If only just one of the many girls he’d dated had made him feel even half what he felt for Rebekka … but they’d all fallen short in one way or another.
Ethan burst from the kitchen and looked around. He spotted his sister but said nothing before he headed toward Haley’s private quarters.
Bekka glanced up from her work and shook her head. “I told him she left.”
“To where? Did she leave in her truck?” Stephen headed for Bekka’s table and slowly took the chair across from her, hoping she’d not order him to leave. So far, she continued to ignore him.
He stared a long moment at his snack, trying to build up the courage to probe into her aloof behavior.
Ethan appeared again and marched over to their table, hands perched on his hips. “Tell me what happened. She never leaves dirty dishes in the sink. That’s one of her pet peeves. And she left the smoker unattended. Not to mention she hasn’t answered any of my calls or texts.”
“She left her phone on the table.” Bekka yanked the earbuds from her ears with a mocking grin. “I think it’s cute that she has you listed as Handsome Yankee on her phone.”
His angry expression didn’t waver. “Just tell me what happened.”
“I don’t know. We were having tea and chatting. She asked me about something and I—” Her gaze darted toward Stephen.
The chunk of cookie he chewed on shot down his throat with his sharp intake of breath. He coughed, trying to dislodge it.
“I told her to not be… ridiculous. She must have overheard you boneheads talking the other night. I couldn’t figure out at first what she meant when she said that seemed to be the popular opinion around here lately.”
Stephen’s gut lurched. He’d just been smarting off to Ethan. Had she overheard his remark? She must hate him. Well, Haley could join the hater’s fan club then. Seemed to be a growing membership from what he could tell.
“Is that what you both think of her?” Ethan’s arms folded across his chest as he stared down at his sister.
“No,” Stephen said at the same time as Bekka. She finally looked at him before she added. “I adore her. Really. I just reacted to something silly she said. I didn’t mean anything… rude.” Her dark gaze laser-beamed directly at him, practically drilling a hole in his guilt-ridden chest. “But if she did hear what he said the other evening, then I understand now why she stormed off.” Bekka gestured toward the window with a flick of her hand. “She headed toward the back yard with her dog. I’m sure she’ll be back in a while.”
Stephen’s teeth ground together, yet he said nothing in his defense. Yes, he’d called her that, but had only been joking with Ethan. In a way. The country bumpkin was not the kind of woman he’d always pictured his friend settling down with.
“What did she say?” Ethan asked.
Bekka squirmed in her seat. She shot a glance at Stephen, which he found strange, before she stammered, “None of your business, actually. When I see her, I’ll apologize. Though I think this whole discussion is senseless. Still, I’ll deal with it. It’s between me and her.”
“No,” Ethan shook his head causing a stray strand of silver-tinted hair to fall over his eye. “She and I… we’re a team now. What concerns one of us, concerns the other. Understand?”
Bekka didn’t reply as she stared at her brother in some silent exchange Stephen didn’t understand. Far as he was concerned, E-man was being a little overbearing. They weren’t even married yet, and he was already excessively protective of her. Man how his friend had changed in only a few short months.
Brushing the silver-streaked hair from his eyes, he blew out a short breath then turned for the patio door. “I’m going to find her. Be back later.”
“Hey,” Stephen called out. “Thought we were going to practice. Dude, you don’t need to baby her.”
Ethan whirled, his stormy eyes locked on Stephen. “Look, I appreciate you both coming here to work with me. But it’s your help I need, not your criticism. This is Haley’s home, and she has a lot on her plate right now trying to get her business started. She doesn’t need you two breezing in here with your attitudes while you take advantage of her hospitality.”
He pushed the glass door open with his back. “She’s a huge part of my life now. If you can’t appreciate how I feel, then…” He hesitated, staring down at his loafers. “I’d rather you go ahead and leave. I love you both, and I need you right now, but not if you’re going to cause trouble for us. Understood?”
