Chapter 6

6

Beau

I spend a couple of hours at my desk updating the website and constructing a marketing email for the new signature bourbon collection called Moonshine that Brook has just launched. Already, we've had several new suppliers wanting in. Georgia wants to take it global, but I'm more a ‘walk before we can run' kinda guy. However, getting Japan, England and Australia on board so fast for exports is encouraging.

I know Autumn is at the distillery today snapping some more pictures of the barn and around the property for the website. It's a glorious day outside and though my feet want to go walking to see what the girls are up to, I keep my ass planted in the chair. I don't need to go fawning around over Autumn, I've already done and felt enough. The weekend will prove that this strange phenomenon I'm feeling is nothing more than sexual frustration. Autumn is a gorgeous woman, it's only natural that I'd notice — especially now she's single — all the things about her that are brilliant. Which are many. She puts the goddamn stars in the sky to shame. No! No, no, no!

I need coffee.

I push out of my chair, flexing my fingers as I walk and head to the staff room. It's empty and I set about making my coffee when my cell rings. When I reach to my pocket to grab it out I see it's Hudson.

"Hey bro." I open the overhead cupboard and pull a mug out.

"Beau, glad I caught you. Gray and Gabe are out and your sister is somewhere on the ATV."

"You all good?"

"Callan went into town to grab another trailer of mulch. Wonderin' if you can give me a hand for a minute while I get this fuckin' archway cemented in. Autumn wants to photograph it, and it ain't playin' fair."

Autumn?

I feel the instant pound in my chest as my heart rate kicks up a notch, like the mere mention of her name is just triggering it now.

"Of course. I'll be there in a second."

"Thanks, appreciate it."

He hangs up.

I discard the coffee making and run my hands over my jeans, cracking my neck as I head out the side entrance and over toward the barn.

The second ATV is in the shop getting fixed, so I take the short walk on foot, enjoying the hints of sun on my back as I go. When the barn comes into sight, I don't see Autumn, but I do see Hudson with his hands on his hips, a frown etched into his forehead, looking less than impressed.

"The cavalry has arrived," I say by way of greeting.

He turns and his expression relaxes a little. "Hey Beau. The girls decided to change the location of the archway last minute."

I note the dry sarcasm in his voice. "Of course they did."

"But I think it'll be better here anyway."

The start of the footpath that leads up to the barn doors is paved with sandstone crazy paving. It looks fantastic with all the flowers in bloom and new mulch making the colors really pop. "This looks great, you did an awesome job."

Sweat beads from Hudson's face. The sun is high in the sky and it has to be eighty degrees today. Spring can be up and down, and we can get rain sporadically. But there's barely a cloud in the sky today. It's perfect.

"Thanks. Let's hope Blue Bell doesn't come back with any more changes or she'll be digging the cement up herself."

My eyes scan around like they are just going to appear from nowhere. "Where are they?"

"Georgia took off, and Autumn went down to the creek to get some shots. She'll be back once the cement sets."

I can't wait that long, but I don't tell him that.

I hold the archway in place while Hudson mixes the cement and then pours it in the holes he's made, and we have the wooden structure secured in no time.

"Mom and Dad are gonna be really happy with this." I stand back and admire it.

"I hate to say it, but I think Georgia may have made the right decision on this one."

"Christ, don't give her any more leverage at being right, it goes straight to her head."

His dry humor makes me laugh. "You've said a mouthful there." I glance over toward the other side of the farm. "Gonna go check on Autumn, see if she's alright."

"Got it, thanks, Beau."

"Anytime."

I take off toward the south side, knowing that's the best spot for photos because of the slight ridge that acts as an elevation level. On a day like today, the creek looks like glass. What would really be special is this place lit up at night.

As I get closer, Autumn comes into view and I see her crouching. At first, it looks like she's getting into position to take a shot, but then I see her camera still strung around her neck.

She's holding her head in her hands and her shoulders are shaking. Is she… Is she crying?

I stop abruptly, not able to take my eyes off her but unsure if I should keep up my pursuit. She hasn't spotted me, so if she's having a private moment that I'm not meant to see — which she clearly is — I don't want to disturb her. But then again, she's crying. Maybe I can help.

She was so upbeat this morning in Discord. I wonder what's happened since then?

As not to scare her, I call out, "Autumn."

I watch as her back goes rigid and she turns. Sure enough, her tear-streaked face shows her distress, which she quickly tries to hide by turning away and wiping her eyes. I'm striding now, really needing to get to her. "Hi, Beau." She forces a smile but it's obvious I can see what's going on.

