Page 47 of Slow Burn

Now Beck’s mouth tilts upward into a full-blown smile, something I have never seen him do. Not fully. Not wholeheartedly.

“Beck Hollis, are you smiling?” I tease.

When he turns around, it’s gone, and he places the plate of patties on the table, mine on a separate one.

“The burgers are ready,” he says.

I squint back at him skeptically. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Beck liked hearing that I was happy to be back in Sage Valley.

Everyone digs into their burgers, and the table is quiet for a few minutes before Nash pipes up.

“So, how are you finding working with this old codger?” He tilts his head towards Beck.

Skye laughs and shakes her head. Beck glares at Nash sitting next to him.

“Beck’s a big teddy bear, actually,” I say, and Beck’s glare shifts over to me. I flash him a wink, and I swear that the small patch of skin that doesn’t have stubble, turns pink.

“Who knew?” Nash sounds surprised, but he leans over and nudges his brother with his elbow. “Nah, we love him. But let me know if he causes you any trouble.”

“Lyla can handle herself,” Beck grumbles, and his quiet and steady defence of me sends heat rushing south. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about Beck’s unwavering, even-keeled nature is comforting to me. It’s like being around him, my own emotions become steadier, quieter, less… explosive.

“She sure can,” Nash laughs. “I saw the video of her giving that CEO a run for his money. So I should probably be asking you if you’re okay.”

My head whips around as my eyes snap to him. My stomach drops, and panic shakes me from the inside out.

“What did you just say?” I snap.

“The video of you from the day you got fired,” Nash explains. “We should put you on a bull. I bet if you dressed it down like that you could talk it out of bucking you off.”

My head is spinning. That day was humiliating, mortifying, the worst day of my life, and I am only now finding out that there’s video evidence circulating on the internet for the entire world to see. Including Shirley and anyone else that is remotely considering hiring me.

My eyes burn, tears collecting on my lashes. I sniff back my emotions and wipe my eyes with the back of my hand. I won’t cry here. I won’t overreact.

I glance around the table to gauge everyone’s reactions, but no one is showing anything on their faces. No one except for Beck. His gaze is trained on me, watching me as I cover up my own feelings. The normally level-headed cowboy practically has steam coming out of his ears. His jaw works, the muscles in his cheek flickering as he grinds his molars together.

“Delete it, Nash,” he growls.

Nash turns and looks at him wide eyed. “It’s not my video, that’s not how the internet works.”

“Then have it taken down. Whatever you have to do, get it taken down.”

“Beck, it’s okay,” I say, letting out a steadying breath. “I can deal with it. I’m a big girl.”

Beck is obviously still seething but for my sake he takes a long sip of his beer instead of saying anything more, his mouth popping off the top of the bottle.

“Yeah, I mean it’s not like you can go around firing everyone who looks at Lyla wrong,” Nash jokes.

“He had it coming,” Beck argues. “You know he did.”

I’m struggling to catch up, having only just recovered from the first shock of the evening. I glance back and forth between them.

“Nah, you’re right. Dylan was a shithead. I’m glad he’s gone. Good riddance, fucker.”

Beck gives a chuckle at that, but I’m still whirling from the information.

“You fired Dylan?” I balk. “What the hell for? For his wet t-shirt remark the other day?”

Beck gives me a contemplative look. “Among other things.”