He didn’t wait for their answers before he ducked outside and jogged toward the yard. Soon the tall beech and elm trees swallowed him.
Bekka buried her face in her hands with a loud sigh.
“He’ll find her.” Stephen popped another piece of cookie into his mouth. A cookie Haley baked. Delicious, but it turned to dust on his tongue, and he almost choked on it. “This is all my fault. Do you really think she overheard my stupid comment?”
Bekka gave a slow nod.
Stephen cursed which produced another scowl from Bekka.
“Sorry.” His shoulders sagged as he sank deeper into the chair. “I’ve not been much of a friend these past few months.”
She paused with one earbud in and the other dangling from her fingers. Her gray eyes focused on him instead of the screen. At least she wasn’t ignoring him now.
“Between ditching him in California and then taking the job in New York, I’m surprised he even bothered to invite me to come.” He set the uneaten cookie back on the napkin. “I mean, he urged me to take the orchestra gig, you know? Said that he’d decided to head in a new direction. Said he felt God was pointing him to do something different. Stupid me, I went and laughed at him. Told him I’d wait for him to come to his senses.”
Bekka unhooked the camera cable from the laptop. “Lucky he loves you so much. He’s never held a grudge for long.”
“What about you, Beks? You’ve been put out with me for a long time now. I’ve apologized over and over.” He reached out to grasp her hand.
“I know.” She moved out of his reach. “I’m not… I mean… everything is fine. I’m fine. But I need to get this video done for Ethan.”
“He said you were thinking of remaining here? Is that true?”
“I don’t know, yet. Still trying to figure that out.” She stacked her materials and tucked them into her satchel. “I’m going—”
“No, wait.” He started to reach out again to catch her arm, then stopped himself. “Please talk to me. I’ve been thinking about sticking around for a while, too. I hate how you keep trying to avoid me. We used to be great friends. And I know,” He muttered another curse under his breath wishing she would at least look at him when he talked to her. “I’m sorry I hurt you, Rebekka.”
She froze, her narrowed gaze widening, though she still seemed reluctant to look at him. At least she was still listening.
He plowed on, not wanting to miss this chance. “But come on and let’s face the truth. I’ve never been any good for you.”
She looked at him, brows furrowed. With what? Sadness? Compassion? Why wouldn’t she tell him what she was thinking?
“I still care for you, Beks, but you deserve so much better.”
Her face blushed a bright pink. She slammed the laptop closed. “You seem to be under the delusion I still have feelings for you. Talk about ridiculous.”
Ouch.
She actually laughed. A rather off-pitched, choking laugh that grated on him like coarse sand. “Like you think I’m interested in standing in the long line of women you’ve entertained. What a load of….” She shoved the computer into her bag.
“I’m working on that. I have changed. Even if you and Ethan can’t see it.”
“Oh really. Want to know what I think?” Her notebook went in next as she continued on without giving him a chance to answer. “I think you’re put out over Ethan finding someone he really cares about. Someone who truly makes him happy. That’s why you trashed Haley. Why you mocked him when he chose to
do something different with his life than the sick spiral you’ve allowed yourself to fall into.”
She jumped out of her seat so fast, her hip banged into the table, spilling his tea over the rim of the glass. He slammed the napkin on the liquid before it seeped off the table and into his lap. “Tell me what you really think, Rebekka.”
“I will, Stephen. I think you’re making excuses because you’re afraid to go after what you want. You cling to Ethan because he’s the only one who will tolerate you and your… your… abuse.”
“Abuse?” They were pranks. Stupid pranks, but not abuse.
“While you were in California? I heard about how you slipped him that drug so he’d,” She hooked her fingers in quotes, “‘have a good time.’ As if waking up surrounded by half-naked females is fun?
He had to make her understand. He’d never intended any of that to happen. “Honestly, Bekka….”
“The only truthful thing you’ve said so far is that you’ve been a crappy friend.” She jerked the straps of her bag up onto her shoulder.
