Page 21 of Just a Number (Magnolia Row #2)

MICAH

M y skin is on fire.

As soon as Rhodes’ lips touch mine, my entire being reacts. Time stops as we stand in the foyer of the old dilapidated house. His arms envelop my body and my heart is beating so hard I struggle to catch my breath. I never want this moment to end.

When he finally pulls away and looks at me, I lose it. I’m so completely overwhelmed with everything going on with Nana, with him, and with trying to figure out how to break things off with Garrett that the entire storm of emotions I’ve been trying to hold back all day bursts forth through my eyes.

Rhodes stands there and holds me, letting me lean all my weight onto him as I cry. I feel safe in his arms, and small, like he’s shouldering the weight I’ve been carrying for what feels like an age.

I can’t believe this is my life. I cannot believe a man like Rhodes is here, with me, in this house that has always been a refuge with the people I love.

Despite Nana’s illness and my world being tilted on its axis, I’m so happy to share this with him.

So happy to finally feel safe and secure with a man. It’s unreal. I’ve never had this.

He kisses me again, taking my face in his hands. Then he presses his lips to my forehead, my cheeks, the tip of my nose. I close my eyes and let the waves of desire pulse through me as I cling to him.

He steps back, looking at me through the shadows cast by our lanterns, which are both beginning to dimly flicker.

“We should go,” he says. “Though I could stay here forever.”

“Same,” I say. Part of me wants to grab him and continue kissing him until the sun comes up, but if I let this go any further, I’m going to end up taking all my clothes off here and now. And while I love this house, it is filthy and I am not up to date on my tetanus shots.

We pick up our lanterns and make our way back outside. Bats circle overhead, flying out of the broken windows of the belvedere and into the night sky. Rhodes has his hand on the small of my back, his head down as we navigate the weeds.

We climb back over the fence and he has an easier go of it this time. Once we’re back in the car, he leans over and kisses me again. It’s all I can do not to pull my pants off and drag him into the back seat.

We’re quiet on the drive home, but he reaches over the console and holds my hand. It’s nice. No one has ever done that with me before.

When we get home, he walks me to the door.

“Do you want to come in?” I ask. I don’t know if it’s a good idea, but my body is screaming for him.

He sighs, running his hands through his hair, and bites his bottom lip.

“I want to,” he said. “But I also want to make sure you’re in the right headspace before we go any further. I know what’ll happen if I go in. The last twenty-four hours has been a lot for you, and I don’t want to take advantage of you when you’re vulnerable.”

Wow. Just wow. I didn’t know a man could be this sensitive and empathetic.

“I understand,” I say. “Thank you.”

We kiss again—long, hard, and passionate—in the porch light. Crickets scream in the woods, and nearby, in the bushes, the whippoorwills sing their midnight song.

* * *

T he next morning, I go straight to the hospital to check on Nana. She looks so much better. The color has returned to her face and she’s more alert and chattier than she was the day before.

Yesterday I made the mistake of telling her about my plans with Rhodes. Now it’s all she wants to talk about.

“Honey, I’m an old lady,” she says. “Living vicariously through you is the most excitement I get.”

I tell her about going to the old house on the river and exploring in the dark, but stop short of telling her about the kissing.

She knows better.

“And?” she asks.

“And nothing,” I say, trying to end the details there.

“Micah, did he kiss you? Because if he didn’t, I’m gonna call him myself and?—"

“Nana! Don’t call him! Yes, he kissed me.”

“And?”

I roll my eyes. “That’s where the details end.”

She smirks. “You know, Pauline grew up in that house.”

Of course she did. Knowing my luck, she’ll probably haunt it when she dies.

Who am I kidding? Evil never dies.

“You never told me that,” I say.

“Oh yeah! Her mama used to have these big, fabulous parties when we were young. I wasn’t allowed to go, but I’ve heard the stories.”

I smile, imagining the house coming to life despite the Pauline Cavendish connection. “I wish I could’ve seen it.”

“I’m glad it went well with Rhodes,” she says, changing the subject back to her favorite person. “I knew he was sweet on you from the moment he walked into the store. What are you going to do about that waste of time in Montgomery?”

I sigh and simply look at her. She raises her eyebrows and gives me an expression that says Well?

“I don’t know, Nana. I’ll probably break things off with him.”

“Praise Jesus!”

“I’m glad you have your spirit back.”

“Honey, if I’d died, I would’ve haunted you until you were done with that old rag.”

