Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

B eau woke up to sunlight streaming into his eyes. Disoriented, he shot straight up, his pulse knocking against the back of his tongue. "Where—?" He recognized his bedroom then, though he rarely saw it in such glorious light.

And Pepper and Ruby were absent. He immediately turned to pick up his phone to see what time it was—and it wasn't there.

Now feeling completely discombobulated because of the loss of his device—the thing he used to keep track of everything from the name of Charlotte's heart condition to how much he owed Bennett for groceries—Beau stumbled to his feet.

His head positively pounded, and he sank back to the mattress. He couldn't make sense of much more than the pain in his head, but he knew one thing: He'd missed the sunrise.

Disappointment cut through him like a hot, sharp knife. He hadn't missed his sunrise live-stream in years . He hadn't posted that he wouldn't be there, and he wondered for a brief moment if anyone actually cared.

His thoughts cleared, the way thunderclouds dissipated after they'd dropped their rain. "Of course people care," he said, echoing the voice in his head saying the same thing. "People care about you, Beau."

Just because he was forty and unmarried didn't mean he didn't matter.

He got to his feet again, and he managed to pull on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans. He made it into the kitchen, where the clock on the microwave told him it had just passed nine o'clock.

"Oh, boy, Beau," he said to himself, trying to remember what day it even was. Did he have a meeting this morning? Assignments to hand out? Why hadn't anyone awakened him?

"And where's Charlotte? And my phone?"

She'd retreated, but he'd thought they'd made great progress in the past few days. Why wasn't she here? "She could've at least left me a note," he grumbled.

As if summoned by his questions, the front door opened, and Charlotte walked in. "Hey, you're awake." She smiled like he slept past nine every day. "I was just coming to see if you wanted to shower before I take you to the doctor."

"Take me to the doctor?"

"Yes." She held out her hand, and in it, she had his phone.

He practically lunged for it, and Charlotte stepped back, her eyebrows up. "Did I miss a lot?"

"No," she said simply. "I handled it."

He looked at his phone, where he did not have a single message. Not one missed call. No texts. Nothing. Disbelief stormed through him now, and he could barely swallow. That could be because of his fiery throat, but whatever.

"You handled it? You handled what, exactly?"

"Your voice sounds bad. Do you want some apple juice?" She went past him and to the fridge.

"Apple juice? We don't have apple juice."

"Squire and Kelly brought some last night." She pulled it out, and nothing had looked so good. "Your doctor's appointment is in an hour and a half, and yes, I'm taking you. It's an executive decision I reached with Bennett, when he learned you hadn't gotten up for your sunrise live-stream."

"I can drive myself."

"Nevertheless." She passed him the glass of apple juice. "I texted Squire to say you were too ill to work today, and he said he'd make sure everything was covered. Then I fed the horses, so they're all happy as larks." She grinned at him like this was their new normal.

But it couldn't be. He took a sip of the apple juice, his whole mouth rejoicing. The sip turned into a swallow, and then a gulp.

Charlotte laughed lightly. "You did get a lot of messages this morning on the live-stream. I had to mute the app, because it was driving me nuts."

He set down his glass. "Messages on the live-stream?"

She nodded, somewhat sober now. "I did it for you. I didn't want you to miss a day; I know how important it is to you." She reached up and tightened her ponytail, a show of her nerves. "I was pressed for time, but I managed to make it over to the donkeys before the sun really came up. I think I did okay. You'll have to watch it and give me a critique."

Oh, he wasn't going to do that. Watch her live-stream on his channel, yes. But critique it? No way.

He put his phone in his back pocket, and with his heart swelling past its bounds, he let the things he felt for Charlotte expand and grow until they burst beyond his body. He gathered her right into his arms and pressed a messy and firm kiss to her lips.

"You did my live-stream for me."

"Yes," she said, a slight gasp coming with the word.

He searched her face, trying to find the words he wanted. They came, but he bucked against them, because he'd never said them out loud to a woman before, and he had no idea what response he'd get.

"You fed the dogs."

"Yes."

"You texted Squire."

"That's right."

"You and Bennett decided I needed a babysitter at the doctor?"

Charlotte smiled a little then and reached up to cradle his face. "I know you don't need me to take care of you, cowboy. But I think it's okay if I want to."

He'd said exactly that to her too, and Beau's whole being filled with another round of love. "I love you, little bird."

Her eyes widened, and then she did the most remarkable thing. She said, "I love you too, Beau."