Sweetheart

by Sarah Mayberry

  For some reason my mother’s words made me think of the Dumpster dive I'd taken in order to find the source of the Colebury Diner’s coffee boom.

  “Not sure being determined is always my best feature,” I said, then I told my mom about my mission to get Beck to supply the Bean.

  She smiled and laughed and screwed up her face in all the appropriate places, but when my tale was over, she became pensive again.

  “He’s gone through a lot with Jess.”

  “Yes.”

  “He was quite the knight errant this morning. Although he told me he was riding to our rescue, not yours. He said he wanted to save us from fucking up even more than we had already.”

  “He said that?” I choked back a shocked laugh.

  Clearly, Beck hadn’t pulled his punches.

  “It was hard to take, Haley, I have to admit. But when your father and I talked afterward, we both agreed that we would sleep better at night knowing you have someone who loves you so fiercely. That’s a precious, precious thing.”

  I smiled. “I know. He’s amazing, and I love him so much.”

  My mother’s gaze shifted over my shoulder and she smiled faintly.

  “Well, look at that. Speak of the devil.”

  I swiveled and spotted Beck standing outside the staff entrance, his gaze on us. He lifted his hand, and even though he wasn’t close enough for me to see the expression on his face, I knew he was wondering if I was okay. If I needed him.

  My mother stood and dusted off the seat of her pants.

  “I’m going to head home now and let Chris know you’re still talking to us,” she said with a self-deprecating smile. “I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than hang around with your mother.”

  To my everlasting surprise, she winked at me. I was still laughing when she kissed my cheek and hugged me goodbye.

  “I love you, Haley. With all my heart. Please never doubt that.”

  Her arms were very tight around me, almost to the point of pain, but I didn’t mind. She let me go, then started up the slope toward the parking lot. Halfway there, she veered toward Beck as if she’d suddenly decided she had something to say to him. I watched as Beck listened to her. Whatever his reply was, it was short and sweet and my mother nodded and continued on her way, heading for her car.

  Beck headed my way.

  “I went to your place, but you weren’t there so I walked down, figuring I’d meet you halfway,” he explained when he reached me.

  “Mom came to talk to me. I hear you’ve been busy this morning.”

  “I would have told you, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure they’d be able to actually hear what I had to say. I didn’t want you to be disappointed all over again.” His gaze was searching, and I guessed he was worried that maybe he’d overstepped.

  “They heard. They’ve got an appointment with a therapist next week for Jess. And if she won’t go, they’re going on their own, and they’re going to keep trying until they get somewhere.”

  “That’s good to hear. I was a little worried you might be pissed off at me for interfering.”

  “Are you kidding? I’m blown away that you care enough to interfere. And grateful to have you on my side.”

  “Hales, I’ll always be on your side. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  His words made me so happy. I smiled at him, blinking away a stupid rush of emotion.

  “I’ll always be on your side, too.”

  Beck moved closer, opening his arms, and I stepped into his embrace, lifting my face for his kiss. As always, it amazed me that a person could feel like home.

  “I love you,” I said in between kisses. “I love you like crazy.”

  “Love you, too. But we need to stop now or I’m going to get arrested for getting busy in a public place.”

  I blinked, because for a moment I’d forgotten where we were. When I glanced toward the Bean, I saw Zara bussing the outdoor tables. She must have sensed my gaze because she looked up and gave me a little finger wave, and I knew she’d seen our kiss.

  “Let’s go to my place,” I said.

  “Love the way your mind works,” Beck said.

  We grinned at each other and started walking. As we walked through the parking lot, my phone pinged with the special chime I’d chosen for messages from my Haley Made account, and I dug my phone from my bag and checked my inbox. Sure enough, I had an email with the subject: Need to own a pair of your boots. I laughed and glanced at the message.

  “What’s funny?” Beck asked.

  “I think I just landed a new commission for some boots,” I said distractedly, busy reading. “Apparently they saw Georgia Trevi’s Insta post...”

  I blinked when I saw who had sent the message and stopped in my tracks.

  “No way,” I said stupidly.

  Beck’s hand caught my elbow and he steered me out of the middle of the parking lot to safety.

  “Sorry.” I handed him my phone. “I need you to read that and tell me I’m not hallucinating.”

  Beck frowned then took my phone, quickly scanning the email.

  “Holy shit,” he said when he got to the end. He looked as surprised as I felt.

  “It’s really real? I’m not imagining it?” I double-checked.

  “It’s real.” He grinned at me.

  I shook my head, incredulous. “Delilah Spark wants me to make her a pair of boots,” I said. “Can you believe it? I’m going to make a pair of boots for Delilah Spark.”

  “This is it, babe,” Beck crowed. “This is the start of everything.”

  I laughed, delighted by his enthusiasm, even if I wasn’t quite ready to believe his prediction. Still... Delilah fucking Spark wanted a pair of my boots!

  We resumed walking, Beck catching my hand in his as we tackled the hill.

  “So, boots for a rock star,” he prompted. “No pressure, but what are you thinking?”

