“Maybe check on A-D-D-I-E,” Chase said, spelling out his wife’s name so Isabelle wouldn’t understand. “Her feet were really sore so I made her go soak in the tub.”
“Ah, you’re such a good husband,” she teased, although it really was true.
“I try,” Chase said with a grin.
“You’re kind of a good brother too.”
His grin widened. “Kind of?”
“I don’t want you to get too big of an ego.”
“Too late. My wife pretty much keeps my ego inflated on a daily basis.” Isabelle wrapped her arms around Chase’s neck and snuggled in. “And look at all this daddy-love I get from my little girl.”
“Yeah, you got it goin’ on, bro,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll go check on your better half.”
Heading down the hall, Ashlee went downstairs to Chase’s old room and knocked on the bathroom door. “Hey, Chase sent me to check on you to make sure you didn’t drown.”
“Yeah, like that’s possible with this belly,” Addie said through the door. “Is Izzy okay?”
“Yeah, she’s snuggling her daddy.”
“Are you okay?” Addie asked.
Ashlee couldn’t burden her pregnant sister-in-law with any of her drama tonight. “Yeah. Things are good. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
The next morning, Ashlee woke up to a quiet house. Her daddy was already at work, and her mother was out walking with her exercise posse. She didn’t want to disturb Addie this morning, so she didn’t venture downstairs to check on the little family. She’d heard Isabelle up more than once last night and wanted to let them catch up on sleep.
Since she had an early birthday party this morning, she only had time to eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast. She hurried back upstairs to get ready for work. At least she was playing the part of the Snow Queen today, so she didn’t need to wash or curl her hair. The hairstyle for this character was a simple braid that hung over one shoulder.
When she left forty-five minutes later, Addie and Chase were still sleeping. Ashlee wanted to talk to her sister-in-law about everything that had gone down with Beau the day before. She was so tempted to text Taylin, but the last thing her sister needed was to hear all about her boy drama.
Just as she pulled into Princess Parties, she got a call from her boss. Ashlee hoped she hadn’t gotten the time wrong and that they were waiting for her again. It would be very embarrassing to get fired from this job.
She answered the phone, explaining that she was outside parking her car. Her boss was actually pleasantly surprised she’d arrived ten minutes early. Unfortunately, the birthday party had been canceled, and Ashlee was free for the day.
Her first thought was to drive out to Beau’s house to see him and maybe offer to help him clean or something. But she’d decided last night that the ball was in his court. He knew she had a date tonight, and if he didn’t like it then he needed to do something about it. If not, then she had no choice but to move on.
Before she backed out of her parking space, her phone chimed an incoming text from Addie.
Chase just told me you have a date with some guy from your dating app. I thought you told me everything was good? She added an emoji of a worried smiley face. Call me when you’re done with your party.
She typed in a reply that she was on her way home and would talk to her then.
Three little dots indicated Addie was typing in a reply, so Ashlee stayed in the parking lot.
We’re at Urgent care with Izzy. Can’t talk right now. Chase is sitting next to me. He’s still clueless about the fling goin’ on between you and Beau.
What fling?
Lol.
I’m totally serious. Beau is clueless too.
Addie’s only reply was a row of laughing emojis.
Setting her phone back in the cradle, Ashlee started for home. At the intersection, she changed her mind and headed in the opposite direction. Ten minutes later, she pulled up in front of Barbara Jacobsen’s condo.
She knew it might be a little weird to stop by for an unannounced visit, especially without Beau, but she didn’t want to go home to an empty house. Besides, she’d promised to teach some of the residents the ins and outs of social media. Perhaps a few of the women could come over right now. She pushed the doorbell, and Mrs. Jacobsen answered immediately.
“What a pleasant surprise!” she said, reaching out to give Ashlee a hug. “I was expecting the repair man.”
“Nope,” Ashlee said, stepping back from the hug. “It’s just me.” She heard something in the kitchen, and for a moment she wondered if Beau was here. While it would be nice to see him, he’d think she was stalking him. “I was on my way from work and thought I’d stop by to see when you want me to teach the social media class.”
“Is that Miss Ashlee?” a voice with an Irish accent called out from the kitchen.
“Hey, Miss Nora,” Ashlee called back.
“What perfect timing,” Nora said, coming out of the kitchen. She was carrying an open laptop. “Barbara was goin’ to help me pick out my first date, but now that you’re here maybe you can help too.”
“Sure.”
“Come on in, sweetie,” Barbara said, motioning her inside. “Nora’s beside herself with joy. She has three men vying for her attention.”
“Wow,” Ashlee said, wiggling her eyebrows up and down. “That was fast.”
“Ah, go on with you now,” Nora said with a laugh, taking a seat in the middle of the couch. “I know it’s not much, but I didn’t expect even one wee bite.”
“Hopefully, they’ll be worth catching,” Barbara said, sitting down on one side of her friend.
Ashlee took the seat on Nora’s other side and leaned in. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Nora logged back into her computer, and her profile page blinked to life. “Mind you, none of the men are as handsome as my Leo, but all three of them have hair.”
