by Carly Bloom
When is her birthday?
Does she still play the piano?
Would she like to attend the Montgomery family reunion this fall?
He’d tried explaining that they weren’t serious, but Nonnie wasn’t having it.
Should we invite her parents to Thanksgiving?
Now he and Bryce had a quick meeting with Ford and Gerome.
“Jesus Christ,” Bryce said, shaking his head.
“What?”
“Unless you’ve suffered an unfortunate incident with a vacuum hose, you’ve got a hickey on your neck.”
“I do not.”
Bryce jerked the rearview mirror around, indicating Beau should take a look. And there it was, right below the collar of his shirt. “Haven’t had one of those since the eleventh grade.”
“I thought we decided sex with Alice was a bad idea.”
“It was just kissing.” And a little dry-humping. “Adults should make out more. It’s good times.”
Making out with Alice had been more than a good time. With sex-as-a-destination off the table, the journey had been everything. Nothing was rushed; they’d stayed in the moment, which had stretched into hours. And as promised, he hadn’t slid an inch past first base.
He grinned. Because Alice had made it halfway to second by grabbing the hell out of his ass, which he hadn’t minded a bit. They might need to rethink some ground rules—
Bryce banged on the hood of the truck. When had he gotten out?
“Are you coming, Romeo? Ford’s waiting on us.”
Beau got out and followed Bryce up the steps. They knocked three times before pushing the door open, just like they’d been doing since they were old enough to know where Miss Lilly kept the cookies.
“Biscuits are on the counter,” Miss Lilly said, without looking up from her knitting. “And Beau, you’re welcome to bring Alice to first Sunday dinner. I’ll make something special.”
They each gave Miss Lilly a kiss on the cheek. “You don’t need to go to the trouble,” Beau said. “Allie and I just like hanging out.”
“In other words, Miss Lilly,” Bryce said. “I wouldn’t go picking out a dress for the wedding.”
Miss Lilly raised an eyebrow. “You never know. Beau and Alice are a perfect pair.”
Guilt gnawed at Beau’s belly. He hadn’t believed folks would take their fake romance seriously. And now Nonnie was talking Thanksgiving and Miss Lilly had gone straight to the wedding. There were going to be a few broken hearts. And after last night, he feared his might be one of them.
Ford appeared at the top of the stairs with a baby strapped to his chest. “Are y’all coming up?”
They each grabbed a biscuit and climbed the stairs.
Beau nodded at the baby. “We didn’t want to interrupt you, if you were, you know . . .”
“Breastfeeding,” Bryce finished.
“Shut up, idiots. This is the only way she’ll sleep.”
Beau gave Rosa a gentle pat on the head. “We’re just kidding. She looks good on you.”
Gerome stood as they came in. “Howdy, boys. Thanks for coming in on a Sunday. We’ll keep it short.”
“No problem,” Bryce said.
Gerome nodded and they all sat down. But as soon as Ford’s ass hit the chair, Rosa began fussing. He hopped right up and started doing a ridiculous shuffle step, first with one boot, then the other.
“That’s the Polish Granny Shuffle,” Gerome said. “It puts babies to sleep like magic.” He looked critically at Ford as Rosa squirmed in her little cocoon. “Put some more hip in it, son.”
Ford glared at his father-in-law, but then he did seem to put some more hip in it, and the baby quieted right down.
“The cattle are sorted and ready to go,” Beau said. “We’ve got our big trailer, and Mr. Kelsey is loaning us his.”
“Good,” Gerome said. “And how about you, Bryce? Are you ready to pack your bags?”
Bryce raised an eyebrow. “Like, now?”
“We bought the Rockin’ H,” Ford said.
Beau nearly choked. He looked quickly at his brother, whose eyes were big and round.
“For real?” Bryce asked.
“Yep. And you’re going to run it like any old cattle ranch with a swimming pool, lodge, and guesthouse,” Ford said, grinning and shuffling. “But don’t worry. You’ll mostly be in charge of the cattle. The existing staff is staying on board for now.”
