Chapter 19 Beau
BEAU
My alarm hasn’t gone off yet, but a kitten is pouncing her way across my bed. I grab her and place her on my chest. “Fireball, why can’t I stop thinking about her? This whole thing is making me mental.”
There I go again, talking to a fucking cat.
“I need to stay busy so I don’t think about Honey.” But that doesn’t stop me from grabbing my phone and looking at her contact, which I finally got last night before I left her house.
For the sake of being friends.
What kind of bullshit is that? I can admit I was grasping for straws. She was about to kick me out of her house when I pulled that out of my ass.
After I feed the kittens, I get dressed and head for the main house, where Rhett’s having coffee with Paige at one end of their long kitchen table. “Morning. Did the kids settle okay once they got home?”
Rhett sighs. “Austin and Ella wanted to sleep with us last night. Gabe said they were being babies and slept in his room. Ella nearly kicked me in the face this morning, since she was sprawled like a damn starfish.”
Paige laughs and reaches over to kiss my brother. “That was really sweet of you to let them crash with us. Especially since you slept in the middle, between Austin and the baby.”
“That had to be something.” I pour myself a cup of coffee and lean against the counter.
“Any idea what caused the fire?” Rhett asks.
“Bacon in the teachers’ lounge microwave.
But we’re not sure if there was more involved, since the damn thing exploded and there were weird markings on the carpet.
It’s lucky we were there or that whole room would’ve been toast.” There’s a lot of water damage, but the wooden tables should be okay once they dry out.
Rhett shakes his head. “You know what would solve this problem? Cameras. Don’t all schools have them now?”
“Not in smaller towns with nonexistent budgets. The principal says the district can’t afford cameras. She’s hoping to do a fundraiser next year to purchase them.”
But at least this one wasn’t feet from Honey’s house. There I go again, thinking about her. I motion behind me. “I’m gonna re-shoe Prometheus this morning before I head to the car wash, so I have to get going.”
Rhett leans back in his chair. “Can I just give you a donation? ’Cause I don’t wanna wait in line with all those women caterwauling like they’re going to a Magic Mike show.”
I lift my shirt to show off my abs and swivel my hips to an imaginary song in my head. “Don’t be a hater just ’cause you don’t have any moves.”
He rolls his eyes. “I have plenty of moves.”
Jace slides into the kitchen in white socks and boxers like he’s Tom Cruise in Risky Business. “If anyone has moves, it’s me.”
Paige covers her mouth to laugh at us.
I wave as I walk out the door. “I’ll be back this evening if anyone needs me.”
It’s blissfully quiet in our old barn. I breathe in the smell of hay and leather, and get to work on Prometheus. But the entire time, I’m thinking about last night. About how beautiful Honey looked. About how good it felt to hold her in my arms. About how I didn’t want to leave her.
Prometheus nibbles on my shirt, and I chuckle and shrug him off. “What do you think, man? Should I text her?” He stomps with his foot. “I was thinking that too.”
Once I’m done, I pet my horse. “Wish me luck.”
After I’ve moved him back in his stall and put my equipment away, I pull out my phone.
Me: Hey, princess. You feeling better today? This is Beau, by the way. Checking on you. As a friend ;)
Although it’s still early, she texts right back.
Honey: My ankle’s sore, but the ice helps. Thanks for carrying me home. <3
I can work with heart emojis.
Me: Hope I didn’t wake you.
Honey: I always get up early. I’m still on ranch time.
I smile, loving that she knows what it’s like to grow up on a ranch. Hers is worth millions of dollars, unlike ours, but still. It’s cool.
Me: You gonna be okay today? Do you need anything?
Honey: I should be good, but thanks for offering. Friend ;)
Her simple text shouldn’t make me grin like an idiot, but it does. She might call me her friend, but that doesn’t negate the fact I licked her tight little pussy until her toes curled and she screamed.
I force myself to put my phone away. After I grab a few things from the cabin, I head to town for the car wash. As I drive, I glance up at the sky. Thankfully, it’s a balmy seventy-five degrees.
When I get to the fire station, I park, change into my uniform, and head for the driveway where we’re setting up. Loving, Mel, Coop, and I are working the first shift.
“Morning.” I grab the buckets and join my co-workers.
“Lovely that we have to come in when we’re not working,” Mel grouses with a yawn.
Loving shrugs. “I don’t mind. I got three dates during the last car wash.”
Mel rolls her eyes. “That’s because the women line up in droves to eyeball you guys. And since this is a sausage fest, we don’t get many single men in these lines. Anyway, I have better things to do on my weekends.”
Has Melissa always been so negative? “But think of the new equipment we’ll be able to afford.” This might be a lowly car wash, but I like helping my town, and better equipment means we can do our jobs more efficiently.
When Coop joins us, he strips off his t-shirt. “We make more money if we show off the muscles.” He glances at me and Loving. “Don’t y’all want to beat second shift?”
“Hell yeah.” I strip off my tee and Loving does the same.
Mel shrugs. “I have a bikini on underneath this, but since no one’s paying me to shake my goodies, I’ll keep my shirt on.”
Loving frowns. “Does that mean you’d be okay with stripping?” I elbow him, and he rubs his arm. “What? I’m just confused because she said she wants to get paid for the show, so I needed clarification.”
“No one needs clarification.” I hand him a bucket. “What we need is water.”
As is tradition, we wash the chief’s truck first, which gets the line going. We’re about two hours into our fundraiser when I bite back a groan.
Because Trig McAllister just pulled up.
I keep his truck in my peripheral vision in case he tries to do something stupid.
When it’s his turn, I set my jaw, prepared for the worst.
He doesn’t disappoint.
Like an asshole, Trig drives up so fast, he nearly hits me. I slap my hand on the hood of his truck and brace myself for impact. When he stops in time, I thank my lucky stars he has good brakes.
“What the hell is your problem, McAllister?” Coop barks.
“I’m okay.” As I stare at Honey’s older brother, I shake my head.
This shit has gone on too long. Honey shouldn’t be worried our families are gonna brawl just because she’s in my brother’s wedding.
Maybe I can do something to ease the tension.
“Can we be done with all of this vendetta crap? The Walkers don’t have it out for you, Trig.
We want peace as much as the next guy. What do you say?
” I move to the driver’s side and hold out my hand to shake.
He spits a nasty chunk of chew out the window that barely misses me. “Fuck off. There’s nothing you can say that won’t make me hate you.”
Again, how is this jerk related to Honey?
I smell alcohol on his breath. Drinking and driving. Nice.
He snaps his fingers in my face. “You gonna wash my truck or stand around scratching your balls?”
This dude always has a bug up his ass.
“I got this.” The chief pats my shoulder. “Beau, why don’t you take the other line for a few minutes.” Then he turns to Trig. “Son, don’t come here disrespecting my staff. If you want a car wash, it’ll be twenty bucks.”
I’m sure the chief wants to tell him to go to hell, but no one tells a McAllister jack shit unless they want their funding to dry up.
Glancing around, I realize half the town watched this go down. I was trying to make things better for Honey and ended up making a scene. Awesome.
When Trig’s truck is done, he rolls down the passenger window and yells, “Watch your back, Walker.”
Not able to help myself, I turn to him. “If you want a fair fight without your brother, you know where to find me.” Because Trig knows I can take him, which is why he always brings Cash or one of his friends with him.
Fucking pussy.
Unfortunately, Honey’s right. There’s too much bad blood between our families for anything to work between us.