The Vincent Boys

by Abbi Glines

  “You think you can remember those skills I taught you? Because I’d really like to see you bent over a pool table the rest of the evening.” The teasing tone in Beau’s voice did little to distract me from his words. My face felt warm and I cut my eyes over toward him.

  “Damn. My imagination got away with me,” Beau said in a tight voice as he shook his head. “I need to think of something else. Fast.”

  I needed to think of something else too but my mind kept replaying the night in the back of his truck. Every sound. Every touch. My body tingled from the memory.

  “Please, Ash. Don’t look at me like that. I’m going to drive us to the bar. We’re going to play pool. That’s all. I can’t think about anything else. If I do . . . well, I just can’t.”

  My breathing was a little shallow but I nodded then forced my mouth to open so I could take a bite of my burger. Anything to get my mind off how good it had felt wrapped up in Beau’s arms.

  Neither of us spoke again until he pulled into the parking lot of the bar. I opened my truck door before he could do it for me, and jumped down. Having Beau touch me while my body was on high alert from the knowledge of just how good he could make me feel, was a bad idea.

  “With Sawyer back in town I didn’t expect to see you walking back in here with her,” Honey Vincent said when Beau and I walked into the bar.

  “I’m entertaining her for Sawyer, Mom. Leave it alone.”

  Her eyebrows shot up and she glanced back at me. “So Sawyer’s okay with you hanging out with Beau, huh? Well, I’ll be damned. I’s sure he’d have a shit fit once he found out about the two of ya running around town together.”

  “Beau and I’ve been friends as long as Sawyer and I’ve been. Sawyer is glad we’re rekindling our friendship,” I explained before Beau could say something snide.

  “I’m bettin’ he ain’t got a clue you’re slumming it at a bar with Beau. If he finds out that Beau drags you out here then he ain’t gonna be none to happy about the two of you hangin’ out.”

  “Stay out of it, Mom. We’re here to play pool.”

  I let Beau pull me away from Honey before the two of them got into an argument over whether or not Sawyer would approve of my being here. I was almost positive he would be against it but it had become mine and Beau’s thing. I wasn’t willing to give this up too. I glanced back at Honey as Beau led me to the pool table. The disapproval in her eyes was obvious. She studied me a moment before shaking her head and turning to walk back to the bar.

  “Sorry about her. She has warmed up to you some but she still isn’t crazy about Sawyer’s family, and you being Sawyer’s girlfriend makes you a part of it.”

  I understood the unsaid words. Because I’d stayed with Sawyer and not chosen Beau over Sawyer I had a mark against me. In her eyes I was betraying her and Beau.

  “That’s okay. I get it,” I assured Beau and picked up my cue stick.

  “Alright Ash, it’s time for me to kick your hot little ass.”

  “In your dreams, buddy,” I replied, knowing good and well he would beat me. I’d gotten better but not good enough to beat Beau.

  Two games later I got a text message from Sawyer.

  Are you at home?

  I slowly lifted my eyes to meet Beau’s. “It’s Sawyer asking if I’m at home.”

  Beau put his cue stick up and reached for mine.

  “Tell him I’m taking you home now.”

  I didn’t want to go home right now but there was no other explanation I could give Sawyer. I texted him back.

  Beau’s taking me home now.

  Beau nodded toward the door. “Come on, let’s go.”

  He didn’t reach for my hand or touch my back the way he used to when we walked out of here. Instead he walked beside me not touching me or looking at me.

  I got another text message.

  Tell him to bring you to my house. Everyone’s in bed and I’m in the pool house. Come see me. I’ll take you home.

  That wasn’t something I could ask Beau to do. He’d been wonderful after our fight tonight. Asking him to drop me off at Sawyer’s was too much.

  Once we were in the truck I fiddled with my phone trying to decide what to tell Sawyer.

  “What is it, Ash? What did he say to make you start chewing your bottom lip?”

  I sighed and kept my eyes on the phone in my lap.

  “He wants you to bring me to his pool house. I don’t want you to do that.”

  Beau pulled the truck off the side of the road and then turned to look at me.

  “Why?”

