****
This small town was cuuuuuute. Shops, already decorated for Christmas despite the storm, lined either side of the road. There wasn’t a single stoplight in town. A four-way stop was about as crazy as traffic got. It was lovely really. Compared to Houston and all the big interstates and beltways, it felt quaint. She adored this town, but she didn’t want to fall for it.
Sure, she had this thing going with Beckett, but she didn’t want to fall for his town too. She knew all too well that people in small towns could be pretty unforgiving. And once they all found out she’d been snowed in with Beckett, she was sure people would talk—even more so if he told them why she’d really been sent there. This lunch in town was just a casual thing, but it also packed a punch.
So though the town was adorable, she was sure to go into this with the right mindset. This was his town, not hers. Expecting them to welcome her with open arms was unrealistic. She was a visitor here—someone just passing through. They would be kind enough, to her face anyway, and she would be kind back.
When they pulled up in front of the café, she couldn’t help but smile. There was a chalkboard sign in the window with the day’s special: roast beef sandwiches with mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and a piece of apple pie for dessert to top it all off. The café itself looked like the lone busy store today, but it was the stuff small towns were made of. She was just sure little old ladies met for coffee here. And there was probably a steady stream of regulars that came every day. This small little café probably held all the town’s secrets. And here she was. About to dive right in.
“Ready to meet Aunt Rose?” he asked.
Oh, yeah. His aunt owned the place too. “Sure.” She smiled what she hoped was nicely. Ready or not, here we come!
As soon as she was in the door, because of all the stares and whispers they were getting, it became apparent that Beckett hadn’t told anyone she was snowed in with him. And it was equally apparent that he hadn’t exaggerated his celebrity status. She was surprised they kept their smartphones at bay and didn’t snap any pictures. Then again, she spotted a good ol’ boy in the corner still carrying a flip phone, so maybe not.
“Finally making it out to the land of the living, I see, my boy?” A little old woman came over and hugged Beckett. Since she was wearing a black server apron, it was safe to assume she was his aunt.
Aunt Rose was her size, probably only five and a half feet tall. Her gray hair was neatly piled on top of her head in a bun, which drew attention to the purple glasses on a sparkly string around her neck. The purple glasses just happened to match her purple tennis shoes. And they weren’t old-people tennis shoes; they were trendy. She just looked like she could go toe to toe with anyone. And knew it. Before Jordyn had time to introduce herself or even say a word, his aunt hugged her. If she was surprised to see her with him, she didn’t show it.
She pulled back and gave Jordyn’s hand a firm squeeze while she introduced herself. “I’m Aunt Rose. Lovely to meet you, dear. And now I know why my nephew was in no hurry to get back to town.”
Jordyn blushed. Wow. This lady didn’t mess around. “Rose, I’m Jordyn. I’m—”
Aunt Rose interrupted with a knowing look. “You’re his girl. And please just call me Aunt Rose. Everyone except my children call me that. It’s either Momma or Aunt Rose.”
She felt the need to clarify. People were watching. They were trying to act like they weren’t, but they were. “I—”
Aunt Rose interrupted again, leading the way to a table. “Well, Beckett, is she, or is she not?” She turned to her nephew with a look that meant business.
He was grinning ear to ear, loving every single second of Jordyn’s discomfort. “She is.” And to seal the deal, he reached over to give her a kiss on the forehead.
Aunt Rose gave Jordyn an I told you so look, and then someone called her name. She held up a finger and turned away to holler something.
Jordyn smiled and whispered, “How did she know?”
Aunt Rose began walking away to help a customer in the back, but she turned back around, hands on her hips. “Sugar, I know everything in this town. And it would take a blind man not to see that you two have feelings for one another.” With that, she put her glasses on her nose and stared at them both from over the top rims.
What the heck?! They had been here like thirty seconds.
Despite feeling uncomfortable, Jordyn smiled at Aunt Rose, then looked at Beckett. “Apparently your extreme perceptiveness was not hereditary.”
Aunt Rose tipped her head back and laughed hard. “I like you already, darlin’.”
