved to sit down, and Rhett's mom sat a cup of coffee beside her.

"I read the note beside the coffee pot. Rhett's handwriting said exactly how you like your coffee. I hope he's right," she said chuckling.

"Oh yes, he asked me how I liked it the other day, and he said he was writing it down. I thought he was joking. I guess not," she said, giggling as she took a sip of her coffee.

"That would be Rhett, always making sure to remember the little things. I hope he has been good to you," she said, giving Taylor a small smile.

Taylor smiled back at her. She admired this woman already.