Chapter 24 Beau
BEAU
“Can you tell me where I might find Wyatt Westwood?”
The woman seated behind the round desk, just inside the building I learned was where the business offices at Westwood’s were, asked, “Do you have an appointment?”
I shook my head. “I do not.”
“I believe he’s currently in a meeting,” she said. “I can let him know you stopped by, but you’d be better off scheduling an appointment.”
Inclining my head, I said, “I understand. But I would really appreciate it if you’d see if he has a moment to spare. Can you please let him know that his brother-in-law, Beau, is here?”
Her brows pulled together as she murmured, “Brother-in-law?” It took her a moment to figure it out. “Oh. Oh… Jules got married?”
All I could do was send a dashing smile to the woman behind the desk.
“Right. Give me one moment.”
She picked up the phone, waited a moment, and said, “Hello, Wyatt. It’s Denise. I’ve got your brother-in-law, Beau, here looking for you. Would you have a minute to speak with him?”
Denise listened as Wyatt responded, nodding as she did.
“Okay. Great. I’ll send him up.”
Wow. I hadn’t expected it would be this easy.
Denise set the phone back in its cradle.
“Wyatt was just about to start a meeting, but he said you could meet him in the conference room.” She went on to give me instructions to get there, and the next thing I knew, I’d stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall to where she said I’d find him.
It appeared this was a day for surprises, because when I made it to the conference room and knocked on the door, I found four familiar faces waiting there.
“You know, I didn’t expect to see all of you here, but I think it’s better this way,” I said as I took a step into the room where Wyatt, Cooper, Tate, and Liam were sitting around the table.
Unsurprisingly, none of them appeared to be happy to see me, nor did they say a word.
I huffed. “Such a warm welcome for your brother-in-law.”
That had them reacting. I could’ve sworn someone snarled, but it was Wyatt who cut to the chase. “Denise mentioned you wanted to speak to me. I have to admit I was tempted to tell her that you could go to hell. It’s only out of morbid curiosity that I had her send you up.”
“Perfect. Well, I won’t take up much of your precious time,” I began. “I’m here to ask you for a favor.”
Cooper let out a laugh. “You must be crazy. You think we have any reason to do anything for you after what you’ve done?”
“No, I don’t.”
“So, why are you here?” Tate pressed.
“I don’t expect you to do anything for me. I don’t want you to do a single thing for me. The favor is for Jules.”
Any trace of smugness was wiped off their faces. “What does our sister need?”
“Her family.” I let those two words sink in, noting the pained expressions that washed over their faces. “She doesn’t know I’m here, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.”
“Lying to your wife? That’s great for a marriage.”
“Cut the bullshit, Wyatt,” I clipped. “Look, I know you think you’re better than me.
Hell, I thought the very same thing when I learned Jules was who she was.
I don’t deserve her. Not at all. But she chose me, she’s mine, and I’m not giving her up.
So, I get that you don’t like me. I even understand why you feel the way you do.
But if Jules matters at all to any one of you, you’ll figure out a way to get over your hatred of me. ”
I paused for a moment, giving them a chance to digest those words.
“She’s falling apart.” Everyone tensed at that.
Even Liam, who had yet to utter a single word to me.
“She’s doing her best to hide it, to pretend she’s okay most of the time, but it’s eating her alive.
Quite frankly, with the way you’ve all been treating her, with the way you’ve cut her out for choosing her own path that you don’t approve of, I’m not sure what she’s hoping to hold on to.
But I know that you all mean a tremendous deal to her. ”
Long moments of silence passed before Liam finally spoke, uttering the only words that gave me a sense of hope. “What are you looking for, Beau?”
“Fix it,” I begged. “For her. Not for me. I don’t need you to like me.
We don’t have to hang out and talk and get along.
I can stomach being around all of you, knowing you hate me, for her sake.
Because it means something to her to have her family in her life.
And whether you like it or not, I am also her family now.
So, I’m asking you to figure out a way to make this right for her.
I’ll go along with whatever it is if it’s going to make her happy again.
We don’t have to speak to one another beyond a hello and a goodbye.
I’m not asking you to have a relationship with me.
