by SJ McCoy
They both stared at him. His mom recovered first. She pointed out across the creek to where the roof of the cottage was just visible. “That cottage? The cottage. And you want to give it to us?”
He nodded.
His dad grinned. “Are you serious?”
He nodded again. “I thought you might like the idea. I know you don’t want to be up in town. This way you‘d still be right here, but not in the middle of everything. You can be as involved as you want to be, or not if you don’t.”
His dad reached across the table and gripped his arm. “Thank you! That is best solution possible!” He sighed. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
Beau had to swallow the lump in his throat. He hadn’t had any idea that it would mean so much. He could see his dad’s eyes were shining. His mom had tears rolling down her face. She came and hugged him. “Oh, Beau. That’s a lovely idea. We must buy it from you though.”
He shook his head. “Nope. It’s my gift. You guys have always done so much for me, this is finally something I can do for you.”
“But…”
“Monique.” His dad gave her a stern look. “I’m so proud of my boy that he’s able to do something like this and more so that he wants to. We need to accept in the spirit that’s it’s given.”
His mom smiled through her tears. “Thank you, Beau.”
Beau had to blink away tears of his own. To hear his dad say that he was proud of him meant the world. That was all he’d ever wanted; to make them proud of him.
The back door opened and Mason came in. He stopped when he saw all the tears and smiles.
“Is everything okay in here?”
Beau smiled at him. “Everything’s just great.”
“Good. In that case I’m not even going to ask.”
Beau was grateful for that; this was a moment he wanted to share with his parents, just him and them for once. He knew Mason didn’t mean it, but he always seemed to walk in and steal the limelight. His dad smiled at him and nodded; it seemed he understood.
“Let’s just say that today is a great day. Your brother just made it one.”
Mason grinned. Beau was pretty sure he knew what was going on. “Beau seems to be going from strength to strength at the moment.”
That took him by surprise, and put him immediately on the defensive. “What do you mean?”
“Just that you’ve made Mom and Dad’s day today. I think it’s fair to say that you made Ruby’s night last night. You seem to be a little ray of sunshine these days, spreading joy and happiness wherever you go.”
Beau had to laugh at the way he put it. He shrugged. “What can I say?”
“Don’t say a thing,” said his dad. “Just keep at it. It suits you.”
“It does?”
His mom nodded and came to hug him again. “It really does. It’s so nice to see you starting to relax and enjoy life.” She gave him a sly smile. “And I have to tell you how cute it was to see you with Ruby last night. You’re a natural.”
Beau swallowed. “I’d hardly say that. We got off to a pretty rocky start.”
“Yeah, but you’re making up for it fast. The kid adores you!”
“And her mom does.”
Beau turned to look at Mason. He didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t used to opening up to anyone. He’d been getting a bit better lately, but opening up to the three of them at once seemed a bit overwhelming.
His mom smiled and came to the rescue. “And who can blame them. Would you like to bring them up here this afternoon?” She rubbed her hands together. “I’d love to get to play with the little one. I’ve been wanting to invite them up here, but your father says I need to give them time to settle in.”
His dad laughed. “Corinne needed a little time to find her feet and get settled in, that’s all.” He looked at Beau. “Maybe your mom could spend some time with Ruby this afternoon and you could spend some time with Corinne?”
Beau couldn’t believe that he felt heat in his cheeks. He didn’t think he’d ever blushed in his life! But it felt as though they all must know that he’d been hoping to get Corinne to himself, and the thought of them all knowing why was just a little embarrassing.
His mom clapped her hands together. “Oh, say you’ll ask her, Beau! That would be wonderful! I’ve been getting all broody with your brothers settling down.” She shot a look at Mason. “But since they don’t seem in any hurry to provide me with grandbabies you might just beat them all to it.”
He stared at her.
His dad laughed. “Don’t worry, son. Your mom just wants a kiddy to play with. Don’t take her words too seriously, just make the most of the offer.”