He looked out the glass wall, not wanting to see her expression. All the greens and yellows outside turned into a hazy fog. As it stood, he used every ounce of reserve to keep his composure. What’d he do to deserve this verbal lashing?
“Stephan…,” Her voice turned almost tender. He dared a quick glance at her. She took a step backward. “What happened to you? Before you went to college, you had this big, tender heart, even if it had been shattered by your parents’ divorce. You swore you’d never be like your mother and look at you now.” She moved another step toward the stairs, but stopped and looked at him again. “I’m probably way out of line, but I’ve always been honest with you.”
Stephen forced himself to meet her gaze. His throat clamped close until he could barely breathe. There was the compassionate expression that had always mesmerized him.
“And so you have,” he whispered. Though he couldn’t remember another time that hurt as if he was being stabbed with a blunt knife.
“And so I have.” She hesitated only a second, then rushed for the stairs. Soon a door from above slammed and he was left alone.
As usual. Man, she hadn’t lost her touch in speaking her mind. Not. One. Little. Bit.
He gathered his uneaten snack and wiped the table of the spilt tea. With a curse, he felt at his empty breast pocket. He desperately needed a smoke, but had left the pack on the deck table. No, he needed a diversion. What had he expected from Bekka? She’d been avoiding him for some time. Now he knew why. His very presence seemed to disgust her.
Yet… there was still something. He knew her well enough to know that if she didn’t care, at least a little, then she wouldn’t have blown up at him like that.
He’d never have taken such a scolding like that from just anyone.
His phone beeped with an incoming message. Mallory wanting an answer. That was one thing he could change. No more random hookups. Especially after Bekka compared him to his mother. How had he allowed himself to sink so low?
He’d start by making amends to Ethan and Haley. The list grew as he pondered all the people he’d treated with callousness. But he could do this. He’d make himself into a new guy. A better guy. A guy… maybe a guy who deserved the title of Best Man at Ethan’s wedding.
Chapter Five
Haley jabbed the trowel into the dirt around the rose bush covered with a scattering of white buds. Tugging out the weeds, she threw them into the bucket. “I’m not ridiculous. Am I?” She sat back on her haunches and looked up at the bright cerulean sky. “If I am, You’d show me, right? I mean, I like to have fun, but I don’t want people thinking I’m stupid.”
A black streak ran across the yard. Wally, her sheepdog, loved to chase any birds daring to congregate on his grass. Since turning the garden room into a restaurant, he was no longer allowed to roam the house. But the farmland and creek belonged to him, and he protected his property with stern guardianship.
She sighed and dug out a few more stubborn roots, not really expecting an outright answer to her question.
At least when she let out her frustrations to the Lord, she felt a little better. Papop said God listened like a friend. Her grandfather used to enjoy playing gags on her, but he never joshed when it came to things about God. Never.
Papop left her all this land and the house wanting her to make something of her life. She’d worked hard since he’d passed away last autumn trying to do just that. Not everything had turned out like she’d first planned, but it was turning out pretty fine now if she thought so herself. The bed and breakfast was starting to get a few reservations. The weekend restaurant was booked every night from the time the doors opened until they closed. Especially on Saturdays when her handsome Yankee played his fiddle. Oops, or rather… violin. She cringed over how much he hated it when she called his Wilhelm a fiddle.
Haley bit back the smile tugging at her lips. Wally stopped at her side and gave her doggy kisses before he settled to rolling in the soft grass.
Yeah, everything was going peachy-keen. At least until that stuffed shirt Stephen Gaines showed up. Bekka was nice most of the time, though Haley found her somewhat sullen and quiet. Hard to draw the girl out of her tightly locked shell. Maybe in time.
Something was certainly rubbing their two visitors wrong. A burr lodged between them, even if they were old friends. The heated looks between those two earlier that morning were hard to mistake for anything except deeper feelings.
Say what they may, but it wasn’t her being ridiculous.
