The Vincent Boys

by Abbi Glines

  Beau’s voice startled a gasp out of me. His long legs ate up the grass as he closed the distance between us. I couldn’t keep from ogling him. It was just unfair for someone to look that good in a pair of Levi’s.

  “No response means yes,” he said with a smirk on his face as he came to a stop mere inches from me. He knew I was lusting and he liked it. Determined to regain some of my dignity I straightened my posture and flipped my hair back over my shoulders while peering up at him.

  “I always come out here to get some fresh air before I go sit down for an hour of preaching,” I lied.

  Beau chuckled and reached out to trace a line from my ear to my lips. “Why don’t I believe you?” he asked. His voice had deepened as he studied my mouth. All I could manage was a shrug. His thumb was delicately brushing over my bottom lip as if he were asking for admittance, and I was lost. We were standing right outside the church where anyone could walk out and catch us but all I could think about was pressing my lips against his. Beau was becoming a necessity and nothing about such a revelation could be considered positive.

  “Beau, what are you doing?” I croaked out.

  “Yeah, Beau, I’d like to know the same thing,” said a voice that didn’t belong to Beau.

  Several things happened at once. Beau’s thumb stopped its caressing but he didn’t drop his hand. I could feel his body tense at the sound of Sawyer’s voice. What I should have done and what I did do were in two different stratospheres. Because stepping back and putting distance between Beau and me would be the logical, intelligent thing to do. Reaching out and grabbing his arm and squeezing it was my immediate reaction.

  “Are either of you going to speak or just continue gawking at each other?”

  The hard edge to Sawyer’s voice woke me up out of the trance I’d been in and I dropped my hand from Beau and took several steps back. If Sawyer was expected to keep his cool then we needed to put some space between the two of us. Beau’s eyes bore into me. He was silently pleading with me. I could almost hear his thoughts. Then he turned to face his cousin. This was the confrontation I’d hoped would never happen.

  “What exactly are you insinuating, Sawyer?” Beau asked in a deadly calm tone I knew he’d never used with Sawyer.

  “Oh, I don’t know, cuz, maybe the fact I came out here to look for my girlfriend and I found her being mauled by you.”

  Beau took a step forward and a low growl rumbled in his chest. I ran up and grabbed his arm with both my hands. This probably didn’t help Sawyer’s temper any but it kept Beau from pummeling his face in. Both boys were in shape but Beau had the market on badass. I couldn’t let him do something he’d never forgive himself for.

  Sawyer stared fixedly at me. I could only imagine what was going through his head. The sad thing was I knew he wouldn’t even get close to the truth. Sawyer would never imagine I’d lost my virginity to Beau in the bed of a truck.

  “Want to tell me what’s going on, Ash?” There was hurt in his voice. I hated knowing the words I had to say to him wouldn’t erase this but only make it worse. I pushed Beau behind me as I stepped in front.

  “Go on home, Beau. Sawyer and I need to talk and I don’t want you here.” Turning back to see Beau’s reaction was tempting but I didn’t do it. Instead I kept my eyes on Sawyer, praying silently that Beau heeded my orders and left. It was time I finished this and saved their friendship before it was too late.

  “I don’t want to leave you alone,” he replied with steel laced through his words.

  “Beau, please. You aren’t helping matters. Just go.”

  Sawyer never took his eyes off me. He was trying so hard to read between the lines. I would have to tell him some truths. But just enough to keep from destroying his relationship with Beau.

  The crunch of the dry grass under Beau’s boots told me he’d granted my wish and was headed for his truck. I’d won that battle. Now, the biggest one was staring me in the face and I had no idea what I was going to say.

  Chapter 19

  “Start at the beginning, Ash, and tell me everything.”

  There was no way I’d tell him everything. I stared out at the road as Beau’s truck drove away. The silence was deafening as Sawyer waited for me to speak.

  “This summer, Beau and I rekindled our friendship. We were close once, Sawyer, you know that.” I paused and took a deep breath. “He understands me. He knows when I’m full of bull crap and he knows I’m not perfect even though I try really hard to be. With Beau I can let myself go and not worry about losing his friendship.”

