Chapter 24

The next morning dawned rainy. The gray downpour matched Rhett’s mood. He lifted weights early and didn’t even attempt his two-hundred-yard runs.

Was Sloan gone? What would he do without her? She was his missing piece but if he wasn’t hers he couldn’t force her to give him a chance.

Her car was still in the driveway when he left around eight. Some light beamed from her apartment window through the gray day.

Hope filled him. She hadn’t left. He wanted to rush over there and see if she’d been able to figure out what she needed and wanted.

But it had been less than ten hours since she’d asked him to leave. He had to respect her need for space. He prayed for her and drove to one of his almost-completed custom homes on the south side of Kalispell, strapping on a belt and helping the guys with some finish work. His heart was heavy and his work slower and not as precise as usual.

His mind spun with all things Sloan.

He realized he’d have to talk to the homeowners building on White Pine River and help them find another property. It was too much to deal with today.

“You all right, boss?” Frankie asked.

“Head’s a mess,” he admitted.

“Why don’t you take a break and get outside? There’s a break in the rain.”

Rhett smiled at the kid telling his boss what to do, but he only nodded. He stood and stretched, undid his tool belt and set it down, and walked out onto the wide front porch. The sun was breaking through and a rainbow shone in the east clouds. The big Montana sky was beautiful with dark gray, light gray, pink, and peach contrasts.

He leaned on the porch railing.

What was he going to do if Sloan left and never came back? He couldn’t force her to be with him but she was the ray of light through the clouds for him.

Closing his eyes, he prayed for patience, for strength, and for Sloan. He always thought he could just work harder and be successful, but there was no work he could do to fix this one.

A black truck pulled up. A Chevy. Josh. What was his friend doing here?

Josh jumped down and waved, a wide grin splitting his face. He rushed around, opening his passenger side door. Rhett couldn’t see Sandy through the darkened windows and the lifted truck. It was kind of his friends to come try to support him. Did they know the extent of what had happened last night?

Josh strode around with an exquisite dark-haired lady on his arm. She wore a flannel jacket, a blue patterned fitted knee-length skirt, and sky-high heels.

Rhett straightened away from the railing as the sun backlit her. He couldn’t see her eyes or read what she was feeling. “Sloan?”

“The locksmith never made it with her keys,” Josh called. “So Sandy and I helped out.”

What had Sandy done? She wasn’t even here.

“Thank you,” he told Josh. He’d praise his friends forever for bringing Sloan to him.

He rushed down the steps and toward them. Josh released her and backed away, striding back to his truck. He jumped in and drove off.

“You didn’t leave?” Rhett asked, stopping in front of her.

She shook her head.

“Because of the car?”

“Because of you.”

Rhett framed her waist with his hands and turned her away from the sun’s glare so he could see her deep-brown eyes. They were warm and full of him.

“I’m sorry I flipped out last night,” she said softly.

“Oh, Sloan. That was a nightmare, and nobody would blame you for flipping out. Did you … figure out what you want?”

She nodded and read his T-shirt aloud as his heart raced out of control. “ I didn’t become a contractor to fix your crap for free .” She smiled and then she slowly unbuttoned her flannel jacket.

“Sloan?”

She pulled it open to reveal a T-shirt that had a traffic control sign that read Rhett Stopped Working. He Already Captured Sloan’s Heart.

He half-laughed, then gazed up into her deep-brown eyes. “Do you mean it?”

She smiled. “I was a mess last night. My dad claimed he’d manipulated my professors and my managers and I’d been in his control the past seven years. He even claimed Kathy was his informant.”

“You believed him?”

“I didn’t about Kathy but the other made complete sense. I’d always been amazed he’d let me escape from home and not found a way to manipulate me back into his power. Last night I was terrified of what else he would do. Especially if he found a way to hurt you. I lost trust in Jesus and in you and in myself.”

He swallowed, not sure what to say.

“But it was your words that stayed with me all night, and I prayed hard. I knew the Savior was there for me and, like you said, you’re here for me, along with Kathy and a slew of other people you’ve brought into my life. Kathy and I talked it all out. My dad is a manipulative liar. Maybe he did control me through my teachers and managers but maybe he didn’t. I can’t change that but I’ve learned and been successful and I am going to keep fighting to be free of him influencing my life. I want to believe in myself and all the people who have been there for me. I want to believe that I am brave and loved.”

“You are.” He said the words calmly and focused on her, praying she’d believe him.

“Last night, at the moment when I bowed to my dad’s demands, it was to protect you.”

He nodded.

“I was afraid that meant I’d always bow to him, but I realized that you made me strong. You called my name and I knew to move to the right and to bite him. I can be strong because I trust you, myself, Kathy, and my Heavenly Father. I want to stand with you.”

“You are strong, but I’ll always be by your side. If you want me there.”

He hoped she’d say yes, but she blinked and changed the subject. “When I called Josh for help, Sandy decided she had to make the shirt …”

“I love the shirt.”

“I think I love you,” she murmured.

Rhett’s pulse took off.

“I can be brave standing with Jesus and with you,” she said again. “If I falter, if my dad comes after me again, if he tries to hurt you, you and the Savior will help me.”

“Yes, we will,” he reaffirmed.

“I love you and I want to be with you.”

Rhett wrapped her up tight and their lips found each other like two magnets held apart for far too long.

He kissed her deeply and savored each moment. Sloan in his arms, her lips giving and taking with his, was exactly right. She was his missing piece and he would love and strengthen and protect her forever.

He heard some whistles from his guys as they came and went, but he ignored them all. When he pulled back, he told her, “I love you too, Sloan.”

“Oh, good.” She clung to his shoulders and gave him a smirky smile. “Because I have a favor.”

“Anything.”

“Apparently I’m worth billions overnight. I’m going to research and figure out what to do with the rhodium. Since you’re an expert at protecting me and strengthening me, will you stay by my side, protect, and love me?”

“You’ve come to the right man.” He grinned. She’d said exactly what he’d been thinking. “You work on the rhodium and I’ll protect you. I have a little secret to share about my family and my background with weapons and fighting.”

Sloan’s eyebrows rose. “Does this mean I’m being invited into the Colevilles’ inner circle?”

“Definitely. You’re part of the family now.”

“Thank you, Rhett.” Her lower lip trembled. “You’ve given me love, hope, trust in myself and in you, and now a family.”

Rhett kissed that trembling lower lip. Sloan had given him her heart. That was all he could ever want.

He fused her mouth with his, and the sun shone down on their happiness.

No more rain. Not while they stood together.