Gerome leaned forward in his chair. “But if you’re not opposed, I’d like you to take a few online business classes specific to the hospitality industry.”
Bryce removed his hat. “I’d love that, sir.”
Beau felt nothing but happiness for his brother. And when he took a deep breath to say so, he realized his chest wasn’t tight. For the first time in his life, he felt better prepared to stand on his own two feet. He wasn’t an expert reader yet, but he was making real progress. In fact, he kind of loved reading. “This is exciting.”
And just like that, the day he’d been dreading had turned into a day to celebrate.
“Can you be ready to go by next weekend?” Gerome asked Bryce. “You can live in one of the lodge’s suites.”
“I was ready yesterday,” Bryce said. “Are we keeping the name? It’s still the Rockin’ H?”
“Hell, no,” Gerome said. “It’s the Rockin’ Rio Verde now.”
Ford danced over to the desk. “Gerome, can you grab those instructions and the solar panel diagram for Beau?”
Beau sat up straighter. He’d recently suggested buying some more solar panels and setting up a battery bank and a generator so the well’s pump could keep going after dark. They needed all the water they could get in the troughs, especially now that the river was so low and the cattle couldn’t graze along the banks.
Gerome dug around in a drawer and pulled out a pile of papers. “Beau, we took your advice to get us through this dry spell. The panels and battery bank came in, along with these instructions. Ford looked at them—at least some of it appears to be in English—and said you could probably handle hooking it all up. You’ve always been good at that sort of thing. But if you need help, let me know.”
Beau took the stack of papers from Gerome. He was good at figuring out how to take things apart and put them back together again. Bryce leaned over his shoulder, looking at the instructions and diagram. The words were tiny, and there was hardly any white space on the page. It looked like gibberish, but Beau worked hard at keeping a neutral expression. “I can figure it out. No problem.”
Bryce nodded at him. You’ll be fine, brother. I believe in you.
Alice struck her Tibetan singing bowl with the little wooden mallet. Maybe it would center her. She hadn’t slept a wink. It was as if she was inhabiting someone else’s body. Because hers didn’t normally feel this tingly and agitated. And it wasn’t just her lips, which were overly sensitive from literally hours of kissing.
She’d been kissed before—twice in college and once since—but never like that. Nobody had ever kissed her so dang thoroughly. Or hungrily.
Or intimately.
And nothing in her previous experience had prepared her for the level of lust that had rolled through her like a tidal wave.
She broke the meditation position of her hands—the mudra—to fan her face.
His mouth had been warm and soft and freaking insistent. As if he couldn’t get enough of her, either. Even though he could have any woman he wanted.
She’d bitten his lower lip. She’d never bitten anyone before. In fact, she’d never known she could even want to bite someone. Why had she wanted to bite him? And she’d licked his jawline, feeling the stubble beneath her tongue. That had led to his neck, which she’d literally feasted on.
She stood up. There would be no meditating today. She felt too big for the room. Too big for her house. Too big for her skin.
Maybe she’d go running. She’d never run before, but why not start? She’d take Gaston. Her folks were picking him u
p next weekend, and she was kind of going to miss the big furry monster.
She found a pair of sneakers. Then she grabbed Gaston’s leash, hooked him up, and headed out.
Dolly was in her front yard watering her rosebushes. “Good morning, Alice!”
Gaston also wanted to water the rosebushes, so Alice was forced to stop. “Sorry,” she said, yanking on the dog’s leash.
“Going for a walk?”
“A run.”
“You don’t run.”
“I do now. I’ve been trying lots of new things lately.” Her lips tingled as if to remind her of those things.
“You should bring Beau to the fire department’s Wild Game Dinner. Oh! And the Catholic Daughters are sponsoring a dance contest on Valentine’s Day. Y’all should enter! Everybody knows Beau is a fine dancer.”
The Wild Game Dinner? A dance contest on freaking Valentine’s Day? February was months from now. She and Beau were going to be over in two weeks. And anyway, she’d planned to spend the evening at a Galentine’s Day dinner with her self-partnered group.