Ashlee giggled. She’d seen a few pictures of Leo. The bald man was more cute than handsome. He’d also been at least two inches shorter than his wife.
They looked over all three of the profiles. Nora liked all of them and wanted to give each man a chance, so Ashlee showed her how to start a conversation with them. Ideally, Miss Nora would get to know the men better before deciding to have a face-to-face.
“Are you certain you don’t want to set up a profile, Miss Barbara?” Ashlee asked. She could tell Miss Barbara was intrigued by the whole process.
“Maybe, but I’m still thinking about it.” She held up her phone and stood up. “The appliance repairmen texted me to reschedule for tomorrow. If you’re not too busy, we could wander over to the clubhouse to see if any of the women who wanted to learn more about social media are available.”
“Sure.” Ashlee stood up and checked her phone for any missed messages. Still nothing from Kade. Or Beau. “I’m free for the next few hours.”
The three of them walked to the commons, while Nora questioned Ashlee about getting a smart phone. She wanted to have access to her email so she didn’t miss a potential date.
Since there was supposed to be an art activity starting soon, the room was filled with men and women. Ashlee followed her companions to a table near the back where she recognized some of the women from the day before. Before they made it across the floor, the director walked in and got everyone’s attention.
“I’m afraid our activity for today has been cancelled.” The woman looked slightly panicked by all the verbal complaints coming from her audience. “Rest assured, we are working hard with the new board of directors. We hope to have all the kinks worked out by next week.”
The murmuring grew louder. Miss Barbara leaned near Ashlee and whispered, “Do you mind if I volunteer you to teach the social media class right now?”
“No,” Ashlee said. “But I’m not sure it will appease the crowd. They seem pretty upset.”
They set out on a course for the director, and Ashlee was introduced to Miss Paulette. The wom
an was thrilled with the idea, especially when she learned Ashlee was volunteering and didn’t want to be paid.
Winging it, Ashlee stood up in front of everyone and introduced herself. She had no idea how successful the class would be with so many people. Originally, it had only been about six or seven. Now she had more than twenty.
She ended up having a lot of fun, and the next two hours went by quickly. Some of the residents caught on fast. Others… were definitely technologically challenged. It didn’t help that most of them didn’t have the right devices. She made a reminder on her phone to see about finding a representative from one of the cell providers that might be willing to come to the center. She also promised to print up a step-by-step process on how to post on Facebook from a computer or cell phone for those who already had the right equipment.
“Please come back again,” Miss Paulette said hopefully. “This was very informative.” She held up her smart phone. “I even learned a thing or two today.”
“Since I only have my stovetop,” Miss Barbara said as they walked back toward her condo, “I’m making Brunswick stew for supper. We’d love to have you join us, if you don’t have any plans tonight.”
Ashlee wanted to know if Beau was the “us” she referred to or if it was Miss Nora. But then she remembered her date with Kade. He’d finally texted her with the details and was coming to pick her up at six-thirty.
“Thank you for the invite, but I’m afraid I have a date tonight.”
Miss Nora clapped with excitement and wanted to know who the lucky man was. Beau’s grandmother wasn’t quite as enthusiastic. She even looked troubled. “Maybe I should sign my grandson up for Flirt. I’d love for him to meet someone as beautiful and sweet as you, Ashlee.”
“Why go for an imitation?” Miss Nora chimed in. “He could have the real thing if he’d open his eyes.”
Both of the women turned to look at Ashlee. She wanted to hug and kiss on both women for their suggestion, but they needed to know what she was up against. “Beau only sees me as Chase’s little sister. Plus, he can’t get over that I’m ten years younger than him.”
“Hmm,” Miss Barbara said with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “So, if he were to get over his objections, then you’d be interested in dating my grandson?”
Interested? That was putting it mildly. “Yes, ma’am,” Ashlee said. “I do believe I am interested.”
Chapter 18
Beau gripped the edge of the heavy bookcase in his granddaddy’s study and told the kid helping him to lift on the count of three. “Are you lifting?” Beau asked in a strained voice.
“Did you say three?”
Beau eased his end back on the ground and walked around the front of the bookcase to see LJ pull out one of his earbuds. “Sorry, man,” LJ said, flashing him a smile. “I reckon I need to turn the volume down a little more. Wanna try again?”
Beau shook his head. He’d hired a crew to move what he was taking with him into a temporary pod, but so far LJ was the only one who had showed up. “I think we better wait for the other guys to get here.” He glanced at his watch. “What time did they say they’d be here?”
“Thirty minutes ago.” LJ pulled his phone from the back pocket of his jeans. “Mike just texted. The truck got a flat, but they changed it and should be here in ten minutes.”
“Cool.” Beau glanced around the room. “I’m gonna head out to the garage to start packing up the tools.”
“Sounds good.” LJ held up a roll of bubble wrap. “I’m gonna finish prepping the other pieces we’re moving.
“Good idea,” Beau said, leaving the study and heading toward the kitchen to get a drink of water. It was hot and humid today, making him extra cranky. He unscrewed the lid and took a long drink, trying really hard not to think about Ashlee and her stupid date. Again.