  “So, this is a friends thing? Because the way he was caressing your mouth and eating you up with his eyes I find that a little hard to believe.”

  “All it can ever be with Beau is friendship. He knows that. Beau is affectionate. He touches a lot of girls’ lips.”

  Sawyer raised his eyebrows as if he thought what I was saying was ludicrous.

  “I don’t know if we’re talking about the same guy but Beau, my cousin Beau, doesn’t longingly gaze at anyone the way I just caught him staring at you. You’re too naive to see it but trust me, baby, he wants you and I’m going to kick his ass.”

  Okay, that wasn’t what I’d been aiming for. Blame on me not Beau. I needed to redirect this anger of his.

  “You misunderstood what you saw. He was trying to talk me out of what I’d decided to do today. He believes you and I are supposed to be forever. I don’t think so. We’re young and I need space. I’m not ready to talk about marrying you one day. That scares me. There is so much life out there to live first. Beau thinks I’m making a mistake because he thinks you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. What you saw was your cousin trying to persuade me not to break up with you.”

  The look of disbelief and shock that came over Sawyer’s face was a little insulting. Why was it so hard for him to believe I’d break up with him?

  “You, you’re . . . breaking up with me?” He shook his head and stepped back away from me. His face had gone pale as if I’d just told him he’d never play football again. This wasn’t the end of the world.

  “I pretend with you, Sawyer. I’m not the good girl you think I am. You love this fake Ashton. I’ve been striving to be worthy of you for so long and I’m exhausted. I don’t like returning the stupid buggies to the return place in the parking lot and I don’t like feeling as if I have to be good Samaritan to everyone I come across. Sometimes I just want to run off and worry about ME. I’m selfish and ornery and just a big ol’ fake. This girl you love and want to marry doesn’t exist.”

  It was as if a weight had just been lifted off my shoulders. The air rushed into my lungs and for the first time in three years I took a deep breath.

  “That’s crazy,” Sawyer said, shaking his head. I was so close to freedom now I could taste it. Standing here and listening to him try to convince me I didn’t know what I was talking about annoyed me. But I could control this now. The real Ashton had a backbone.

  “No, it’s the truth. I want to go parking and make out so heavy my bra gets lost under the seat of the car. I want to flip Nicole a bird when she glares at me in the hallways at school. And I want to wear my red bikini and enjoy the fact guys are checking me out. I’m not who you think I am. I never was and I never will be.”

  I closed the space between us and stood on my tippy toes and placed a quick peck on his cheek. The familiar smell of his cologne caused my chest to tighten with emotion. I’d miss him but not enough to be someone else to have him. He saw me differently now. I could see it in his expression. The emotion churning in his blue eyes as he finally saw me for who I really am was bittersweet. I spun around and jogged out to my Jetta. Without another glance back I drove off. For the first time ever I left church before it was over.

  Leann was sitting on the front steps of the three-story ancient brick dormitory she’d been placed in this year when I pulled into the parking lot. From here I could see her nibbling on her right thumb nail. Leann only mauled her thumb n
ail when she was nervous. I’d been vague on my reason for coming when I’d called once I decided where I was going to go. I swooped into an empty parking spot. Telling someone everything had become essential on my drive up here. I needed to get this off my chest. A tap on my window startled me and I glanced over to see Leann still nibbling her thumb nail with a frown puckering her brow. Forcing a smile I opened the door and she stepped back so I could get out.

  “I swear I think I grew grey hair waiting on you to get here,” she said, reaching for my arm and pulling me into a hug. “I can’t believe you’re here and I can’t believe you left church early without telling anyone where you were going.”

  I pulled back and met her gaze. “I didn’t tell you that.”

  She rolled her big brown eyes and hooked her arm through mine, steering me toward the dorm. “Sweetie, the moment it was apparent you weren’t returning to the church service I received a text from my Aunt Linda and Kayla then Kyle posted it on his Facebook wall.”

