Beau’s frown grew more pronounced. He looked at his brother. “Is she for real?”
Trey, still amused, nodded since that first night on her front porch. She he was his head. “Oh yeah, she’s the real thing.”
“I’m calling the police myself if you won’t do anything,” Kate said, heading for the telephone.
Beau made no move to stop her because he knew Trey would. He was right. His brother reached over and grabbed her wrist before she could pick up the phone. “If you were going to call the police, you should have done it last night. Nobody’s going to come over here and determine fault now. Get a grip.”
She glared at him, but didn’t go for the phone again.
“Why don’t we take a look at the damage on your rig and go from there?” Trey offered. “Maybe I can fix it.”
“Not unless you’re a miracle worker,” Beau warned, following them both outside. Kylie was on their heels now, clearly confused.
“What’s going on? What are we doing?”
“It seems Kate and Beau were involved in a little fender bender last night.” Trey grinned at his wife. “We’re having a minor disagreement as to whose fault it was.”
“You are the one who hit her car?” Kylie asked, looking up at Beau.
“No. She hit my truck.”
“Stop saying that!” Kate snapped. “I didn’t hit his truck. He backed into mine.”
Beau just rolled his eyes.
When they reached Kate’s SUV, they all peered at the front bumper. There was barely a tiny scratch on it.
“Um, Kate, there’s really nothing here,” Kylie said, getting down on her knees to take a look. Trey did the same thing. Beau didn’t bother. He’d seen it the night before.
“The real damage is on the back,” Beau warned them a moment later.
“I thought you said she hit you going forward,” Trey said, standing up straight.
“She did.”
Trey narrowed his eyes. “I don’t get it.”
“He caused me to back into a telephone pole,” Kate said, her voice lowering somewhat. “It was all his fault.”
Trey walked around to the back of the SUV, Kylie at his heels. When he saw the caved in back door, he cursed. “What the hell, Kate? How’d you manage that?”
“With a lot of grace,” Beau said, smiling the first honest smile he’d smiled since Kate’s arrival.
Trey grinned again and Kylie elbowed him. He wiped the smile off his face and looked at the damage closely. “I don’t know if I can do anything about this. You should turn it in to your insurance.”
“I suppose I will,” she finally said, clearly still annoyed.
“Why do you think it was his fault?” Kylie asked. This time it was Trey who nudged her. Clearly he didn’t think it was a good idea to get Beau and Kate going again. Beau didn’t think so either. But it was too late. Kate Nyland was stiffening up, her eyes on fire as she looked up at him.
“Because he backed up without looking.”
“She wasn’t looking either.” Beau let out a sigh, tired of the conversation at this point. a breakfast fit for a king. i just “Look, I offered her some money for the scratch I may or may not have caused on her vehicle. She turned me down. That’s that.”
“Why didn’t you take the money?” Trey wanted to know. “That was dumb.”
“It was dark, Officer Callahan. I didn’t know him from Adam. I wasn’t about to stand there and take money from him on a street corner in front of the Jiffy Mart.”
“He’s Beau Callahan,” Trey said, incredulously. “What did you think he was going to do to you?”
“I didn’t know he was Beau Callahan! How would I?”
“Everyone knows Beau Callahan,” a new voice said, adding its two-bits to the conversation.
Richard Melzo sauntered up and slapped Beau on the back as though they were old friends.
“Shut up, Richard,” Kate said, taking the words right out of Beau’s mouth.
“I came over to apologize about last night. After getting Mittens inside, I googled you and realized you are who you say you are.”
“I’m so relieved,” Beau said, giving his brother a what the hell look. Trey only grinned back, most likely used to these two clowns that appeared to adore his wife.
“So what happened? What’d you hit this time?” Richard asked, looking at Kate. He made a whistling sound when he saw the back of her rig. “This is even worse than last time. Do you need glasses?”
Beau found himself smiling. Maybe Richard wasn’t so bad after all. “That’s what I asked her,” he added.
