Good Directions Part Two

Driving back down the road towards Macon, Rhys sighs. Kaly was so beautiful and smart and funny. The woman of his dreams. She'd never go for a guy like him. Pulling into the small diner right outside of Macon, he looks over and smiles at Kaly. “This place has THE best pancakes and hot chocolate.”


Kaly laughs and they get out and go inside together.


The two of them have breakfast and talk and laugh before finishing and heading back to the Williams’ place.


“Hey Rhys, do you know where I could get some wifi?” Kaly asks, needing to check her email.


“Of course. I have wifi at home.” He smiles.


She brings her laptop downstairs and sits on the couch next to Rhys. He shows her how to connect to it and she pulls up her email. “Oh! They sent me the pictures from today!!” She quickly pulls up the album and looks at them with Rhys.


Feeling his cheeks heat up at her outfit, he nods. “Yeah, they're great.”


Scrolling through, she comes across one of her talking to Rhys in the studio. “I wonder why he took this…?” She questions quietly. In the picture, Rhys had a wide grin on his face, staring down at her as she spoke to him. She was surprised st how happy she looked, simply having a conversation with Rhys.


Feeling a tad awkward, Rhys clears his throats and stands up. “Well, I'm gonna go do some work around the house.”


She nods and looks at the rest of the email. Her manager left a reply at the bottom.


Cute cowboy, Kaly. Looks like love to me. ;). Seriously though, you guys had chemistry, for sure. Take your time in Georgia. No more gigs for a week or two.


Her eyes widen and she blushes. Chemistry? Love? What on earth was her manager talking about? She had only just met Rhys. Closing her laptop and looking up, she sees Rhys outside, working. Smiling to herself, she heads back up to her room.


-----


Hours later, Bell Williams arrives home from work. Her son is outside, cutting wood for a project he was doing. “Hey, sweetheart.” She calls out to him.


He smiles when he sees her and follows her onto the porch. He settles down into the porch swing next to her. “Hey, Mama. How was work?”


“Just fine, dear. How was Kaly’s modeling thing?”


“Oh man, it sure was somethin’ alright. I've never seen anything like it. These girls were barely wearing any clothes! Not Kaly, though. She was wearing things that covered a little more skin.”


Bell laughs at her son. “That's Hollywood girls for you. So how are you and Kaly getting along?”


“Great, why do you ask?” He looks at her, suspiciously.


“You know exactly why I ask, boy. I want a daughter-in-law and grandchildren!”


Rhys gasps at his mother’s words. “Mama, I just met the girl!”


“Oh, don't act like you haven't already fallen head over heels for her. She's perfect, Rhys. She's beautiful, smart, motivated. Everything you need.”


He sighs, looking down. “She's leaving as soon as her car is fixed, Mom. Why would she ever want to stay in Georgia? Her life is in California.”


“Rhys Parker, you quit with the negative attitude. You know if it's meant to be, the Lord will make it happen. Now go on and get washed up. We're going over to LeeAnn’s for dinner. Kaly can come, too.”


He nods and gets up to go inside.


Little did the two of them know, Kaly’s room was right over the porch and her window was open, so she was able to hear their conversation. If it's meant to be, the Lord will make it happen. She smiles to herself.

-----


45 minutes later, the three of them are at LeeAnn Mitchell’s house. LeeAnn was a little old woman who was literally the sweetest person Kaly had ever met.


As they sit down at the table, LeeAnn, Bell and Rhys join hands. Confused, Kaly looks at Rhys. “We're praying.” He says quietly.


“Oh.” She whispers, taking his hand and Bell’s.


Rhys intertwines their fingers, peeking at her as LeeAnn prays over their food. They all say amen and Kaly hesitates before letting go of Rhys’ hand. Feeling a little flustered, she begins to eat.


“So how long have you two been together?” LeeAnn suddenly asks.


Kaly chokes on the sweet tea she has just taken a sip of. Rhys clears his throat. “Um, we’re not together..” He says, softly.


“Oh! I'm sorry. I just assumed. Well, the two of you would make a lovely couple.” She smiles, turning to talk to Bell.


Kaly glances up at Rhys, cheeks slightly pink. He gives her a small smile.


She shyly looks back down at her food and continues to eat.


