He kissed the top of her head, and moved past her into the hall. “Then you should go sleep while those boys are sleeping. Stop worrying about me. I’m going to be alright.” That had become his mantra. If he just kept saying it, then he’d believe it. “I told you I’d go after her if I thought it would do any good, but she’s not ready, and I don’t know if she ever will be. But it’s her move now.”
Her warm hand rubbed up and down his arm. “I just have to believe it’s all going to work out.”
“I hope you’re right.” Though he didn’t see any way it could. “But either way, I’m going to be just fine.” Nope, still didn’t believe it. When he got to the living room he checked his bag to make sure he had his headphones. “Rusty and the guys are already on the bus, so I better go.” He leaned down to give her a hug.
She hugged him back with the fierceness of a mama bear. “I’m so sad to see you go, even though it’s the right thing for your career. But you can’t leave until Jack gets home.”
“I’ll FaceTime him later. I really want to get on the road.” He hoisted his bag onto his shoulder. “Tell Jack—”
“Tell Jack what?” Jack sauntered into the living room and whispered something in Luanne’s ear, which made her smile, and Beau’s heart took another hit. At this rate, he wouldn’t have much left to keep him alive.
“That I’m about to head out.” He dropped his bag and gave his cousin a hug. They embraced for a long moment. “Thank you for everything. If it weren’t for you, none of this would be happening.”
Jack slapped him on the back, and the two men broke apart. “You would’ve made it with or without me. You’re that good. Now, go make us proud.”
Beau picked up his bag and squeezed Jack’s shoulder. “I will.” He whistled and slapped his leg. “Let’s go, Walter.” The dog loped up beside him and followed him outside.
Luanne and Jack walked with him out to the porch. Then he made his way to the side drive where Rusty had the bus idling.
“Make good choices,” Luanne yelled.
He raised his hand in acknowledgment without turning around. “Yes, Mom.” Despite feeling like half of him was missing, excitement still simmered in his belly for what was ahead. This was his dream and he was on his way to live it. How many people could say that? Though, as he climbed the steps of the bus he had to admit it would be so much sweeter with his family with him.
“Ready to roll, boss?” Rusty buckled his seatbelt.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“What? No born ready?”
The ache in his chest intensified by a thousand. “Not today.” He tapped his friend on the shoulder with his fist. “Take us to Nashville, old man.”
“I’ll show you old man.”
Beau chuckled and moved between the two sofas where Buddy and Tom were playing some video game. He gave the men a chin lift, which they returned. He knew better than to try and engage them in conversation while they were playing.
Walter jumped up beside Buddy and closed his eyes.
“Rusty, I’ll be in the back if y’all need me. But don’t need me.” He passed between the six bunk beds, all with their curtains drawn, to his room in the back. As soon as he closed the door all the excitement left him and loneliness filled every empty space. His bag hit the ground then he hit the bed. Staring at the sunroof above the bed, he tried to tell himself he was alright. The results were no different than the last twenty times.
The bus rolled forward and he closed his eyes. Maybe he could escape the pain if he slept. A sudden stop and his name being called ruined any hope of that happening. “What?” he yelled through the closed door.
“I think you need to come out here,” Buddy called.
He rolled to his feet and yanked the door open. “I told y’all not to need me. What’s so all-fire important…” But his brain drained of words at the sight out the front window. Hailey, Lottie, and May all stood directly in the bus’s path with their suitcases on the ground beside them.
Rusty opened the door and the three climbed aboard. Lottie was the first to mount the stairs. “Beau!” She dropped her suitcase and ran into his arms.
“Hey, Lil’ Bit. What are y’all doing here?” But he wasn’t talking to Lottie, he was talking to her gorgeous mother, who was making her way to him.
Lottie laid her head on his shoulder. “We’re going with you, silly.”
“You are?” Still to Hailey, who now had tears rolling down her face.
She nodded. “If the offer still stands.”
“Lottie, darlin’. I’m going to put you down so I can hug your mama. Is that okay?”
The girl giggled. “Duh.”
He sat her on the sofa next to May, who’d already confiscated a controller from Buddy and was betting Tom she could beat him. He placed one hand on the leather cushion and leaned over to kiss the woman on her soft cheek. “I’m sure glad to see you, Ms. May.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re screwing with my concentration.” She waved him off, but not before a quick wink of her happy, dancing eyes.
He grabbed Hailey’s hand and practically dragged her to the back room. The door closed behind him and she jumped into his arms, knocking him to the bed. Fine with him—he planned to get her horizontal as soon as he could anyway. They reunited with lips, tongues, arms and legs. He took her head in his hands and though it about killed him, he pulled her away so he could see her eyes. Those beautiful sunlight-through-whiskey eyes. “How’d you get here? I didn’t see your car.”
“Jack came to get us. He and Luanne have been in on the plan since last night. It took us longer than anticipated to get our things together.” She placed her elbow next to his ear and rested her head in her hand. “Are you sure you’re up for the three of us?”
“Totally.” He skated his finger along her collarbone. “Tell me.”
“What do you want to know? Besides I love you.”