He couldn’t take her words too seriously. He couldn’t even contemplate them right now. That he could provide her with a grandchild? In the form of Ruby? That would mean…He shook his head. Nope. Not going there. Better to do as his dad said and focus on the possibility of getting Corinne to himself for a few hours this afternoon. He smiled. “Thanks. I’ll ask Corinne.”
~ ~ ~
Ruby squealed when she saw the truck pull up outside. “My Beau’s here!”
Corinne took a look through the window. He’d said he’d call, she hadn’t expected him to just show up. She was glad he had. Her cell phone rang and she picked it up from the table.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it’s me.”
She had to laugh. He mustn’t realize that they could see him. He would do in a moment though. Ruby was opening the front door.
“Oh!”
Corinne laughed again. “I thought you were going to call first.”
He laughed with her. “That’s what I am doing. I came by to see my folks and then came straight over. I realized when I pulled up that I hadn’t called first.”
“Well how about we hang up and you come on in?”
“Yeah. See you in a minute.”
She watched as he climbed out of the truck and Ruby ran up the path to meet him. Her heart did that weird little flip as she watched him pick her up and swing her around. She clasped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. Corinne sighed. She knew most relationships went through a honeymoon stage. She could only hope that Ruby and Beau weren’t riding for a fall. And what about her and Beau?
She smiled as he came in. “Does this little creature belong to you?” he asked. “I found it wandering around in your front yard.”
Ruby giggled. “I am not a creature! I’m a Ruby.”
Beau looked at her. “The creature talks and everything.”
Corinne laughed. “I’ve never seen one of those before, where do you think it came from?”
Beau shrugged. “Maybe we should take it up to the big house and see if it’s theirs?”
Corinne gave him a puzzled look, but Ruby was happy to play along. “To see your mommy and daddy?” she asked.
Beau nodded. “They have all kinds of creatures at their house. They might like to play with a new one.”
Ruby looked at Corinne. “Can we? Can we go play with them? They’re nice. I saw them last night.”
“I don’t know.” Corinne looked at Beau, trying to figure out what he was up to.
“I was just over there and my mom was asking after Ruby. She said she’d love to meet her properly sometime and have her over to play.”
Corinne’s heart raced. He had said he’d see what he could do to get them some alone time, but she hadn’t expected it to be today, and she certainly hadn’t expected his mom to mind her daughter so that they could sleep together! She wasn’t sure how she felt about that at all!
“Pleeasse, can we?” begged Ruby. “I want to go see them.”
Corinne nodded slowly. “Okay.” They didn’t have to stay for long and she didn’t have to leave Ruby with them. But it would be rude not to go if they were asking.
Beau caught her eye. “Are you sure? It was just an idea.”
She nodded. “No, it’s fine. It’d be nice to meet them properly.”
> He grinned. “Okay. Let’s go.”
When they got to the ranch house they found Mrs. Remington in the kitchen. Whatever she was baking smelled delicious.
Ruby sniffed the air. “Yummy! Apple pie.”
Mrs. Remington turned and smiled at her. “Well, hello, Miss Ruby. Do you want to come help?”
Ruby looked at Corinne. She nodded and let go of her hand making straight for the kitchen table to get one of the chairs. They were big old wooden chairs, and heavy.
Corinne smiled to herself as Beau went to help. “Here, let me get it, pumpkin.”
He carried it over to the counter where his mom was rolling dough. “Thank you, Beau. Are you going to help too?”
He shook his head. “You know better than that. I’m good at eating it, not so much at making it.”
“I’m good at making it,” said Ruby. “I can help.”
“Yes, you can,” said Mrs. Remington. She looked at Corinne, “As long as your mommy says it’s okay you can help with another apple pie and a couple of batches of cookies.”
“Can I, Mommy?”
Corinne nodded slowly. This wasn’t what she’d expected. She’d thought they were going to visit for a while, not just drop Ruby off.
