14. The Baby Back Ribs, Dash

One week later

The idea of quiet relaxation while being in the wide-open wilderness always intrigued me. Mainly due to my recent discovery that all the things that wanted to bite me, lived freely outside, mainly in the dark. Yet, here I was again.

I stared at Beau's grandparents house. It was eerily quiet. The only lights on were on the first floor. If they had guests staying in the B&B, it was hard to tell. An inkling of guilt always hit me when I had time to just stare at the houses in the neighborhood. I unwittingly played a part in the downfall of this community. It went against everything I believed in, but I didn't have a say in any of it.

The front door opened at the same time my cell phone rang. I reached for the phone while watching Chae walk down the front porch steps. What I assumed was Beau's grandmother followed her down. I saw where his mom, and then Beau, got their looks. She was tall, thin, and didn't look her age.

I wasn't sure what to do. Rationally, I understood, if I could see them, they had to be able to see me. Beau's worrisome feelings had me ducking my head to keep unwanted eyes off me. "Are you there?"

Phone call. Joy. Right. "I am," I said quietly as if someone might hear me.

"Dasham, where's my car?" Her tone held zero warmth and was full of accusation as if I was nothing more than a common criminal.

And did she really not know the answer to her question? Then how did I respond? Surely not with the truth, especially if she was with our family.

"Can you just cover for me? I've got a week until my birthday then I can drive my own car." Seemed reasonable. Definitely the truth. If I wasn't in such an awkward position, I'd pat myself on the back.

"I need my car to go see Donny," she hissed angrily.

"Then take your brother's car, or your dad's. They won't notice."

"If I get caught, you're going down with me."

"That's fine," I said and lifted my head enough to see Chae looking in the direction of my car. Beau's grandmother turned, following Chae's interest.

Oh hell, please don't let them start toward my me. Please.

"I'm done, Dasham. This is the last time. Take someone else's car from here on out." Oh yeah, right. I'd never do that. She was the rebel, not me.

"All right," I said, knowing I lied. At the same moment, Chae started toward my car. Beau's grandmother waved goodbye before heading back up her steps, inside the house.

"You're speaking so weird, like in code, or worse, like you belong here. Pretty soon you're gonna start saying, ‘ain't' and ‘y'all' and ‘fixin''."

We were done. I ended the call. As funny as a strong southern accent was, Beau spoke that way. I found it charming and delightful.

As Chae came closer, I lifted in my seat. We stared at one another. Something akin to speculation locked on her face. Hmm. Her purposeful stride never stopped until she reached my car. Out of habit, I lifted a finger to disable the overhead lights then unlocked the doors—because who sat in the wilderness with their doors unlocked?

She dropped down in the seat as if I'd invited her.

"You need to know that the neighborhood's noticin' you here every night. They're startin' to figure out that it's you, Dasham Richmond. They're questionin' what's goin' on. What's your angle? They're so consumed with stoppin' the expansion that they haven't figured out you're here only for Beau. Which is weird, because everyone outside of this neighborhood is questionin' how tight you two are."

I weighed her words, letting them filter through my mind. "How do you feel about Beau and I spending time together?"

"Y'all are safe with me. I figured it out the night of the party—you had to know I did," Chae said and turned in the seat to face me. I started to ask why, but she lifted a hand to stop me. She had more to say. "You had three of the prettiest girls from our high school surroundin' you, and you weren't interested at all."

The protective juices I had for Beau reared forward. I instantly built a claim to rebuke her notice. Her hand extended again, this time closer to my face.

"Let me finish. Beau's the same way as you. In all these years, he's never paired off with anyone. Not even a childhood girlfriend. I think he can hide pretty well because all anyone thinks about him is his athleticism. What I see is a scared guy. His dad's an ass, but that's not it. He's always been that way. When Beau was a kid, we all hung out all the time. We'd leave first thing in the morning and not be back before nightfall. His dad rarely came here with them. When he left the party with you, I knew for sure."

Her explanation was like a blow to my psyche. I'd tried hard to come off as a buddy to Beau. Something close to an instant camaraderie and rapport with him. But she was right, we were together every free minute we had. I quickly processed my thoughts, and my only worry was with Beau. Would he pull away to keep his pretense in place?

Chae's door jerked open, startling me. Anxiety pumped through my veins, because I was still a big baby about being parked on such a deserted road, fearing the inevitable moment the bogeyman came. My thoughts zipped over me in rapid-fire succession, trying to rapidly plan my escape.

"It's Beau," Chae said, all breathy from her own fear.

Normally, if Beau was in the vicinity, I sensed him but not that time.

He bent to look inside the car. Clearly, based on expression, he was as uncomfortable and unsure. "What's goin' on?"

