“Why don’t they form two rows? Seems like you’d get through this nightmare faster.” They were still at least eleven cars back from the front of the line.
“That’s the emergency lane. It’s against the rules to be in it.”
Before the last words were out of Hailey’s mouth, a baby blue Mercedes pulled up beside her in the illegal emergency lane. The passenger window slid down, revealing a blonde with her hair in a high ponytail. Her makeup was flawless, and she waved a perfectly manicured hand at them. “Hailey, will you be a dear, and let me go in front of you? You know how Henry gets if I’m late, and my nail appointment ran over today.”
Beau looked from Carpool Barbie to the badass in the driver’s seat. No way she’d let this woman cut in front of her.
“Sure, Marla. Go ahead.”
What? He checked to make sure zombies weren’t forming on the periphery of the school grounds because surely this signaled the beginning of the apocalypse.
“Thanks, girl! You’re the best.” She put both hands on the wheel, then turned back to Hailey. “Oh, before I forget, can I count on you for cleanup duty after the first graders’ paint-a-thon?”
Hailey had her head turned slightly away from him, but he could still see her smile was as fake as Marla’s breasts. “Happy to.”
Marla pointed her finger at Hailey. “Like I said, the best. Thanks.” She waved, then maneuvered her car in front of theirs. The badass woman beside him gave Marla a finger wave.
“What kind of crazy hell is going on with you?” The words shot out of his mouth. He couldn’t help it.
“What?” The crease between her eyes indicated that she was genuinely clueless. How was that possible?
He pointed to Marla’s car. “That, and the car before. How could you just let them cut in line like that? And what’s with the plastic smiles and…finger waving? In all the time I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you finger wave.”
She pushed her hair from her face with her slender hand. “Marla’s son gets very upset if she’s not at the front of the line.” She gave him that same one-shoulder shrug. “Like I said, it’s not a big deal.”
“Didn’t you say that Lottie doesn’t like it when you’re late?”
The cars inched forward. “Yes, but I’m right here, what does it matter if I’m the eleventh or the twelfth car? It’s a small price to pay for peace.” She murmured the last sentence, but he heard her.
Peace. What was she talking about? Another thought hit him. “Isn’t Lottie in the fourth grade?”
She glanced over at him. “Yes, why?”
“Then why did you say you’d be in charge of cleanup for the first grade’s paint-a-thon? Which sounds terrible, by the way.”
“Marla’s the PTO president.”
He must’ve had a confused look on his face. Why wouldn’t he? This whole thing was like stepping into the twilight zone.
“Parent Teacher Organization,” she explained. “Anyway, they always have trouble getting volunteers because so many parents work. I don’t mind doing my part.”
“You have a job. And I bet it’s a harder job than most people have. Doesn’t seem like they respect what you do.”
She waved away his words. “No, that’s not it. I work at night, mostly. So I’m available during the day.”
He might’ve believed all of that if she hadn’t sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as him.
“There’s Lottie.” She pointed to the front of the school.
“Why is she standing like that?” This kid didn’t look like the same child who’d conned him into taking her to the park. She stood off to the side, by herself, and she had the same hunched posture as her mother.
“What do you mean? She’s standing like a normal person.” But the defensiveness in her tone told him she knew exactly what he was talking about.
They pulled up, and a woman with a lanyard on opened the back door.
“Beau!” Lottie yelled, and ran toward the vehicle, her demeanor changing immediately.
He grabbed Walter’s collar. “Hey, gal.”
“Walter!” Lottie climbed in and buckled into her booster seat. “Come here, little dog,” she said in a baby voice that usually annoyed Beau, but coming from her was the cutest thing he’d ever heard.
Hailey turned in her seat so she could see the woman holding the door. “Hello, Ms. Phillips, how was the day?”
“We had a great day, didn’t we, Lottie?”
“Yes.” One word seemed to be all the kid could get out around Walter’s licks and her giggles.
