28. Fable

Chapter 28

Fable

R hett loads me up in the side-by-side and we end up going back to the big house where he immediately drags me over to his truck and tosses me the keys. We take off our hats, but the bee suits stay on.

"Follow my directions, Wild West Barbie," he instructs, before directing me out of Circle Bee and onto the road.

"Where are we going?" I ask, frowning through the windshield as I turn off the main road onto a smaller one when he directs me to.

"You'll see," he says with a grin.

We drive for another twenty minutes. The mountains in front of us grow larger and larger until we're staring up at them from the base. Then we follow a smaller paved road up the mountain for a little way. A small gravel parking lot sits at the end of the road, so I pull in and throw the truck into park. The sign in front of me says "Fredreick E. Savage Hiking Trail", but that doesn't mean much to me. There are no other vehicles here on a Monday, but it's the middle of the afternoon, so it makes sense if everyone is working.

"I'm not dressed for hiking," I point out. In fact, the beekeeper suit doesn't seem very good for hiking. The hats are tossed into the back seat, unnecessary for whatever this is.

"We're not hiking really," he says, popping open his door and coming around to my side. He opens my door for me before offering me a hand. Once he closes it behind him, he continues. "I don't know of anyone who uses this place for hiking. When I was in high school, this was the spot to park and get up to no good." He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

I snort. "I'm not fucking you out in the mountains, Rhett."

"Your loss," he laughs. "But that's not why we're here." He takes my hand and pulls me to the hiking path. We walk up it for a way, my lungs immediately screaming at me. I'm from Florida. The altitude here is no joke, and this is a literal fucking mountain. "Just a little further," Rhett encourages. "Trust me."

"You sure you're not trying to murder me and leave me for dead?" I joke.

He grins back at me. "Nah. I wouldn't do it out here if I was."

I blink. "You've thought about where to put a body?"

"Doesn't everyone?" he asks with a shrug. "And. . . here."

He tugs me up over the last hump and I blink in surprise, my breath wheezing out of me both because of the altitude and because of the sight in front of me.

"Wow," I rasp.

"I know," he nods, pleased with himself. "You can almost see the entire Green River Basin from here." He points. "There's Circle Bee. Over there is Steele Mountain. It's hard to make out the fences, I know."

"So you just brought me out here to show me the sight?" I ask. "It's pretty for sure, and I love it?—"

His expression grows serious. "When my parents and little sister died, I. . . well, I went stir crazy. I went through a phase of getting into serious trouble, and not a single person in town blamed me for it." He takes my hand in his and holds on. "I did real stupid shit. Anything bad you can think of, I probably did it, and not once did anyone press charges. I think I was trying to get a reaction, any reaction, so I could feel anything other than numb, something other than fucking sad." He glances at me, and he suddenly looks older than his twenty-six years. "One day, I came up here on a whim. I thought it'd be a good place to smoke the pack of cigarettes I stole from the convenience store. I came up here and the sight you see now met me, and something inside of me demanded to be let out."

He faces the basin, sucks in a deep breath, and yells. I jump at the sound, not expecting it, and when it echoes back to us, I can hear the tortured anguish in the sound, the pain, all dancing within the different tones.

"I screamed," he whispers. "I screamed and screamed until my throat was raw, and at the end of it all, I felt just a little bit better."

I stare at him, at this man who I thought was nothing more than a womanizer. I'd stupidly thought Rhett was a single layer man despite hints of this, that I'd had him all figured out. But he's literally been an onion all along. He's just much better at hiding it.

"Scream," he tells me, gesturing to the basin. "Let it out."

I swallow thickly. "It's too much?—"

"It's not," he promises.

"What if someone hears?" I ask.

"Only the mountains will hear you up here," he answers. "The wind will sweep it away before anyone ever hears it in the basin."

I face the basin before me, my eyes on the cars so far away they look like ants as they drive on the roads. Everyone continues on, moving as if life is just the same. But for me, it changed eight months ago, and it'll never be the same.

"Give the mountains your pain, Fable," he says, coming over to brace me against his chest. "They're strong enough to hold it."

Jinx appears beside me, her eyes on the scene in front of us. Slowly, she looks over at me, her hair perfect and untouched by the wind while mine swirls around my face. " Scream, Everhart ," she commands.

My chin trembles as I look at the midday sun, as the cold mountain air swirls around me. Rhett's arms tighten around my shoulders as I take a deep breath, as I drag in all the pain I feel, and release it. The scream that rips from my throat is guttural, brutal, raw. It echoes around me, coming back to meet my ears as mine dies off.

"Again," Rhett says.

So, I do. I scream, my chest tight with the force I let out. As I scream the second time, I'm joined by another, and I realize I can hear Jinx screaming right along with me in my mind, an echo of my best friend in the sound that comes back to me. Tears spring to my eyes as my heart kicks hard in my chest.

"Again," Rhett commands when it dies off. "Until you feel lighter."

