19
RILEY
Age 14
“Riley,” Tracy said softly, without knocking. “Dinner’s ready.”
I jumped, pulling my hand away from the drawing in my lap, hoping she hadn’t caught me tracing Beckett’s lips. “Okay. Be right down.”
She glanced at the drawing, a big, knowing smile on her face. “You’ve improved a lot this year.”
“Thanks. I like the class.”
“It shows,” she said. “Keep it up. It’s a good skill to have.”
As she left, I took another long look at the picture. My heart did a little jump when I saw Beckett’s face smiling up at me. Those warm eyes, his long summer hair, his full lips… I liked it all. There were so many details I liked on him now, things I hadn’t noticed before but now enjoyed a little more each time I saw him. Beckett was just so… beautiful. There wasn’t another word for it. He made me feel all cozy inside, even more so than usual. He had always been my safe place, but now… he was becoming my warm place, too. My sunshine.
I heard some boys at school talking about tasting girls’ lips for the first time and I couldn’t help but think of Beckett. Sometimes, I couldn’tnotthink about how he would taste when I was near him or wonder what it would feel like to hold his hand in mine, just because I wanted to and not because Beckett needed the comfort from a storm. I liked those feelings. I liked howhemade me feel, but it was so confusing and weird, too, and most of all scary, because what if Beckett didn’t like the thoughts I was having? What if it made him uncomfortable when I told him? What if he didn’t like knowing that when he put his arm around me, it caused butterflies to dance in my stomach? And how would he react if he knew the real reason I stopped wrestling with him was because it was causing my body to react in a way I wasn’t sure I was ready for?
I didn’t know how to tell Beckett these things without upsetting him, yet not telling him was hard too. I always told him everything, so I felt like I was keeping a big secret which is something we promised we’d never do. I think Beckett knew I had a crush on someone, but how could I tell him the person I had a crush on… was him?
***
I was a ball of loose ends as we drove to Travis’s shop. I’d gone from disbelieving Beckett was really back in my life, to accepting he wanted to be my friend, to dating him, and now… well, now I was too afraid to assign a word to what I felt. It was so much deeper than friendship, or just a temporary fling. So much more.
We were less than twenty minutes away from Sourced, where Beckett could potentially find the last piece of the puzzle for his case. If he did, he'd be heading back to Atlanta to turn over the stolen box to its rightful owners, and then he’d need to prepare for his next case. I had to remember he had a home there. A business. A family. He hadn’t mentioned Tosh to me other than a few random comments, but I knew he was missing his niece. Aside from the phone call about her cat, I’d caught him glancing at her picture a few times in the weeks he’d been here. God, had it really only been a few weeks since he’d walked back into my life? It felt like so much longer.
Where did his life in Atlanta leave me? Orus?Was there even anusin his mind? I wanted to believe all his actions and words this week meant there was, but I just wasn’t sure.
Beckett’s fingers threaded through mine. “Whatever you’re thinking about, stop. It’s making your vein pulse.”
I shot him a quick glare.
“What’s wrong?”
Now wasn’t the time for that conversation so I ignored him and pulled into the shop where I introduced Beckett to Travis. He led us to the back where the wrought iron was being stored. There were all shapes and sizes, a few nearly as tall as I was that looked like they had been railings to a staircase. I chose about twenty of them and Beckett loaded them in the trailer while I paid.
“Thank you,” I said when he returned.
He smiled and placed a hand on the small of my back as he turned to greet Travis. “Travis, I wasn’t completely upfront about who I am when Riley introduced me. My name is Beckett Sanders. I’m a private investigator out of Atlanta. Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions?”
I knew Travis was an honest, good man who had nothing to hide with his business, so I wasn’t surprised when he nodded without hesitation. Beckett told him about his case and revealed a picture of the heirloom. When Travis saw it, he immediately straightened.
“Yeah, I have that here. Shoot, I didn’t know it was stolen!”
“It’s okay. You’re not in trouble. The family just wants it back.”
Travis retrieved it from the shelves while Beckett went to get a case file from the car. I remained a quiet observer while Beckett did his thing, and I had to admit, it was almost strange to see Beckett the P.I. in action. There was such a stark contrast from the sweet, almost playful man I’d been spending my time with to this determined, stoic, and down to business detective next to me. He had Travis fill out a statement explaining how he obtained the box, recorded a clip on his phone of Travis retelling the events, and then asked for any paperwork Travis had of the transaction.
While we waited for him to retrieve the papers from his office, I couldn’t look away from the object in my hand. I had to admit, it was gorgeous. I recognized the darker wood as snakewood, which I knew from experience was not only hard to find, but expensive and difficult to work with. Then to add in the value of the stones? I shuddered to think of how much it was worth and remembered Travis paid around five grand for it, if that was where the money Michael had with him came from. It saddened me to think Travis might not get that money back. He was a good man who didn’t deserve the loss he’d been dealt.
Travis gave Beckett a copy of everything he had, and then with a simple handshake, that was that. I was surprised by the simplicity of it all.
Beckett was quiet as we walked to the car, but I could tell he was happy to have another solved case in his hands. Like me, he couldn’t stop admiring the box with a delicate touch, trailing his fingers over each gem, along the polished edges, and over the worn locks in front.
“Why two locks?” I asked.
Beckett shrugged. “No idea. I don’t even know what’s inside. The family I’m working for just said it was very important to them.”
