Chapter 11
BEAU
It was becoming increasingly harder to ignore the feelings that I was rapidly developing for my neighbor and assistant. I shouldn’t be obsessed with Rebekah, with what she’s doing, whether she’s taking care of herself, or about how much I want to be the one taking care of her.
I sat at my desk looking over work emails. Half my guys were out on a case, while the other half had been taking care of things around the shop. Rebekah had been spending a lot of time with Seth in his office, helping him, since I didn’t have much for her to do in my office.
I felt antsy every time she wasn’t in my direct line of sight, which was crazy since she was still in my building. It’s not like I didn’t know where she was, but I didn’t like the fact that she wasn’t in my office with me.
Ever since this past weekend, I’d felt like she’d been trying her hardest to avoid me.
That gutted me to the core because the last thing I wanted to do was make her feel uncomfortable.
I knew that we needed to sit down and have a conversation, but I was not too much of an idiot to admit that the thought of that scares me.
A small knock came from across the room, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts. Glancing up, there stood my sweet girl. Damn it, Beau! Stop thinking about her like that. She looked like the wall might fall from beneath her if she wasn’t careful.
“The wall can hold itself up, you know.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t have to just stand there, Rebekah. You can come inside and sit.”
She rolled her eyes at me, and I noticed the last of the tension she had been holding in her shoulders had disappeared. That was the exact reaction I was hoping for. I let out a small chuckle as she dropped into the chair dramatically.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” I ask, folding my hands in front of me, offering her my undivided attention.
“Nothing, I was just done helping Seth. I figured I would see if you needed anything or were almost done for the day.”
With a quick look at the clock on my computer, I realized that time had moved faster than it normally did. It was almost five in the evening, which meant it was getting close to when I took her home.
Ever since I told her I would be bringing her to and from work, I tried my hardest to keep from working extra-long hours into the night.
The last thing I wanted was to keep her waiting for me until God knew when, and I definitely didn’t want one of the other guys to take her home.
Though that had happened once or twice when it was clear that I wasn’t going to catch a break.
“Of course. Give me a few minutes to finish wrapping up this email, and then we can head out.”
Rebekah nodded at me before grabbing her Kindle and curling up on my couch.
I had learned that her favorite place to sit was on my couch, and my heart loved to see her waiting for me.
She always looked adorable, wrapped up in the blanket that I might have ordered online just for her, with her Kindle in hand, reading away.
Twenty minutes later, I shut down my computer, deciding the rest of my work could wait until tomorrow. “Have dinner with me?”
She must have been engrossed in her book because she whipped her head up like she had forgotten that she wasn’t sitting in here alone.
“What did you say?”
“I asked you to have dinner with me tonight.”
“Why would you do that?”
What kind of question is that? Why wouldn’t I want to have dinner with a pretty lady?
“Because I need to eat, you need to eat, and there’s no reason we can’t eat together,” I replied, shooting her a puzzled look.
“Okay, well, when you put it like that, I sound stupid for asking why.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t call yourself stupid, Rebekah. I won’t stand for that kind of language from you.”
She bit down hard on her tongue as if she was trying to stop a sassy reply from tumbling out of her gorgeous lips.
“You aren’t stupid. Not in the slightest, and I don’t want to hear you say that again. Am I understood?”
“Sir, yes, Sir!” she replied with a salute.
Oh, the little cheeky brat. Rolling my eyes at her antics, I grabbed her bag from in front of my desk and headed over to where she was curled up on the couch.
“Come on, Rebekah. I’m starving, and I’m sure you are, too.”
She reached up and took her bag from my hand, slipping her Kindle inside before standing and following me out of the office. After locking up, I directed her to my truck and helped her inside before driving down the block toward Gene’s Diner.
Parked and out of the truck, I guided Rebekah toward the back of the diner.
It wasn’t busy yet, but being a Wednesday night, I knew that it was only a matter of time before it filled up.
This was the best place to get a home-cooked meal that had you missing your granny’s southern cooking, so it made sense that it was a popular venue.
I helped her slide into her chair, walked around the table, and dropped into the chair.
Facing the door, I scanned my surroundings before turning my attention to the beauty in front of me.
Old habits were hard to break. I already knew what I was going to order, so there was no reason for me to look at the menu that sat on the old, cracked laminate table.
Using the time that Rebekah was focused on picking out her meal, I ran my eyes up and down her form.
Wrapped up in a hoodie that I was fairly certain was Josh’s, she looked like a Little girl playing dress up in her Daddy’s clothes.
I would much rather her be wearing my clothes, but I hadn’t claimed her yet, so I couldn’t get worked up that she was wearing another man’s hoodie.