Ms. Phillips started to close the door then stopped. “Oh, Hailey. I almost forgot. I put the things you’ll need for that project you agreed to do in Lottie’s backpack. You’re really saving the fourth-grade teacher’s bacon by cutting out all those snowflakes.”
“Sure.” Hailey glanced at him then looked back at the teacher. “Not a problem.”
“Remember, we need three per child, and if you could have them to us by Friday, that would be awesome.” Ms. Phillips closed the door and glanced in the front window. “Oh.” She smoothed her hair from her face and gave him the smile. The one that said she was totally available. “I’m Dee Phillips.”
“Beau Callen.”
“Well, we better get going.” Hailey took her foot off the brake. “See you tomorrow, Ms. Phillips.”
“Teachers didn’t look like her when I was in school.” A brow waggle should be enough to set the bait. If Hailey didn’t take it, then he was rushing her to the hospital.
“Shut up.” There was enough disdain in those two words to knock him out of the vehicle.
He released the breath he’d been holding. Thank God, all was right with the world again.
“Mom, come play with us.” Lottie dangled upside down on the monkey bars.
Beau hung by his arms a few rungs down from her daughter. “Yeah, come play, Mom.”
The tan patch of skin exposed from his shirt riding up, and the golden trail of hair that disappeared below the waistband of his jeans, was enough motivation for Hailey to stay far away. Plus, she had work to do. That was the good and bad thing about smartphones. “You guys go ahead. I’ve got some things to take care of.”
“See, I told you she wouldn’t. She always has to work,” Lottie whispered. The kid was the worst whisperer in the world.
Guilt reared up and kicked her in the stomach.
That wasn’t true. She played with Lottie. Okay, she may not be one of those moms who gets down on the floor and plays dolls or tea party, but she did stuff. She couldn’t help that between the bar, the house, and all her volunteer duties, there just weren’t enough hours in the day to stop and play all the time.
She was only here today to make sure Beau wasn’t a serial killer. Which of course he wasn’t. But you could never be too careful.
She glanced up to see Beau standing next to where Lottie was hanging upside down with her knees wrapped around the bar. “Hold on with your arms and flip your legs through.”
“I’m scared.” Lottie’s little voice was weak and tinny.
“You’ve got this.” He placed his hand on her back. “I’m right here.”
“No, I don’t got this,” Lottie whined.
Hailey stood to stop Beau from pressuring her daughter into doing something she wasn’t comfortable doing. “She doesn’t—”
He held his hand up to Hailey to ward her off. “Yes, you do.”
Like hell. She slid her phone in her pocket and headed to the monkey bars.
“You promise?” Lottie asked.
“I promise. I wouldn’t ask you to do it if I didn’t think you could. On the count of three. One. Two. Three.”
Hailey’s heart did a skip, stall, skip thing when Lottie threaded her legs through the hole between the bars and flipped off the piece of equipment. The stunned look on the kid’s face when she landed on her feet was priceless.
The little acrobat whooped and jumped up and down. “I did it
! I did it! I did it!”
Beau held his hand up, and she slapped it. “I never doubted you.”
“Mom, did you see? I did it!”
“I did see. Awesome job.”
The proud girl continued to bounce around, making Walter bark and hop with her. It was a weird sort of dance. Then she threw her arms around Beau’s waist. “Thank you, Beau.”
“No problem, Lil’ Bit.”
Lottie grabbed Walter’s ball off the ground. “Come on Walter, let’s throw the ball.” The dog woofed and the two ran off to the open area next to the playground.
Hailey sat on the closest bench, still a little awestruck at what Beau had gotten her child to do.
The hero of the hour sat down next to her. “Go ahead.”
“And what?”
“Yell at me for making her do something dangerous.” He grabbed the bill of his ball cap, removed it, and wiped his forehead with the back of his forearm.
