My Cowboy, My Hero

Chapter Seventeen

Rhye and Katrina

"Butter or cheese?" Rhye asked as he pulled the popcorn out of the microwave.

"Nacho cheese!" Katrina sang as she walked into the living room carrying the cokes.

Rhye chuckled and shook some cheese flavoring onto the popcorn.

"What movie are we watching?" Katrina asked as she moved from her chair onto the couch.

"I thought we would watch Cinderella. A little birdie suggested you might like it." Rhye said.

Katrina looked up at him. "A little birdie named Caitlin?"

He laughed. "Yeah, it was Caitlin. How did you know?"

"She asked me what movies I liked yesterday."

Rhye shook his head. "So much for being sneaky."

She giggled. "You look beautiful today." he mumbled against the top of her head.

She blushed and he smiled. "Thank you." she said as she rested her head on his plaid covered chest.

He pushed play on the remote and then wrapped his arms around her.

"Do you like this movie?" she asked as an afterthought. She didn't want him to suffer through it if he didn't like it.

"I do. I use to watch it with Heath... I used to watch it a lot." he said as he corrected himself.

"Who did you use to watch it with?" Katrina asked in confusion.

Rhye hesitated. He wasn't sure he was ready to talk about it.

"I won't get angry." Katrina assured him.

He found himself smiling at her innocence.

"I use to watch it with Heather." he said.

"Was she an old girlfriend?" Katrina asked as she took a small handful of popcorn.

"No, she was my sister." Rhye answered truthfully.

"I am sorry. She is the one you lost?" Katrina asked as she cocked her head to the side.

"Yeah love."

 "How?"

"She had brain cancer and she didn't make it." Rhye said as he turned to face her.

"I am so sorry Rhye." she said as she reached out and rubbed her fingers over his face. He found himself thankful for her attempt to soothe him.

"I am sorry I asked you." Katrina said as she lowered her eyes. The simple action made Rhye feel incredibly guilty.

"No baby, I am sorry I didn't tell you about her sooner. I want you to know about her because she was so special to this family, but I still have trouble talking about her. Not because I don't miss her or think about her, because I do- everyday- but because the pain is so intense." he said as he pulled her to him.

They settled into a comfortable silence- Katrina understanding he needed time- before Rhye spoke again. "She was energetic and mischievous, but so sweet at the same time. There were days I swore I couldn't wait for her to go away to college, but days I dreaded her departure. Some mornings I went to work so angry and spent all day practicing my lecture, only to look at her little face and forget why I was angry." Rhye said with a smile.

"It sounds like she had you wrapped around her fingers." Katrina observed.

"Oh, she did."

"How old was she?"

"She was fifteen when she was diagnosed and seventeen when she died."

"How awful." Katrina said.

"You know, you would think it would have been, but she handled everything so well. She refused treatment. She said that if God wanted to heal her, he didn't need the doctor's help." Rhye said with a chuckle.

"So she didn't take any treatment?" Katrina asked.

Rhye shook his head. "By the time they found the cancer it was already spreading, but they felt with chemo and radiation she would have added three years to her life. She felt three years wasn't worth all the sickness and treatments, so she asked to stay home and enjoy her life."

"I can't imagine making that kind of decision at her age." Katrina admitted.

"We were all shocked, but we respected her choice and in the end it paid off. She died peacefully in her sleep with Tyler right there beside her and not in some hospital surrounded my robotic nurses."

"Were she and Tyler close?" Katrina asked as she tried to put the pieces together.

"They were married." Rhye said shaking his head.

"Married?"

"They had been dating for years when she was diagnosed. Tyler took it harder than all of us, but he still managed to be supportive for a seventeen year old. When Heather turned seventeen he asked my dad for permission to marry her. He said he knew she wouldn't make it, but he wanted her to spend the remainder of her time feeling loved and cherished, not sick and alone." Rhye said as he choked up. "He had her for about three months before she died."

Katrina wiped her own eyes and hugged Rhye. She couldn't imagine the pain he was reliving to tell her this story.

After a moment he continued his story.

"I was against it the entire time. I thought she was too young and that Tyler couldn't provide for her, but my daddy and momma gave him permission and they were married a few weeks later. My dad actually had to sign for her to get married because she was under eighteen. Taylor proved the dedication of his love so many times in those last few months. He gave up his college dreams of becoming an architect to stay home with her and he never once complained. He used his life savings to buy that cabin because they had their first date there. He gave himself selflessly to ensure her comfort and I will always be grateful for that." Rhye said as he wiped his eyes.

"How beautiful." Katrina whispered as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She tried to wipe the profusely falling tears.

"It was a beautiful thing they had." Rhye sobbed. He would come to realize this was the first time he had properly cried for the loss of his sister.

As the night went on they each sat wrapped in each others embrace, seeking comfort from the cold reality of the world. Katrina touched by Tyler's selflessness and Rhye mourning for the sister he missed dearly. It wasn't the night Rhye had planned nor was it the one Katrina wanted, but it was the night God had planned for them years ago when he planned out Rhye and Katrina's futures. It was a night that Rhye realized he could let go of his pain completely and the night Katrina realized she loved Rhye.

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  Comment "Heather" if you liked this chapter :)