  I groaned and laid my head over on her shoulder. Leann patted my arm and led me over to sit at a secluded bench placed in the shade of a large oak tree. Plopping down she patted the empty spot beside her. “Come on and spill. The suspense is killing me. Never have you been the cause of gossip. This has got to be good.”

  I shifted on the wooden sit and studied my hands in my lap. Admitting this was one thing. Actually looking Leann in the face while I shared all my faults with her was another. We’d been friends for three years and not one time had I ever mentioned even a mild attraction to Beau.

  “You know Beau and I were close as kids . . .” I decided to start there. It seemed like the best place.

  “Oh good God, you mean to tell me this has something to do with BEAU? Beau Vincent?”

  I cringed and nodded my head without glancing up at her.

  “Yes, it has everything to do with Beau,” I whispered.

  Leann’s hand covered mine and I took some comfort in the gesture.

  “Oh my dear lord, this is gonna be much worse than I imagined,” she replied.

  “This summer Beau and I started spending time together. You were with Noah or working and Sawyer was gone. I thought it would be good to rekindle the friendship Beau and I once shared.”

  Leann squeezed my hands and I continued to explain how we’d gone swimming at the hole, watched a movie at my house, played pool at the bar where his mother worked, and then I paused, knowing what I told her next was going to be hard for her to comprehend. After all, I was the good girl.

  “That night in the back of his truck, Beau and I . . . we . . .” I swallowed hard and squeezed my eyes shut, “had sex.”

  Leann let go of my hands and slipped her arm around my shoulder instead.

  “Wow,” was her only response.

  “I know. It wasn’t the only time either and, and although I know it won’t happen again . . . I think . . . I think I love him. Maybe I always have. No. I know I always have. When I’m with Beau I feel things I’ve never felt with Sawyer. I can be me. There’s no pretending. Beau knows my worst flaws.”

  “The heart wants who the heart wants. We can’t help that,” Leann said.

  I sighed and finally lifted my eyes to meet hers. The unshed tears blurred my vision.

  “But I’ve ruined his life. All he ever had was Sawyer. Make no mistake, I went after Beau. I can look back and see it now. This is all my fault. I should have never come between them.” I sniffled and buried my head in her shoulder.

  “Beau could have said no. He knew he was destroying his relationship with Sawyer every moment he spent with you. Don’t you take all the blame for this.” The stern tone in Leann’s voice only caused me to cry harder. Beau needed Sawyer. He might not realize it but he did. Somehow I had to make it right.

  “How do I fix this? How do I help Beau get Sawyer back?”

  “You can’t fix this for them. Beau knew what he was doing, Ash. He chose you over Sawyer. Now you’ve let Sawyer go, are you going to choose Beau?”

  I wiped the tears from my cheeks and peered up at her. “Choosing Beau will cause everyone in Grove to hate him. They’ll all see him as the guy who took Sawyer’s girl away. I can’t do that to him.”

  Leann shrugged. “I don’t think Beau cares about everyone else. He made that apparent when he decided sneaking around with his cousin’s girl was what he wanted to do. He has to love you, Ash. Never in this lifetime would I have thought Beau would do anything to hurt Sawyer. He loves him. So that can only mean he loves you more.” She reached down and patted my shoulder. “Question is, do you love him as fiercely? Are you willing to snub your nose at your family and the people in town in order to have him?”

  Chapter 20

  Beau

  “Well, hell has done froze slap over. Sawyer Vincent is walking into a bar.” My mama’s voice carried loud and clear over the empty room. I sat the beer down I’d been nursing since walking in here five minutes ago. Ashton was nowhere to be found so I came here hoping she was looking for me too.

  “I’m not here for a social visit, Aunt Honey. I came to see my back-stabbing lying SOB of a cousin.”

  Mama let out a low whistle and shook her head. “I shoulda known better than to believe you knew all about Beau and Ashton galavanting around town together.”

  “Shut up, Mom,” I said without glancing her way. I kept my eyes on Sawyer. The hatred in his eyes wasn’t something I’d ever imagined seeing directed my way. Even though I knew I deserved it I still had a hard time swallowing it. His hair was tucked behind his ears and his teeth were so tightly clenched I could see his jaw tick.

