All Rhodes Lead Here

I didn’t want to ask what he was looking at.
And I didn’t have to because his gray eyes flicked to me, and the smile that had just been lingering there a moment ago was gone, and he said, voice steady, “You reminded me of my mom.”
The mom he didn’t like? I winced. “I’m sorry.”
Rhodes shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. You don’t look alike or act alike, angel. She was just… She was beautiful like you are. You-can’t-look-away gorgeous, my uncle used to say,” he explained softly,

“We don’t have to watch anything if you don’t want to,” he said when I guess I took too long to say anything else.
I didn’t even hesitate a little bit. “I’m game if you are.”
“I brought it out here, angel,” he replied.
He totally had. “Yes, I want to. Give me five minutes to grab a drink—”
“I’ve got a couple bottles of water and a soda in the tent, the kind you like,” he cut me off.

“Am’s got a couple movies downloaded on his tablet. I got it just in case you wanted to watch it in there,” he said, gesturing to the tent.

hadn’t. I saw that now. Saw it in a complete picture. Years ago, I would have killed for something like this. Not for the things he bought that took him three minutes to find online and even faster to order because he had his account information saved on his phone. I could remember the times I’d brought up just visiting Pagosa and how he’d change the subject, not listening. Not caring. Everything had always been about what he wanted. All that time I’d wasted….

My bottom lip started quivering, and in that moment, I hated that I thought of Kaden, and I hated even more that I hated him for not understanding me a fraction of as much as I thought he understood me.

Well, let’s eat, if you’re hungry,” I nearly croaked.
He was watching me way too closely, the lines across his forehead prominent. “You’re still crying.”

hands briefly moving over my spine before he took a step away. Then he seemed to think twice about it because he was back and dabbing at my face with the sleeve of the sweater I hadn’t realized he’d thrown on at some point.

must have realized I was serious because his features slowly softened. His serious face took over, and so did his Navy Voice. “It had nothing to do with you before, are we clear? You reminded me of someone, and I thought you were like her. It took me too long to figure out that you’re not. I’m sorry I did that.”

“You okay?” he asked as his hand hesitated on the middle of my spine before giving it another pat.
He was patting my back, like he was trying to burp me.
Affection surged through my bloodstream. Rhodes was attempting to comfort me, and I didn’t think I’d ever been so confused, not even when Kaden had told me he loved me but said we couldn’t let anyone find out about it.
“Yeah,” I said. “You’re being so nice. I really thought you didn’t like me for the longest.”

This is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me,” I whispered into his chest with a sniff.
What had to be his hand landed right smack in the center of my back.
“I’m sorry,” I pretty much whispered before attempting to keep myself together and trying to take a step back, but I couldn’t. Because the hand covering my bra strap didn’t let me. “I don’t mean to get all mopey or cry all over you. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
Another hand landed low on my back, right above the band of my jeans.
And I stopped trying to move away.
“You’re not making me uncomfortable. I don’t mind,” he said, his voice as gentle as I’d ever heard it.
He was hugging me back.
He was hugging me back.