“I wasn’t—”
“It’s just that she told me how the kids at school made fun of her for being too scared to flip off the bars.” He shrugged and replaced his cap. “I figured it was safe with me standing there.”
“Kids are making fun of her?” She turned to see his profile as he watched the game of fetch. “She hasn’t said anything to me about that.”
He glanced down at her. “Maybe she didn’t want to worry you. It didn’t sound like she was too upset about it, mostly mad.”
Lottie’s squeals of glee drew their attention, and they both laughed as Walter ran from her with the ball in his mouth.
Beau stretched his long legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankle. His arms extended along the back of the bench. “That Piper kid is the ringleader, according to Lottie.”
Hailey pulled her legs onto the bench and crisscrossed them. “Yeah, she’s a real piece of work, and as I’ve said, Derek and Ariel are no help.” The cord that squeezed her chest every time she thought about Derek, Ariel, and Piper yanked tighter. “Short of moving away, I’m not sure what I can do other than teach her to deal with it.”
“No offense, but after what I saw today, I’m not sure you’re the best person to teach her how to handle bullying.”
The words he carelessly threw out wrenched her gaze toward him. “I do take offense. You don’t know me well enough to make that kind of judgment.” And he didn’t. He hadn’t lived the last almost ten years in her shoes. The effort it took to try and get back into the good graces of the town was exhausting. And she wasn’t doing it for her. It was for Lottie.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just that I saw you turn into someone I didn’t know right before my eyes.”
Her arms went across her chest to try and protect her heart from the truth he spoke. “If I have to swallow my pride a little to make sure my kid doesn’t go through what I went through, then I’ll do it all day and twice on Sundays.” She kicked her legs out and stood. “We should go.”
He took her hand, and fire-hot shivers shot up her arm. “Wait.” His other hand joined the first, and for a moment he concentrated on the spot where they touched. When he raised his eyes to hers, there was heat there, but also anger. “I was out of line, but I know people haven’t and don’t treat you well. It pisses me off that anyone would be mean to you or Lottie.”
She extracted her hand from his. “I’d go through it a hundred times if it meant I get Lottie.” She shrugged and watched the little girl who was her heart running around. “It’s a small price to pay.” When he didn’t say anything, she glanced down at him. He studied her like her life’s story was written on the skin that covered her bones. “What?”
“You’re a great mom. As a product of a couple of people who couldn’t be bothered to put their son first, you’re kind of my hero.”
Against her will and better judgment, her heart soaked in his praise and mended some of the long-cracked pieces. She knew Charlie, Hank, Scarlett, and Luanne supported her, but somehow his validation seemed different from theirs. Too close. Too intimate. Too dangerous. “Thank you.” She turned her back on his probing gaze.
Those emerald depths held nothing but heartache. She should know—she’d lived a lifetime of heartache in the last ten years.
Chapter Thirteen
Beau entered Honey Child Records through the front door. A bouquet of perfume hit him before his eyes adapted to the dimness of the lobby. What was going on? When his pupils adjusted, he noticed the waiting area was full of women. He tipped his ball cap. “Ladies.”
“Jack told me to send you straight back when you got here,” the receptionist, Randi, told him.
“Thanks.” He tilted his head toward the group of females sitting across the room from them and raised his brows in question.
The woman’s lips pursed like she was stifling a smile.
“You’re cagey, Randi.”
“Go find Jack, Luanne, and Gavin.”
The three were in Jack’s office along with a scruffy older guy with a barrel chest who looked like he used to play defensive tackle for somebody. Beau took the empty chair across from Jack’s desk, in between Luanne and Gavin. “It looks like the green room for The Bachelor out there.”
The men chuckled.
Luanne shook her head. “Not even close.”
“Those are the vocalists we’re auditioning to be your backup singer today.” Jack straightened a stack of folders.
“It might be too soon, guys. I’m still tryin’ to get over what happened last weekend.” He may act nonchalant about the events that busted his band apart, but Dawn’s escapades wouldn’t soon be forgotten.
