Chapter 33
Beth heard Ryan’s truck before she saw it. The familiar rumble came up the driveway just after four on Sunday afternoon, followed by two short blasts of the horn.
Smiling, she dried her hands on a dish towel and headed for the front door. If she ever wondered where Kayla got her habit of honking the horn, she only had to look at her uncle.
Beth opened the door as Ryan climbed out of his truck. He still had the same thick mop of dark hair, shoulders that seemed impossibly wide, and a grin that could have turned a lot of female heads if he let it.
She leaned against the doorframe. “You look much too healthy.”
Ryan grinned and reached into the passenger seat for a paper shopping bag. “That’s what a few months of sunshine does for you.”
Beth glanced at the overcast sky. “You could have brought some back to Montana with you.”
“I tried.” He closed the truck door with his hip. “Customs confiscated it.”
Laughing, Beth stepped onto the porch. Ryan put down the bag and pulled her into a hug. For all his teasing, he held on longer than usual.
Beth hugged him just as tightly. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him until he was standing in front of her again. “It’s good to have you home.”
Ryan gave her one last squeeze. “It’s good to be here.”
Beth pulled him inside. “Shut the door before we both freeze.”
Ryan followed her into the kitchen and placed the shopping bag on the table. “I brought gifts.”
Beth raised an eyebrow. “Should I be worried?”
“Probably.” He reached into the bag. “I’ll give Kayla hers when I see her, but I have something classy for you.”
He produced a large box of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts.
Beth took it. “These actually look good.”
“They are. I conducted extensive research.”
“How many boxes did you eat?”
Ryan grinned. “That’s irrelevant.”
Laughing, Beth put them on the counter.
“And this is also for you.” Ryan reached into the bag again. “I bought a matching one for Kayla.” He pulled out a stuffed kangaroo with enormous feet, oversized ears, and a tiny joey poking out of its pouch.
Beth burst out laughing.
Ryan frowned. “What?”
“Kayla guessed you’d bring us toy kangaroos.”
His face fell. “That ruins everything.” Ryan set the kangaroo carefully on a kitchen chair. “I’m not giving Kayla hers now. I’ll find something else.”
Beth picked up her kangaroo. “Still give it to her. She’ll love it. It can join all the other stuffed animals you’ve brought her from your travels.” She reached for the coffee pot. “Coffee?”
Ryan nodded. “Please. It’ll be good to have a proper one.”
Beth poured two mugs and carried them to the table. By the time she sat down, Ryan had already opened her chocolates.
She stared at him. “You bought those for me.”
“I have to make sure they’re fresh.” He popped one into his mouth.
“You said you conducted extensive research.”
“I did,” Ryan said as he crunched a macadamia nut between his teeth. “But quality control never stops.”
Beth took one before he ate them all. “Tell me about Australia.”
Ryan leaned back. “It was great. Sydney was more compact than I thought, especially around Darling Harbour. The Gold Coast was sun, sand, and lots of walking. I ate too much and overspent my budget, but it was worth it. I’ve started planning my next trip.
” Ryan took another chocolate. “You can come to China with me next year, if you like.”
“I’ll think about it.” Beth wrapped both hands around her mug. “You enjoyed having the time off?”
“Yeah.” Ryan rubbed his thumb over the side of his mug. “More than I thought I would. There were no phone calls every five minutes and nothing needing to be fixed before breakfast. But I missed having a routine. Getting up and knowing what I’m doing for the day. Seeing everyone.”
Beth understood. There was comfort in knowing where you were supposed to be.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Finley Point,” Ryan added. “It’ll be interesting to see what’s happened while I’ve been gone.”
“Knowing Dave, half the resort is probably finished.” The words escaped before Beth could think about them.
Ryan looked at her.
Beth suddenly found her coffee fascinating.
“Probably,” he said slowly.
She could feel her brother watching her. It was ridiculous. She was a grown woman. She’d been married and raised a daughter. She should be perfectly capable of telling her younger brother she’d gone on a date.