  I laughed, my belly already full of butterflies as it started to sink in what a huge opportunity this could be. People noticed what famous people wore. People wanted to emulate them.

  “I’ve got so many ideas already,” I said. “Probably too many. My favorite Delilah Spark songs is ‘Constellation You.’ I just love the imagery of all the shooting stars and rocket ships and all that stuff. But then there’s also ‘Power Play.’ It’s got those great jungle references, and I could do a lot with those, too. But she’s probably got ideas of her own, right? I should probably calm down and wait until I can have a consultation with her.”

  I knew I was babbling, but what the hell. It’s not every day a girl gets a commission to make custom footwear for one of the country’s hottest pop stars.

  “This is just the beginning,” Beck said.

  He was so triumphant for me, so thrilled, and it reminded me of how he’d put himself on the firing line when he’d faced my parents.

  This man’s love was such a gift.

  “I’m the luckiest woman in the world,” I said.

  Beck grinned. “This isn’t luck, babe. This is pure talent.”

  “I meant because I have you,” I clarified.

  Beck’s grin became something softer. “We make a great team. I’m grateful every day that my awesome coffee-roasting skills lured you into my arms.”

  “Is that the way it happened?”

  “That’s what we’ll tell our grandkids,” he said firmly.

  We’d reached the top of the hill and we started across the town green.

  “Grandchildren?” I gave him some side-eye, even though my heart gave a leap.

  I was crazy about this man, and he was talking about us having grandchildren. Where did I sign up?

  “Grandchildren. I want it all. Don’t you?”

  I didn’t hesitate, my answer coming from my soul. “Yes. All of it. Everything. And then a little extra. As long as it’s with you.”

  Beck increased his speed, and I had to jog a little to keep up.

  “Where’s the f
ire?” I asked, trying not to stumble.

  “In my pants. I need to get you naked, now.”

  “You’re insatiable.” I laughed.

  “You’re insatiable,” he said.

  “No, you’re insatiable.”

  “I’ll race you for it,” Beck said as we reached my street. “First one to your front door is the horniest.”

  He took off, and I let out a yelp and took off after him in pursuit. There was no way in the world I would ever be able to outpace him, especially when I was laughing so hard, but I had fun trying. Beck was waiting on my front porch when I jogged up the steps.

  “You win. I guess you are the horniest,” I said.

  “Unlock the door and put me out of my misery, woman.”

  His eyes were bright with laughter as he crowded me against the door, his hands already sliding under my T-shirt to cup my breasts, his hips nudging mine so I could feel how hard he was. Suddenly it was difficult to think straight as my body lit up with anticipation.

  “Now who’s the horniest?” Beck whispered against my neck.

  Somehow I got the key into the lock and the door open, and the next thing I knew I was on my bed, Beck covering my body with his.

  “Maybe we need to call it a draw,” I said as his fingers worked open the button on my jeans.

  “Sounds like a plan.” His cheeks were flushed, his beautiful eyes shining with lust and love.

  And then he kissed me, and, as always, the world ground to a halt, and it was just him and me, together.

  Just the way I liked it.

  39

  Epilogue

  Haley

  6 months later . . .

  “Careful. Don’t get trapped in there.” I barely stopped myself from darting forward to help Sam and Beck as they maneuvered my chunky, heavy old workbench into the corner of my new studio.

  “We’ve got this, babe. Relax.” Beck managed to maneuver the table the final few inches and get out of the way at the same time.

  “Amazing. You’re a genius.” I beamed at him.

  He was a genius, because he was the one who had suggested I consider the storeroom attached to the Dark Horse barn for my new workspace, once it became clear I’d outgrown my old one. I was about to enjoy the benefits of more storage and more space, both of which would give me the capacity to take on staff when I needed to.

  Which was going to be very soon, the way business was going.

  Ever since Delilah Spark had worn her bespoke boots to the MTV Awards five months ago, my commissions had been insane. Off the charts insane, to the point where I’d lost sleep wondering how on earth I was going to keep up.

  I’d been forced to quit my job at the Busy Bean within the space of a couple of weeks, I had so many commissions piling up. It had been a heart-wrenching goodbye, because the Bean crew had become a second family for me, but creating art full time had always been my dream.

  A week into working full time on commissions, I was approached by a luxury goods online retailer who wanted me to make a limited run of one-of-a-kind boots for them to sell on their site. I had laughed out loud when they told me what they wanted to charge for them, but then I’d realized they were serious and that they thought I could command those kinds of prices for my work.

  Turned out they were right.

  Now I had a seasonal order for a limited run of off-the-shelf shoes and boots, plus a three-month waiting list for bespoke shoe and boot designs. And nobody appeared to give a fat rat’s caboose that they had to wait to have a pair of Haley Made custom shoes. In fact, I think some of my customers got off on the exclusivity.

  Go figure, huh?

  “Did you decide where you wanted to put the leather rack?” my sister asked as she entered the room, staggering under the weight of a box full of colorful hides.

  “Near the door, so just dump those here,” I said, indicating a spot.

  Jess let the box fall with a thud and shook her hands out. “Won’t need to hit the gym for a while after this,” she said with a rueful smile.

