Chapter 6 Beckett
BECKETT
Sometimes, I regret making the decision to use an old school alarm clock. It’s the same one I’ve had since middle school, and it’s aggressively reliable. The loud brR brR brR could raise me from my grave.
I grumble the minute it goes off. I swear I just fell asleep not even five minutes ago.
I slap the ancient, brown, buzzing box to stop the ungodly noise.
When my ears adjust to the silence after the audible assault, I hear the rain hitting the roof.
It’s unusual for it to rain this early in the season, and it’s already on day two.
I manage to get up and start the day, staying in the shower longer than normal. When I get out, I check my phone and see that Mom has texted me.
This rain is a doopsy!
I chuckle. Lennon-isms spread fast in the family.
Road is flooded. I don’t think I’ll be able to get out and see my lil grambaby today
Another Lennon-ism.
That’s alright, we’ve got it today. Y’all alright?
Tell her I love her and we will have pancakes soon, I promise.
Brynn had to go and show her how to use emojis.
Now Mom can’t send a single text message without one.
Dad, on the other hand, is the king of responding with only a thumbs-up.
I used to give Brynn shit because it annoyed her so much, but I get it now.
I think I could text and tell him my whole ranch was on fire and he’d hit me with a thumbs up.
We are okay. Your dad says even the ducks are gonna want a boat today. How is everything there?
I haven’t been out yet. Got a bit of a late start. Gonna grab some coffee and head out.
How’s my Clover girl?
How the hell does she know about that already?
Alright, I guess. Chaos as usual.
Be kind to her, Beckett Hayes Hollis. She’s been dealing with a lot.
No emojis. She means business.
She’s at my house, isn’t she?
You know what I mean. Give my grambaby a kiss. Love you both.
Will do. Love you too mom.
I’m pouring my coffee when Clover walks in. Her short, dark curls are a mess. A chunk of blonde is standing almost straight out of her head at a 90-degree angle. I stifle a laugh, and she rubs her eyes with the heels of her palms groggily.
“Mornin’,” she grumbles, her voice raspy with sleep. She makes her way to the coffee pot like a zombie on its way to brains, then stares at it.
“Mugs are right above you,” I direct. Her response is a grunt, followed by the drag of ceramic along the bottom of the shelf as she pulls one towards her.
“You’re up awfully early,” I comment. I’m shocked. She’s never been a morning person. She definitely still doesn’t seem like one, but she’s up nevertheless.
“Stupid time zones,” she replies. “It would be seven in Florida right now. Still too early,” she grumbles. “I heard you crashing through the house like a bull in a china shop, and I can’t go back to sleep once I wake up.”
“I barely made any noise!”
“Your alarm clock sounds like the emergency warning for impending nuclear warfare.”
Okay. She has a point.
She pads to the refrigerator and opens it, peering in.
“Thank you, God and Mary Hollis,” she sighs in relief, pulling out the Italian sweet cream and pouring it into her coffee.
“Speaking of Mary Hollis,” I start cautiously. “I have to get out and go check on the animals and check the land. It’s raining pretty good, and I need to make sure nothing’s washed out.”
She finishes stirring the sugar in her coffee and takes a sip, her eyes rolling back in her head as the caffeine hits.
My dick absolutely takes note of the way her big brown eyes look when they roll back.
It was bad enough when my brain caught up with the fact that she was wearing my clothes.
The sweatpants are comically large on her, but she’s rolled the waistband to make them a reasonable length.
My hoodie is wrapped around her like I’m still holding her against me the way I was last night.
Get it together, man. I move to stand behind the island, blocking her view of my reaction. I’m just tired, and I haven’t gotten off in a while. This is Clover, for God’s sake. The annoying little shit that grew up bothering me just as much as my sister.
But Clover ain’t a little anything anymore.
She’s not a gangly little thing, all limbs and sharp edges.
The clothes I gave her are hiding all of it, and it’s a damn shame.
The way her wet clothes were clinging to her last night left almost nothing to the imagination.
I wasn’t even as mad as I probably came off last night.
I was trying to distract myself from the way her nipples were threatening to tear her sweater.
“And?” She asks, interrupting my runaway thoughts of her tits. She’s holding her mug in both hands, sipping slowly now and then.
“And usually, Mom comes and hangs out with Lennon in the mornings while I go check on stuff and do the chores I take care of before the guys get here.”
“Mary’s coming?” Her face lights up, and I actually hate that my mom isn’t coming now.
“Nah, not today. She texted and said their road is flooded and they’re not able to get out. That’s another reason I need to get out there as soon as I can.”
“What are you waiting for, then? Go on.” She motions to the back door with her chin.
“I have to go wake Lennon up and get her ready to head out with me.”
“In this weather? Just let her sleep. She was up late.”
“What, and just leave my kid with you?”
“Jesus, Beckett,” she says, putting her coffee down.
“I think it’s a fair question. You can’t even take care of yourself most of the time, much less—”
“Wow. Fucking wow,” she whispers, her eyes wide. “You get a single fucking glimpse at my life, which, by the way, is probably the worst time I’ve had since Mom, and suddenly you know everything about how the last thirteen years of my life have gone.”
Her eyes are full of fire, and I know she’s right, but now I’m mad, too.
“It might not have been like this the whole thirteen years, but it’s like this now,” I shoot back.
“I had to come get your ass off my sister’s porch last night because God forbid you have a backup plan for once.
You just expected my sister to save you, or my family to save you, just like they always have. ”
Clover is unnervingly calm as she finishes off her coffee and rinses her mug out. When she turns to me, her face is bright red, but she isn’t blowing up on me the way she would’ve back then.
“Your family has done so much for me in my life, and I am eternally grateful for the love they have shown me and the times that they’ve taken me in.
I’m not gonna throw Brynn under the bus and tell you things that you have no obligation to know about, but I’ve done a lot for her, too.
I’ve taken the fall for her plenty. I wasn’t always the problem growing up,” she grits through her teeth.
“If you think for one fucking minute, Beckett, that I would do something to put that sweet little girl up there in harm’s way, you’re dumber than I ever gave you credit for.
She might be your child, and I might not fucking like you all the time, but she’s also my best friend’s niece.
I know how to handle kids. I love kids. I would’ve been a damn good mother,” she says harshly.
I’m a little taken aback by that, and it seems out of left field.
“You want to go take care of your shit, go. I can handle being with Lennon until you’re back. When you’re done, I’ll call for a ride back to town and get a room there.”
“Thank God,” I say, before storming out and climbing into the ATV.