36. Chapter Thirty-six

Reed and I spent our last morning exploring an art museum and buying souvenirs for our parents and nieces. Miles had some work to do, so we'd left him. It was nice to do the tourist thing, just my brother and me, even if he was humoring me through most of it.

I brought up Quinn, and he didn't immediately shut me down, so I told him about the time she'd crunched up white Tic-Tacs in her mouth, ran to our mom, and told her she'd broken her teeth. Mama had almost fainted when she saw all those white chips, but when my sister started laughing, it only took about twenty seconds for Mama to join in.

Our sweet Quinny had had that way about her. At least…until she'd gotten her personality squeezed out of her by purported friends who'd never given a damn about her.

We didn't talk about that. We stuck to the good times. Where we should've been sticking all along. Instead, we'd let the end dim the memories of sixteen years of pranks, laughs, music, love, and just…our sister.

We had planned to meet Miles on the plane for our flight home, but Reed and I boarded an empty airplane. Now, we were twiddling our thumbs, wondering where the hell Miles was.

He finally texted he was on his way without explanation.

Ten minutes later, the explanation burst through the door ahead of him.

Reed tore off his buckle and leaped to his feet. "Solomon!"

I jumped up right behind him. "What's Solomon doing here?"

Miles appeared in the aisle behind the gangly, bouncing dog, patting his backside. "That's my son, Solomon Aldrich. Isn't the resemblance uncanny?"

He panted with his tongue out, and I must've really loved him because I found it cute.

"You adopted him?" Reed asked. "He's coming back to Denver?"

"Yeah, the big lug is mine," Miles said proudly.

Reed took his phone out to snap pictures. I happened to know he now had a text group with the friends he'd met at Lily's party and was willing to bet he was sending the pictures to them.

One trip, and my brother had a text group.

Sol returned to us and put his head right beneath Miles' hand. My brother not only had a text group, but he smiled freely down at the dog then took a selfie with him. A selfie.

When things were too good to be true, I couldn't help but question them. "Isn't there a waiting period? Home inspection?"

Miles flashed me an enigmatic smile. "For some people. I'm sorry to tell you, Daisy, but having money means not all rules apply."

"And that sucks the soul right out of me." Solomon trotted over, butted his head against my leg, and looked up at me with soulful eyes. "But I can't find it in me to be angry this time. I can't believe he's yours."

We took our seats, and Sol stuck by Reed, settling at his feet.

"I think I'm going to have to share him." Miles sighed, like it was a big hassle, but I saw right through him.

He'd adopted that dog as much for my brother as he had for himself.

When we got home, the first thing my mother did was invite Miles over for family dinner. She wanted to hear everything about our trip and meet Miles' new son. We'd managed to hold her off a couple days so we could settle in, but then she'd rounded us up, insisting she missed her kids.

Landry showed up without her daughters and husband, much to Mama's dismay. Her explanation that they were with her in-laws and Tom was finishing up work didn't pass muster, but there wasn't anything Mama could do about it besides kidnapping. I was almost certain she wouldn't resort to that.

"It's flat there." Reed was back to being a man of few words. All the fun we'd had and exploring we'd done had been chalked up to "it's flat there." For some reason, I really loved his answer.

"Really? Isn't there a mountain range in the area?" Landry asked before popping an olive into her mouth.

"Nearby is relative," Miles replied. "The Sierra Nevadas take several hours to get to. Reed and I went on a hike, and it was not only flat, but paved."

Dad shuddered. "That doesn't sound like a hike."

"It was a walk. I wore my Vans," Reed supplied. "Sol managed to get dirty, so it was worth it."

Solomon's ears moved but his body remained prone on the nest Mama had made him from a pile of blankets and pillows. After knowing this dog for two whole days, I'd learned he had two modes: zoomies or lazy as hell.

"A dirty dog is always a good sign." Dad turned to Miles. "How in the world did you choose this boy to adopt?"

"He chose us," Reed answered. "We—"

Someone bellowed my name outside, loud enough to penetrate my parents' walls. Then the pounding began. Bang, bang, bang. All of us abandoned our dinner and ran for the windows, peering out to see what the commotion was all about.

