25. Beau
Beau
F reedom Bible Church wasn’t very big, but the sanctuary held a bunch of people. They’d struggled to find seats even though they’d arrived early.
Locals came by to shake his and Anna’s hands in a continuous line, and Anna had done a pretty good job of giving each of them her attention while still watching the door for Brittany to arrive.
Anna had been asleep when he got back from the gym, but she’d brought up Brittany during breakfast. After a little back and forth, Anna decided to invite her to join them for the morning service at the church Joanna at the hotel recommended.
For a brief second, no one was introducing themselves and welcoming them to the church, and Anna fidgeted like an energetic kid in her seat.
“You okay?” Beau asked.
“Just wondering whether she’ll show up or not.”
“She’s not late. It was nice of you to invite her, but if she doesn’t come, that’s her choice.”
Anna faced him, and the small crease in her brow disappeared. “You’re right. It would just be great if she came.”
Beau wrapped an arm around Anna’s shoulders. “You’re too good. You know that?”
Anna rolled her eyes. “Inviting someone to church is easy.”
“No, it’s not. I know as Christians we’re supposed to go into the world making disciples of all nations, but it never dawns on me to invite someone to church.”
“You barely speak unless you have something to say,” Anna reminded him.
“Yeah, but that’s not an excuse. That’s something I should say, and I don’t.”
Anna could make a friend out of a stranger within five minutes, but Beau could count on one hand the number of new friends he’d made in the last ten years. Just because it came easy to Anna didn’t mean it was an order from God that he was exempt from.
Anna smiled. “You’re a good man. I wouldn’t have thought to invite her if it wasn’t for you.”
“Me? I didn’t do anything.”
“You didn’t do anything different. You woke up and read your Bible. ”
They’d been waking up around the same time to read together, and to be honest, it was Beau’s favorite time of the day. Today, Anna said she wanted them to read the same passage. Beau had chosen the Beatitudes in Matthew.
“Do you remember what we read? Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Just when he thought she couldn’t get any better, she quoted Scripture and reminded him, again, of her pure heart.
Beau looked up just in time to see Brittany come to a stop at the end of the row. Slowly, he removed his arm from around Anna.
Brittany’s expression was completely blank. Whether she meant to come off as unfeeling or not, he was having a tough time understanding her.
Anna stood with a smile. “Hey! I’m so glad you made it!”
Anna wrapped Brittany in a big hug, and Brittany returned the gesture with much less enthusiasm.
“Come sit with us,” Anna said, dragging Brittany by the hand to their seats.
Seconds later, the worship leader began singing, signaling for everyone to settle down. He’d never paid much attention before, but Anna was a great singer .
Beau was not a singer. He mouthed the words. No more. But hearing Anna’s voice lifted in praise was better than anything he could find on the radio.
Brittany sat quietly on the other side of Anna. It was impossible to figure out what she was thinking about the service, but maybe Anna had planted a little seed by inviting Brittany.
After the service, Brittany made a mad dash for the exit, and Anna quickly followed.
“Wait. I was hoping we could have dinner together,” Anna said when they met up in the parking lot.
“Um. Sure.” Brittany pushed her glasses up on her nose and kept a tight hold on the strap of her purse.
“Where do you want to go?” Anna asked. When Brittany didn’t answer right away, Anna turned to Beau.
“I think I’ll let you two go to dinner together. I have some Christmas shopping to do.”
Anna’s eyes widened. “Christmas shopping? We’ve already been shopping, and you didn’t buy anything.”
“We were shopping for you. I—I saw something I might get for Liv, and I can pick up your candle while I’m in the area.”
Anna clasped her hands together as best she could with the brace on. “That’s so sweet. Well, Brittany, how do you feel about Mexican food? I saw a place on the square called La Cresta that promised the best tacos in the Rockies.”
Brittany shrugged. “That’s fine.”
The tightness in Beau’s shoulders eased. He didn’t like lying to Anna, but he couldn’t exactly tell her he wanted to get a present for her, not Liv. He could always get something for his sister too. She’d like a book from that bakery that had the bookshelves in it.
The town square was packed with people and vehicles by the time they arrived, but they found a parking spot a few blocks away. Beau walked the women to the restaurant and headed for the store he’d spotted during the tree lighting ceremony.
Art and Soul Gallery was a small shop filled with paintings displayed against off-white walls and on stands dotted throughout the big room. A bell above the door jingled as he entered.
“Hey! Welcome to Art and Soul.” A dark-haired woman wearing an apron covered in various colors of paint stepped out of a room in the back. “Can I help you find anything?”
