Reality said they needed help.Why was it so damn hard to accept it from Beau’s family?
Family.
He was still getting used to the word.As much as he shouldn’t blame Kade and the others for Beaumont’s actions, it was hard not to lump them all into the same category.They’d done the same thing to him.One look in the mirror told him the reason.Beau was the spitting image of his father.The fact pained him to admit.The evidence was indisputable.
Beau let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.“I’m not going to be stupid about this.You’re right.We need the help, so I won’t refuse.”
“And you’re going to be okay with that?”she asked.Those violet pools studied him.
“I want the same thing you do,” he said.“We’re on the same team here.”
“You didn’t answer the question.”
“I’ll figure it out,” he said.
The look of relief on Ivy’s face said he’d made the right call.
“We need to come up with a plan,” he said.
“One that keeps you far away from danger.You’re not healed.”
“I’m not going to sit here and do nothing while everyone else risks their lives if that’s what you’re suggesting.”His stubborn streak was a mile long, and he fully intended to dig his heels in.
“No one said you had to,” she said with more than a hint of defensiveness in her tone.
He hadn’t meant to cause it.
“I just wanted to be clear about my contribution,” he said, trying to clarify his intentions.
“I’m crystal clear.”She stared at him.Perhaps, she’d looked right through him.“For your information, I’d call in the National Guard if it meant saving our parents.Just so you and I are on the same page.”
“Got it.”What could he say?He was being a jerk, and she was brave enough to call him out on it.“Then, we’re on the same team.”
“I really hope so, Beau, because I was beginning to like you.”
Damned if those words didn’t leave a bruise.
She poured a second cup of black coffee and then joined him at the table.“What kind of plan did you have in mind?”
“Let’s get the others in here first so we don’t have to repeat ourselves.”He tried to stand so he could get breakfast, and immediately sat back down.Gravity was hell on wheels today.The nausea was worse.Coffee on an empty stomach had not been his brightest idea.
“What do you need from me?”Ivy asked.
“I got—”
“No, you don’t.And it’s okay, Beau.Let me help you.And, if not me, then who should I call?”
As much as he appreciated the fire in her eyes, he liked it much better when it wasn’t directed at him.She was right, though.With his injuries, he needed to accept his condition and let someone else pitch in.
“I need food, and it kills me that I can’t get it for myself or for you.There’s probably something ready to heat in the fridge, and if I haven’t been too much of a pain in the ass already, I’d appreciate it very much if you wouldn’t mind throwing a container in the microwave.”
“Done.”Ivy stood up and went to work as Chloe knocked on the wall before entering the kitchen.
“Can I come in?”she asked.
“Of course.”Ivy walked over to Chloe and offered a handshake after introducing herself.
Chloe’s gaze shifted from Ivy to Beau and back.He didn’t have to know Chloe well to realize what she was thinking.With all the recent marriages and engagements in the family, it wasn’t hard to guess how anyone would interpret the situation.
