At the mention of her name, Trey winced. He had almost completely pushed her out of his mind. Almost.
“Never mind. Let’s forget about it.” Beau set his pool stick down and slapped his brother on the back. “Let’s grab another round and sit for a while.”
Annoyed, Trey followed. “I don’t want a lecture.”
“You’re not going to get one,” Beau assured him and signaled the bartender. He ordered a round of tequila, which Trey immediately balked at.
“Should you really be drinking during the season?”
“No. But the season’s almost over and I don’t much give a shit. Now drink up.”
Eventually, Trey gave in. Then he gave in again. He knew he was probably in trouble by the fourth round but at that point, he felt just good enough not to give a shit.
“You’re Beau Callahan, aren’t you?”
Trey looked up to see a girl at their table who looked to be about thirteen, but obviously wasn’t if she was in a bar. She was a cute, little thing with blonde hair and big, round brown eyes. The funny thing was, she was looking at Trey—not Beau.
He picked up another shot and indicated his brother. “He is.”
The girl, obviously embarrassed, looked from one brother to the other. Then she shrugged. “You guys looking for a little fun tonight? There’s a party I know about.”
“Oh yeah?” Beau looked at Trey. “What do you think, big brother? You up for a party?”
He wasn’t, but he shrugged his shoulders anyway. “Just hit me again.”
Beau signaled for another round of shots. “How old are you?” he asked the girl, obviously having the same impression of her as Trey did.
“Twenty-two. I just turned today. My name’s Mandy.”
Twenty-two. Trey rolled his eyes.
Beau just smiled. “Is that right?”
“Yep. I just moved here from Wisconsin. I’m going to be an actress.”
“I’ll bet you are. Why don’t you give me and my brother a minute and we’ll let you know about that party?”
“Okay, but can I at least have your autograph? My little brother back home loves you.”
Beau obliged her by signing a napkin. When she was gone, Trey shook his head. “Rough life you’ve got here, little brother. How do you do it?”
“I’m not complaining,” Beau said, taking a sip of his beer. “You about done with the tequila?”
“Nope.” Trey signaled for another and Beau shrugged his shoulders. “It’s your funeral.”
“Don’t start on me right now. I’m not going to any freaking party, by the way.”
“She was pretty cute, dude. She obviously liked you better than me.”
“She thought I was you,” Trey reminded him.
Beau grinned. “She looked a little disappointed when she found out I’m me.”
Even Trey had to smile at that. “She did, didn’t she?”
They sat in silence for a minute. “All that booze isn’t going to change the facts you know.”
Trey glowered at his brother. “Don’t lecture me. You promised.”
“I didn’t promise anything. I just said I wouldn’t. I lied.”
Trey cursed and stared into his beer.
“What gives, dude? You were so into her. I mean that is why you’re all screwed up right now, I’m assuming.”
“I don’t want to talk about her.”
Beau stared at his brother, intently. “Why are you running, Trey?”
“I’m not running anywhere. You asked me to come out here.”
“That’s not what I meant. I’m talking about Kylie Rhodes. I know you’re in love with her. You know you’re in love with her. Hell, everyone knows you’re in love with her. So what gives?”
“I’m not in love with anyone,” Trey lied, reaching for Beau’s beer and taking a long swig.
“She’s a great girl from what I’ve heard. Why are you hell-bent on effing this up for yourself?”
“I’m not effing up anything.” Trey stood up and grimaced when the room seemed to get fuzzy. He headed for the door, intent on getting some air. Instead, he got waylaid by Mandy.
“Where are you going, Trey? I thought we were all going to go to a party.”
“No, thanks,” he said, brushing past her.
“Mandy, get your ass over here and get me a beer!” a large man from a corner table hollered at her.
“Go to hell, Sam!” Mandy yelled back and followed Trey. “I’ll buy you a beer. We can sit and talk if you want.”