  I glanced up at him. “Because,” I replied.

  Beau let out a growl and slammed his palms against the steering wheel, causing me to jump.

  “I can’t do this, Ash. It’s killing me. Having you this close and not touching you is driving me insane. You’re his, Ash. You’re his. You made your choice and I understand why you chose him. I don’t hold it against you but, dammit, Ash, it hurts.”

  My chest felt as if it had been ripped open again.

  “I’m so sorry, Beau. I’m sorry I did this to you. I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry I can’t make it better. I’m sorry,”

  “Stop it, Ash. You have nothing to be sorry for. I started this and I’m the one who needs to end it. I just can’t seem to bring myself to stay away from you.”

  I slid over and straddled the stick shift and laid my head on his shoulder.

  He slipped his arm around me and pulled me tight up against him. I closed my eyes as he kissed the top of my head. Neither of us knew what to say. We sat in silence holding each other until my phone alerted us of another text message. I started to pull away but Beau held me against his side and cranked the truck.

  “Just let me hold you a little longer,” he whispered hoarsely as he pulled back onto the road.

  When we pulled onto Sawyer’s street Beau kissed my head one more time. “You better move over now.”

  Chapter 16

  Lana was perched on the edge of my bed flipping through my photo album from last summer when I finally made it home. I closed the door to my room a little harder than needed, unable to hide my frustration that she’d been going through my things again. Her head snapped up in surprise. Good, I hope I scared her. Serves her right for going through my stuff.

  “OH. Hey, Ash, you’re finally home,” she replied, smiling politely.

  This girl was not real. She was always soft spoken and never showed any emotion. It was as if my Aunt Caroline had given birth to a freaking robot. My mood was crummy and seeing her infiltrating my personal space didn’t make it better.

  “I hope you don’t mind I pulled out your photo albums. Our mothers have been talking in hushed whispers and I got bored. I’m really glad you’re here now.”

  There was a genuine smile on her face, making me feel a tad bit guilty for being so aggravated with her. I mean, her dad was a douche bag and her mother wasn’t exactly trying to comfort her. Instead she was making everyone in the house relive the experience over and over. Sympathy for what she must be going through won out over my aggravation and I walked over and sat down next to her.

  “Sorry I left you here with them so long. I ended up hanging out at Sawyer’s later than I intended.” Not exactly true but that was all she needed to know. A dreamy smile lit her face and she dropped her gaze back to the album in her lap. I glanced down and saw it opened to a picture of Sawyer on the beach. His suntanned chest was glistening with water and he had the silly grin on his face that always reminded me of when we were kids.

  “You’re so lucky, Ash. Sawyer has to be the most beautiful guy in the world. I remember wishing I could switch places with you when we were kids because you got to play with him and his cousin all the time. Even back then he was so chivalrous and handsome.”

  Chivalrous and handsome? Who uses those words to describe boys? My mom maybe. I shook my head and flopped down on the bed.

  “He’s not perfect,” I replied, shocking myself. For th
e first time in my life I’d admitted Sawyer Vincent had flaws. Lana turned her head to look back at me. Both of her auburn eyebrows were raised up in question.

  “No one is perfect, Lana.”

  She seemed to think about it for a moment then turned to study my album some more.

  “I guess that’s true. Once I used to think my daddy was perfect.” She trailed off. My heart twisted a little at the hurt sound in her voice. I didn’t know if she wanted to talk about it or forget it. Since her mother yapped about it all the time I would think she’d want to forget.

  “The other cousin. What was his name? Bill or Ben?”

  “Beau,” I replied, curious as to what she was going to say.

  “That’s right. Ugh, I remember the time Beau handcuffed me to the chain-link fence where Sawyer’s daddy kept his hunting dogs. I was terrified of being so close to the gate. I remember thinking those snarling dogs were going to somehow gnaw my hand off through the fence.”

  I chuckled at the memory and Lana twirled around on the bed and frowned at me.

