Chapter 37
“S he just turned up… uninvited?” Layla’s eyes go comically round at me from across the table.
I’ve just finished explaining the entire strangeness of Beau and Mandy’s situation to her, Briar, and Sky. The girls turned up with their cowboys in tow to help with the setup for tomorrow night’s event at the ranch.
Fortunately for all our sanity, Mandy has swanned off with Zeb after deciding to do some sort of brand photoshoot at a popular national park location a few hours away. Which means she’s gone from the property, for a few hours at least.
Unfortunately, where my giant pile of secrets is concerned, it still doesn’t exactly solve the problem that I’m lying to everyone about the illicit lines me and Beau have carelessly ridden across.
“That must be so awkward for Beau.” To the other side of me, Briar muses out loud and scrunches her nose. “Mind you, there were plenty of women like that I used to run into all the time in LA. They really do think the sun shines out their own ass twenty-four seven.”
“He’s stuck letting her stay here.” I shrug. “Apparently, it’s complicated. Until they sort out their divorce, he can’t risk it blowing up online and in the public eye.”
“Fair enough. He’s got the ranch to think of. I can’t imagine he wants to have nasty shit spewed all over the internet right at the moment he’s trying to get a brand new business off the ground.” Sky nods, and points out what we need to be adding to the flower arrangements next as she talks. Thanks to owning her own florist studio, she’s organized a gorgeous range of summer flowers. One of the ideas she came up with was for us to make flower crowns guests can wear and take home.
We’re currently set up at a wooden trestle, elbow-deep in freshly cut blooms, airy fronds, and delicate greenery, while making up the arrangements. Over by the barn, the guys are busy draping festoon lights over the building’s exterior and shifting hay bales into position to act as seating. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice it’s just Colt and Storm. I know Beau was helping alongside them just before, but seems to have disappeared for the moment.
A rumble of a vehicle and clank of a horse trailer draw our attention from the mountain of floral art Sky has set us to work on. It’s one of the Rhodes Ranch trucks pulling up, and Sky smiles sweetly in the direction of her cowboy behind the wheel.
“Daddy’s brought the goods?” I tease.
“He’s brought in a couple more new trail horses for me.” That familiar deep voice almost startles me out of my skin when Beau appears just over my shoulder.
“Here. I figured if you’re all as hopeless at remembering to stop for food as Sage here is, you could use some fuel.” He leans a long arm over the table, pushes a pile of purple cornflowers out of the way, and deposits a rough wooden chopping block.
It’s laden with a mountain of cheese and crackers and cold meat.
My cheeks immediately burn, because this isn’t part of the plan. Beau is supposed to be staying the fuck away from me, and he certainly isn’t supposed to be hand-delivering me snacks in the middle of the afternoon.
The others are suitably swooning over Beau Heartford being the charismatic dreamboat of a cowboy he is.
I keep my eyes firmly locked on the twine I’m busy wrapping and knotting. “Thanks.” It’s a quiet mutter. There’s no way I can look at him without giving away our dirty little hidden secrets.
Even though my attention is elsewhere, the sound of clanking metal on the trailer and whinnying jolts me. Shit . I suddenly realize if there are horses arriving, then I’d better be doing my job.
“Crap, I’ll be right back. I need to get some footage of this.” Tossing the flowers down, I mutter in the general direction of the girls.
As I wipe my hands on the ass of my cutoffs, I feel Beau’s size and brawn step in my way. One of those veined hands I oh so desperately want to have caressing my skin reaches out. Though this isn’t anything to do with touching me, instead, he clicks his tongue softly and gestures in the direction of my phone.
“Here, give me that. I’ll film the content and take photos. You keep doing what you’re doing over here.”
I’m rendered dumbstruck when he plucks it from my grasp without warning, then casually strolls off with my phone.
All I can do is brush my hair behind my ears and try to keep my breathing under control as three sets of eyes descend on me like lightning.
Turning back to my silly little arrangement of flowers, I unspool more twine and grab the scissors. With each passing fraction of a second, I feel their gazes pinball between me and the back of Beau’s head as he heads over to the barn.
“Wait, so... Beau knows your passcode?” Briar breaks the silence.
I keep my eyes lowered, intently focused on what I’m doing.
“Sarge… how does your married boss know your phone passcode?” Layla drops her voice low.
The tips of my ears burst into flame. “Oh, you know.” I tilt my head and yank the knot as tight as possible.
It happens in a blink. Layla and Briar look at each other sideways, and next to me, I feel Sky’s fingers wrap around my elbow. The three of them propel me to the farthest end of the table and huddle around me like a coven about to cast a spell.
“O hmygodyou’refuckingBeau .” Layla stabs a finger at me and gasps.
My eyes bounce between the three women looking back at me in shock. Like any of them can damn well talk, or judge, based on their past decisions when it came to cowboys they weren’t supposed to look twice at.
Well, fuck. Looks like my dirty laundry is about to be aired after all.
“It’s nothing.” I shrug. “Just a stupid moment when we crossed a line, but everything is back to how it was.”
“Holy shit.”
“Sage. Are you serious?”
They have eyes out on stalks while whispering as loud as they dare.
“Don’t have kittens. We fooled around a little. That’s all.”
“More than once?”
I bite down on my cheek, then wince and pinch my thumb and forefinger together in front of my face. “Only a teeny bit.”
“Holy shiiiiit . Sage, this is kinda a big deal.” Layla peeks over her shoulder to make sure we’re still safely having a private conversation.
Briar’s jaw is on the ground.
“Don’t any of you dare give me that look. Considering the cowboy dicks you three slipped and fell onto, none of you can say a single word.” I wave my finger in the direction of their faces. God, I wish they’d all stop gaping at me like that.
Finally, Briar picks her jaw back up and starts gushing. “I’m really happy for you guys… Beau is such a good?—”
“No. Stop it right now.” I shake my head and hold up both hands. “There is nothing to be happy for or to be giving me those swoony eyes over. He’s married. Hitched. Ball and chained.”
“But…” Briar looks crestfallen.
“I don’t care if he’s almost divorced, or whatever their story is… the fact of the matter is, I slept with somebody’s husband, and I can’t make excuses for that.”
Shifting my weight, I can’t stop the guilt-laden words from bubbling up.
“And it especially doesn’t matter, because it’s done now, anyway. We scratched an itch and got it out of our systems. A bit of fun. That’s all. Now it’s over, and besides, I’ve got a job to do.”
Layla stares at me.
“What’s that look about?”
“Are you in love with him?” She asks, with softness welling in her big green eyes.
“ Pfft . Be real. This heart has no room for love.” I wave her off and hit the three of them with a carefully affixed smile. “You know me, if it isn’t fun, they’re not worth my time. And I am certainly not anyone’s second choice.”
Perhaps if I say it enough times, I’ll believe it myself.
I want fun, not feelings.
And I certainly don’t need to be overthinking what any of those tiny gestures Beau just did might mean… for me.