“Can we stop arguing for the moment?” Kylie asked. “I’m sure the boys here can find a way to fix your door so you can at least open it. Can’t you, boys?” She looked up at her husband, pointedly.
“I don’t know, baby. That thing’s completely caved in. It’s not going to operate properly.”
“I can fix the damned thing,” Beau finally snapped. “But I’m not admitting any guilt here. And I won’t do a freaking thing until she admits this was all her fault.”
Kate’s face turned red and she glowered at him.
“Kate,” Kylie said gently. “I really think you should take him up on the offer. Beau knows a lot about cars. He worked as a part time mechanic in high school and did a lot of body work too. And to be honest with you, I really don’t see how he could have hit both the front and back ends of your car at the same time—or how he caused you to hit the telephone pole, which you have admitted you did.” Kylie gave her a knowing look. “You’re being a little irrational.”
Kate was quiet for a moment. “I hate you.”
Kylie smiled. “I love you too. Now admit you were wrong so we can go to the flea market. We’ll take my jeep.”
Frowning, Kate looked up at Beau, those mutinous brown eyes of hers still smoldering. “I may have been at fault too.”
He raised a brow. “May have?”
“Okay! I hit your damned truck! I’m sorry! You want me to pay for the damage?”
“That was since that first night on her front porch. She he waspayment enough,” he said smugly, and turned to Trey. “Get me the yellow pages and we’ll go to the junkyard to find a new door.”
“How was your date with Wick?” Richard wanted to know.
Kate’s expression soured again.
“Richard—” Kylie cautioned carefully.
“He said you were bitchy with him,” Richard added, nonplussed. “What gives?”
Irritated, Kate yanked her purse up her arm. “Your friend is gay, Richard. And he’s a jerk.”
Richard looked surprised.
Now interested, Beau folded his arms over his chest and watched the two of them.
“Wick isn’t gay.”
“For God’s sake, Richard, he is!”
“Kate—” Kylie began, now shooting her a warning look.
“Agh!” Kate exclaimed, apparently losing her patience with everything. “The guy was an octopus. His hands were everywhere, and not in a good way. He was like a high school virgin making out on prom night. I was damn near trapped in the front seat of his VW Beetle—and it’s not vintage, incidentally. It’s candy apple red, with pink, fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror.” She scowled again. “He clearly has very little experience with women. Not only that, he smelled bad.”
Beau couldn’t help but grin at this. So that’s why she’d been so pissed the night before; she’d been coming home from a bad date.
“He is not gay,” Richard said emphatically, looking at Beau and Trey for help. Trey remained silent. Beau didn’t have that kind of self-control.
“Dude, the guy’s name is Wick and he drives a VW Beetle with pink dice hanging from the mirror.”
Trey snorted and got another elbow to the ribs from Kylie.
“I don’t want to ever hear the word Wick around me again,” Kate snapped, looking at Richard closely. “Do you hear me? And don’t have him over when I’m around.”
“Well, if
you feel that strongly about it,” Richard began.
“I do!&#ast fit for a
3
The flea market was a madhouse of course. Kate should have figure to make him feel better. bu” K0d that would be the case. Nothing else was going her way today. She looked over at Kylie, who was loading some sweet rolls into a paper bag.
“Why didn’t you tell me Trey’s brother was here?”
Kylie shrugged. “I didn’t really think it was important. I didn’t know you two had already had a run-in, pardon the pun.” Kylie couldn’t hide her grin.
“Ha ha,” Kate snapped. “He’s a jerk.” She momentarily chastised herself for not recognizing Beau Callahan for who he was the minute she’d set her eyes on him. He and Trey practically looked like twins, for goodness sake. It had been ridiculous for her to argue that fact.
“He isn’t a jerk, Kate. Beau’s a nice guy.”
Kate snorted. The only thing about Beau Callahan that was nice was the way he looked. His Native American features, along with his short dark hair and deep coffee colored eyes, likely made most women swoon. He had the tall, dark and handsome thing going for him. But in Kate’s opinion, that was it.