I just want you to give her back the ones she had with each of you. ”
They studied me for a long time before Wyatt spoke, his voice strained. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Thank you.” I turned to leave and stopped myself. “Actually, there’s one thing you could do for me.”
Surprise washed over their faces. “What’s that?” Cooper asked.
“Get Ivy on board with this, too. Because I’m not real keen on the emotion I’m feeling right now on behalf of the woman I love being taken out on her pregnant sister.”
Tate said, “We’ve got Ivy covered.”
I offered a nod of appreciation in response and walked out of the conference room. And as I walked back down the hall toward the elevator, I did it hoping that those men loved their sister enough to take my suggestion seriously.
JULES
It had been just over a month since I’d revealed my pregnancy and marriage to my family.
Nothing had improved.
Beyond receiving the occasional call, text, or passing visit at the bakery from Ava, Skye, Layla, and even Rhea had reached out, there was nothing.
My mom had called me once, begging for me to come over, so we could all talk.
I thought I was finally getting that olive branch I so desperately wanted and needed.
But when I asked what time she wanted Beau and me to come over, she’d shared that my dad just wasn’t ready for that.
So, over this last month, I’d stopped hoping. When nothing got better, and there weren’t any attempts to make it happen, the letdown just became too much to handle.
Even the handful of bright spots I did have—Beau being incredible, another visit with the doctor confirming the baby was growing perfectly—hadn’t been enough to dull the pain of not having my family along for this journey with me.
I’d grown so accustomed to having them around all the time. Calling them whenever I wanted, visiting them, or having them pop by the bakery to grab themselves something savory for breakfast or a sweet treat before they went home at the end of the day.
Now, I had none of that. And my heart ached because of it.
Worse, no matter how much I told myself I wouldn’t be the one to reach out to them, it seemed I no longer had any choice in the matter.
Because one of my commercial mixers was broken.
And any time I had an issue with something needing to be fixed at the bakery, I called on either Liam or Cooper, depending on the time of year.
Cooper was the head of our maintenance and operations for the entire Westwood’s campus minus the amusement park.
Liam oversaw the team that took care of the park.
Given the way they’d reacted the last time I’d seen them, I felt Liam was the safer option. But considering we were in the middle of summer and the park was a constant flow of work for the youngest of my older brothers, I understood that my only option was Cooper.
So, I sucked up my pride and sent him a text.
JULES
I’m having a problem at the bakery with one of my mixers. I’d appreciate if you could send someone to help.
God, it was sad that this was what our relationship had come to. With any luck, Cooper would do what I’d suggested and send someone else to deal with the problem.
I’d suspected, based on how furious he was with me, that Cooper would make me wait all day—or longer—for a response and resolution, but much to my surprise, it was less than a minute later when I received his reply.
Cooper
I’ll head over there right now.
Great.
This was going to be just fantastic.
We were between that breakfast and lunch rush, so things were slow enough that Birdie and my newest hire, Danica, could handle anything that came in until I finished dealing with Cooper.
In record time, my brother arrived.
And the moment he came face-to-face with me for the first time in weeks, the tension between us was still as thick as ever.
But there was something else besides the anger lingering in his stare.
I noticed the way he looked at me, at my slightly rounded belly now growing with his niece or nephew.
Whether he intended for it to or not, if he even knew I could see it, I didn’t know, but sorrow was etched into every feature.
I ignored how it made me feel, swallowed past the tightness in my throat, and said, “Thanks for coming. I’ll show you which mixer is a problem.”
Cooper followed me, doing it in silence, and nothing had ever felt more unnatural between us. It made me feel sick, and my hand instinctively went to my stomach.
Seconds later, I turned and said, “This is the one that’s giving me a problem.”
I flipped the switch to turn it on, and it took Cooper almost no time at all to hear the racket the machine was making and diagnose the problem. With his focus on the mixer, he said, “I’ve got to replace the drive belt for you. It shouldn’t take too long.”
“Do we have an extra belt?”
Cooper lifted his gaze to meet mine. “It’s a wear item, and I didn’t want you to have to be down without a mixer ever, so I ordered replacements a long time ago.”
I didn’t want him to see how that affected me, but the ache at the center of my chest was so uncomfortable, my hand went there and rubbed in hopes of easing it.