"I saw you from the ridge, I wasn't sure if I should come down. But you're upset." I palm the back of my head. "What's wrong?"

Her head shakes from side to side as she tries to palm it off. "Nothing. I'm fine." She smiles again but it doesn't touch her eyes.

I reach my arm out, my fingers touching her shoulder and I give it a squeeze. "If you don't want to tell me, it's okay, but we've always been able to tell each other anything…"

That's all it takes, the floodgates open. "It's so stupid!" She balls her fists and then presses them to her eyes. "I've nothing to get upset about and here I am, crying like a big old baby."

I settle my free hand on her other shoulder. "Autumn. A problem shared is a problem halved."

She laughs, then stops, then laughs again. Then she starts to burst into fits of giggles. I stand there a little stunned, unsure if I should laugh too or if she's just having a hysterical reaction. I'm not great with hysterical women. "You're just the sweetest, Beau. I haven't heard anyone say that since… well, maybe since my Grandpa, God rest his soul."

I smile gingerly. "Well, he was obviously a smart man. Did someone hurt you?"

She shakes her head. "It's nothing like that." She lets out a big sigh, a slight flush appearing over her cheeks. "But that's sweet of you to ask."

"Well if they did, I can assure you, my origami skills would be lethal."

She laughs again, holding her hand to her heart. "When did you get so adorable?"

"I've been disguised as a computer nerd this whole time." I shrug.

She lifts her eyes from the ground, tears still lingering on the surface but her face seems to have perked up a little. "The bank declined my loan, that's why I'm crying. See, first world problems right here."

"I'm sorry," I say. "I told you I can help if you need?—"

"Even if I did take you up on that offer, I've no idea when I could pay you back, Beau, and I really don't like owing people money." She's also infuriatingly stubborn.

"But you'd have owed the bank money."

"That's different."

"I don't see how."

"I need thirty grand for my roof and the other repairs, that's without five-thousand dollars worth of video equipment. Level headed me says just go beg my parents, then stubborn me says I can make it on my own and I shouldn't be relying on them for cash handouts."

"It's not really a handout if they're rolling in dough," I say. "They wouldn't want you to live with a leaking roof, A. They may be set in their ways, but I'm sure they're not that awful."

She nods, seeing the truth in my words but I know she has her principles. "You know, I even thought about it…"

My eyebrows pique. "About… it ?"

"My Grandmother's proposition," she whispers like someone might hear us. "How crazy is that?"

Immediately I tense, letting go of her shoulders, my arms drop back down to my sides. "Pretty crazy. Let's just not do anything rash, okay? You don't have to marry some stranger just to get money or please your family. Do we have to recite those affirmations again?"

She bites down on her lip and my eyes shift downward, seeing the indent it makes. All the blood rushes to my dick. "I feel silly crying over this. There are starving people in the world and because I wasn't smart enough with my finances means I don't have any savings, but it's not going to solve anything crying over spilled milk."

My hand lifts again and I tip her chin ever so lightly so her pretty eyes meet mine. "Your problems still matter. Just because someone, somewhere may be worse off than you, doesn't diminish your dilemma, so don't ever say that." I blow air out of my cheeks. "It's forecast for rain this weekend. So this leaking roof shit worries me."

Her eyes go slightly wide. "Shit."

"How bad is the roof?"

She swallows. "Bad. It barely got through the winter. I had buckets everywhere."

I shake my head, not liking the sound of that. "Why didn't you say something?"

"The Davenport family are proud people. I guess I'm used to just having to solve situations myself. When I poured everything into the business, I didn't take into account how long it would take to pay myself back out of my savings."

"How about I come and take a look, bring one of my brothers or even Callan or Huds. If we can temporarily fix it, that might tide you over until next winter. We can get a game plan happening, or a Go Fund Me."

She punches me in the arm playfully at that last bit. "Go Fund Me?"

"Or a bake off. We'd only need to sell fifteen thousand cupcakes."

"Stop trying to make me laugh."

"It's better than seeing you cry."

"What about Only Fans?"

My heart rate skyrockets out of my chest in an instant. Suddenly I get a vision of Autumn sprawled across her bed in her underwear, looking up at the camera with those bright blue eyes and long lashes. Oh, sweet baby Jesus.

"What?"

She looks up at me, her face perfectly serious. "Am I not pretty enough?"

My throat thickens and feels instantly dry like sandpaper. Every chick on the planet seems to be doing Only Fans, but Autumn is not going to be one of them. The very idea that another man — lots of men — would get to see her beautiful body makes me want to explode.

"Of course you are, but?—"

"But?"