  “It isn’t funny. You know I’m scared silly of dogs. And that awful boy made me sing ‘I’m a Little Tea Pot’ to the top of my lungs over and over. Each time he told me to sing it louder if I wanted to get free. And the louder I got the angrier the dogs got. It was horrible.” She stopped and a soft smile touched her lips, erasing the previous frown. “Then Sawyer showed up and scolded Beau then unhand-cuffed me. You finally popped up out of nowhere about that time and made up some lame excuse about needing Beau’s help with something. The two of you took off running with your giggles trailing behind y’all. Sawyer just shook his head as he watched y’all take off and apologized for his cousin. He was so sweet.”

  I’d forgotten that escapade. We had so many I couldn’t remember them all. But hearing Lana retell it I laughed out loud remembering. I’d been hiding behind the big ol’ oak tree just a few feet away. Beau had told me to stay out of sight in case Sawyer showed up. I’d had to shove my fist in my mouth to keep from laughing out loud at the sound of Lana singing so loudly and off key.

  “I was so sure the two of you would end up together. You’re still laughing about my torment seven years later. You two were evil.”

  I leaned up on my elbows and smiled at Lana. “If I remember correctly you had told me I was as smelly and stinky as an old fish and no boy would ever want to marry me ’cause I stunk and my hair was always as stringy as a mangy dog’s.”

  Lana blushed and covered her mouth. She’d obviously forgotten that part.

  “I did, didn’t I?” she replied, looking mortified.

  I nodded and bit back another laugh at the expression on her face.

  “Yep, you did. Beau didn’t like it too much so he decided he’d make you pay for saying something so mean to me. That’s the reason he handcuffed you and made you sing.”

  Lana gave me a knowing smile. “You were hiding behind the tree you came running from when Sawyer showed up, weren’t you? The whole time I was being tortured you were listening.”

  I laid back down, slipping my hands behind my head.

  “Yep, I heard it all.”

  A pillow hit my head, startling me, and I reached for the one beside me to whack back at my giggling cousin. Who knew Lana could be silly?

  “Girls?” My mother’s voice interrupted us and we froze with pillows held high in the air ready to pummel each other. Mom hesitated before stepping inside the doorway. She’d pulled her blonde hair back in a ponytail and her face was washed clean of make-up. I could see the stress and worry in her eyes. This mess with my aunt was draining her emotionally.

  “Yes, ma’m,” Lana replied immediately, dropping her pillow like she had been caught doing something horribly wrong. Mom shifted her gaze between the two of us. A smile touched her lips when it became apparent we were having fun not actually fighting.

  “Sorry to interrupt the pillow fight,” she said, “but I need to speak with Ashton alone for a few minutes if it’s okay, Lana.” Lana immediately nodded and scurried toward the door. “Thank you,” Mom said as she passed and Lana mumbled something, keeping her head down. It occurred to me Lana thought I was getting in trouble and I wanted to laugh. The girl was paranoid.

  I threw the pillow in my hand back at my bed and sank down onto the large soft purple chair beside me.

  “What’s up?” I asked. Mom took a seat on the edge of my bed, sitting almost exactly like Lana had. Her back was straight and her hands were folded in her lap. I never realized how different from my Mom I really was.

  “I need you to do me a favor. Actually, it’s a favor for Lana. Tomorrow night your Uncle Nolan will be here to talk things out with your Aunt Caroline while your father and I referee. We all believe it will be better if Lana isn’t here to witness what is said. I am sure at times it’s going to be loud and emotional. She’s already been through so much. I see no reason to force her to be exposed to this drama. Your father and I want to protect her and if you could take her out with you tomorrow night it would be wonderful. I’ve not forced her upon you since school just started back and you were away from Sawyer most of the summer, but I need your help now.”

  I agreed there was no way Lana could be here for the screaming that was bound to come out of the gathering tomorrow night. However, I’d planned on going to the field party with Sawyer. Maybe taking Lana wouldn’t be so bad. I’d have more chances to sneak glances at Beau with Lana around. I could distance myself some from Sawyer, using my need to make her comfortable as an excuse.

  “Sure. No problem. I’ll keep her out late.”