“Valentine’s Day has some rather dark origins, you know. And anyway, it’s a long way off—”
“And you and Beau will still be together. I’m very good at predicting breakups, and I don’t see one in your future.”
Ha! How about midnight on the twelfth of June?
For just a moment, Alice imagined what it might be like to have a real boyfriend on Valentine’s Day. The only heart-shaped box of chocolates she’d ever received had come from the library volunteers. And the only rose had been from a secret admirer her senior year of high school. She suspected the sender was her father, but she’d carefully dried it and saved it anyway. Just in case . . .
She sighed. “We’re really just friends who enjoy each other’s company.”
“And that, my dear, is the secret to a long-lasting relationship,” Dolly said. “Harold was my husband for thirty-nine years, but he was my best friend for forty-five.”
Harold passed away a year ago, and Alice could see the loneliness in Dolly’s eyes. What if all of the irritating little pop-ins weren’t really to check on the cat? What if Dolly was really looking for human companionship?
Alice’s phone chimed with an email notification. She glanced at it and oh! It was from the Austin Public Library. She opened it, right there in front of Dolly.
They wanted to set up an interview! For Friday afternoon!
Her mind raced. What did she have going on this Friday? It was rude to stare at her phone in front of Dolly, but she couldn’t help it. Her calendar showed a meeting in the morning, but Janie could handle everything in the afternoon . . .
“Is everything okay?” Dolly asked.
Alice looked up. “Yes. Everything’s fine. It’s just an email.” She couldn’t tell Dolly about the interview. The rumor mill would be cranking before she was even done with her run. “It’s work related.” That was technically true.
“No wonder we have the best library in Texas. Our librarian never stops working.”
Alice’s phone, which she was still staring at, suddenly lit up with a call. It was Beau! She didn’t want to answer it in front of Dolly.
“Well, I’ve got to run,” she said as Gaston pulled on the leash. “Literally.”
“Okay,” Dolly said. “But I wanted to tell you that there’s a hairless cat conference next month. I thought maybe we could go together. And also, I ordered a pirate ship for Sultana.”
“A pirate ship?”
“It’s cardboard. Four feet long! She’ll love it.”
“Where will I put a four-foot pirate ship? I might have to get rid of my couch.”
“It comes with a little pirate hat.”
The phone stopped ringing. Dang it.
Dolly clipped a pink rose and handed it to Alice. “Enjoy your run. We’ll talk pirate ships when you get back.”
Soon, Alice was at the end of the block, drenched in sweat with a cramp in her side, dying to see if Beau had left a voice mail. “Hold on,” she said to Gaston, who’d apparently assumed they’d go farther than a block (he was wrong about that).
Yes! Beau had left a voice mail. She put the phone to her ear, and as soon as she heard his voice—Hey, Allie Cat—she broke out in goose bumps, despite the humid heat.
I’m going to be hauling cattle all week, so I can’t get together for tutoring. But I promise to keep working on my own. And speaking of getting together . . . I had a great time last night. It was the best pasture party I’ve ever been to.
There was a bit of silence, and Alice thought maybe that was all he was going to say. But then:
I hope you had fun, too. So . . .
Another stretch of silence.
I guess I’ll see you soon. And I, um . . . I have a few more ideas for the bucket list.
Alice’s heart was pounding. Had she really made out with Beau Montgomery? Did she really have a job interview in Austin? And what the heck did Beau want to add to her bucket list? Holy guacamole, she might have to amend the contract.
Chapter
Twenty
Alice had been super busy all week, but not nearly as busy as Beau, who’d been driving back and forth to the Rockin’ H Ranch, which the Kowalskis had bought.
They hadn’t seen each other in several days, but they’d texted. Which was absolutely wonderful because it was fun, but it also meant Beau was reading and writing. Their texts were silly stuff mostly; outrageous links and memes suggesting things to add to her bucket list.