He looked down at her, briefly. She was cute, he decided. She reminded him a little of Kylie, in a way. But the last thing he needed was another female entanglement.
“I asked for my beer!” The person she’d called Sam walked over and grabbed her by the arm. “Why are you messing with this pretty boy sonofabitch?” The guy proceeded to drop a few racial slurs Trey’s way, his beady eyes full of disrespectful amusement.
Trey saw red before he could stop himself. He’d been spoiling for a fight all night and he figured this guy was as good a guy as any to take his frustrations out on. He folded his arms over his chest and stared up at the bastard, suddenly itching for a fight. “Are you fucking kidding me? Why don’t you back off, shithead?”
“Trey,” Beau said in warning, coming up behind him. “Let’s go.”
“Sam wants a beer,” Trey said, reaching for the nearest beer he could find, which happened to be on a nearby table. Without thinking, he tossed the beer straight into Sam’s face. He heard his brother curse. Had he not drank so much alcohol, he might have seen a large, meaty fist coming straight for his face. It connected with his jaw and he went backward into Beau, who caught him before he hit the floor. Then all hell broke loose.
Beau let out a curse two hours later, as he helped Trey through the door to his hotel room. He gave his brother a little bit of a shove and managed to land him on the couch face down. And that was it for Trey. He was out for the count. Cursing again, Beau walked over and reached for Trey’s boots, tugging them off and dropping them to the floor. He grabbed a blanket from the linen closet and tossed it over him. Then he watched as his big brother slept away his pain.
The sight of Trey in this condition ate at Beau. Trey had been his hero from the time he was old enough to say his brother’s name. He’d followed him around relentlessly when they were young. When they were older and in school, they’d been best friends. That is until Shayna had stepped into the picture. That pathetic bitch had torn his brother’s life apart. Trey could have had any woman he’d wanted and he’d chosen her. It infuriated Beau.
Sighing, he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and tossed it onto the table along with his cell phone. He looked over at his brother again, then reached for his phone and pushed a button.
“Yeah?” Dusty answered a moment later.
“He’s here,” Beau said, leaning back against the sofa table. “I just thought you should know.”
Dusty let out a sigh. “I figured he’d get to you sooner or later. How is he?”
“Not good,” Beau said, honestly. “Some of it’s my fault. I let him have tequila. You know how well he does with that. He ended up in a bar fight. Only reason he isn’t in jail is because my wallet is a thousand dollars slimmer and he happened to have his badge on him.”
Dusty swore. “You think I should come out there?”
“Nah, I got him covered. I’m going to have a talk with him in the morning. Trey and I understand each other pretty good.” Beau grinned, in spite of his irritation. “He picked the biggest, meatiest fucker in the bar to get in a fight with.”
Dusty snickered at that. “He always does. Call me tomorrow.”
Beau hung up a minute later. He glanced in the mirror and noticed the bruise beginning to mar his cheek. Frowning, he shook his head and headed for bed.
Trey could hear noise around him, but willed his eyes to stay shut, in the hopes of calming the resident pounding inside his skull.
“Rise and
shine, sleeping beauty,” Beau’s voice finally said. He nudged Trey’s feet, which were hanging over the side of the couch. Trey opened one eye and then shut it again.
“I have to be out of here in an hour, bro. I’ve got a plane to catch. It’s a travel day.”
Trey groaned and forced himself to turn over. “Shit, I feel like I’ve been hit with a two by four.”
“You were. His name was Sam.”
Trey met his brother’s gaze and grimaced. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Beau said, grinning. “Guy was a dick. He called you a few choice names. Inappropriate ones.”
Trey frowned.
“He’s probably sorry now,” Beau assured him, offering him a cup of coffee. He took the java without question.
“You’re the one who started the tequila.” Trey sat up, wincing. His head was pounding.
“Yeah, well, live and learn. I’m not faulting you for smacking the shit out of the asshole. He had it coming. Nobody likes racial slurs—especially when they’re inaccurate. So what are you going to do now?”
