I swallowed thickly, never moving my eyes from my brother’s. “It’s not Harper.”
He followed my gaze, his attention shifting out the windshield before he muttered a soft, “Fuck.”
Yeah. Fuck. As in fuck me. Fuck us. We were completely, totally fucked.
Because if we thought havingHarperin our business was bad for the grant approval? That had nothing on my twin brother being in town. The one person who knew both Lincoln and me, inside and out.
Lincoln stepped out of the truck and walked around to open my door. After helping me out, he intertwined our fingers and squeezed tight. “We’ve got this.”
But the set of his jaw and the tension in his shoulders said he wasn’t as confident as he wanted me to believe.
We walked toward the porch like we were headed to our doom. Beau’s smile was pleasant enough. His eyes, though? They were knives, sharp and dangerous.
Bernice gave us a quick once-over before glancing at my brother. “Told you they’d be back before dark.”
Pearl grinned as she elbowed Beau. “And didn’t I say they’d beglowing?”
Beau hummed, his gaze assessing as he clocked our joined hands. “Must be that newlywed bliss,” he said dryly.
Lincoln didn’t miss a beat, tugging me closer to him. “Your sister has that effect on me.”
“So,” Beau said, voice mild like he wasn’t about to go in for the kill. “How’s married life? Seems like it’s a little…rushed.”
I forced a smile, but in my mind, I was strangling my brother for playing this game in front of others. “Been a whirlwind.”
“Seems like it.” Beau turned his attention to Lincoln and raised a brow. “You’re a busy man too, aren’t you?”
Lincoln offered the easy smile he was known for—all charismatic charm and dimples for days. “Your sister makes sure of that.”
Bernice snorted and fanned herself. Pearl cackled. I nearly passed out.
“Why don’t you all come in and stay for dessert?” Pearl asked. “I made strawberry rhubarb pie with some of your berries I picked up at the market.”
“That sounds amazing, Pearl. But we were hoping to catch up with Beau before it gets too late. Maybe we can swing by tomorrow instead,” Lincoln—my savior in cocky armor—said.
I could’ve kissed him right then and there because I didnotwant to continue this thinly veiled sibling smackdown with an audience. Especially when that audience consisted of Mabel’s gossip squad.
“Sounds great. Can’t wait to catch up.” Beau set his teacup on the side table and stood slowly, every inch of him outwardly calm. But I could see the storm brewing under the surface.
A storm Lincoln and I were about to face head on.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
WILLA
Without a single word,Beau followed us into the silo, the door clicked shut behind him, and then it was just the three of us in this too-small space.
He gave our home a cursory glance. “Nice, but it’s a little small, don’t you think?”
My spine snapped straight, that defensiveness coming out, but Lincoln settled a hand on the small of my back, his touch calming my ire just slightly.
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “We don’t need a lot of room since it’s just the two of us.”
Beau hummed and slid his attention to me. “Would’ve been nice to know you’d rented out our childhood home and moved over here, Willa. But I guess you were too busy dodging my calls and texts to let me know.” His voice was sharp, but there was an underlying edge of hurt he couldn’t hide.
Fuck.
He was right—Ishould’vetold him. But if I’d told him that, then I would’ve had to admit the reason I needed to rent out the house was because of the overdue bills. And the overdue bills were because I wasn’t able to produce enough on the farm. And I wasn’t able to produce enough because my body hated me.And if he’d known all that, he would’ve come storming back to Starlight Cove, leaving his dream behind like the hero he was. And I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.
