“Shit.”
“Howabout I take it back to the shop? You can leave it there for the time being. Atleast until you get another job and need them again. You’re welcome to come byif you need something.”
Beaustarted to argue. Then he thought better of it. Ethan had just given him anopen invitation to stop by the shop. He had spent months running in circleswhen it came to Ethan, and now this? He wasn’t sure he even knew what to say.
“I’vegotta go. I’ll have Jared help me get it down when I get there.” Ethan took offtoward the wrecker without a backward glance.
“Giveme just a few minutes and I’ll meet you there. No sense in bothering Jared.It’s my stuff. I’ll get it down,” Beau yelled at Ethan’s retreating back.
Ethanwaved him off, but Beau wasn’t going to leave it at that. As Ethan drove off,he grabbed what was in the bed of his truck and lugged it up to his apartment.He didn’t want to carry all of his tools around because they were too expensiveto have to replace. Especially now that he was without a job.
Onceinside his tiny apartment, Beau was wishing he’d taken off after Ethanimmediately. Why was he wasting time? He should be jumping at the opportunityto go to the shop, spend just a few minutes with Ethan. After all, he knew Ethanwasn’t in a good mood. How could he be?
Findingout that the guy you’d been inadvertently dating for the last few months wasfucking around on you couldn’t be easy. Didn’t matter whether they were seriousor not. It was the principle of it. Even Beau knew that much.
Aminor twinge of guilt tugged at Beau’s insides as he remembered that kiss. Itdidn’t matter that Ethan hadn’t initiated the smoldering encounter, Beau stillfelt a degree of remorse for his actions.
Grabbingthe towel he had hung over the back of the chair in the kitchen, Beau opted to shower.Then he’d head over to Walker Demolition. Maybe he could get there before Ethanhad to bother Jared. And if he didn’t, that was all right too. At this point,it wasn’t like his day could get much worse. He’d been laid off, nearly beatthe boss’s brother’s head in for his stupid remark, and on top of that, he hadto ride out the scene between Blake and Ethan.
Withoutwaiting for the water to heat, Beau hurried through his shower, toweling off asfast as he could before making his way back to his bedroom.
Whata joke. Beau hadn’t given much thought to his living quarters. He was justhappy to have a place of his own. Until today, or rather, until Ethan.
Now,for some reason, his humble surroundings seemed lacking. His bedroom consistedof a mattress and box spring sitting on the floor. Hell, he didn’t even have aheadboard. No fancy comforter. And the dresser was second hand, but it workedfor him.
Hethought about Zane’s house. How nice the place was, and he couldn’t help butwonder whether Ethan’s was the same. He knew the structure itself wasimpressive. Different from his brothers because of its modern design, versusthe rustic preference the other brothers seemed to have. He could only imaginethat the interior was similar.
ButBeau tried to remind himself that he came from a different world than Zane andhis brothers. He knew the Walkers didn’t hurt for money, but he also knew thatLorrie and Curtis didn’t spoil their kids just because they could. From thetime each of them was old enough, they’d had to work for their extra money.
ForBeau, he had to work foranymoney. There hadn’t been money for collegebecause his father said he had wasted every penny he had on Beau’s high schoolfootball and the dream that he would one day make it to the NFL. Any time theopportunity presented itself, his father had ensured Beau understood that hehad failed them.
Pullinghis t-shirt on over his head, Beau tried to ignore his own meager possessions.If it ever came down to it, could he actually bring Ethan there? Would he wanthim to see his meek surroundings? Would Ethan think he was pathetic?
Beauforced the thoughts away. It wasn’t like it mattered right at the moment. Maybeif he could get a few minutes with Ethan, some time to talk, then he’d worryabout what the next steps might be.
??
Bythe time five o’clock rolled around, Ethan decided to call it a day. He’d kepthimself away from the shop, handling the tedious errands that he always put off,all in an effort to avoid running into Beau. He knew if he had gone back to theshop they would’ve had another encounter, and at this point, Ethan was freshout of defenses – something he needed when Beau was around.
Walkinginto Moonshiners, Ethan glanced around to see who was there, a habit hecouldn’t break. The trucks in the parking lot were familiar, some belonging tohis brothers. There were times, based on the vehicles outside, when he knewbetter than to stop in. Today didn’t look to be one of those days.
Mostof the faces were friendly, although Ethan wouldn’t call them friends. At leasthe didn’t have to worry about a confrontation. And the best part… Beau wasn’tthere which meant he didn’t have to worry about being on guard.
“Hey,Mack,” he greeted the bartender as he took one of the empty stools at the bar.
“E,how’s it goin’?”
Ethanknew the question was merely a pleasantry, and he didn’t bother with replying.Mack didn’t expect him to either.
Aminute later, Mack passed over a Heineken and let him be without furtherconversation. As Ethan stared blankly at the scarred bar top in front of him,his mind insisted on wandering back to the events of that morning.Particularly, when Beau went after Ricky Dillinger for his comment.
He’dhad a hard time not thinking about that, but somehow he had kept himself busyenough that the past hadn’t come back to haunt him through the day. But now…well, now Ethan had nothing else to do but sit and think and those memoriesfrom all those years ago came flooding back.
“Hey,”Gavin greeted as he made his way around his truck.
Ethanwatched Gavin approach, admiring the man he’d found himself falling in lovewith in recent weeks. The mere sight of him made his heart rate speed up.
Severalhours ago Gavin had called and asked Ethan to meet him down by the lake, andwithout a second thought, Ethan had agreed. For the last month or so, they’dspent many evenings out by the lake, mostly talking, but in recent days, thingshad continued to escalate between them. And the more time they spent together,the hotter their encounters seemed to get.