He couldn’t have stopped the grin that consumed his face if he’d wanted to, and he didn’t want to. “I’ll never get tired of hearing that. I love you. But what about the bar?”
“I had a long talk with my dad, and we think the best thing to do is sell it, or the land it sits on.”
He looped a strand of hair behind her ears. “But that’ll mean whoever buys it will tear it down. I know how important the place is to you.”
One shoulder rose and fell. “It is, but only because of my mother’s memory. And like you said, there are a million ways to honor her that don’t include rebuilding the bar.” She cupped his cheek. “Plus, nothing is as important as you and the life we’re going to build together.”
Dancing bears and unicorns could’ve burst through the door and he wouldn’t have paid them one bit of attention. His focus was completely on the woman beside him. “Are you proposing to me, Hailey Odom?”
She slipped the first button on his shirt open. “Here’s the thing, I could live my life without you, if I wanted to. But I don’t want to. I want us to be together and make a life. A big, messy, unconventional life.”
He flipped her to her back and stared into her happy face. “You’re serious.”
She nodded and a tear slid into her hair at her temple.
“No more running scared?”
A sly grin snuck onto her face. “I’ll only ever run after you, Heartbreaker, for the rest of my life, wherever that takes us. We’re in this adventure together…forever.”
Together forever.
He could live with that.
Epilogue
“Beau Callen, if you don’t take this blindfold off of me right this minute, I’m gonna—”
“Gonna what, darlin’?” Beau’s warm, minty breath fanned across Hailey’s ear. And just like every time he was this close to her, the solidity of her bones failed, and she melted into him.
“I’m gonna kiss your whole face,” she breathed. As threats went that one was pretty wimpy. She should be ashamed, and would be if he wasn’t slowly seducing her by running his f
ingers up and down her bare arms.
The chuckle that rumbled in his chest vibrated against her back. “That’s not very much incentive to obey. I like it when you kiss my whole face.”
Her hands went to the bandana tied around her eyes. “Beau…”
“Ah, ah, ah.” He stilled her movement. “Leave it on just a few more minutes… Please.”
“Fine.” Her heels clicked along concrete as he walked her toward an unknown destination. She must look ridiculous. He’d told her he was taking her someplace special and asked her to wear the dress he’d bought her before they left Nashville, a beautiful champagne sheath that fit her perfectly. She had no idea what he had planned, but it must be something special if he was going to this much trouble.
He’d known this trip home to Zachsville to finalize the sale of Boon’s was bittersweet for her, so he was doing what he did best—making her feel treasured and adored.
Strong hands gripped her shoulders and brought her to a stop. “Hang on. Let me get the door.” There was a loud creak of hinges sliding against hinges. Then he took her hand to usher her across the threshold. “Careful.”
Two steps into the building and even with the blindfold, she knew where he’d brought her.
Boon’s.
Her pulse jackknifed in her veins. And for a moment she considered turning around and leaving without lowering the blindfold. She’d been trying to decide if she wanted to visit one last time before the papers were signed. This place harbored so many memories, good and bad, but the minute the smell of stale beer, cologne, and peanuts hit her nose, she knew it was right for her to be here one last time. Like a well-worn and favorite sweater that no longer fit exactly right, it was time to say goodbye.
She slowly removed the bandana from her eyes, and things came into focus. The place where she’d found shelter for so many years was hardly recognizable, mostly because it was empty, except for the flowers, their friends and family, and a long white runner lined with twinkle lights that led to the beer garden. Her heart beat against her ribs, and her brain refused to make sense of it all. She turned watery eyes to him in question.
He tilted her face to his. “Marry me tonight?”
Tears ran unbidden down her face, and she nodded.
“I want the words, baby.”
“Yes! I’ll marry you.”
Their audience cheered, and suddenly there was a flurry of activity. And all she could do was stand there stunned at what this amazing man had done for her.
“I love you.” He kissed away her tears.
Her fingers pushed into his hair, and she pulled him to her for a long, slow kiss, that she filled with all the emotions in her heart. “I love you…so much.”
He stepped back so Lottie, May, Charlie, Scarlett, and Luanne could wrap their arms around her. “I’ll see you at the altar.”
“’Kay.” She couldn’t have wiped the goofy, lovestruck grin from her face if someone paid her.
May winked and flicked her hand at him. “Shoo, we’ve got this.”
He saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Mom, we’re just alike.” Lottie held the skirt of her dress out for inspection.
It took Hailey a minute to realize that they did match. “Did Beau give that to you?”
“Sure did.”
May adjusted the bun on Lottie’s head. “He swore us to secrecy.”
“Are you surprised, Mom?”
She laughed. Surprised was the understatement of the year. “Pretty much.”
Charlie handed her flowers tied together with a blue satin ribbon. “Here’s your bouquet.”
Hailey’s head spun. She and Beau had planned to get married at some point. In fact, they had gotten the marriage license the last time they were in Texas, but with the tour, recording the next album, and dealing with Lottie’s homeschool curriculum, it’d fallen to the bottom of their to-do list.
She wasn’t complaining. It’d been an amazing nine months, and touring with a family had gone better than either of them could’ve imagined. But now that the day was here, meeting him at the altar was all that mattered to her.