His worried stare went to Chae. "Get in the backseat. You're lettin' the mosquito's in." Her forceful snap put Beau into action. Within seconds, he shut the back door and popped his head through the center console.

I lifted the steering wheel to get more room to adjust in my seat. A consuming need had me staring at him. Hopefully, my words and body language conveyed support as he learned our latest obstacles.

"Chae knows, but she's known from the beginning. It's why she introduced us…" I explained into the quiet inside the car.

"How did you know?" he asked, interrupting me.

"He's got more to say. Let him finish then I'll answer anything you want to know." Chae hadn't turned to look at Beau, instead adjusting her visor mirror to better see him.

"Chae seems intuitive. She knows you well and your lack of engagement with the opposite sex put it all together after I showed interest at the party."

Beau nodded. His brow wrinkled as he sorted through what I said.

"But that's not the concern. The neighborhood has noticed me parked here. Apparently, they've connected the car to a Richmond. She thought we should know. Also, the townspeople say we've gotten close quickly."

Chae piped into add, "They're noticin' y'all together all the time," she explained. "I don't know if you've heard but the local's group is filing bankruptcy. Many individuals are too. Your grandmother told me tonight that she had to let me go because she and your paw are goin' to go to an attorney tomorrow to look at their options."

In my world, secrets were held close. Down here, everybody told all their life stories to anyone who listened, meaning gossip and speculation would only thrive.

"I'm sorry," I said, my focus still on Beau.

"We're for sure movin' in that house she wants at the end of the summer. You'll be back in Southlake by then," he said to me. "With the way everyone around here thinks they're losing everything, my mom made sure she had extra space for Nana and Paw. I can't imagine any gossip about me and you can penetrate their worry," Beau said, then lifted his stare toward Chae's mirror. "Don't repeat that."

"What did you think about the house and the guy?" I asked about the reason for Beau's late arrival. My guy had stressed about meeting his mom's new potential boyfriend. I called him a boyfriend because she spent some part of every day with him, like I did with Beau. But he insisted the guy be called Coach, who was only a friend.

My overprotective bear.

"It's hard to tell about the house. The woman who lives there has way too much stuff for me to see my mom's vision, but it's close to school so I can walk. The guy tried his best to be nice to me which seems all right. Never asked me about football. But they seriously need to take it slow. She's been through a lot."

"Was he handsome? Your mom's pretty. She needs a nice-lookin' guy to be nice to her," Chae added, finally turning her head as far as she could to see Beau's response. "She's just the best and wants more kids. She's young enough…"

"What? She doesn't want more kids. I'm fifteen years old. That'd be weird to have a little brother. Or worse, a sister. I know what guys think. No."

Chae and I both exchanged a smile at his possessiveness before she settled back in her seat.

"I came here early because I mis…" I let the words trail off, not finishing the sentence. The constant devotion tumbling from my lips might embarrass Beau in front of Chae, making me clamp my mouth closed.

"They kept talkin' at dinner. They wouldn't stop. And I had no reception on my phone."

"Did you play Ninja Assault ?" Chae asked, knowing something about Beau that I didn't. "He's a beast at the game. He's been playin' for a while."

"I had to walk across the street to CC's Pizza to find the game. All these new restaurants comin' in are too fancy to have an arcade area," he explained.

"Did you get top score?" I asked, already knowing the answer in my heart. Being with Beau meant I'd never win anything else for the rest of my life.

"Absolutely, he did, and I wasn't even there," Chae clapped out before Beau could answer.

My love only nodded. Maybe his chest swelled with pride from the win.

"The high score was low. It wasn't hard," he said, downplaying his achievement. I fought my grin. My strong competitor.

"So how are you with everything?" I asked.

"I don't know, but not bad," he said, his fingers now held his attention as he fiddled with them. "I've been a private person for a long time, but I'm pullin' out of it."

If I interpreted his look accurately—his gaze said what Beau never did—I was his reason. Too bad Chae was there, or I'd jump in the backseat and make out with him for the next five hours with all the love and hope I saw in his eyes.

"So you have money?" she asked me.

"Yeah, I guess." I hedged, worried about her direction. I didn't have enough to save Sea Springs from financial ruin…

"There's a new Chili's in town. Wanna take me and Beau?" she waggled her brows, talking as if Beau and her were in on the secret. "They stay open until two so we have hours until they close."

Okay, that sounded fun. It'd mess with my make-out time, but we'd be out in the world with Chae as our buffer.

"You in," I asked Beau.

"Yeah, let me text my mom," he said, reaching in his back pocket for his phone. "To see if I can stay out longer."

"I'm in too." I sat straight in my seat and started the ignition.

The small circle of people who knew about Beau had grown by one. A step in the right direction by my estimation.