“Kill myself. My head is about to explode.”
Beau leaned back against the arm of the couch and gave Trey a solemn gaze. “I’m serious, dude.”
Trey shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“We need to talk, bro.” Beau walked over and sat down on the chair next to the couch. “I’ve always idolized the ground you walk on, man. But I have to say you’re pretty pathetic these days. You’re doing nothing but going around screwing things up for yourself.”
“I’m—” Trey began
“Hear me out,” Beau said, cutting him off. “I love you, dude. But I’m not going to watch you fuck the rest of your life up. So this is how it needs to be. You need to get your shit together. Clean yourself up, get a haircut and shave. And then get your ass to Montana, where you belong.”
Trey didn’t know what to say to that. He knew he’d caused trouble the night before. He seemed to be spoiling for fights a lot lately. But go to Montana? He shook his head. “It’s too late for that.”
“You still have a shot. She loves you. That leaves the door open for correction. But you cannot screw around anymore. She’s a woman and women don’t like to be kept waiting.”
Trey swallowed another gulp of coffee, his eyes finally clearing up a little. “Montana is a long way from Arizona.”
“Your point?” Beau snapped.
“My point is that we wouldn’t see each other often enough. Not unless she moves to Arizona.”
“Or unless you move to Montana,” Beau pointed out, giving his brother an even stare.
“You think I should move to Montana? What the hell, Beau?”
“What do you have going for you in Callahan, Trey? Besides your job, I mean.”
“Mamaw and Mama,” Trey pointed out. “And all you guys.”
Beau didn’t hesitate. “I’m never there. Mamaw and Mama can visit you and you can visit them. Dusty and Faye will be just fine on their own and you know as well as I do that Joey doesn’t need you there and neither does Elle. It’s time to live your own life, man. Start over. Get away from Shayna and all the bad memories.”
Trey swore. Moving to Montana had never crossed his mind. Arizona was his home. Even when he had lived in California, he’d thought of Arizona as his home.
“You’re not moving off the continent,” Beau reminded him. “It’s a few states away. Thirteen hours.”
Thirteen hours. Trey thought that over. “What would I do there?”
“I don’t know,” Beau said, clearly growing aggravated. “You’ll think of something. There are police departments in Montana. You can be a cop there just as easily as you can be one in Arizona.”
He supposed that was true enough. Sitting up, he set his empty coffee cup down on the table. “What if I can’t make her happy?” he finally asked, trying to block out Shayna’s judgmental eyes and the remnants of their failed marriage from in his mind.
“Kylie’s not Shayna. You can’t forget that. You do and it will kill whatever chance you have with her. I would think you’d have that figured out by now.”
Trey sighed, figuring Beau was right. All this time, he had given Kylie very little credit for being someone completely opposite from his ex-wife.
“I’m not real good at groveling,” he finally admitted, forcing himself to stand up. “I don’t even know where to start.”
Beau swore. “Do I have to think of everything for you? Clean yourself up,” he said the words slowly. “Get a freaking haircut, shave. Whatever you do, do not go there empty-handed. Bring flowers—lots of them.”
An hour later, when Trey was gone, Beau crossed the room and grabbed his cell phone. He connected his call and waited. Faye answered on the first ring.
“If you want to find Trey, wait a day or two and look for him in Montana.” He waited until he heard her joyous shriek and then he grinned and disconnected the phone.
26
Kylie managed to get through the second week of school, unscathed. She had to admit she enjoyed her class. They were a great bunch of first graders, energetic and ready to learn. That always made her job more fun.
Going through a pile of papers on her desk, she went to work organizing. She had been doing a lot of that lately. It had kept her mind off Trey. Her entire house was practically alphabetized.
Hearing a knock on her classroom door, she looked up. Kate was at the threshold, Richard on her heels.