Well, not too worked up. I was a possessive man after all, and knowing that wasn’t my hoodie was testing my loyalty to one of my greatest soldiers and friends.
“Hey, Beau and the pretty lady, I don’t think I’ve met before.”
I threw an annoyed look at the waiter who was standing at the side of our table, hand poised over a pad, ready to take our order. I schooled my features because getting annoyed with a high schooler who couldn’t find his way out of a wet paper bag wasn’t on my bingo card for tonight.
“Hey, Derrick. How are you?”
“I’m doing good, man. Same ol’, same ol’. It’s been a little bit since you were in. How are things going with you?”
“Can’t complain. Busy as always, but you know I always try to make time to drop in. How’s school going?”
Derrick was a senior this year and was destined to play university ball. He’d been our varsity quarterback for the past three years, proving his worth during his freshman year of high school. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that he was coming for all those records I set years ago.
“Been great. We play against the Bulldogs this week, and Coach says that there will be college scouts there to watch me. I might finally get out of this small town and finally make a name for myself.”
I understand his desire to leave town. It wasn’t all that long ago when I had been in his shoes, dreaming of bigger and better things. Sadly, the world had different ideas, and my dreams of college and maybe one day pro football faded as real responsibilities crept in.
“I have no doubt that you will do fantastic, Derrick. If I’m in town, I’ll see if I can come and catch the game. Might be nice to come and see the old stomping grounds.”
“I’d like that a lot, man.”
Offering a fist bump, I turned my attention to Rebekah, who sat just admiring our exchange. I couldn’t read the questions in her eyes, and before I could ask, Derrick spoke again.
“Anyway, enough boring conversation. Wouldn’t want to scare off your pretty company. What can I get for y’all tonight?”
I waved toward Rebekah, indicating that she should go first.
“I would like the chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and a side salad with ranch. Can I also get a sweet tea?”
“Anything for the lovely lady. Beau, the usual for you?”
I nodded at his question.
“Perfect, I’ll go put these orders in and will be around with your drinks in a few.”
Derrick left us in comfortable silence that it seemed neither of us wanted to break. It was nice to be with someone who I didn’t have to constantly fill in the void with useless small talk around.
I placed Rebekah’s sweet tea in front of her when Derrick dropped it off. Deciding to finally break the silence, I asked a question that had been on my mind. “Have you been enjoying your time at SFT? Has everyone been treating you with kindness and respect?”
“Oh, absolutely. I love all the guys and getting to know them. Everyone has been so helpful and kind, taking me under their wing like an annoying little sister. Of course, I love hanging out with Seth and Josh.”
I grunted. I liked that she had gotten close to them, especially since they would be great men for her to lean on if necessary. This green eye of jealousy wasn’t a good look, and I really needed to get over myself.
“I’m so glad to hear that, Rebekah. You have been a fantastic help around the office, and everyone has had nothing but good comments about you.”
The pink blush on her cheeks made me smile. She turned pink so prettily, which made me wonder what other parts of her looked like when covered in that lovely shade. Dragging my mind out of the gutter, I realized that she had spoken again.
“It seems like you really know Derrick.”
“Well, this might not be a super small town, but it’s hard not to get to know your neighbors. Derrick has made a name for himself since his freshman year. I love supporting the younger guys. Plus, I remember when I used to be in his shoes.”
“Vic told me that you used to play football in high school. Something about state champions.”
“Asking your friends about me, I see,” I teased. It was cute that she’d asked someone else about me.
“Well, I had to make sure that the man I was going to work for wasn’t a serial killer or something.”
I was unable to stop the full belly laugh that burst out of me. I admired her wanting to be cautious and was impressed with her researching the people she was going to be working for.
“Well, what all does Vic have to say about me?”
“He just said that you were a good guy, and that I couldn’t go wrong working for your company.”
“That’s it? I remember Vic, and I don’t think that he has ever said so little.”
“Well, he also called you as fine as a piece of pie. So, there’s that.”
I choked on the sip of sweet tea. Rebekah’s eyes widened with concern as I coughed, trying to clear my windpipe. “Now that sounds more like the Victor I know.” She hid her giggle behind her hand. “Well, do you agree?”
“Agree to what?”
“That I’m as fine as a piece of pie? Though I do wonder exactly what flavor pie I would be.”
“Pumpkin. That’s my favorite.” I watched the beautiful blush cross her cheeks.
“Hey, guys, here’s your food. If you need anything else, please let me know,” Derrick said, saving my sweet girl from further embarrassment.
“Actually, there is one more thing. Could you find out if Gene has any pumpkin pie ready yet?”