“I’m looking for a painting for my…friend,” Beau said.
The woman reached out her hand with a smile. “I’m Claire. Most of these are mine, but some of them are by students. All of the paintings in this room are local landscapes, and that room over there has a variety of paintings. Do you have an idea of what your friend might like?”
“You painted these?” Beau asked, kind of stunned at the perfection of each piece.
“I did,” Claire said sheepishly.
Beau whistled low. “That’s awesome. I can’t even paint a wall.”
Claire chuckled and propped her hands on her hips. “I’ve been painting for years.”
Beau looked around. “I’m definitely interested in one of these,” he said, pointing to the landscapes in the main room. “We rode snowmobiles over a ridge on our first day in town. Any chance you have something we might have seen there?”
Claire snapped her fingers. “I bet I do. Come here.”
She led him toward a large painting covered mostly in white. Snow spread over the hill in the foreground, but a bright sun sat high in the sky, bathing the scene in an orange glow. The dark mountains in the distance looked just as awesome as they had on the day he’d seen them with Anna.
“That one. That’s it.”
Claire squinted at him. “Are you sure? You didn’t look at the price tag.”
Beau checked the label on the wall beside the painting. It was expensive but he’d already made up his mind. He wanted this painting for Anna. No matter how things went between them after they got back home, she’d like a memory of the trip.
“I’m sure. Can you ship it to my house? I’m with my friend now, and I don’t want her to see it yet.”
Fifteen minutes later, Claire had the painting packaged and labeled for shipping. Beau stepped out onto the sidewalk and came to a complete stop. He’d just bought a Christmas present for a woman he wasn’t even in a relationship with.
It couldn’t be helped. She had him wrapped so tightly around her finger that he could barely think of anything else.
But she was coming out of a long-term relationship—one that almost made it to the altar. A week ago, she’d intended to spend the rest of her life with Dean. There was no way she was ready for another relationship.
Here he was thinking about relationships. He wasn’t a relationship kinda guy. He hadn’t met a single woman he’d consider spending his life with.
Until Anna.
Beau’s phone rang in his pocket, reminding him that he was standing on the sidewalk like a lost puppy.
“Hello.”
“What are you doing?” Olivia said in greeting.
“Trying to decide how I got here.” It was true. How in the world had he fallen for Anna in just a week’s time ?
“Dude, we have GPS now. There’s no excuse for getting lost.”
Beau pinched the bridge of his nose. “Never mind. I’m running some errands in Freedom while Anna has dinner with her friend Brittany.”
“Oh, good. I’m glad she has a friend there with her. I was hoping I could come down sometime, but I had to work overtime. How is she doing?”
“She’s fine. She actually seems happy.”
Olivia hummed. “So I heard.”
“What did you hear?”
“I might have heard she’s having a good time with you.”
“Explain. What did she say about me?”
Olivia laughed. Not just a tiny laugh. It was a long, drawn-out laugh that made him regret answering his sister’s call.
“Stop laughing. What did she say about me?”
Liv’s laughter turned to chuckles. “What do you think about her?”
He liked her. A lot. But he wasn’t about to tell his sister about that before telling Anna.
“She isn’t who I thought she was.”
Olivia hummed. “Good or bad?”
“Good.”
“Of course she’s good. She’s my best friend. There’s a lot to love about her.”
Yeah. He was figuring that out.
“Now, tell me what she said about me,” Beau demanded.
“Oh, I can’t. That would violate the girl code.”
Beau gripped the phone and took an extra second to breathe. “You’re kidding.”
“No. I’m a good friend, and I keep secrets. Sorry.”
“Olivia! Stop messing around.”
“Okay. Okay. All I can tell you is that Anna needs a man. A good man. No, she deserves the best man. Do you think you can be that for her?”
Shoot. Liv was acting like this was the real deal, and it only solidified his feelings for Anna.
“I want to be,” he said low.
“Then go for it. I think you could be good for Anna, but I also think she could be good for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you seem happy too. I accept thank yous in the form of cash or gift certificates to Grady’s Feed and Seed.”
“I’m not thanking you yet. You could have just driven a wedge between your brother and your best friend. What if this is temporary and things are awkward between us from now on?”
“Not gonna happen. Best of luck to you. Don’t screw it up.”
“Olivia—”
“Gotta go, bro. Talk soon.”
Olivia disconnected the call, and Beau was left staring at his phone. Fear had a grip around his throat. He’d gotten a taste of life with Anna, and he had no idea how to talk to her about it.