Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 107673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“The same reason you insisted everyone call you Dash. Hanging on to any connection to what we had.”
Since I was in the middle of grappling with the sadness of hiding us from the world, it took me a few seconds of putting the car in park and unbuckle my seatbelt before I replayed his words in my mind.
“I like that reason,” I said, and I did. We’d both hung on to the strings that bound us together. A rare admission from Beau. I barely had the visor mirror down when I caught Beau bending back inside the car, his face coming into view.
“I thought you’d have more to say.”
I had to ignore our draw, or I’d give my feelings away to Scott’s family. That didn’t mean I wasn’t affected. The silly, sweet grin plastered on my face as I checked my appearance refused to be contained. Most likely due to the butterflies flittering around excitedly in my belly. “I’ll have more to say. I have a lot to say about a lot of things.”
“Beau Brooks!” We glanced in the direction of the stern voice. A pretty young woman called from the front porch. I assumed her to be Lauren by the large baby bump. She had her long dark hair piled on top of her head. The sleeves of her shirt were rolled haphazardly to her elbows.
I left the car as her hands went to her hips. Scott came from around the side of the house, which I assumed was from the backyard. The guilt in his expression couldn’t be good as he scurried forward. Bad, in fact. The butterflies abandoned me in an instant. I stayed between the car and its door, ready to make a fast getaway if this played out like I thought.
Beau remained clueless about what he was seeing. At least he didn’t look like a scared deer caught in headlights…yet.
“How’re you already so pregnant?” Beau teased; his smile real. He’d become lighter in the few seconds since she’d called him out. Happy to see her. Well, that was about to change.
“Don’t even get me started.” She started for Beau with no shoes on. Her entire focus was Beau, heading straight toward him. “You have a life alterin’ secret and you never tell any of us? We all thought somethin’ awful happened to you when you were away. You just stopped bein’ our friend. Seriously, Beau? I hurt for you.”
She came to an abrupt stop, the hands at her hips turned to fists, her foot stomping as if to drive her frustration and annoyance into the ground. Beau’s warm smile faded, along with his happy mood. The color drained from his face as Scott came to her side like a protective papa bear. I wished to shield Beau in the same way but had to wait for my next cue.
“She wasn’t supposed to say anything,” Scott said with the same care one would use to defuse a ticking bomb. “What the hell, Lauren? You just promised me that you’d keep your mouth shut.”
“I’m done with secrets,” she said angrily. “We all watched his father abuse the hell out of him. He was blank inside and you told us he was just stuck up.” The back of her hand whacked Scott’s belly.
“Lauren!” Scott dropped his head and his shoulders at the same time. “Beau. I only started the rumor because I figured out what was goin’ on in the middle of tenth grade. Everybody was talkin’ about you all the time. I didn’t like it, so I said you were stuck up now. What I shouldn’t have done was tell big mouth over here.”
“You promised you’d keep it a secret,” Beau replied lamely.
The ground I’d begun to make crumbled away like sand in a windstorm. I felt him retreating into himself again. Dammit.
“She won’t say anything to anyone else. She knows it’s your secret to tell, not hers. It’s the baby brain and seein’ you again. You know,” Scott argued and twirled a finger outside of one ear, making excuses for her.
“Shut up, Scott! I’m not crazy.” She actually yelled those words, my brows lifting in surprise. I’d never heard that shrill tone in my life. “I told Katie because she’s my best friend and he kissed her.”
As quickly as my brows lifted, they dropped. That bit of information was news to me and landed like a ton of bricks. It wasn’t Scott I should be jealous of, it was Katie?
Without looking my way, Beau lifted a hand, asking for my silence I assumed. Who knew since, apparently, I knew very little about Beau in the first place. Plot-fucking-twist again.
“So everybody knows now?” Beau looked down at his feet. His shame cascading off him. The muscles in his shoulders tensed then rolled. I braced myself for an eruption, expecting his inner lion to be freed for such a betrayal. I placed one foot back in the car, prepared to dive back in and drive him wherever he wanted to go. I would always be his escape route if I could.