Another scream rips from my throat, shredding me from the inside out, scrapping my insides and leaving them raw. I'm crying now, tears trickling down my cheeks to drip on my shirt. Every part of me splits wide open as I let the pain out, as I give it somewhere else to go. My voice cracks, a sob cutting into my scream.

"I've got you," Rhett whispers in my ear. "I've got you."

The sobs take over and there's no way I can scream again. My legs give out, but Rhett just gently lowers me to the ground, his arms around me in reassurance. He holds me as I cry, as the pain comes pouring out of me. There's no way I could have stopped it. I'm not sure I'd have wanted to if I could.

Through my tears, I watch as Jinx stares out at the Green River Basin, her own eyes glistening. She was always the strong one, the one untouched by anything, but I know she'd have liked this place. She would have felt at home here.

Rhett threads his hand through mine, his fingers fitting perfectly. I don't think anything of it, not until he squeezes once, twice, three times.

Just like Jinx and I used to do.

I freeze. "Why did you do that?" I choke out, turning in his hold to look up at him.

"Do what?"

"Squeeze my hand three times?"

He frowns and shrugs. "Just thought it would be reassuring."

"But why three times?" I ask again, turning further to better look up in his eyes. He's practically holding me in his lap right now, but all I can think about is how he somehow stumbled upon the three squeezes.

"I don't know," he says. "Why?"

I stare at him, meet his pretty blue eyes, take in the clarity there he usually hides behind his jokes and flirting. Right now, here in this sunlight, it highlights his face, the freckles across his cheekbones, the copper in his beard and hair. "No reason," I whisper.

He reaches up and wipes at the tears streaking my cheeks with his thumb, gentle with his rough skin against my soft. "Do you feel better?"

I sniff. "A little."

"Any time you wanna come do this, just let me know," he nods. "I'll come with you. Honestly, I need to come out here more. There's something about the mountains that makes everything seem smaller."

He looks down at me again, his eyes on mine. He reaches up and smooths my hair off my face. We still, and something passes between us. I'm not surprised when he leans down and presses a kiss on my lips so sweet, I didn't think him capable of it. I'm tempted to fall into it, to let him kiss me until I'm screaming for a different reason, but I pull back instead, wincing.

"I should. . . I should tell you that Gunnar asked me on a date," I tell him. "And I accepted."

Rhett rolls his eyes, and I frown. "Of course, he'd ask first. I swear that man has no patience. He's been that way since high school. You know he was always jumping the gun in football practice?"

My frown deepens. "You're not. . . mad?"

"Why would I be?" he laughs. "Just because you accepted a date with Gunnar doesn't mean you can't have fun with me. I'll happily take you on a date if that's what you want."

"Seriously?" I rasp, pushing out of his lap. He lets me go without complaint, leaning back on his arms to highlight just how pretty he is, even in his silly beekeeper suit.

He flashes a cocky grin up at me. "Fable, you could be dating all four of us and I wouldn't care. You could kiss us all, have a good time, and I wouldn't change my mind. Hell, throw in Mel, too, if you want. Whatever floats your boat."

I push my hair back from my face as if that'll help me make sense of the situation more. "So, you four normally. . . what? Share?"

He laughs. "No. We don't often have the same taste in women if I'm being honest. Trent doesn't date and prefers to stay to himself. I don't do dating, but I'll kiss you anytime you'd like and take you for a good time. Colt usually has a much different type than you, of the black widow variety. And Gunnar? Well, you seem like Gunnar's type. He's always liked the sweet ones."

I lean back in confusion. There were a whole lot of tidbits dropped in those words. Why doesn't Trent date? What exactly is a black widow? Why is it that Gunnar seems to like the sweet ones? But the only question I ask has nothing to do with the others.

"What do you mean that you don't date?" I ask, watching him carefully.

He shrugs. "I don't like commitments. Ain't no telling how long we've got in this life, you know?"

He grabs for me again and I move back. "So if we slept together, it wouldn't mean anything to you?"

He laughs again, as if this is the funniest conversation he's ever had. I don't find it funny. "Why does fucking have to mean anything?" he asks seriously.

I raise my brows. "Oh. Oh, wow. Okay. I'm guessing you never went to therapy, huh?"

He frowns, genuinely confused. "Why would I need therapy? I'm fine."

" Another onion ," Jinx says. " They're all onions. But that baggage? Sheesh ."

I blow out a puff of air and reach over to pat him on the shoulder. "I think it's about time to head back."

Rhett grabs my hand as I stand. He grins up at me, and he's never looked more like a rogue than he does right now. The sun is shining on him perfectly, his eyes are the brightest blue against his white outfit, and he just looks perfect.

"I'm gonna win you over, Wild West Barbie. Just you wait," he promises.

I smile at him, knowing I won't be sleeping with him. After all, unlike Rhett, I have no qualms about my feelings. I know without a doubt I can't sleep with Rhett and feel nothing, and I'm just not prepared for that kind of heartbreak. I don't know if I could recover from it.

"We'll see," I tell him, but I don't mean it. Because Rhett is just like these mountains. Strong, unmoving. . .

. . . With an echo of screams in the air. . .