****
Aunt Rose, as owner of the café and not a usual waitress, took it upon herself to be their waitress. Beckett wasn’t surprised. It was the first time he had brought a woman in here, so of course Aunt Rose would be up to her snoopy ways. She did at least sit them in a corner booth, which was out of the way of traffic coming in and out—and Beckett’s favorite spot to eat.
He jokingly had thought that Jordyn and Aunt Rose would be thick as thieves in five minutes, but in reality it took even less than five minutes. Jordyn ordered the daily special, earning her first brownie points with his aunt. (He ordered the special too, but did that matter to Aunt Rose? Nope.) Then she ordered an iced tea, and when Aunt Rose gave her the tea options, Jordyn was impressed. Apparently, they were kindred tea drinkers.
Yuck. Not his cup of tea. Literally. The only way he liked tea was if it had a good dose of sugar in it. Then again, that was the only way he liked his coffee. What could he say? He liked the sweeter things in life.
And along that topic, Jordyn had Aunt Rose totally under her spell. When Beckett explained that Jordyn worked for AgGroSo, Jordyn butted in and told the whole story. She even explained the real reason her boss sent her. Beckett wasn’t expecting her to do that, but one thing about Jordyn that he appreciated was she didn’t like to beat around the bush. Though coming clean with him about why Walt had sent her had pissed him off, he still respected that she did it so soon. Things could have taken a turn for the worse if she would’ve tried to keep that from him while their feelings for one another progressed.
Rose had pursed her lips at that part in the story but listened intently while Jordyn finished explaining. Then, when Jordyn was done, she simply looked at Beckett and asked, “So are you going to do the damn commercial and finally do something about your tarnished reputation, then?”
Beckett laughed. “Aren’t you mad they sent someone attractive to try to seduce me?”
Aunt Rose rolled her eyes. “Please. Like it takes much to seduce you. You should be glad they sent someone as attractive as Jordyn.”
Jordyn had almost spit out her tea at that, and Beckett looked at her and shook his head in amusement.
“Good point. If they let me do it the way Jordyn wants them to, then yes, I’ll do it,” Beckett explained.
“Good. It’s about damn time,” Aunt Rose said pointedly, giving him a scolding look.
“Rosalie, why do I get the feeling you’re speaking in double meanings here?” he asked with a chuckle. He took a sip of his coffee.
Jordyn butted in. “Oh, look. Maybe I was wrong about the perceptiveness. Maybe it is hereditary after all.”
He squinted at her while Aunt Rose tipped her head back and burst out laughing again. “Oh, you two. You bring me such joy. I always told Beckett his woman was going to have to have fire in her veins to deal with him on a daily basis.” She winked at Jordyn and then sped off to get their food.
As soon as she was gone, Jordyn whispered, “I like your aunt.”
Aunt Rose hollered back, “Likewise, honey.”
Jordyn looked at him, probably confused how Rose could hear her, and Beckett shrugged. “I swear it’s why she owns this café. She can hear ev-er-y-thing.”
Jordyn laughed.
Their food soon arrived, and surprisingly, Rose let them eat in peace. They talked about the small town, and Beckett explained a couple of
the regulars and what they did. By the time their dessert arrived, Jordyn seemed like she was having a great time. When she took a bite of her apple pie and made a small sound of approval, Beckett suddenly felt jealous of the pie.
Jealous of the pie? What the hell was happening to him?
When Aunt Rose came back, Jordyn asked her if it was cinnamon ice cream with the pie. Which it was. Which then launched a discussion about Rose’s secret recipe for homemade cinnamon ice cream. Jordyn was listening to every word. Beckett was still feeling jealous of the pie.
By the time they left, all the other people there for lunch had already left. Beckett paid the bill and was helping Jordyn into her coat when Rose came back to say goodbye.
“It was so nice to meet you, Aunt Rose,” Jordyn said as the woman hugged her. Again.
“Likewise, doll.” Aunt Rose then turned to him, gave him a huge hug, and whispered loudly, “Never let that woman out of your sight.”