It was pointless though, because she’d consumed his thoughts all through the night. The lack of sleep added to his grumpy mood. Finishing half the bottle, he screwed the lid back on and went out the back door. The porch was almost complete. Just a few more days and then the painters could come in and finish up.
Sidestepping a missing board, he descended the temporary stairs and circled around the back of the house to the garage. Although it was hotter than normal for early May, he welcomed the Georgia humidity, remembering how miserable the dry hot air had been in Afghanistan.
Opening the garage up, he admired the motorcycle he’d nearly completed after working on it until late last night. Technically, it had been two in the morning before he’d quit and crawled into bed.
He ran a hand over the seat of the bike, wishing he could hop on it and take it for a long drive. Long enough to make up his mind about how he was going to tell his best friend he was falling for his baby sister.
After she’d driven away last night, he’d come home, changed clothes and went to work on the bike. He’d needed a distraction. It hadn’t exactly done that, but it had given him plenty of thinking time. And by the time he fell into bed, he knew he needed to talk to Chase.
He should’ve gone over first thing this morning, but Isabelle was sick and Chase and Addie had taken her to the doctor. It would have to wait until later this evening or maybe tomorrow. Either way it would be after Ashlee and Kade went on their date.
Irritation worked its way back under his skin. Just thinking about another guy touching her or possibly kissing her was making him crazy. He remembered what she’d told him about kissing a lot of frogs in order to find her Prince Charming.
As far as the frog she was going out with tonight? He seemed like a decent kid. Yes, kid. Kade was barely twenty-one. Beau had done a little internet stalking on him this morning. The guy was an all-star soccer player for Georgia State and already had pro scouts watching him. As if that wasn’t enough, the kid seemed to have a clean record. He wasn’t into partying, didn’t have a bad temper, and was an Eagle Scout at the age of fourteen.
Beau slammed the top drawer of the tool chest shut and bit back a curse word when he caught the tip of his finger in it. He had a bad feeling this was how his entire day was going to go.
LJ’s buddies showed up and got right to work. Beau ordered pizza for lunch to feed everyone, including the crew working on the porch. While he chewed on his second piece of pizza, he got a message from the realtor. She wanted to do a walkthrough next week so she could get pictures for the listing. Beau had opted not to pay extra for the staging. He figured the house had enough appeal without it. Plus, he didn’t want the added cost.
He typed in a reply that next Friday should work. That would leave him one more week before he had to move to Savannah. Not enough time to complete a business plan or a custom house design that matched the era of Nana’s house, and certainly, not enough time with Ashlee.
He typed in another message, asking about the status of the surrounding property. The realtor replied that she was unable to disclose any information, but would be happy to represent him as a buyer if he wanted.
After lunch, he and the moving crew finished loading everything he was taking with him into the storage pod. The only thing left in the house was an oversized beanbag he was storing in the den, the small antique dinette set with two chairs in the kitchen, and the contents of his bedroom. He would load those items, along with the tools from the garage, into the pod before shipping it to Savannah.
LJ handed him the invoice. Beau reached into his pocket to get his phone so he could Venmo the payment to them, but quickly discovered his phone wasn’t there. He tried to recall the last place he’d used it and remembered setting it down on top of the tool chest in the garage. “Hang tight,” he said, walking backwards. “I think I left my phone in the garage.”
The young men were parked outside the garage, so they followed him there. Alarm swept through Beau when he picked up his phone and saw how many missed calls he’d had from his nana over the past few hours. She’d also sent him several text messages. After he read through the first message, he relaxed a little
. Nothing catastrophic had happened to Nana or his parents. No, the urgency behind all the missed calls and messages was about Beau’s love life, or lack of love life with a certain blonde.
Closing the message, he tapped on the payment app and transferred the money into LJ’s account set up for their moving business. Once he was alone, Beau finished reading all three text messages from his grandmother. Actually, it was only one message, but Nana had accidentally hit send before she was done telling him he needed to open his eyes and see what was right before him. She also asked him to call her back as soon as he got the chance. When she answered, he quickly explained why he hadn’t called her sooner and then apologized.
“Apology accepted,” she said, sounding less irritated with him. “Did you get a chance to read my message?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He stopped in the kitchen to get another bottle of water. “But dating Ashlee isn’t that simple.”
At her coaxing, he told her about all the concerns he had about dating Ashlee and how it might impact his relationship with her brother and her parents.
“Talk to him, Beau. I think you’d be surprised by how much Chase would probably love having his best friend as a brother-in-law.”
He nearly choked on the water. “Whoa, I’m not talking marriage.” Dating was a big enough step right now. Marriage took time and planning. He wasn’t settled into a solid career yet. The job in Savannah could turn into something permanent, or he might hate it and have to start all over. How could he possibly support a wife and eventually a family if he kept changing jobs? Doubts about dating Ashlee started to creep in again. “Maybe I should just forget the whole thing.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? You’re not going to try and convince me I’m making a mistake?”
“I think you can figure this one out on your own,” his grandmother said with a soft laugh. “But keep in mind that Ashlee has a date tonight and several young men waiting to take her out. If that doesn’t bother you, then I think you have your answer.”
Blue Moon Kisses: Georgia Moon Romance Book 3 Page 17