by Liz Isaacson
All too soon, it was Beau’s turn to talk, and he hadn’t prepared anything. “Oh, um.” He put his fork down and glanced down the table. “This year, I’m grateful for this lodge and that it brings us all together.”
The last couple of people finished and the eating commenced. He kept an eye on Lily, but she didn’t seem to have a problem talking to his mother or Celia, who had thankfully been seated beside her.
He thought he did a pretty great job of hosting the meal and once everyone had eaten, he went downstairs with his brothers to play pool.
“So,” Graham said. “You and Lily are getting serious?”
“Are we?” Beau asked, shooting a look at Andrew. He hadn’t specifically told either of them he was dating Lily, though he supposed they could assume anything they wanted.
“That’s what I’m asking.” Graham lined up his shot and hit the ball squarely into the corner pocket.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Beau said lightly, feeling very out of his element with playing pool and having this conversation. “She’s a celebrity, you know? She’s not going to stay in Coral Canyon.”
Andrew took the cue from Beau, who obviously wasn’t going to use it, and said, “Are you dating?”
“A little,” Beau hedged. He certainly wasn’t one to kiss and tell, and none of the brothers had ever done that. “I like her.” But he wondered if he’d like any pretty woman who came to him for help.
He reminded himself that he hadn’t felt anything romantic for his first three clients. Not until Deirdre had he mixed his business with his personal life. “So what do we think about Jason?”
“Man’s had it rough,” Andrew said, making his shot. “Wife died over a decade ago. Only son never comes to visit.”
“I like ‘im,” Graham said. “He’s a hard worker, and he seems to like Mom.”
Beau nodded, watched his brothers shoot pool and talk about their lives, but his thoughts never drifted too far from Lily—or Kent.
His skin itched to get back upstairs, back to the computer, back to the cases. He’d gotten three of them settled or dismissed already, but the last two were coming together much slower. Things had been so easy, so casual, at the lodge that he hadn’t realized he was in a race against time.
He kicked himself for letting his focus slip from the cases he needed to win to the woman he needed to win them for.
“Pie,” Lily called down the steps, and Beau shot to his feet, earning him a look from Graham.
“What?” Beau asked. “She made the pies and I want to be supportive. Celia’s been teaching her how to cook.”
“Oh, boy,” Graham said, racking his cue stick. “And we’re going to eat these pies?”
“Be nice,” Beau said as he started for the stairs.
“Of course I’m going to be nice,” Graham said. “She’s your girlfriend.”
“Shut up,” Beau hissed as they reached the top of the steps. But Graham and Andrew laughed, which got him a worried look from Lily.
“Which do you want?” she asked, her pie server held at the ready.
“Both,” he said. “And do we have—ah, yes. Ice cream. I want that too.” He grinned at her and then Celia as they served the pie, and he went to sit in the front room to eat his. It was quiet and with every sugary delicious bite of Thanksgiving pie, Beau prayed for a solution to the cases he still had before him. Prayed for Lily’s continued safety at the lodge. Prayed to know what to do about their relationship.
God didn’t seem to be in too big of a hurry to answer him though. Maybe He was off eating pie too.
Sixteen
Lily loved Beau’s family. They felt like the kind of people she could spend weekends and holidays with for years to come. Becca reminded her of her youngest sister, Rose, and Lily fought the urge to call her sisters and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving.
Sure, they emailed, but Lily hadn’t physically spoken to one of her sisters in so, so long. What would it hurt? How would Kent even know? She’d been through at least a half a dozen phones and numbers over the course of the last fourteen months.
But they haven’t been, a voice whispered in her head, and she lifted another slice of pecan pie out of the tin for the cutest little blonde girl—Bailey, Graham and Laney’s daughter.
True, Kent could’ve bugged her sister’s phones, but would he still be listening all this time later? It wasn’t something she could risk, and she finished serving the pie and stepped back from the counter.
Celia manned the huge barrel of ice cream, and Lily asked for a bowl of that. “No pie?” Celia asked.
“You know, because I made it, I’m not feeling like eating it.” Lily wasn’t sure why. Several people who’d already finished eating had told her how good the pies were. But Celia didn’t ask any other questions, almost like she understood what Lily meant, filled her bowl with ice cream, and let Lily escape the kitchen.
She just needed a few minutes to herself. Some down time. Some silence.
She found it in her bedroom, behind the closed door, and propped up in bed. The ice cream was cold and creamy, sugary and oh-so-satisfying. Since she’d already eaten about twice as much as her stomach normally held, she only made it halfway through the bowl before she simply couldn’t stuff another bite down.
Leaning back against the headboard, Lily closed her eyes, her mind drifting through the memories of the day. She felt warm and cozy, safer than she’d ever felt. She loved this lodge, and Wyoming, and the horses out in the stable.
Did she want to go back to her old life once her cases were settled? Beau had basically asked her that question—at least he’d hinted at it—and Lily hadn’t quite known how to answer. Her sisters and manager were expecting her back. It had always been her intent to get things cleared with Kent and then return to her songwriting and singing career. But was that what she really wanted?