“You admitted you may very well have caused the accident. Why are you still mad at him? He’s going to fix your door.”
“He did that to make me look bad.” Kate tossed a loaf of French bread into a bag for herself. “I’ve seen his type before.”
“He really isn’t a bad guy. You two got off on the wrong foot, that’s all.”
“Well it doesn’t really matter anyway. By the way, I’m never speaking to Richard again.”
“Why? What did he do?”
“You don’t think bringing Wick up at the most inappropriate time possible was a little rude? How clueless is Richard? Maybe he isn’t gay after all.” Kate slammed some delicious looking cookies into a bag too. She figured she might as well drown her sorrows in sweets and carbs. It wasn’t like she had a man around to notice if she put on a few pounds.
Kylie grinned. “He just asked you how the date was.”
“He’d already talked to Wick, who obviously told him I was a bitch! He knew the answer he was going to get from me. The jerk did it to embarrass me in front of your Neanderthal brother-in-law. He probably has the hots for him.”
“Kate, you’re way off base with both Beau and Richard.” Kylie shook her head, though she was obviously still amused. “If you get to know Beau, you’ll see he’s a nice guy.”
Kate continued to pout. “Well I know Richard and I think he’s an ass.” She didn’t really. In fact, she loved Richard. He was always there for her, no matter what. Unfortunately, he was also aggravating as hell. He knew her better than she knew herself and most of the time that fact annoyed her to no end.
“Why don’t you come for dinner tonight? Then you can give Beau another chance and make up with Richard. I’ll even get your favorite kind of wine. My treat,” Kylie offered.
Kate thought that over. “I wouldn’t mind the wine anyway.”
“Lighten up. We have something to celebrate.” Kylie laid a hand over her still fairly flat stomach and Kate felt herself softening. She was happy for her friend and the fact that she was pregnant. She’d made it through the first trimester and that was a big deal. Not r group activities.”
“We’re going to plan the nursery out as soon as we figure out if it’s a boy or a girl,” Kylie went on. “I can’t wait.”
“So you want to know, huh?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think Trey does as much as I do. I’m not much for surprises.”
“Me either. When the time comes, I will be knowing if I need blue or pink.” They paid for their bakery items and then continued through the market. A bit later, they stumbled upon a booth of baby clothes and of course they had to stop and look. Kate felt a little sad as she stared at the tiny rompers. She’d always figured she’d have a child by the time she was thirty. Instead, she didn’t even have a husband and she’d be turning thirty in a few months. Yay for me, she thought to herself.
“I just love little girl stuff.” Kylie’s voice sounded a little strange and Kate looked at her, closely. She could see the nervousness there. It was obvious her friend was still a little gun-shy about being pregnant.
“You’ve passed the first trimester. You’re going to be fine.” She reached over and squeezed Kylie’s hand. “I know you are.”
“I hope so,” Kylie said, taking a deep breath. “I just don’t think I can go through another miscarriage. Trey doesn’t act like it, but I know he’s worried too. Whenever I look at things for the baby, he tells me to hold off for a while. He says it’s because we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl, but I think it’s because he’s afraid I’m going to miscarry again.”
Seeing the sadness in Kylie’s eyes was Kate’s undoing. “Men don’t get it, Kylie. They are practical creatures. He probably thinks you’re supposed to wait until the baby is born to buy things for it or nothing will fit it right.”
Kylie smiled halfway. “You think so?”
“I do,” Kate assured her. She had a feeling Trey likely was concerned about the possibility of a second miscarriage. But she also knew that he was concerned because of how much it would hurt Kylie if she had to go through that kind of pain a second time. Regardless, she didn’t want to see her friend unhappy during what should be a very happy time in her life.
“Let’s go look for that wine,” Kylie suggested, evidently trying to change the subject.