-----


On the ride back home, Rhys has an idea. “Hey, why don't we go to the drive-in theater?”


Bell shakes her head. “You two go, I'm way too tired.”


Rhys looks at Kaly, questioningly.


“Sure! I've never been to one.”


Rhys smiles. They drop Bell off and grab several blankets and pillows, along with snacks and drinks. It was an hour drive to the theater from Macon, so they listened to music and talked the rest of the way.


Pulling into the old drive-in, Rhys parks his truck with the truck bed facing the screen. The two of them hop out and cover the truck bed with the blankets and pillows.


“This is awesome!” Kaly exclaims, looking around. “I've only ever seen these in old movies.” Putting her foot on the bumper, she tries to pull herself onto the truck.


Rhys laughs. “Need some help?”


She nods, pouting playfully. He climbs onto the truck and then lifts her by her waist onto the truck.


She then crawls up to lean against the cab. “This is so cool.” She grins over at Rhys.


Rhys laughs, settling down beside her.


Soon after they settle in, the movie starts. About an hour into it, Kaly sits up and rubs her back.


“You alright, darlin’?” Rhys asks, looking at her in concern.


“Yeah, my back is just killing me from leaning against the cab.” She says, still rubbing her back.


“Come here,” he says, motioning in front of him.


She crawls over and sits in between his legs, leaning her back against his chest. “Thanks, Rhys.” She says, smiling up at him.


Careful not to be too touchy, he rests his arms against the pillows on either side of them.


About halfway into the second movie, Kaly rolls over onto her side, cuddling into his chest. Rhys looks down and realizes she has fallen asleep. Smiling, he lightly runs his fingers through her hair. He pulls the blankets up over her and finishes the rest of the movie.


Once the movie is over, he picks her up, carrying her to the cab of the truck, and buckles her in. After cleaning up the truck bed, he gets in and drives the two of them back home. Arriving back home, he looks over at Kaly. She is snuggled up with the blanket, fast asleep. He smiles, not able to bring himself to wake her. So he picks her up again, and carries her up to her room. He gently places her on her bed and places a soft kiss on her forehead. “Sleep well, beautiful.” He exits the room as Kaly slowly opens her eyes. Smiling to herself, she recollects on their night. I could certainly get used to this, she thinks to herself.


-----


The next morning, Kaly is awaken by Bell. “Good morning, dear. Rhys and I are heading to church soon. I just wanted to see if you'd like to join us.”


“Oh, I would love to!” Kaly says, slowly rising.


“Wonderful! Breakfast will be ready when you come downstairs! We’ll leave at 10:30.”


Kaly pulls herself out of bed and gets ready for the day. She puts on a black dress with black pumps and heads downstairs. The three of them eat and head to the church.


Rhys and Kaly follow Bell into the church and she immediately wanders off, talking to people. Rhys leads Kaly to a pew and they sit. Rhys smiles. “You look beautiful.”


Kaly blushes and smiles. “Thank you. You clean up pretty well, yourself.” She says, lightly touching his tie.


Before and after the service, a dozen people must've asked Rhys and Kaly if they were dating. The good part was that they both were less flustered when it happened now.


Heading back home, Bell heads to the diner, and Rhys and Kaly stay at the Williams’ place. Kaly goes upstairs to change and when she comes back down, Rhys has the radio on.


Why don't we just dance?


The song fills her ears as she enters the living room. “What are you listening to?” She laughs.


“Just a little Josh Turner, darlin’.” He grins. “Why? Not a fan?”


“I've just never heard it before.” She laughs again.


“Dance with me.” He smiles, reaching for her.


Her eyes widen as he grabs her and begins to dance to the music. Laughing, she allows him to lead her. Next, a slower song comes on and he pulls her closer to him, smiling. Her arms go around his neck and she leans her head against his shoulder as they sway to the music.


This feels so right. Like Bell said, if it's meant to be…


As the song nears its’ end, Kaly looks up at Rhys. He looks down at her, searching her eyes as if looking for the answer to his question.


Could it ever work between them? Would she stay with him or go back home?


Slowly leaning in at the same time, Rhys presses his lips to Kaly’s.


Pulling away, Kaly smiles up at him, shyly. He smiles down at her and she lays her head on his shoulder again.


I'm starting to think maybe it is meant to be. I love it here. And Rhys, wow...