When the Sun Comes Out

Chapter 2 ~ Rhett

As Rhett shot back to reality from his thoughts, he looked over at the girl. She stood staring dumbly at the dry hoodie in her hands. Rhett had to fight a smile when her auburn eyebrows continued to raise in confusion.

He shook his head to clear his smile and said, "Put it on, pretty girl." This got a reaction from her finally, and she broke her trance to look up at him.

"Quit calling me that; I know I look like a drowned rat," she spat back at him.

"You look nothing close to a drowned rat, sweetheart," he drawled.

She obviously didn't have clue that, no, she didn't look like a drowned rat, but he wasn't going to push the subject. He only chuckled and nodded at the dry hoodie again. She was visibly shaking, and he knew that she needed something warm to put on instead of the thin, soaked shirt that she had on.

"I'll even be a gentleman and turn around while you take off your shirt and put that one on," he smirked at her.

Her eyes grew wide as she comprehended what he said, and he had to hide his smile. "What?" she almost screeched.

"You have to put something warm on or you're going to get sick, hon'."

He hoped she didn't think that he was trying to take advantage of her. He continued to stare into her green eyes until comprehension eventually flooded them.

As he turned around in his seat, she slowly turned away from him. He made sure she was out of sight so no onlooking peepers would be getting a view. She didn't deserve to have creeps checking her out.

She took her slow, sweet time, and he began to worry about her being in the rain. A good, dry shirt wasn't going to help if it was wet from the rain.

"Hurry now, sweetheart, or you'll get soaked again," he told her, still facing away from her.

"Oh shut up," she muttered.

He could hear her talking under her breath, and he found it adorable. She huffed and turned back to him, finally finished. He chuckled at her winded appearance.

"Having trouble were you?" he asked with his head cocked to the side in amusement.

"No," she said simply, but it was filled with attitude.

She glared at him and threw the wet shirt she had taken off at him. He caught it right as it hit his face. Through the dampness of rain, he could smell the aroma of a diner. Ah, so she must work at the diner. Besides that though, the faint smell of roses wafted through.

It reminded him of when he was younger, and he'd sit in his grandma's garden. She'd loved rose bushes and had them planted all over the outside of the enclosure. The wind brought the smell of roses all over the yard in the summer.

Seeing the girl staring awkwardly at her feet again brought him out of his trance. He could tell she was embarrassed and he felt bad for making fun of her.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"My pants are still muddy," she said matter-of-factly to him.

He respected the fact that even though she was embarrassed, she still wasn't going to let him walk all over her.

He reached behind him again and grabbed the towel. He felt her eyes follow him, and again, regretted the fact that his back seat was a jungle. He caught her silently giggling at the back as he laid the towel down in the seat. He gave her a stern look, and she finally started to crawl in.

"Thank you," she said nodding her head at the towel.

When she had climbed in all the way, he reached over to point the vents at her. She needed all the warming up she could get it seemed by the look of her shivering body. Finally, with all the vents pointing at her, he kicked the truck into gear.