She honestly didn’t know, and that was almost as hard as trying to take another bite of ice cream.
A knock sounded on her door, and she knew it was Beau. How, she wasn’t sure, but she said, “It’s open,” and the door swung in.
Sure enough, Beau followed it, coming all the way inside and closing the door behind him. Lily’s red alerts all went off. He’d never done this before, and the anxious look on his face was new too.
She scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up. “What’s wrong?”
“Okay, look, I know it’s Thanksgiving—”
“Beau, what’s wrong?”
“The Sheriff in Jackson Hole called this morning and said he’s seen Kent around town.”
Lily sucked in a breath, her emotions spiraling all over the place. She wanted to say something, but her brain was having a hard time putting together a coherent thought and sending it to her mouth.
“It’s fine,” Beau said, reaching out with both hands and sliding up from her elbow to her shoulder. “He’s going to keep an eye on the hotel, and maybe he’s just in town for the holiday. It could be a pure coincidence.”
Lily shook her head. “No, Beau. If Kent is in town, he knows I have family there.”
“He’s got officers at your grandparent’s house.” He leaned down a little and peered at her. “You don’t need to go to Jackson Hole. There’s nothing you can do there.”
She seized onto that thought, as it had been the one she was trying to form. She twitched, like she knew where her car keys were, but she hadn’t driven in such a long time, she actually didn’t.
“I just wanted you to know. This is why you hired me, so that you’d have eyes and ears on things you can’t control. He doesn’t know you’re here, and even if he did, this is private property.”
Lily folded herself into Beau’s chest, his arms coming easily around her. She wondered if she’d embrace him like this if he were simply her lawyer. Were his other clients as relieved and grateful as she was?
She put the thoughts out of her mind. It didn’t matter what his other clients did. She was his client and his girlfriend, and if she want
ed to stand in the circle of his arms and take comfort from him, she could.
“Okay,” he said a moment later, his voice soft and husky. “I have to go back out there.” He eased her away from him, pressed his mouth to hers for a brief moment, and then ducked back out the doorway.
Lily didn’t know what to do with her mixed up thoughts and feelings. She crossed the room to the window to check on the weather, wondering if she could go down to the stables and spill her secrets to the horses.
The sky held a shade of gray that wasn’t all that unusual for November in Wyoming, but it wasn’t raining or snowing. She could bundle up and make sure she was back well before the sun started to set.
She collected her bowl of nearly melted ice cream and headed back to the kitchen. It held cheery yellow light, and people sitting at the dining room table with cards in front of them. They chatted, they laughed, and they were everything Lily wanted in a family.
After putting her bowl in the sink, she ducked right back out before someone could grab her and invite her to come sit down too. She put her feet in her boots, zipped up her coat, wrapped her scarf around her neck, and searched her pockets for her gloves.
Ready, she checked her back pocket for her phone and then set off for the stables. The horses seemed to look up in unison, and she smiled at them. No, she didn’t necessarily want to ride one, but she did like coming to visit them.
“Hey, guys,” she said to them, feeling the slightest bit foolish for talking to animals who couldn’t speak back to her. But she didn’t do it in the presence of others, and sometimes she just needed to get her feelings out.
She stepped over to the nearest horse, a gray and white quarter horse she couldn’t remember the name of. She stroked her hand down his nose, and said, “Happy Thanksgiving.” She moved down the row of stalls, saying hello to the horses and getting handfuls of oats from a bag hanging by the door for each one of them.
When she finally went back to Dandelion, she said, “Well, Kent’s come to Jackson Hole.” The worry she had for her grandparents tripled, and a sense of helplessness felt like it was about to crush her.
“I just don’t know what to do.” But she had done something—the best thing she knew how to do. She’d hired Beau. He’d already settled three of the cases, and he had people watching out for the people she loved. For her.
But she still felt like she needed to do something. “I should probably go,” she whispered to Dandelion. “Just get in my car and drive until I run out of gas.”
The horse didn’t indicate if that was a good idea or a bad one, but nosed her face further into Lily’s palm, searching for a stray bit of oat.
Lily wasn’t really going to get in her car and start down the highway. But she honestly didn’t know if she could stay here and do nothing. Could she call her grandmother? Would Kent have somehow put a trace on their line?
She wasn’t sure, and that was the most upsetting. With a man like Kent, anything was possible, while at the same time, she knew he didn’t have any money. So who could he hire to sneak into a home where the two people who lived there never left at the same time? How could he afford fancy tracking software or private investigators?
He couldn’t. If he could, he wouldn’t be coming after her for more money, or an extension on the alimony, which was set to expire in another year. Beau had gotten that case thrown out, and now he just had to work on the royalty situation. He’d told Lily that judges very rarely granted anything extra outside the original divorce decree, and that Kent certainly wasn’t entitled to a lifetime of support because they’d been married for five years while she was a singer before and after that relationship.
Lily unconsciously pulled her phone from her back pocket, toying with the idea of making a call. She’d spent so long cut off from the outside world, and the urge to speak to someone from her former life rose up, choking her.