  It was at least an hour later when Lana returned to my room. The solitude had been nice. I’d checked my emails. Responded to one from Leann. Then I’d curled up on my bed and listened to my favorite playlist. When Lana quietly stepped into my room she was already in her pajamas and her hair hung in thick, wet locks that framed her pale face. I’d always envied her pretty red hair. Her pale skin and freckles I could do without but her hair I envied. Reaching up I pulled the ear buds from my ear.

  “Hey,” she said, walking over to the twin mattress on the floor beside my bed.

  “Hey,” I replied, wondering what had put the sad expression on her face. Knowing my aunt, she had told Lana about her dad coming tomorrow night. The woman was as dumb as a box of rocks. How she was blood related to my mother was beyond me.

  “You okay?” I asked as she pulled back the quilt on her mattress and slipped under the covers. She shrugged her shoulders then turned her head to peer up at me.

  “I know he’s coming.” I nodded. I figured as much. “Thanks for taking me out. I don’t think I’m ready to see him.”

  In a way I could understand. He’d not only betrayed her mother, he’d betrayed her too. I’d be furious with my dad for doing something like that. But then it wouldn’t make me stop loving him and missing him. Lana hadn’t seen her dad in over a week. Surely she missed him. Even a little.

  “Will you ever be ready to see him?” I asked, wondering if I should just keep my mouth shut. She didn’t respond right away and I was beginning to think she wasn’t going to.

  “Someday. Just not yet,” she whispered against the quilt touching her chin.

  I laid down on my pillow and stared up at the ceiling. My parents might drive me crazy with their need for me to be perfect but at least they’d never put me through the pain I knew Lana must be experiencing.

  Chapter 17

  Beau

  I decided to completely end things with Nicole. She wasn’t taking it well but Nicole wasn’t used to rejection. I stepped into the clearing and the loud music and familiar smell of burning pecan wood greeted me. I heard my name shouted a few times in greeting but I didn’t pay attention to who it was. I wasn’t here tonight to socialize. I’d come for one reason. There were other things I could have done tonight. But other things didn’t include getting a glimpse of Ashton. My world revolved around seeing her. If I knew she was going to be somewhere, I we
nt. It was to the point where I was considering going to church on Sunday. I knew from hearing Sawyer talk about it, Ash sang solos most Sundays for the choir. I hadn’t heard her sweet voice sing in years.

  “Is it true? Did you really break things off with Nicole?” I turned to see Kyle Jacobson walking up beside me grinning. He’d always had a thing for Nicole. I was about to make his night.

  “Yep,” I replied, reaching for a dixie cup and filling it up with cold beer from the keg.

  “So is she free game or are you going to bust a guy up if he goes after her?”

  I took a swig of the beer and chuckled. I’d actually pay someone to get her off my back. The moment she realized I’d ditched her because I was in love with Ashton her claws were going to come out. I couldn’t let her hurt Ash.

  “Man, she’s a free bird. Please be my guest.”

  Kyle slapped me on the back. “HOT DAMN.”

  If he only knew. The girl had issues a mile long. I nodded and continued to drink my beer, scanning the crowd for any sign of Ash.

  The moment she stepped into the clearing holding Sawyer’s hand my heart sped up. Just seeing her made me a little crazy. I hated seeing her hand tucked in Sawyer’s but she wasn’t paying any attention to Sawyer. She was searching the crowd, for me. I threw my cup in the trash can and made my way over to them. Once I stepped out of the shadows her eyes found mine and a pleased smile lifted the corners of her mouth. Desire curled in my gut, making it hard not to go jerk her away from Sawyer and claim her as mine. He shouldn’t be touching her.

  “Sawyer,” I said, nodding to my cousin before allowing myself to stare at Ashton some more. The tight jeans she wore clung to her hips while her flat, tanned stomach played peek-a-boo with the hem of her pale blue tank top. I knew exactly how soft that little strip of skin felt against my fingers. I lifted my eyes from her stomach to meet her gaze. “Ash.” I watched her blush prettily then duck her head and glance over at the person standing beside her through her lowered lashes. I followed her gaze and saw who could only be a grown-up version of Lana. She smiled at me but I could see it was forced. It took all my restraint to hold back a chuckle. I’d tormented the girl when we were kids but she was always so mean to Ash.