Beckett grinned and shook his head. Aunt Rose approved. And now the whole town would know too. Oddly enough, he was glad. There were enough single men around Picketts that he didn’t want Jordyn anywhere near them. As far as he was concerned, she was locked down.
Like Rose said, she was his girl. It definitely had a nice ring to it.
Official
CHAPTER 13
His girl. Those were Aunt Rose’s words, and she just could not stop smiling the whole way home.
Home. His place felt like home. And if she weren’t so giddy from lunch, it would make her feel overwhelmed and helpless. But she just couldn’t bring herself to spend this last week with Beckett depressed and sad. He had claimed her. In public. He had kissed her on the forehead and called her his girl in public. And then she had gone and immediately fallen for his aunt. She loved that woman. She had warned herself not to fall in love with Beckett’s small town, but Aunt Rose was a hard woman not to love.
What did this mean?
It meant she was destined for heartbreak. But at least this time around, she knew exactly when her heart was going to break—the day she left. She knew it was coming. So maybe that would make it less painful?
She could only hope.
Just as they hit the driveway, Beckett’s phone started ringing. He pulled up, looked at the screen, and immediately broke into a grin. “She doesn’t waste time.”
“Who?” she asked, confused.
“Aunt Rose. This would be my sister.” He rolled his eyes before answering the phone. “Sis.”
She could hear squealing on the other side. High-pitched yelling. She knew she was right about that because even Beckett held the phone away from his ear for a moment. He was getting an earful.
“Yes, I am actually seeing someone,” he said when his sister had finally calmed down. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
More talking that she couldn’t quite make out, followed with him saying, “Good point.”
Another question was being asked. She was about to sneak inside to give him a minute to talk to his sister when Beckett said, “Hold on, B. She’s right here. I’ll just put her on speakerphone.”
He hit a button as Beckett’s sister said, “Good. I can’t believe I missed out on lunch. Stupid finals.”
“Hi,” Jordyn said in a hesitant voice after she knew she could be heard. “I’m Jordyn.”
“Hiiiiii,” his sister said excitedly. “I’m Blakely. Beckett’s sister. Please tell me he told you he has a sister?”
She laughed. “Yes, he did.”
“Well, that’s surprising. He doesn’t tell people about me,” she teased.
“You’re my best kept secret,” Beckett defended. “As in it’s best for you to stay away from all the football players that wanted to date you just because you are my sister.”
“Still holding a grudge because I’m the more attractive sibling, eh?” she asked playfully.
It again took all of two seconds for Jordyn to decide she adored his sister. She had a liveliness about her that was apparent from her first words to her. And for some reason, hearing his sister’s voice helped her find the missing piece to who Beckett was. He had such a hard time with his parents’ deaths. He had every reason to be hard and, well, checked out. But he wasn’t. From the start, he was goading her and saying things just to be playful or make her mad. Beckett was always just so . . . alive. Now she got it. He didn’t have the rest of his family, but he did have his sister. They had gotten each other through because they were the only thing they had left. And he was used to pushing women’s buttons because he had a sister. It all made better sense now.
It made her want a sibling, to be honest. Sam’s kids were a lot like siblings, the closest thing she’d get anyway, but she wondered what it would have been like to grow up with one. Would it have been easier when her mom bailed if she had a sibling to talk to? Maybe.
“Rose said you finally got him to do a commercial, huh?” she asked. You could tell by the way she asked it that she was smiling.
“I did. I think anyway.” She shrugged and smiled at Beckett, still expecting him to change his mind any minute now.
“I’m mostly doing it to keep Jordyn around,” he said honestly. “You know I could care less about my image.”
“Huh. How about that?” Blakely laughed again. “If I had to bet on whether you would fix your image first or want a woman to stick around . . . I’m not sure which I would have bet on. Killing two birds with one stone, eh, B?”
“You know me.” Beckett laughed and snuck her a wink.
“Gah!” Blakely said in dismay. “This makes me want to come home for the filming of the commercial. This is so, so stupid. Am I graduated yet?”
