Rekindle (5 page)

“Why would you walk away from your long-lost childhood bestie turned sexy fireman superhero?” she asks.

Before I can answer her, someone knocks on our door. I look at Cam like she’s expecting someone. “Don’t look at me,” she says. “I’m not expecting anyone.”

Then it dawns on me. With the events of today, it could only be one person. Shayna is probably just as freaked as I was about the fire. “It’s probably Shayna,” I say, standing to answer the door. “She said she would probably swing by after things calmed down at the school.”

I fling the door open with a smile, expecting to see my new friend. What I get is my old friend. Hand poised to knock again, Rhett stares right at me like he still can’t believe I’m standing here. He shakes his head a little and runs his hands through his dark hair.

“M&M. Jesus Christ. It is you,” he says, a smile lighting up his face.

I’m still standing there, holding on to the doorknob. “What are you doing here?” I ask before I can help it. Word vomit. It’s the worst. I swear.

He backs up a little and puts his hands in the pockets of his well-worn jeans. “Sorry to just show up like this. It’s just, I was talking to Shayna, and she mentioned you lived next door to her. Christ, M, it’s been forever. I wanted to know if you were okay, you know, after today—with everything at the school.” He continues to explain while I just stand there like an idiot.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just shocked to see you is all. I mean, I saw you earlier, obviously. But having you here, it’s surprising.” I offer him a smile, hoping to make this whole thing less awkward. “And I’m good. The whole thing earlier just threw me for a loop. The fire. The kids. It was just a lot. But everybody is okay, so I’m good.”

“Good.” He smiles at me again and rocks back on his heels. The silence stretches between us. He runs his hands through his hair again. “Listen, I just wanted to make sure everything was good. Sorry for just popping in like this, but I wanted to see you—
needed
¬ to see you—and make sure that everything was okay with you. It obviously is, so I will see you around, okay?”

He makes a move to leave and that spurs me into action. “Rhett!” I call after him. He turns to look back at me. “Not that it’s anything glorious, but we were going to veg out and watch some movies tonight. Maybe order a pizza? I’d love to catch up. I mean, if you’re free. You probably have plans, but if not, do you want to come in for a while?” I’ve resorted to rambling. Fabulous.

A real smile lights up his face. “Yeah, M&M. I’d like that a lot.” I nod my head and hold the door open wide for him to come in.

Cam is sitting on the couch. If the smirk on her face is anything to go by, there’s no doubt she has heard this whole unbelievably odd exchange. I shoot her a look, telling her to behave, but the look in her eyes says she has other plans. This is going to be interesting.

Chapter Six

Rhett

“So…Rhett? That
is
your real name, right? Rhett McCoy?”

“Umm, yeah? That’s my real name.”

“Well, are you the real
McCoy
?” Cam asks, shooting a look at Emma, and they both burst out in laughter. “No seriously, dude, what exactly are your intentions with my BFF? Are you married? Gay? Into some weird, kinky bondage shit? Do you wear women’s underwear? Do you secretly hate Johnny Depp?” Cam asks, glaring in my direction while giving me the fifth degree.

“My intentions—I thought—were obvious. She’s my best friend too—or at least used to be. I’m not married or dating. I’m definitely not gay. What do you mean by “kinky”? Like, on a scale from one to ten, ten being the kinkiest, I’m probably a five, I guess. No, I’ve never worn women’s underwear. And no, I don’t hate Johnny Depp, but I can assure you, I don’t love him like you two do.” I arch my brow at her, waiting for more questions.

This has been the most awkward day of my life. I still haven’t gotten to talk one-on-one with M, mainly because Cam has been drilling me this entire time. I can’t fault her though. She only has the best intentions for our girl, so I comply. I answer her unorthodox questions, and I brace myself for more. If this girl isn’t a female version of Micah, then I don’t know who is.

Suddenly, Cam is laughing so hard she’s gasping for air. This girl is an odd one, for sure. I really have no clue why she’s laughing.

“You really will answer every question I ask, won’t you? Oh my God, this is great. You are a keeper for dealing with my bullshit for this long. Kudos to you, fella. Anyhoo, I guess this is the time that I pretend I have to go to my room so you two can catch up. So yeah, I got some shit to do, and I will try really hard not to listen at the door. Mkay?” Cam says as she gets up.