Mrs. Remington smiled at her, sensing her unease. “I’m sorry. I’m busy getting these done. If you don’t mind letting Ruby stay to help, I’d love to catch up with you later.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“No, thank you! I need an extra pair of hands. Ruby, could you pass me the flour please?”
Ruby grinned and handed it over.
“You two run along,” said Mrs. Remington. “Go have some fun. We’ll be busy here until at least five o’clock, if that’s okay?”
Corinne looked at her watch. It was only eleven! She and Ruby had to get ready for their new starts tomorrow. But what could she say? She smiled. “Thank you. Can I leave you my number in case you need me?”
“Of course you can.”
As she wrote it down on a piece of paper she felt a little silly, realizing that Beau’s mom would know how to get hold of him if she needed them for anything. She gave her an apologetic smile as she handed it over.
Mrs. Remington smiled back. “We don’t have to do this, if you’re not comfortable.”
For a moment she hesitated. She wanted to take Ruby, go home and close the door behind them. Keep the two of them safe in their own little world and not let anyone else in. She looked at Ruby. She was happily rolling dough. It made her understand that it was herself she was trying to protect, not her daughter. She smiled. “This is wonderful, thank you. I guess I’m just not used it, that’s all.”
Mrs. Remington gave her a kind smile. “I know, but I think it might do you good to get used to it.” She looked at Beau. “At least I hope so.”
“See you later, Mommy!” called Ruby.
Corinne laughed. “I guess that’s me dismissed.” She went and kissed Ruby’s cheek. “You be good. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye.”
Ruby looked at Beau expectantly and Corinne exchanged a smile with Mrs. Remington when he, too, went and kissed her cheek. “See you later.”
Beau looked at her as she climbed into his truck. “Are you okay with this?”
“Yeah. It just caught me off guard.”
“Sorry, it did me too. Mom suggested I should bring you both over and said she’d love to play with Ruby. I thought it would be a good chance to…”
She raised an eyebrow at him.
He laughed. “I know. It all seems kind of premeditated and weird, doesn’t it?”
She nodded, relieved he felt that way, too. “It does.”
“So what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know. What are you thinking?” They finally had some time alone together, but he was right; it did feel weird to think that they would just go back to her place and jump into bed together.
“I think you know what I was thinking. But how about we go up to town? I can show you around. If you’re hungry we can get some lunch at the Mustang.”
“I’d like that.” That felt much more comfortable and natural.
He started up the truck. “Let’s go then.”
Chapter Thirteen
When they got to town Beau pulled up outside the Mustang. “If you’re hungry we can eat now and then go for a walk. It’s a neat little town really, there’s a lot to see.”
“That sounds great,” said Corinne. “I haven’t had a chance to look around yet, and I am hungry, if you are.”
“Yep, that works for me. I didn’t get breakfast this morning and it can get busy in here if we leave it too late.”
Beau held the door for her and followed her inside. As the hostess showed them to their table he wondered if this hadn’t been a bad idea—a really bad idea. It seemed the whole town had decided to come out for lunch. Angie shot him an evil glance as they passed the table where she was sitting with her friend, Katie. And shit, shit, shit! Wanda! She was sitting in a corner booth with her husband, Terry, and what looked like their whole clan. At least she hadn’t seen him—yet. And as they reached their table he spotted Guy Preston sitting with one of his drinking buddies. He hadn’t realized that lowlife like him ventured out in daylight hours. He sighed as he took his seat. Hopefully they would be able to ignore their fellow diners and just enjoy lunch.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded. “I’m fine. Sorry. Just a few too many familiar faces in here for my liking.”
“Do you want to leave?”
He smiled. “No. It’s all good. I wanted you all to myself. I can just forget they’re here.”
“Beau Remington!” The sound of Wanda’s not so dulcet tones echoing across the restaurant proved him wrong about that as soon as the words were out of his mouth.