  “Is she here?” Sawyer asked, scanning the empty bar. He’d thought she would come to me too.

  “No.”

  “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Sawyer stalked toward me. God, I didn’t want to hit him. I just wanted Ash. The real Ash. The one he didn’t know. The one he’d never be able to love.

  “How could you do this, Beau? You’re like my brother.”

  The pain in his eyes felt like a knife twisting in my gut. It wasn’t enough to make me regret anything but it hurt like hell.

  “You don’t know her. You never did.”

  “I don’t know her? I DON’T KNOW HER? Who in the HELL do you think you are, Beau? She’s been mine for three years. THREE YEARS. The two of you hardly acknowledged each other for three years. Then I leave for the summer and you two make up? Become friends? What exactly happened? Because the bull crap she tried to feed me outside the church isn’t gonna fly.”

  Did I tell him the truth? He deserved the truth but I couldn’t tell him everything without Ash’s consent. It was her story too.

  “We got close. We spent time together. We remembered why we were so close when we were younger.” I stopped and stared at him. There was one truth he needed to know. One truth that was mine to tell. But admitting it would probably kill any chance of us ever getting over this. It all boiled down to who was more important. My cousin. The one guy I’d always known would stand by me no matter what, my best friend. Then there was Ash. The one person I couldn’t live without. Not anymore. “I love her.”

  Sawyer’s jaw dropped then clenched within a second. He was gearing up to take a swing at me. I could see it in his stance.

  “You. Love. Her,” he repeated in angry disbelief. “Are you aware I intend to marry her one day? What about you, Beau, huh? You planning on marrying her? Moving her into your mama’s trailer? Maybe she could get a job working here with Aunt Honey once her parents completely cut her off.”

  My fist slammed into his face before I knew what was happening. Sawyer staggered back, blood trickling down his nose. A loud roar erupted from his chest and he charged at me, tackling me to the ground. His fist connected with my jaw only because I knew I deserved it. But that was the last lick I’d take from him. The blood running down over his mouth now from his nose had me doing everything in my power to constrain him. I didn’t want
to hit him again but I’d be damned if I’d let him hit me.

  “Stop it, both of you,” Mama yelled over our grunts but Sawyer didn’t stop trying to take swings at me and I didn’t stop blocking his hits.

  “You’re a bastard, Beau. She’s a good girl. You can’t give her what I can.” Sawyer’s words caused me to temporarily lose my cool and my fist planted on the side of his face again. Damn. He needed to shut the hell up.

  “Shut up, Saw,” I yelled, shoving him off me and standing up.

  “It’s true and you know it. She’s just too stupid to realize it.” He didn’t finish his sentence before I had him flat on his back, holding him to the ground with my hand clamped over his throat.

  “Don’t ever call her stupid again,” I warned. He’d crossed a line. I loved him but I loved her more.

  “That’s it. Get off him now, Beau. This has gone on long enough. You two are letting a girl ruin your relationship. Neither of y’all are gonna marry her. You’re kids. She’s sweet and pretty, I’ll give y’all that, but she ain’t worth throwing away your family for.”

  Mama stood over us, her shadow covering Sawyer’s face. I eased up on my grip around his neck in case he was turning blue and I couldn’t tell.

  “He isn’t my family.” Sawyer’s words stung but if he’d taken Ash from me then I’d feel the same way. I released my choke hold on him and stood up again, putting distance between us. Never taking my eyes off him.

  “Sorry, kiddo, but being pissed at him over that girl don’t take away the blood running through your veins. Y’all are and forever will be family.”

  Sawyer sneered, standing up and wiping the blood from his nose on his shirt sleeve.

  “He’s just my dad’s loser brother’s bastard.”

  I didn’t react. He wanted me to. But I didn’t. Mama clicked her tongue like she does when she knows something important no one else does. I let my eyes dart toward her for a second to see what she was up to.

  “Actually, Beau ain’t your daddy’s brother’s bastard. He’s your daddy’s bastard. The blood in his veins is the very same in yours, boy. Make no mistake ’bout that.”