“Oh, it was nice meeting you, Rhett, even if you aren’t kinky and you don’t like wearing lace panties.”

“Umm, thanks, I think. Nice meeting you too, Cam.”

Now I can finally catch up with my girl and find out about her life after the move. Her life after me.

“What are you thinking about over there, McCoy? You look lost in thought,” M says as she comes over and sits beside me and gives me a shy smile. “This is kind of weird, isn’t it? I mean, I never expected to see you when I moved back. I assumed you’d moved away and were married with kids by now.” She gives a sad smile, and it breaks my heart into a thousand pieces.

“Yeah, it’s definitely crazy after all these years. I’m sorry for freezing up at the school like that, but I thought I was seeing a ghost. I thought I had lost you forever and then you were there. It’s unbelievable. How were things with you after the move?”

“I know. I thought the same thing, Rhett. And you actually became a firefighter. All those years of talking about saving people and battling the blaze and you did it. I’m so proud of you.” She looks at me for a minute, lost in thought. “After the move I was terrified. I had no clue what those people were going to be like, but they were so kind. They were patient with me and they made it a point to learn as much as they could about me so they could make the transition easier. They’re not my blood parents, of course, but I can say honestly that they took to the parent roles amazingly. They are the best adoptive parents I could have asked for. I still talk to them every day. You would love them, and they practically know you already, because you’re all I talked about when we first moved. I just wish we hadn’t lost contact. I missed you every second of every day,” she says, looking at me with those deep gray eyes just as the doorbell rings.

That’s when we hear Cam pelting down the hall like she’s trying out for the Olympics. “Don’t mind me, you little love bugs. Pizza guy’s here though, and nobody gets between me and my pizza,” she says as she races past us.

Laughing, M looks over at me. “She really likes pizza, even though it makes her ass fat.”

“I heard that, skank-balls. You love my fat ass,” Cam yells.

M is laughing a full belly laugh at this point, and it’s completely contagious. I can’t help but laugh along with her.

“Please excuse Cam; she’s kind of a nut.”

“Oh, I completely understand. You haven’t met Micah yet. He’s the male version of Cam. Only he’s worse, and kind of disgusting, but in a lovable way. It sounds like getting our friends together would be an entertaining night. We should do that some time.”

“Oh, that would be fun! So, how have you been?” she asks, staring at me and waiting for my answer.

“I’ve been good. I stayed here, of course. When my dad passed, I just couldn’t leave my mom alone, so I went to college here and got a job here. It’s not an extravagant life, but it’s been a good one. I love my job and the people I work with, and now you’re back, so it’s definitely worth it. Damn, M&M, it’s so fucking good to see you. I missed you so much,” I say, looking down at her misted eyes.

“Pizza and beer. Who wants pizza and beer? Every-fucking-one, that’s who,” Cam says, breaking up our little talk. I guess that’s all for now, but it’s far from over. I want to know everything there is to know about her, what makes her tick, what she loves, even what she hates. I need to see if she’s still the same girl I remember.

Chapter Seven

Emma Grace

“Seriously, I was going to sit in my room and let you play catch-up, but it’s boring as hell in there. And Johnny Depp is out here,” Cam says, biting into her pizza and taking up residence on our large chair.

I’m juggling my plate of pizza and my fresh beer, walking from the kitchen to the living room. Rhett grabs the beer from my hands. “I’ll grab these,” he says with a smile. I smile in return. The ease I feel being with him just falls into place, like the last fifteen years weren’t spent apart.

“Cam, would you like another beer?” Rhett calls from the fridge.

“Umm, yeah, that would be great,” she says, examining her half-empty bottle.

“What kind?”

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

The minute the words leave her mouth, I spit my pizza across the living room and fall into a fit of giggles. Cam isn’t far behind me. By the time Rhett makes his way into the living room, I’m lying sideways on the couch, clutching my stomach from the laughter, and Cam is doubled over with silent chuckles, wiping tears from her eyes. He just stands there, staring. I don’t think he knows quite what to make of us.