He gave Corinne a rueful smile. “Okay, so maybe not. You’re about to meet my assistant, Wanda. I can’t tell you what to expect, she’s a law unto herself.”
Corinne looked scared to death as Wanda bore down on them.
“Well, hello, hello and how are you?”
Beau smiled. “I was doing just great, enjoying my Sunday, until I heard my name being bellowed across the room.”
Corinne’s eyes widened, but Wanda laughed. “Don’t mind him, hon. He loves me really, he’s just got a funny way of showing it.” She thrust her hand out. “I’m Wanda. I work for him, and you must be Corinne.”
Corinne nodded and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
“I’m sure you don’t think it is right now.” Wanda smiled warmly at her. “And I’m sorry for that, I don’t mean to spoil your lunch, but I just couldn’t resist the temptation to come over and make him squirm.”
Corinne laughed.
Beau narrowed his eyes at Wanda. “Okay, well you succeeded. You can go and sit back down now.”
“Oh, no. My fun is just getting started.” She winked at Corinne and leaned her hip on the edge of the table. “I think I should let Corinne here know what she’s in for.”
Beau rolled his eyes. Wanda was fun, but she really did have him squirming in his seat wondering what she might be about to say. “And what, in your not-so-humble opinion, is she in for?” He caught Corinne’s eye, she was enjoying this.
Wanda bent down and lowered her voice. “Well, Corinne, honey. Our Beau has quite a reputation in this town.”
Corinne looked more wary than amused now and Beau had to wonder where Wanda was going with this.
“You see,” she continued, “people think he can be an asshole, and he does nothing to disabuse them of that belief.” She grinned at him. “And I just can’t understand why. Because when you get to know him, when you get past the tough outer shell, he’s an absolute sweetheart underneath. So give him a chance, and if he seems like an idiot sometimes, just remember he can’t help it, he’s a man, they all are.”
Corinne burst out laughing. “Good to know. Thank you.”
Wanda nodded. “I also wanted to say t
hank you. You bring out the best in him. He’s been a different guy since he met you. And I think, if you give him a bit of time to get used to it, I think he’ll do great with your daughter, as well.” She looked back to where her family was sitting. “And if your daughter needs some playmates, get Beau here to give me a shout. I’ve got a whole herd of grandkids she can come play with.”
“Don’t you think you should be getting back to them?” asked Beau.
She laughed. “You mean would I please go away and stop embarrassing you now? Sure. I can do that. I’ll see you in the office tomorrow.” She looked at Corinne. “If I still have a job! It was a pleasure to meet you.”
“You too.”
Corinne smiled as she watched her go. Beau was glad for a moment to recover and to try to figure out what he could say to explain Wanda.
“She’s awesome! I bet she keeps you in your place.”
He laughed. “She gives me enough shit, I can tell you that. I don’t know why I keep her around.”
“Because she adores you.”
“You reckon?”
Corinne laughed. “She does and you know it. And if you weren’t trying to keep up that tough shell she was just talking about you’d admit that you adore her, too!”
“Adore her? More like I endure her. She’s good at her job, but she’s a pain in the ass.”
Corinne shook her head. “Is it that you won’t admit it or that you can’t see it? That woman is like a second mother to you and you love it!”
Beau chuckled. “I suppose, but my mom would never talk to me like that.”
“It’s my guess that no one talks to you like that, and that’s why Wanda gets away with it, and also why you love her for it.”
He nodded. “I guess so. You’re pretty good at figuring people out, aren’t you?”
“Yep, I have to be. I’m not as good as Ruby though.”
“I noticed that last night. She seemed to have these instincts, she lights up around good people and shuts down around assholes. And she just instantly knew who was which. It was amazing, people who it took me years to figure out, she just knew and she was spot on every time.”
Corinne smiled. “She does seem to have a sixth sense, and…” She kept on smiling but didn’t finish her sentence.
