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Liv

Fletcher and I jumped apart, reeling as Rhett hauled himself up in the hayloft.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded of him. There was no reason for him to follow us up here. No reason to talk to Fletcher like that.

Rhett glared between us, his hazel eyes narrowed. “I just knew he was going to take you out here and try something.”

“He didn’t ‘try’ anything,” I said angrily. “I’m an adult. I can’t believe you said Fletcher wasn’t good enough for me, like it’s your decision to make.”

Rhett swung his gaze to Fletcher, a look of betrayal plain as day. “You told her?”

Fletcher’s jaw flexed.

“Did he tell you why he got married to Regina?” Rhett demanded.

“He did!” I said.

“And you still want to be with him?” He said it like it was some kind of judgement on my character, wanting to be with Fletcher.

“You still wanted to be his friend,” I argued. “If he’sso awful, how could you stand to be around him?”

Rhett’s hand cut through the air. “It’s different, and you know it.”

“All I know is that you’ve been interfering in my life, and it is not okay!” I yelled. “Why do you think people never change? That Fletcher hasn’t learned from his mistakes?”

Rhett looked between Fletcher and me. “This was your plan? Huh?” he demanded of Fletcher. “Sneak around my back, turn her against me? You couldn’t just wait until I drop dead?”

“Of course that wasn’t the plan,” Fletcher said, trying to calm him. “And you’re going to be okay, Rhett.”

My eyebrows drew together. “What are you two talking about?” They were acting like Rhett had some kind of incurable disease.

Now both of them fell silent, their chests heaving as dust motes swirled around them.

My stomach sank. There was something else I didn’t know. “What?” I demanded. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Fletcher looked at Rhett. “I can’t tell her without breaking confidentiality.”

“Now you can’t tell her something,” Rhett muttered. He stared at the ground, saying, “I got a spot tested on my back, and the results came back right before y’all got here. It’s cancer.”

My legs felt weak underneath me, threatening to send me crumbling to the dusty floor. “Rhett...”

Fletcher said, “We need more information before we know how serious it is.”

“How much more serious can it get thancancer?” Rhett demanded.

I wanted to know the same thing.

Fletcher’s voice was rough. “It’s the difference between it spreading to other parts of your body or having a simple surgery to remove it. And Rhett’s white cell count wasn’t too elevated, so I want to hope for the best.”

Rhett shook his head. “You want to talk to me about hoping for the best when I know my best friend is going behind my back to be with my sister when I flat out said I thought it was a bad idea? I never thought you would betray my trust like that.”

“Rhett...” Fletcher said.

But Rhett was already climbing back down the ladder.

Fletcher moved to follow him, but I put my hand on his chest. “Let him go. He needs to cool down, and he won’t do it with you around.” At Fletcher’s hurt expression, I added, “He’ll take it out on you, and I don’t want your friendship to have to survive that too.”

Fletcher covered my hand with his. “I never should have...”