I’m trying to catch my breath when I look over at Cam. “You just…you just…oh my God, Cam. You quoted Rhett
to
Rhett. A million, bazillion points. Honest to God, best one yet.” And we fall into another fit of laughter.

Cam sits up and glances at Rhett, who is still wearing the most bewildered look. “If you can’t handle us randomly blurting out movie lines that relate to what you just said, this just isn’t going to work,” she says in all seriousness.

His eyes bounce between us as a slow smirk takes over his face, his eyes showing his amusement, he just shakes his head and hands us our beer. “Major party foul there, M. Spitting your food across the room and all.”

“Oh, shut it!” I respond with a mock glare.

We spend the next few hours laughing and sharing stories. As I lean back against the couch, I realize how truly blessed I am. Never in a million years did I imagine that these two people—who so profoundly impacted my life—would be merging together. I smile, thinking about the way my life has turned out. Life is so full of twists and turns, but somehow you’re always lead right back to where you belong.

“Em. Ma. Grace,” Cam says, snapping her fingers in my direction.

“Huh? What?”

Rhett looks over at me with a small grin on his face. Cam promptly rolls her eyes at me. “Rhett here was saying that he and a few of his friends hang out at a bar called Reed’s downtown. Pool on Saturday night. He wants us to join them this weekend. You game?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“Well, I am totally spent. I think I’m going to call it a night. Catch ya both later, ‘kay?” she finishes with a yawn, standing to stretch.

“Alright, hooker, see you in the morning.”

“Bright and early, whore-a-licious.” She throws me a wink and rounds the corner to the hallway.

“Night, Cam,” Rhett calls.

“Night, McCoy.”

I shake my head and smile, thankful that Rhett doesn’t take offense to Cam’s form of pet names. I look over and see Rhett staring at me. “What?” I question him. There is something in his gaze that I can’t quite decipher. It’s a confused look with a dash of wonder thrown in. I’m not quite sure what to make of it.

“What were you thinking about earlier?” he asks, turning to face me on the couch.

“When earlier?”

“When Cam and I were talking about going to Reed’s this weekend. You completely zoned out, but you had this content smile on your face. I want to know what makes you smile like that, M.”

“I was just thinking about how surreal this whole situation is. I mean, really think about it, Rhett. If you would have told me a year ago that I would be sitting here right now, sharing a night with you and Cam, I would’ve had you committed. And the whole night—it was just easy. It was like you and Cam clicked right away and fell into this banter that normally takes people years to develop. It’s hard to believe,” I explained.

“No it’s not,” he says, taking a pull of his beer.

“Really? And why not?”

“Because, M, we’re both a part of you. Given, us being together in the same condo isn’t something I’d thought would happen. But Cam and I are like pieces to the puzzle that is you, Emma Grace. It only makes sense that we would fit.” He shrugs his shoulders like what he said was no big deal. “I’ve got to get going. It’s late, and you need some rest after such a crazy day.” He stands, holding his hand out to pull me up.

Geez, has it only been a few hours since the fire at school? It feels like eons ago.

I stand and walk Rhett to the door. “Before I go, I need you to do something for me,” he says.

“What’s that?”

“Toss me your phone.” He gestures to my cell sitting on the coffee table. I hand it to him and he calls himself. “Now we can’t lose touch again,” he says as he hands it back to me.

“Good.” I smile and open the door for him.

He bends down and presses his lips to my cheek, leaving a soft kiss there. He straightens and looks right in my eyes. “I’ve missed you, M&M. So much.”

“You too, Rhett.” I grab him in a hug and tuck myself under his chin. He wraps his strong arms around me and squeezes tightly. I reluctantly let go and back away. “Goodnight,” I say, grabbing the door.

“Goodnight, M. Sweet dreams. I’m looking forward to Saturday.” He smiles one more time before he turns to leave.

“Me too,” I reply. “Me too,” I say again, to myself this time. 

Chapter Eight

Rhett

“Man, I hope they find this arsonist soon. They seem to only be starting small fires right now, but the dumbass is forgetting that any fire can be deadly and they spread very fucking quickly. One day, someone is gonna get hurt, if not killed, in the process of this asshole trying to make some sort of statement.” Micah huffs in frustration.