Except the man was Ryan’s boss. And saying it aloud somehow made everything with Dave more real. Beth placed her mug on the table. “Dave took me to dinner.”
Ryan blinked. “My Dave? My boss?”
Beth frowned. “He’s not your Dave.”
“You know what I mean. Dave from Finley Point?”
Beth nodded.
Ryan stared at her. Slowly, a smile appeared. “Was it a date?”
Heat climbed into Beth’s cheeks. “Yes.”
“Well, that’s interesting.”
Beth waited for Ryan to say something else, but he didn’t. “That’s all you’re going to say?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Beth folded her arms and waited some more.
As Ryan studied her face, his amusement faded. “You like him.”
Beth glanced toward the window. “Yes. And he likes me, so don’t poke fun at either of us. I’ve been trying not to like him, but it’s too difficult.”
“Why?”
She gave her brother a look. “You know why.”
His expression softened. “Because of Jessie?”
Beth nodded. “Partly.” She looked down at her coffee. “I wasn’t looking for anyone. I didn’t want anyone. Then I met Dave at the arts center and we started spending time together and…” She shrugged. “I like being with him.”
Ryan rested his forearms on the table. “A lot?”
Beth tried not to smile and failed. “A lot.”
“Good.”
She stared at him. “What do you mean, good?”
“What do you want me to say?” Ryan asked.
“I don’t know. Something brotherly and overprotective.”
He considered that. “Do I need to be overprotective?”
Beth would have laughed if he’d been talking about someone else. “Of course not.”
He released an exaggerated sigh. “Good, because that could get awkward at work. Remember, he signs my paycheck.”
Beth laughed, and some of the tension inside her loosened.
Ryan’s expression became serious again. “Dave’s a good man.”
“I know.”
“No, I mean it.” Ryan leaned forward. “I’ve worked with him long enough to know what he’s like when things go wrong. That’s when you find out what someone’s really like. He’s fair. He doesn’t throw people under the bus. And he listens when someone tells him he’s wrong.”
Beth waited for what would come next.
Ryan looked down at his mug. “Dave cared about Carol a lot.”
“I know.”
“And you loved Jessie.”
Beth’s throat tightened. “Yes.”
Ryan met her eyes. “That doesn’t seem like a reason the two of you shouldn’t be happy. The last few years haven’t been easy. It’s not wrong to find someone who makes you smile.”
Her eyes stung unexpectedly. “Nothing’s really happened between us. We’ve only been on one date.”
Ryan’s eyebrows rose. “And?”
Beth knew what he was asking. She remembered sitting across from Dave at the café, sharing huckleberry pie, and the warmth of his hand covering hers. Her smile came before she could stop it.
Ryan groaned. “Oh, no.”
Beth frowned. “What?”
“You really like him.”
“I already told you that.”
“Yeah, but now I can see it.”
Beth reached across the table and stole another chocolate. “I’m beginning to regret telling you.”
Ryan laughed. “Too late.”
She tried to look annoyed, but she couldn’t. Beneath the embarrassment and uncertainty, she felt lighter. For the first time since Dave had held her hand in the café, she’d told someone who mattered how she truly felt.
She liked Dave.
She liked his quiet humor and kindness. She liked the way he listened to her. And she very much liked the way her hand had felt in his.
Ryan reached for the chocolates, but Beth pulled the box away.
He stared at her. “What are you doing?”
“They’re mine.” The look on Ryan’s face was as close to a pout as Beth had ever seen.
“I brought them all the way from Australia,” Ryan told her. “Plus, I’m jetlagged. I need the sugar.”
Beth tucked the box against her chest. “You’ve had enough.”
Ryan pointed at the stuffed kangaroo. “Fine. If you eat all the chocolates, I’m taking the kangaroo home.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Watch me.”
Laughing, Beth pushed the box back into the middle of the table.
For now, it was enough to sit in her kitchen with her brother, sharing chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and arguing over a ridiculous stuffed kangaroo.
And it was enough to know that when she’d finally found the courage to tell him about Dave, her brother had smiled.