"I don't think that we have to resort to those extremes… Once you do photos…." Hell no. "…Uh, then comes videos…" Over my dead body. "…Once they get out there, they're there forever. I mean, this is Stoney Creek, if word got out?—"

She doubles over in laughter, clutching her stomach as her shoulders shake. "Oh, my God, Beauster! You should see your face!"

I straighten my back, dragging a hand over my face, realizing she's just joking. "Hilarious, by the way."

"Oh, stop it. It hurts…"

"Glad I got to make you laugh."

Her continuous cackle seems to dance around me. "You thought I was serious!"

"Well, you're a gorgeous woman, any guy would be lucky to—" I trail off as her laughing subsides. We stare at one another as some silent connection takes place. I clear my throat. God, I'm so bad at this. "I mean, you're more than that. Way more than a subscription service." What is wrong with me? "I mean… Like…"

She bites down on that adorable lip again. "I know what you meant and that's really sweet of you. God, can you imagine if my family found out I was doing Only Fans?" She giggles. "They'd not only shun me forever, they'd probably make me change my last name and ship me off to some weird little county nobody's heard of so they didn't have to die of shame."

I'd certainly like to see her on Only Fans… Only Fans for Beau Bassett and I'm the only viewer. My cock throbs and I need water, fast.

"Well, I'm glad you'll be staying in Stoney Creek for the moment," I digress. "And your clothes can stay on."

She blinks.

Goddammit.

Why am I such a jerk? I freeze when it comes to girls I really like. I get tongue tied and don't know what to say. Yet, I've liked Autumn for years… as a friend. Yeah, this is different.

"They are most definitely staying on for the moment."

"I'm single for a reason," I laugh out loud. "I'm shit at talking to pretty girls."

She folds her arms over her chest. "First I'm gorgeous, now I'm pretty." At least she's back to smiling and not crying. "Are you okay, Beauster? You didn't hit your head today, did you?"

I stare her square in the eye, an intentional cheeky smirk on my face. "Nope, but I definitely haven't had my caffeine hit yet, clearly it's affecting my brain."

She punches me again in the arm and I like it. I love her touching me… Fuck.

"You're a comedian," she says.

I give her a chin lift. "I'll come over to your place after work with reinforcements, and before you say no and you'll be fine, this is what friends do." Friends. My God am I going to Hell. "They help one another out."

"Fine. But what can I do to pay you back?"

"You don't have to pay me back. Just accept that sometimes it's okay to ask for help."

Her warm smile reaches her eyes this time. "You know I love you, Beau Clarence Bassett."

I groan. "I really regret telling you my middle name." Her words though…

Before I know it, she's reaching toward me and steps in, folding into my arms, pressing her chest to mine while she hugs me. "You're like a big, cuddly teddy bear."

Her smell… It's like equal parts coconut and vanilla. A scent I don't have to try too hard to remember because it's all her, but also never want to let go of it. Speaking of hard, my dick — who was already wide awake — practically jolts in my jeans. I can only hope she can't feel my erection between us.

"Hugs are free," I say, my arms folding around her, my hands resting on her back. "Just remember that."

"Lucky you give good ones." Her warm breath fans against my cheek. Jesus.

"Hey, I aim to please."

She moves in my arms, pulling back slightly. "Thanks, Beau. You always seem to know how to make me feel better."

The blood is pounding between my legs at her proximity. I don't want her to let go of me, I like having her arms wrapped around me. While she's slender, her body feels softer somehow. Her tits squashed against me will go directly into the spank bank later tonight, and I'm not even ashamed of it.

"We should go check out the archway, I helped Hudson cement the thing in."

Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. "You did manual labor?"

"Ha-ha."

She pulls her arms from around my neck and I already feel the loss of her. I am very pleased to see a rosy flush to her cheeks though. Her eyes dip down briefly, skimming over my… Oh, shit. Did she just check out my package?

Maybe the lack of blood flow to my brain is making me hallucinate.

She slaps me on the butt before she starts to run ahead of me. "Last one to the barn is a dirty rotten loser who stinks like a pig rolled in mud!"

I grin, quickly adjusting my hard on while her back is turned, and waste no time in running after her. My strides are a lot longer than hers as we make haste across the grass. "You're gonna regret that!" I call, laughing all the way. "You better run because I know how ticklish you are."

"You wouldn't!"

I gain on her, not pushing too hard because I know that I really need to let her win. Seeing her laughing and out of breath with excitement makes my heart swell. I really do want what's best for her. And what's best for her might just be having her in my arms.

She just doesn't know it yet.