Luanne gave him one of her looks. The kind that told him to shut the hell up. “I refuse to let you lose momentum. Also, if you’re going to play at Boon’s, then you need a female backup singer.”
“She’s right.” Gavin adjusted the leather bracelets on his wrist. “So dial it down, stud.”
Beau laughed and held his arms out to the side. “There’s no dialing this down, dude.”
Gavin kicked Beau’s chair. “Asshole.” The word had heat behind it, but Gavin was grinning like a proud papa.
“If you two are done, we should get this started. But first, Beau, I want to introduce you to Rusty Jones. Rusty, this arrogant asshole is Beau Callen.”
Beau stood and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Rusty.”
“You too, Beau. I hear good things about you.”
“Then somebody’s been lying to you.”
The older man laughed and resumed his spot against the wall.
“Beau, Rusty is your new road manager. He’ll also be handling sound until we can find someone else for that job.”
Uh-oh, this was his new keeper. Fine. He reminded himself what he wanted and why, and figured Rusty was as good a babysitter as any. “Glad to have you as part of the team, Rusty.” He cut a glance at Gavin, who only nodded his head.
“Alright, now that we have that out of the way…” Jack hit the intercom button on the phone on his desk. “Randi, will you send back the first applicant?”
Beau stood, but the other three remained seated. “Aren’t we going over to the recording booth?”
“No,” they all said together.
He glanced around. “We’re going to do this in here? Should I get my guitar?”
Gavin leaned back in his chair, enjoying all this a little too much judging by the look on his face. “This part of the audition is to see if they can be in the same room with you without coming on to you, and to see if you can resist flirting like it was your damn job.”
Beau splayed his fingers over his hips. “Y’all are kidding, right?”
“Nope.” Jack steepled his fingers in front of his mouth. “We’re serious as a heart attack.”
Luanne put her hand on his arm. “Beau, you need to trust us.”
He threw his hands up in the air. “Fine, but seeing if I can resist flirting is a waste of time. I’m a grown-ass man, and I can control myself.�
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There was a knock on the door, and a leggy blonde moved into the room. A smile that communicated she wanted to eat him up with a spoon adorned her beautiful face.
Gavin chuckled. “We’ll see.”
Jack groaned.
Luanne sighed.
And Beau prepared to have his first piece of humble pie.
It wouldn’t be his last.
Hailey’s hand ached from cutting all those damn snowflakes. Her kitchen table was full of patterns still left to do, and she knew she’d have arthritis by the time she completed her latest volunteer project.
Her front door opened and closed. “Yoohoo,” May called from the front room.
“In here.”
May floated into the kitchen, her knitting bag and purse hung over one arm and a bag of groceries in her other hand. Hailey jumped up. “Here, let me help you with that.”
“I’ve got it. Just take my purse and knitting.” The older woman held her arm out to Hailey. Once Hailey removed the two bags, her babysitter and friend put the grocery sack on the counter. “Woo, that was a workout.”
Hailey resumed her place at the kitchen table where scraps of white paper littered the floor. “I told you I had leftovers in the fridge, and you didn’t have to make anything.”
“And I told you that I promised Lottie that if she made a hundred on her spelling test, I’d teach her to make my mama’s chicken and dumplings.” May unloaded the items she needed for dinner from the bag. “And I keep my promises.”
Hailey grinned at her. “Yes, you do.”
May surveyed Hailey’s workspace. “Tell me you didn’t take on another one of those horrible projects.”
Scissors in one hand and a snowflake in the other, Hailey sighed. “Wish I could.”
May put the kettle on, then set out two cups and draped two tea bags over the side. One hand on the counter, her fist went to her hip. “Why do you keep doing these crappy jobs?” She held her hand up. “Wait, don’t tell me. I know.”
Running After a Heartbreaker (Brides on the Run #4) Page 10