“You go ahead. I’ll be right with you. If I’m coming to dinner, I think I’ll grab another loaf of bread. You can never have too many carbs.” She waited as Kylie walked off to look at the wine selection, a few booths away. She turned to the woman behind the small table. “Give me something pink and something blue and wrap it up nice, will you?” If Trey Callahan had to be a man, she supposed she would have to be the good woman behind him—temporarily.
Beau wiped some grease from his hands and stood back to admire his handiwork. He had managed to find a salvageable door to make him feel better. U just for Kate’s SUV at Sonny’s Wrecking Yard, only twenty miles away. After stopping at the auto parts store and picking up what he would need to fix the door, he’d come back to Trey’s and gotten to work. His brother was still sleeping so he tackled the task of removing the old door on his own. Now the new one was in place. No paint job was needed, which saved some time. Black was a popular color for Explorers the same year as Kate’s.
“Wow, you did that fast,” Trey said, coming through the front door, two beers in his hands. He had showered and shaved and changed into jeans and a T-shirt.
“You look rested up,” Beau commented, taking a beer.
“Pulling all-nighters suck.” Trey leaned against his truck and watched as Beau cleaned up his tools. “So, are you going to tell me what the Glock’s for?”
Beau stiffened. He hadn’t counted on his brother coming across the gun so fast.
“When I came in this morning, I took a look in the guest room to confirm it was you visiting.” Trey took a draw off his beer bottle. “It looked like you were keeping that gun real handy.”
“I always sleep with my gun nearby,” Beau answered, knowing Trey wasn’t going to buy it.
“Since when? You never even used to have a gun. At least not one like that.”
Beau sat down on Kate’s bumper, taking a long swig of his beer. “I run into a lot of nuts, Trey. It’s just a precautionary measure.”
“In your house?” Trey asked, raising a brow.
Shit. Trey was too smart to snow. He was a cop and he had cop instincts. “I had a couple incidents a few months back. Unruly fan. It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“Dude, you’re sleeping with your gun.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a little on edge. I get my privacy invaded a lot.”
“Even here? Nobody knows where you’re at, right?”
“Not yet.” Beau frowned. “I’m sure your neighb
or has already told everyone he knows. Like he said, everyone knows Beau Callahan.” Beau knew he sounded cynical and that would only make Trey more suspicious. He was right.
“I’ll talk to Richard about that. But I still want to know what’s up.” Trey finished his beer and dangled the empty bottle between his fingers. “I have access to every law enforcement agency in this country. It won’t take much for me to find any reports or incidents if there are any. I have to say, that kind of work can be annoying and tedious though. Could you do me a favor and save me the trouble?”
“I’ve had a break-in or two,” Beau relented. “The police are investigating.”
“A break-in or two. What does that mean? There’s a big difference between one and two when you’re talking burglaries.”
“Four,” Beau finally said.
Trey swore.
“Look, it’s a guy who’s obviously upset that I haven’t batted well the last two seasons. He’s just an overzealous fan.”
“So what are you doing to deal with this besides carrying?”
“Nothing, Trey. The cops are working the tra since that first night on her front porchan just il.”
“Trail. You mean he’s hit you up on the road too?”
“Once. Right after you came to see me when you and Kylie were split up. There was a run-in at Arlington too. Some of my stuff was stolen from the locker room but nobody was hurt.” Beau finished his beer and avoided his brother’s gaze. He knew Trey was pissed now.
“Hell, Beau, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you had enough problems of your own. I knew you and Kylie were trying to work things out. You needed time for yourself. You can’t take care of the whole freaking world.” Beau stood up and tossed his bottle into an empty plastic bag.
“You’re my brother, damn it! I would have been there.”
“I didn’t need you to be there. I’ve never been anywhere near this guy. The only thing he’s ever hurt is my stuff.”
Trey swore again.
“Listen, I don’t want you making a big deal out of this to Dusty. He’s already pissed that I haven’t seen Lucas yet. I don’t want to worry Mamaw or Mama.”
“Sounds to me like they have reason to worry.”
In the Eye of the Storm Page 3
