My feet barely touched the wood before Thatcher’s hands disappeared from my sides. “Hands off, Thatch.” Beckett’s arm was already around my waist to brace me as he shoved his younger brother away.
Thatcher held his hands up in surrender and laughed it off. “Let’s go inside, you’re missing all the fun.” He snapped his fingers as if remembering something important.
“And Jack, the new guy that just moved to town, showed up. Maybe you could give him a tour of the town, Clara.” Thatcher teased, but I knew better than to take the bait. Only a couple ofyears younger than Beckett and me, Thatcher had often tagged along on our adventures. Both he and their younger brother, Noah, were like my own brothers.
Beckett, though, was definitely not like a brother to me.
“Get inside, Thatch.” Beckett gave his brother a playful shove in the direction of the door.
Thatcher looked between us, grin wide, and said, “You two should just get together already.” Thatcher ducked inside before either of us could react.
Beckett grabbed the door before it could close behind his brother. He looked at the sky and muttered something under his breath as I walked in ahead of him.
I couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like, “Don’t I know it.”
Chapter Two
Clara
“You’re distracted today,” Margot said as she closed the register drawer. “What’s up?”
I didn’t know how to answer her. The conversation with Beckett last night had started off just like any other conversation we’ve had over the last twenty years. But something had shifted. His muttered response to Thatcher’s teasing comment was burned into my brain.“Don’t I know it.”
Four words that could change everything.
“Clara?” Margot’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Again.
“Sorry. I didn’t sleep that well.” Not a lie, but also not the entire truth. Beckett’s words had played over and over in my head all night. He’d kept his distance for the rest of the party.
Jack, the new veterinarian, offered to get me a drink. We’d broken away from the group that included Thatcher and Beckett and chatted for a little while. He was friendly, handsome, but I kept finding myself looking for Beckett in the crowd.
I doubted Beckett harbored some kind of romantic feelings for me. For over a decade, we’ve told people that we’re just friends. Best friends, yes, but friends. Not lovers, not a couple. Friends. That’s it.
What if that wasn’t it?
I’m not blind – Beckett has always been easy on the eyes. His height and dark green eyes had always been part of his attractiveness, but then he’d fully grown into his six foot four inches, and his shoulders had broadened as he added muscle from working on his family’s ranch.
Besides, I’d been secretly in love with him since we were teenagers. He was always there when I needed him, a steady presence I could count on, from math homework in high school to giving me a shoulder to cry on when a date or boyfriend broke my heart.
He knew how to distract me when I would overthink something and catastrophize any situation. Beckett had been the one to give me the extra push I needed to take over the boutique in the first place, back when Gertie wanted to retire and move somewhere warm.
Beckett had also stayed with me for two weeks after my parents died in a car accident, just over ten years ago. My extended family had all gone back to their lives shortly after the funeral, but Beckett had essentially moved in to my apartment for those two weeks. He did almost everything for me, even went so far as to sit against the wall in the bathroom while I showered because I was scared to be alone.
I’d come close to confessing my feelings back then, but I couldn’t handle the possibility of driving him away so soon after losing my parents. I’d kept my secret to myself.
In the end, not knowing what he meant was going to drive me crazy. I needed to talk to him.
And I needed to do it before I lost my nerve.
Normally, I hated to leave the store during our open hours, even when one of my employees was here, but …
I turned to my favorite employee and newest friend. “Would you mind if I ran out for a bit?”
Margot raised a brow. “Nope. Besides, Charlene will be here soon.”
“Thanks. I’ll get drinks on my way back.” I grabbed my bag and keys from the office and left.
The drive out to Hearthstone Lodge and Ranch, the Ashland family’s business and land, would only take fifteen minutes, tops.
