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We were meeting up at a party, and I was already there drinking with a bunch of people from our senior class. Beau made final preparations for the Navy since he was leaving for basic training the following day.
“Earth to Vanessa.” Jessie snaps her fingers. “The past doesn’t matter. What brought him to the distillery to see you?”
“Before my dad disappeared, he put some precautions in place. One of those precautions was a bodyguard. And guess who the bodyguard is?” I pause for dramatic effect. “Beau. Hard bodied, and more knockdown gorgeous than I could have imagined or remembered.”
“I’ve seen him.” She snickers. “He’s quite a catch.”
As if all the air leaves my body, my chest deflates, and my head finds a resting place on her shoulder. She digs a tissue out of her pocket and places it in my hand. “My heart feels like it went twelve rounds with Muhammad Ali. He never answered a text or an email. He threw us away like a beer can in the back of his Ford pickup truck.”
Jessica rubs my back for a while before settling her hand on my knee. “He took the job, so he must still care.”
I sniffle and wipe my nose, then get up to throw away the tissue. Jessica follows me into the kitchen as I pop a black tea pod into the Keurig. “Do you want coffee or tea?”
She scoffs. “Coffee. Do you have any hazelnut creamer?”
“No, I don’t drink coffee often.” The mug fills with tea. I stand in place, tapping my toes on top of my other foot as I insert her medium roast coffee pod. “He cares. I know that much. He said he would never forgive himself if something happened to me.”
“See. That’s a start. Maverick and I have spent some time with Beau, and every time your name is brought up, he acts as though you’re the piece that’s missing from his life. He says nothing, just stays quiet.”
I snort. “Ha. He was probably thinking about my betrayal.”
“Forgive yourself if you expect him too.”
My lips curl up on one side as I think about Beau’s words. My phone rings from upstairs, but I choose to ignore it momentarily. After three more times, my landline rings. “Hello?”
“Dammit, Vanessa. Do I need to move in with you?” Beau asks.
Moving in with Beau was a foregone conclusion at some point. He was joining the military, and I was going to take a gap year before going to college, so I would be where he was stationed stateside. But then, like a fleeting mirage, our relationship vanished into thin air.
When I don’t respond, he steadies his voice, and in a more robotic tone, he says, “You let Jessica in without checking the surveillance feed. You can see through your cur….” He stops mid-sentence. Even though I can’t see him, I bet he’s folding his lips inside his mouth. “I’m on my way. Stay there.”
Other than hello and okay, he didn’t wait for a response.
“Was that Beau?” Jessica asks.
Shooting her a tight-lipped smile, I nod. “He’s not happy I didn’t check the monitor before opening the front door.”
“Can he see inside your house?”
“No. To turn off the alarm, I needed to check the feed. He was notified because it triggered the alarm, and he can see the porch.”
Jessie claps her hands. “He’s worried about you. This is a good sign.” The corners of her eyes crease as she pulls me in for a hug. “Do you think your dad is somewhere with his woman of the month? Surely, neither of you are in danger.”
“I don’t know. It seems like he knew he was going to be out of town, but why wouldn’t he tell me his plans?” I pause, remembering I’m not supposed to talk about the note he left me. “Maybe he was just tired of waiting for me to take over, so he forced my hand.”
Jessie taps her finger against her chin and wiggles her brows. “I have an idea. Why don't you come out with Maverick and me? It could help us all unwind, and perhaps you'll naturally fall back into your old patterns with Beau.”
The doorbell rings, and I take my time going to the control pad, looking at the person standing on my porch, then I slowly open the door. “Was that to your satisfaction?”
I swear, I see a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. It’s small but it’s there. “Yes, but you didn’t set the code back once Jessie was inside, so you flunked again.”
“I need a better teacher.” I crack a half-grin. “Maybe a member of the Air Force Pararescue. Everyone knows they are the best trained military personnel in the world.”
I snap the hair tie around my wrist before sliding it off, and he stands, speechless.
ChapterEight
BEAU