  She’d insisted on helping today, even though she’d only been home for a couple days. Last week, she’d finished four months of intensive therapy at a residential psychiatric treatment center. Her insistence on contributing to my big move was just one sign of the progress she’d made once she’d accepted that she needed help.

  She now made a point to listen more carefully to other people, and several times I’d witnessed her talking openly about her fears. She’d put on weight, losing the angular, bony look that had been great for modeling but not so great for her general wellbeing. Best of all, I was beginning to sense a new, grounded center to her, a solidity that I could see every time I looked into her eyes. After months of sessions with a cognitive behavioral therapist, Jess had started to understand some important things about herself and the way she interacted with the world. Even though we all knew it wasn’t always going to be smooth sailing, I felt confident that Jess had genuinely turned a corner.

  She was going to be okay, if she kept working at it. We all were.

  My parents had taken my suggestion to talk to someone, and my mother had become the biggest advocate for therapy I’d ever met. You should try it, you’d be amazed what you discover about yourself, was now her catch phrase. I’d gone to a few sessions with them, as well as with Jess. Changing the dynamics of our family was probably going to be a lifetime project, but the really encouraging thing was that we all seemed to be on board for the challenge.

  That meant a lot.

  “There’s just one more of these boxes and then we’re almost done,” Jess said, turning to head back out the door.

  “I’ll help you,” Sam offered, falling into step beside her.

  I put my hands on my hips and considered the window to my left, then turned to study my workbench. I’d hoped that putting it along the longer wall in my new space would be the best place for it, but now I was wondering if I was robbing myself of natural light.

  “Hales, all you have to do is say the word and we can move that sucker,” Beck said, correctly interpreting my speculative look.

  “I don’t know. I really like this layout, but the light’s definitely better over there.”

  “Nothing a bunch of new lighting wouldn’t fix. We could hang a row of pendants above your bench.” Beck swept his hand through the air, indicating where he thought the lights should go.

  He looked so delicious, all bundled against the day’s cold temps in a deep blue sweater I’d bought from a local knitter, his expression intent as he thought his proposition through. He’d let his beard grow a little since winter had hit, and I was very into his lumberjack look.

  Let’s face it, I was very into him, period.

  Loving him had transformed so many aspects of my life. He’d helped me find the courage to stand my ground with my family, and his cheering from the sidelines had helped me find the confidence to say yes to all the wonderful opportunities the last six months had brought my way.

  Watching him study the rafters overhead, trying to work out what my new lighting layout might look like, I was hit with a surge of love and liking and admiration that made my body flush all over. He really was the shiz. And he was mine.

  Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that might be possible when I’d first met him all those years ago.

  Which reminded me...

  “Hey, I never told you this, but I had a huge crush on you when you were going out with my sister,” I confessed.

  Beck’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Suddenly, I had his full attention. “Really?”

  “Yep. I was so hot for you. Used to make me feel so dirty and guilty. You were the ultimate forbidden fruit.”

  “Tell me more.” He moved closer, his blue-green eyes alight with interest. “How dirty are we talking?”

  “Very dirty. I’d have these fantasies about you and me being together. They were pretty X-rated.”

  Desire flared in his eyes as he closed the final few feet betwe
en us. “I’m going to need a lot of details about these fantasies.”

  “They’re very private,” I said coyly.

  His arm slipped around my waist as he pulled me close. “I have ways of making you talk,” he growled.

  He really did. He was a generous, creative lover. Frankly, so was I, but it wasn’t hard when you had such good material to work with.

  “That was one of my fantasies, actually,” I admitted.

  “How so?” he asked, cocking his head.

  “You cornered me one day and told me you knew I was into you. And when I wouldn’t admit it, you said you’d make me confess.”

  “I sound a little bossy in your fantasy,” Beck observed.

  I shrugged a shoulder casually. “I mean...everything in moderation, right?”

  “Noted. I’m liking this. Keep talking.”

  The sound of footsteps approaching made him groan low in his throat, and I laughed, delighted to have tortured him a little. He’d get me back later, I was sure.

  “You’re in so much trouble when I get you alone,” he said, confirming my guess.

  “Can’t wait,” I said.

  And I couldn’t, because the adventure of being with this man was endlessly fulfilling, exciting, challenging and rewarding.

  Jess and Sam entered, Sam hefting the final box containing my leather supplies.

  “I am fully capable of carrying that, you know,” Jess insisted. “I’m a lot stronger than I look. Aren’t I, Hales?”

  She looked to me for confirmation, and it hit me that it was true. She was stronger than she looked. None of us had ever given her credit for that.

  “My sister is a warrior,” I said, and Jess smiled at me, a brilliant, dazzling flash of teeth.

  Beck’s hand landed on my shoulder, and I glanced up at him and saw understanding in his gaze. He knew how much it meant to me to see Jess doing so well. He’d never said so, but I think he got a lot out of it, too. He’d seen her at her worst, and he’d worried about her in the same way my parents and I had, even though she’d been such a toxic force in his life when they were together. But now we all had reason to hope.