Haley stabbed the clotted soil, breaking loose the packed clumps from years of neglect. It was a miracle the roses and flowers were doing well at all, but they’d started to show signs of life, much to Haley’s relief. Maybe what Bekka needed was a chance to loosen up the clumps hardening her heart.
She wasn’t sure what that Stephen fella needed. Maybe some duct tape for his foul mouth?
A word popped into her mind. Kindness. She sat back on her bottom, crossed her long legs, and then idly tapped the shovel on her knee. Wally wriggled closer, begging for a belly rub. She obliged, loving the softness of his thick fur. Hadn’t she read something about being nice to the nasties? Well, not exactly worded that way.
She remembered because she’d chuckled at first when reading about turning the other cheek and giving your coat when someone asked for your shirt. Basically, going the extra mile with goodness instead of kicking them in the shin like they deserved.
Haley blew out a long breath. Why’d that passage have to come back at her right this moment? Like being slapped with an ol’ wet rag upside the face. Her glare shot up to the blue heavens. “You best not be telling me I need to be sweet to him. He’s a stinking polecat if I’ve ever seen one.”
Wally cocked his head, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.
“Well, he is,” she insisted. “This isn’t getting my work done, Walls. Go play. Shoo.” The dog reluctantly stood, shook himself, and then trotted off to explore the freshly turned earth.
Haley jabbed at a stubborn patch of Johnson grass, wrapping the long root around her hand before it finally disengaged. This was the last bed she needed to clear of weeds. Once she’d turned the rich dark earth, Ethan usually helped her lay out a layer of mulch. She glanced over her shoulder to what was once Memaw’s garden, now overgrown with tall weeds and who knew what else. Haley had hoped to grow some of her own vegetables this year. Weariness pulled at her shoulders with all she had yet to accomplish before she had this place in proper working order. Would her peppers even thrive in this cooler climate? She intended to try if she could wrestle back the garden from the stubborn weeds.
With a bit of loving care, the grounds surrounding her family’s old Victorian finally resembled what she remembered from her childhood. Papop and Memaw had been the kindest people she’d ever known. They’d been her source of encouragement and strength when Mama went to Heaven. She’d been left with her delinquent younger half-sister Lexie a
nd step-father, Mad Maddix. And then he’d been sent off to jail for driving drunk and killing not only her mother but the passengers of the other car, as well.
If it weren’t for her grandparent’s frequent calls and help when she struggled between ranch jobs, Haley might not have kept trudging through those dark days.
Maybe this was God urging her to repay their gift to someone else? She glanced toward the house, practically blocked by the trees and bushes growing around the backyard pathways.
Stephen had a brooding, stormy haze clouding his face that she often wondered about. She’d only caught a few snippets about his past, and it didn’t seem like he came from roses and daisies either. Like her, maybe he’d had a thorny upbringing by parents who cared more about what they wanted than what their children needed.
“Hum, maybe.” She crushed a clod of dirt in her hands. “That it, Lord? Does the ol’ polecat need someone to show him a peck of kind-heartedness?” He had Ethan. That man had a big ol’ heart full of sweetness. And he understood better than anyone what Stephen had been through.
Still, can a person ever have too much kindness? Maybe not.
Maybe she just needed to shake away her hurt feelings like flea dip off a dog and act like she never heard what he’d said. “I can try again. I’ll be like sweetened tea on a blistering day. I can be nice when I wanna.” She grinned and snipped a dead branch off the rose bush. A few white and pink buds offered the promise of beautiful blooms in the next few days. She couldn’t wait.
“Hey, there you are.”
Haley turned to find her handsome Yankee coming toward her. Wally danced around his legs. Ethan shucked out of his jean jacket. He wore a snug blue t-shirt that hugged him in all the right places. He wasn’t buff like the ranch boys she grew up around, but he was trim in build, with graceful movements, probably from playing that instrument all the time. She smiled at the silver streaks still coloring his hair.
Raining Fools (Madison Creek Bed & Breakfast Book 2) Page 5