Spend the night in an ice cave!
I hear roach milk is the new superfood!
Glamping in a yurt!
Nothing remotely sexy or flirtatious had been exchanged, and Alice was reminded that what they’d done in the bed of Beau’s pickup was probably not all that out of the ordinary for Beau. Maybe when he’d suggested adding things to her bucket list, he really had been thinking of yurt glamping.
This morning, he’d texted to cancel their tutoring session tonight. Bryce’s last night in town. Going out with the boys.
She’d been disappointed, but she’d texted back that she understood, because she did. And then Beau had sent a picture captioned Blast from the Past!
It was a photo of her sitting on the Montgomerys’ front porch. She looked about fourteen—braces, glasses, confused facial expression—holding a book. She vaguely remembered the boys pestering her with a camera that afternoon. Ugh. Why had Beau sent that? She’d responded, Yikes. How do you even have this?
Beau hadn’t answered. In fact, he hadn’t texted since. Which was fine, because she’d had her job interview today, and she was certain she’d blown it. She’d been anxious and awkward and weird—more so than usual. There was no way she’d get the position.
It sure was a gorgeous library, though. After the interview was over, the director had given her a tour and introduced her to a few people. There was someone to do every job that Alice typically did. They’d had a children’s librarian, a resource librarian, a social media manager, and a program director, among others. It seemed like the only tasks left for her to do were the things she didn’t enjoy all that much. Mountains of paperwork. Reports. Preparing for board meetings.
But still. If by some miracle they offered it to her, she’d be an idiot to turn it down, right?
She went into the kitchen with the intention of making tea and got down a wineglass instead. She had several of those tiny bottles of pinot grigio—single serving size—in the fridge. She grabbed one, unscrewed the lid, and poured it into the glass.
She kind of missed the Strawberry Hill.
And Beau’s lips.
Sultana wove in and out of her ankles, purring. Gaston, who was finally being picked up tomorrow, was curled up in the corner. Everything was quiet and peaceful. Maybe what she needed was to cuddle on the couch with a good book.
Her phone chimed with a text from Carmen.
How did the interview go?
There was no way to adequately
share how she felt about the interview in a text, so she said, Would you like to come over? Or go to Tony’s?
Carmen responded with a thumbs-up, and Alice decided to invite Maggie and Claire, too.
This was the first time she’d ever invited anyone to go out for drinks. Not a big enough deal to go on her bucket list, but it was still a meaningful first.
By the time she’d showered and put on a pair of jeans, Carmen had arrived. “I’ll drive,” Carmen said. “Unless you want to?”
“I’ve never ridden in a Porsche before,” Alice said. “So, I’d love for you to drive.”
It only took ten super-fun minutes to get to Tony’s in Carmen’s red car, which they drove with the windows down and the music up. For a grown-up lady with a possible new job in a big library in Austin, Alice felt surprisingly young. And hip. And cool. And very much not the young girl in the picture Beau had texted earlier.
“There’s Maggie and Claire,” Carmen said, pointing to Maggie’s yellow Jeep.
They had just parked, and when they spotted the Porsche, they waved and headed over.
Claire yanked Alice out of the car. “I’m on borrowed time. My boobs will explode in exactly two hours.”
Music and laughter streamed out of Tony’s as they filed inside. It took Alice’s eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting as they walked past the small dance floor covered in sawdust to get to a table beneath a neon Dos Equis sign.
Carmen, always the hospitality person, automatically took their orders. “Is it beer for everyone? Whatever’s on tap?”
“Soda for me,” Claire said. “Because soon, I’ll literally be what’s on tap as far as Rosa is concerned.”
“Beer,” Maggie said, and Alice nodded her head.
For years, Tony’s had been the place other people went when they had something to celebrate, or when they needed to blow off steam after a bad day, or when they wanted to catch a game with friends. It’s where couples hooked up and broke up, and where dang near everyone—except Alice—bought their first legal drink. But tonight, Alice finally felt like it was her place as much as it was everyone else’s.