Charlie pushed Hailey behind her and held her arms up in a stop motion. “Stop right there, Honey. Drop the Aqua Net, and nobody gets hurt.”
Honey’s booming laugh rang through the building. “Darlin’, it’s just a little hairspray.”
“With you, it’s never just a little.” Scarlett snorted.
“You know the sayin’, the bigger the hair, the closer to God.” Honey lightly patted her red locks, then glanced at May, whose hair was bigger than Hailey had ever seen it. “Kids these days don’t know what looks good anymore.”
May laughed, then kissed Hailey’s cheek. “I’m so happy for you, Hailey. He’s one of the good ones.”
Well, damn, just when she’d gotten her tears under control, they started up again. “He is.”
May looped her arm through Honey’s. “Let’s go find our seats and leave these young ’uns to their flat hair.”
“Mom, guess what?”
Hailey glanced down at her daughter. “What?”
“I get to be your maid of honor.” Lottie waved her smaller bouquet to prove her point.
Hailey kissed her forehead. “I couldn’t have picked a better one myself.”
Charlie handed her a tissue. “We’re going to sit too. Do you need anything else?”
She gazed into the faces of the women who’d become more than friends, and loved each one of them for different reasons. Charlie, because she was loyal and true. Scarlett because she understood what it was like to love someone everyone wanted a piece of, and Luanne because she loved Beau almost as much as Hailey. “No, I’m good. I’m just so glad you three are here today. I love y’all.”
They all three hugged her among a chorus of, “We love you too.”
Once they were gone, she took several steadying breaths.
Lottie slipped her hand into Hailey’s. “Mom, are you okay?”
Was she? She was surrounded by people who truly loved her and wanted the very best for her, and about to marry the perfect man for her… Yeah, she was just fine. “I’m great, baby. How do you feel about all of this?”
“I’m really happy. Beau asked me yesterday if he could marry you, and I said, heck yeah! Now I’ll have two dads.”
Hailey smoothed her hand over her daughter’s hair. “Yes, you will.” Lottie and Derek’s relationship had improved over the last few months. She didn’t know what’d brought about the change in her ex-husband—maybe being away from Zachsville—but whatever it was, she was happy for it. The silly gifts he’d sent Lottie and the regular phone calls had gone a long way in healing their relationship. A girl needed her daddy.
Her father appeared at her right and held up his arm. “May I?”
Another ball of emotion lodged in her throat. She took his offered arm. “Yes, please.”
She, her dad, and Lottie made their way to the entrance of the beer garden. May stepped up to them. “Remember, Lottie, start down the aisle when the music begins.”
Lottie nodded with all the gravity and seriousness of someone in charge of a nuclear switch. “Got it.”
Hailey glanced around the bar again. She pointed to the section that’d burnt during the fire. “Did you rebuild that wall, Dad?”
He shook his head. “It was Beau’s idea. I only hired the contractor.”
“Seems silly to pay money to build something that’s just going to be torn down in a few weeks.” She waited for the pang of regret to hit her, but except for a tiny pinch, it never came. Selling was the very best option for everyone. The nonprofit had already helped several women and their families, but the infusion of cash would expand the number of services they could provide. She loved running the foundation in a way she’d never loved running Boon’s.
“Not silly. Beau knows how much getting married here means to you, and so do I. I think it’s appropriate that the last thing to happen at Boon’s signifies the start of
something lasting and new for you.”
The question she’d been too afraid to voice shoved through the emotional lump in her throat. “Do you think Mom would be disappointed in me?”
“No. I don’t.” The certainty in his voice caused a stray tear to roll over her lower lid.
“But she loved this place so much.” She’d made her peace with her decision to sell the bar, but still, the question lingered.
Her dad squeezed her hand wrapped around his arm. “She did love this place, Hailey, but she loved you more. Your mom lived her life exactly as she wanted. I think she’d approve of you living the life you want. She’d be as impressed as I am at the choices you’ve made, and how big your life has become.”
Well, crap. At this rate, she’d need a box of tissues to get through the next hour. “Thank you, Dad.” She glanced around. “For everything.”
“You’re welcome.” He tilted his head in Beau’s direction. “But he’s the one you should thank.”
“Oh, I plan to.” She winked and laughed at the face he made.
“There are some things a father doesn’t need to know.”
She leaned into his shoulder. “I love you, Dad.”
He kissed her head. “I love you too, Hailey.”
The music started, and Lottie made her way down the aisle. As Hailey watched her daughter move toward the man who’d become her father in every way except in name, a sense of rightness permeated her body, and all she wanted to do was get to Beau. She tugged on her father’s arm. “Let’s go.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Her father chuckled.
They nearly beat Lottie to the front, which did not please her daughter. “Mom, you’re too fast.”
“Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”
Everyone laughed, and Beau took her hands in his. The carnival lights strung among the trees that surrounded the beer garden made the gold in his hair flicker like fireflies dancing in the night. His black suit fit him perfectly, and the happiness flaming in his emerald irises warmed every part of her. She was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Justice of the Peace Norris stepped forward. “Before we begin, Beau has something he’d like to say to Lottie.”
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