She tapped in her grandmother’s number and listened to the line ring. It was still a landline, so her number wouldn’t show on a screen or anything. It would be a miracle if someone answered, but the line only rang twice before her grandma said, “Hello?”
“Gramma,” Lily practically breathed. “It’s me. Don’t say my name,” she tacked onto the end.
“Oh, hello,” Gramma said, her voice full of joy. “Stu it’s…Rose.”
“Rose?” Pops practically yelled. “What’s Rose doin’ calling?”
“Happy Thanksgiving,” Lily said, tears pricking her eyes. “You guys are okay?”
“Just fine, Dear,” Gramma said. “And you? Did you get some turkey?”
“Lots of turkey.” Lily half-sobbed and half-laughed. “And mashed potatoes, and yams, and bread. Wow, this family knows how to pack away the bread.” Lily had eaten a few rolls herself, simply not able to get enough of them.
“What about you two? Did you go to the church dinner?”
“Sure did,” Pops bellowed, and Lily yanked the phone away from her ear. He must’ve picked up the line in the kitchen, and while she didn’t like talking to both of them at the same time, it was good to hear his voice too.
Neither of them seemed afraid or worried about anything.
“We had ham and turkey,” Pops continued. “I had both, and then the pastor’s wife brought out that layered chocolate cake I like.”
Lily smiled at the horses, thinking about her grandparents eating with a few others who didn’t have family for the holidays. Making their own family.
“Well, I just wanted to say hello,” she said, her voice catching. “Let you know I’m okay.”
“That’s good,” Gramma said. “We’re so glad you called. We love you.”
“Yes,” Pops said. “Love you, Princess.”
“Stu,” Gramma said sharply, and Lily said, “Okay, I have to go,” and hung up. She squeezed the plastic case on her phone as the familiar desperation returned. Pops had just called her Princess. Would Kent know that was his nickname for her, not Rose?
Had she just put them in more danger?
Seventeen
Beau noted the moment Lily slipped out the back door. He stayed at the dining room table and kept half of his attention on the game of Hearts in front of him. But his laughter died much quicker, and he didn’t engage in a few conversations the way he should have.
He probably shouldn’t have told her about Kent today. She’d been shocked and scared, as Beau had gotten quite good at reading her emotions as they played across her face. He wasn’t even sure when he’d decided to tell her. Perhaps when he’d returned to the kitchen for more pie and Celia had told him that Lily had taken a bowl of ice cream down the hall to her room.
She did like her private time, and Beau had tried to give it to her whenever she needed it. His soul screamed at him to get out to the stables and make sure Lily was all right. His brain told him to get down the hall and back to work on the two cases that still needed his attention.
He had to have missed something. Maybe there was a line, a sentence, a loophole he needed to take advantage of to get these items off Lily’s plate so she could be free again.
Free.
Once she was free of Kent and her past, what would her future be like? Would she stay here?
Beau’s mind whispered all kinds of things, and he missed playing a winning card that could’ve won him the trick he needed. Frustrated, he threw down his cards as if this game actually meant something to him. But he didn’t care about Hearts. He needed to figure things out with Lily. So many things.
“I’m out,” he said as Andrew started shuffling the deck again.
“Come on,” his brother said. “Just because you’re not winning.” He grinned at Beau, and Beau remembered the carefree days when he did win most games and all his brothers ribbed him for it. He’d had such a great childhood growing up with all of them, and he’d never wanted more than his life in Coral Canyon.
He couldn’t even comprehend a life like the one Lily had lived, the places she’d seen, or the things she’d done.
It wasn’t jealousy that streamed through him, but definitely anxiety. He wasn’t sure he would ever be enough for her, not when she’d probably experienced much grander things that this lodge, this quaint piece of land with a handful of horses in the stables.
He smiled back at Andrew and said, “I’m just going to take a break.”
“You’re doing the Christmas tree this year, right?” Graham asked as Beau passed him. “Here at the lodge?”
“Yeah, I’m still planning on it.” And he had quite the tradition to live up to. Since Graham had come home and hosted the first Christmas at this lodge, there had been a huge tree, with a lighting ceremony and a family dinner on Christmas Eve. They exchanged gifts, and each brother had hosted it over the past three years.
Beau supposed that he would be in charge of this particular Whittaker tradition for the foreseeable future if he wanted it to continue. After all, he had no plans to vacate the lodge. He didn’t have a girlfriend with a ranch of her own. Or a new wife in California. Or someone in town to move in with once he got married.
Another keen sense of foolishness hit him as he realized that the woman he was currently falling for probably wouldn’t stay a moment past the time he settled her last case.
He hated these poisonous thoughts, but he didn’t know how to cleanse them from his mind. Maybe if he spoke with Lily, she’d help him see reason and he could make sense of what to do next.
So he put on his boots, his coat, his gloves, his hat, and he followed the sidewalk down to the stables. She stood at Dandelion’s stall, whispering to her about something. Maybe the song she was going to write once she returned to Nashville, to her real life.
“Hey,” he said, surprised his voice didn’t betray the negative feelings bouncing around inside him.
She twisted toward him and graced him with a small smile. “Just couldn’t stay away, could you?”