“Not quite,” Beckett said. “But almost, sis. Almost.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Blakely muttered.
“Did Beckett tell you when we first met I twisted my ankle really bad? I could have used your physical therapy skills around here. I mean, he did great, but he also wasn’t the most . . . comforting?”
Blakely busted out laughing at that.
“Yeah. She told me off and then walked away. Not two seconds later she slipped and went down,” Beckett said with a chuckle, making Blakely laugh harder.
“Oh, this is great. And she told you off when she first met you? Gosh, I like this woman already.” She stopped to giggle for a bit before adding politely, “Is the ankle okay now?”
“Yes,” Jordyn said. “Still sore, especially if I move it side to side, but I can at least walk better now.”
“Good. You might want to keep your activity on it to a minimum. It can take six to eight weeks for some sprains to heal. So don’t be surprised if it takes a good while.”
“Yeah,” Beckett said to her pointedly. “No more snowball fights in the yard for you.”
“You guys had a snowball fight?” Blakely was back to squealing.
“We did.” Jordyn laughed. “I’m from Houston, and I hadn’t ever really gotten to play in the snow.”
The line went quiet.
“B?” Beckett asked. “You still there?”
“I’m still here. I don’t even know what to say though. I don’t have words. My brother, my dearest brother, was having a snowball fight with his new girlfriend in the snow. It’s like a romance novel!” She was almost high-pitched again by the end but somehow dialed back her excitement just a touch.
Beckett rolled his eyes.
“I take it you don’t meet or talk to many of Beckett’s girlfriends?” Jordyn asked, laughing.
“Other than high school? No. Nope. Never,” Blakely said seriously.
“Okay, okay, B. Before you start telling her embarrassing things about me, we need to go inside. We are sitting in the yard in the pickup. We didn’t even get back home before you called. I’m sure Jordyn needs a moment to process all of this. Rose was typical Rose today.”
Blakely laughed. “Which means she was probably harder on you than her. Ha. All right, you two, have fun. It was so good to meet you, Jordyn!”
/>
“You too!”
“Love you, B,” Blakely said.
“Love you too, little B,” Beckett said back like it was their routine.
They nicknamed each other “B”? How stinking adorable was that?! And his words to his sister came so freely. For someone who didn’t want to love someone, or had shut out the possibility of love in his dating life, he sure didn’t hold back with his sister. Again, she supposed that was because they were the only immediate family each of them had left. Sure, they did have their Aunt Rose, but Rose had her own family too.
Thinking like this made her heart hurt. When she went back to Houston and this thing with Beckett officially ended, she didn’t have a twin or great aunt to lean on. She had no one.
Just like always, she was alone.
****
Back inside, Jordyn was quiet. Too quiet. He knew Aunt Rose could be a lot. As could Blakely. Blakely was a pistol. And Jordyn could be too, but nothing about Blakely was relaxed or at ease. Jordyn could go with the flow, something she’d probably had to learn to do her entire life because of her crappy mom. That was not Blakely at all. Blakely didn’t go with the flow; she made her own flow. Even if there was a perfectly fine flow that was much easier to follow. That was just his sister.
Jordyn was curled up on the couch with her Kindle on her lap while Beckett watched some college football, but he noticed she wasn’t turning the pages. Which meant she had to be in her head big time.
He turned down the volume on the game and turned to face her, hand on her shoulder, massaging it. “What’s wrong, Jordyn?”
She looked guilty, unable to deny there wasn’t anything wrong. “I just . . .” She paused, then shrugged dejectedly. “I feel lonely. You have Aunt Rose and Blakely, and they are super incredible women . . . . ”
“As are you,” he insisted in her hesitation.
She smiled and looked him in the eyes. “I just had a thought right after we talked to Blakely that once I finally do have to go back to Houston, you’ll have Blakely. She will be here over Christmas break. She will help you not miss me. And I . . . well, I don’t even have a cat. So it’s going to take some . . . getting used to?” She sighed in defeat. “No. I won’t sugarcoat it . . . . It’s going to suck.”
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