“What are you doing here? Day off?” she asked him, smiling.
“Kate said it was margarita night, so here I am.” Richard smiled back. “Get your stuff and let’s go.”
“Guys it’s barely three,” Kylie pointed out.
“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” Kate said. “Come on.”
Kylie stared at the pile of work left on her desk. “I’m a little busy.”
“You’re making yourself busy,” Kate corrected. “Now come on. Happy Hour starts at three.”
Kylie gave up and stood. She grabbed her bag and followed them out into the parking lot. She wasn’t really in the mood for margaritas and started to tell them so. Kate’s voice interrupted her.
“Holy shit…”
Kylie frowned and followed Kate’s wide-eyed gaze. It stopped in the front row of the parking lot, where her jeep was parked. Next to it, was Trey’s bike. He was leaning against the seat as though it was perfectly natural for him to be there, a bundle of some kind of flowers in his hands. He was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. Weariness made her stop walking and just stare at him.
“Is that him?” Kate whispered, her eyes still wide.
Kylie could only nod.
“For God’s sake, Kylie, if you don’t jump into his arms, I will!” Kate gave her a shove.
Kylie walked closer and he straightened. A few more steps and they were only a couple of feet apart. He reached up and removed his sunglasses.
“How’s it going, Montana?”
She stared at him dumbly for another few seconds. “You didn’t call.”
He mulled her words over and then shrugged. “I dropped my phone in some water and haven’t gotten around to replacing it yet.”
Remembering just how his phone had gotten wet, she couldn’t help but smile halfway. “It’s been weeks, Sheriff. How have you been conducting police business without a phone?”
“I haven’t,” he finally answered. “I took a bit of a road trip.” He lifted the flowers toward her. “These are for you.”
They were a nice bundle of daisies. She took them, still dumbfounded. She was literally speechless.
“I know Mamaw said you like flowers so…..” His voice broke off. He was obviously waiting for her to say something.
“Thank you,” was all that came out.
“You’re welcome.” He leaned back against his bike again. “So this is where you work?”
She followed his gaze to the building behind her and eventually nodded. “How did you kno
w where it was at?”
“I stopped by your mom’s house first. Faye gave me the address.”
“You saw my mom?”
“And your dad.” He looked behind her to where Kate and Richard were both watching their exchange with interest. “You look like you have plans. I should have called.”
“She doesn’t,” Kate said quickly. “Have plans I mean. We were just leaving.”
“We were?” Richard asked. Kate elbowed him and nearly dragged him in the opposite direction. She mouthed call me later to Kylie.
“I’m confused,” Kylie finally said, looking up at him again. “You didn’t even call.”
“I know,” he said, quietly. “I’m sorry about that. I’ve been working some stuff out.” He stepped back so she could get to her jeep and set her things inside on the passenger seat. Then she turned back to him.
“Faye said you took off.”
“I spent a little time with Beau on the road—did some thinking.”
So he had been with his brother. “Did it help?”
“Beau’s pretty good at putting things in perspective.”
She waited for him to say more.
“I don’t have much to offer you at this point,” he began, uneasily. “And I don’t know how you feel about giving me another chance but I want to make things up to you.”
“I can’t move to Arizona, Trey. Not right now. Are you ready for that kind of long distance relationship?” She didn’t think he was, but she waited for his answer.
“No,” he finally said, firmly.
The word slapped her in the face. “Then why are you here? I don’t think I can go through walking away from you again.” Her eyes filled with tears before she could stop them. “Damn you, I did this once already.”
“You’re not getting it, Kylie. Long distance relationships aren’t my thing. That’s why I want to move here—with you.”
She stared at him, dumbly. He wanted to move here? He’d never been here before in his life. How could he want to move here?
“I don’t know how you feel about that,” he went on. “But hopefully you’re comfortable enough with it because I already quit my job.”
“You resigned as sheriff?”
After the Rain (The Callahans) Page 20