I shake my head, then there’s a knock at the door.

It’s Rhodes holding a bouquet of roses. His hair is uncharacteristically disheveled and his expression is missing its normal stoicism, replaced by a shy twinkle in his eyes when he looks at me. My heart flutters.

“I’m on my way back to Birmingham,” he says. “But I wanted to come check on you before I leave.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” Nana says.

He sets the roses down on the table by the bed and leans in to give Nana a hug, which she gladly accepts. In fact, I don’t think she’ll ever let go of him. He tries to stand up a few times, but she’s holding on for dear life.

“It’s not every day I get a hug from a good-looking man,” she says. “Humor me.”

He laughs. “Yes ma’am.”

She finally lets go. She asks about the work at the hotel, his family, and the upcoming jobs he has. He tells her they finalized plans for the Florablanca Inn, tells her about his son, and a few of the projects he’s submitting bids on.

The latter makes me feel like crap. I’ve been so self-involved lately I haven’t even asked him about his life. This is the first I’ve heard about any of these other buildings.

“I’m going to Memphis in a few days to look at a site,” he tells her. “It’s not as big of a project as the hotel here, but it is an old home that’s being converted to a restaurant, so it should be fun. I’ll know in a few weeks if I get the job.”

“Oh, that sounds nice,” says Nana. “You’ll have to take Micah up there to see it.” She winks at me and I smile, though I know I won’t be going anywhere far away, since it would mean leaving her alone.

The nurse comes in to check on Nana and give her a bath, so Rhodes and I walk into the hall to give them privacy.

Since it’s lunchtime, he offers to take me to get something to eat, but I don’t want to be away from Nana.

He leaves instead to get me a sandwich at Bread Crumbs and brings it back, which only takes a few minutes.

He returns and we’re eating in the lobby when Kendall, Patsy, and Sistine walk in.

Even though it’s late September, it’s still warm enough for short sleeves, so Kendall is dressed in a flowy tank top, Patsy is wearing a 1950s housewife dress with lemons all over it, and Sistine is in her typical jeans, Converse, and vintage band t-shirt, today’s choice being Pearl Jam.

I wave to them from my seat to get their attention, my mouth full of fried green tomato BLT. Rhodes stands when they walk over and gives them all hugs. They grin at me with the most excited looks on their faces.

“So things went well last night?” Patsy asks, clearly forgetting her filter.

“Yes, we hung out,” I say, making a face for her to stop talking. She giggles.

“How’s Nana?” asks Sistine.

“She’s doing a lot better. They’re giving her a bath.”

We chitchat about some gossip Patsy heard at church that morning until the nurse comes out and tells us she’s done. I shove the rest of my sandwich in my mouth and stand up. Rhodes takes my wrappers and throws them away.

“I need to get on the road,” he says. “It was good to see you ladies again.”

“You too,” they all say, then give me grinning looks.

“We’ll go ahead and go back,” says Patsy, leading the other two down the hall to give us privacy.

“When are you coming back to Magnolia Row?” I ask.

“I don’t know yet,” he says. “As soon as I can. Hopefully, we will get all the permits and everything approved so we can get started soon. In the meantime, I’ll probably be on the road a lot.”

I look at him, disheartened. I don’t want him to leave, but I know his life isn’t here.

“I’d ask you to come see me,” he says, “but I know with your nana?—”

I shake my head. “I can’t leave her,” I say, “and she doesn’t do well on long car rides, so I can’t really bring her with me, either.”

“I know,” he says. “But I’ll get back down here as soon as I can. Even if I have a few free days to spare, I’d rather be here with you than in my loft alone.”

I hug him, and we kiss. His arms squeeze tight around my shoulders, and I ask him to text me when he gets home. He promises he will, then walks into the harsh mid-day light of the September sun.

* * *

I leave the store closed Monday through Wednesday.

Nana gets onto me for this, but it’s simply too much to juggle.

Besides, I’d rather be in the hospital with her during visiting hours.

I miss Rhodes, but he texts throughout each day and calls every night before he goes to bed.

He’s quickly becoming my rock, and while it’s scary to grow this attached to someone so quickly, I think I really need it right now.

I can’t imagine going through this alone.

Each night, when I return home to the empty house, I want to cry.

I don’t even turn on the television. I just sit in the silence.

Nana is released on Wednesday, so I pick her up in my little blue hatchback. When the nurse wheels her out into the bright morning, she’s holding the flowers from Rhodes in her lap.