There, standing under the porch light on my landing, was my former boss, Nick. Crowded next to him was another man, much broader and taller. I had to squint to make him out, and even then, my mind couldn't make sense of it.

"Is that Beau?" Mama screeched.

I guess I had been seeing things correctly. My oldest brother truly was standing beside Nick, pummeling my door and yelling my name.

What. The. Fuck?

"Beau?" Miles stood behind me, his hands squeezing my hips. "That's the elusive Beau Dunham?"

Mama opened our back door and yelled across the courtyard. "Beau David Dunham. Quit waking up the neighborhood and get your behind in here."

His head swiveled sharply. "Sorry, Mama, but I have to find Daisy."

"You're in luck. Your sister's here. Now, come on. Dinner's almost ready."

She left the door open for them and bustled to the table to put out two more place settings. I didn't particularly want to break bread with Nick after the last time I saw him, but it'd been a while since I'd seen Beau, so I couldn't be disappointed he'd shown up out of the blue.

Beau stepped into the house, eyes widening when he caught sight of Landry, Reed, Solomon, and finally Miles. Dad approached him, giving him a hug and pat on the back.

"What brings you to town, son?" Dad asked.

"I need to talk to Daisy." Beau zeroed in on me standing in Miles' orbit. "I've been hearing some disturbing things, but it looks like I'm too late."

Nick walked in then, his expression serious. He greeted my father and mother while barely taking his eyes off Miles and me.

"Disturbing things?" Mama laughed. "What could you have possibly heard?"

Beau was a mountain man. He'd grown taller than our dad by several inches, and his breadth always took my breath away. His beard was thick and bushy, and the only time he didn't wear flannel were the dog days of summer. And when he crossed his arms over his barrel chest, it was like two tree trunks twining.

Miles lowered his mouth to my ear. "You guys look a lot alike."

I snorted a laugh, which only deepened Nick's scowl. Nick could go step on a Lego. He had no business being here.

"I heard Daisy's caught up with an Aldrich. Not the environmentalist CEO either. The drunk, pussy-chasing loser. Nick's known him since they were teenagers. He's not the kind of man we want Daisy mixed up with."

Beau lowered his bearded chin to stare down his nose at Miles. And even though I knew my brother would never hurt a fly, I found him intimidating as hell right then.

"Beau, you're out of line," I started.

Mama stormed right up to him, yanked on the end of his beard to bring his attention to her, and pointed straight at him.

"I'm always happy to see my boy, but you can march your behind right out of my house if you think you can show up here talkin' like that. I'd think you, most of all, would know not to judge someone based on their last name. You disappoint me."

Beau softened from our mom's admonishment, but only a fraction. I wondered what Nick had been poisoning his ear with. It had to have been pretty damn bad for my brother to make the drive here from Wyoming.

"I'm sorry if you don't like my delivery, Mama, but I've been hearing some alarming things. I'm here to make sure Daisy doesn't get hurt." Beau frowned at Miles' hold on me. "I can only guess this is Aldrich. You know what kind of hurt he caused back in school? You know he's an alcoholic? Goes through women like water?"

"Shut up, Beau," Reed gritted out. "You're talking about my friend, and I'm not gonna stand for it."

Beau's eyes rounded, and he swung a glance to Nick then back to Reed. "You're…friends with this guy?"

"Yeah, I am, and you can fuck off, Beau. Go back to your mountain. It's not like you care enough to visit anyway." He copied Beau's stance, arms folded over his chest. Except Reed was half the width of Beau, so it was cute rather than intimidating.

Miles placed his hand on Reed's shoulder. "Thanks, kid, but you don't need to defend me. You and I both know Beau's information is outdated, given to him by a guy with a huge ulterior motive."

Beau's nostrils flared. "What ulterior motive could Nick possibly have?"

"That's simple," Miles stated. "He wants to get with your sister. He thinks he has a rightful claim on her since he waited out the last guy. When he couldn't sabotage my relationship with Daisy, he went to you to make you do the dirty work."

"No." Beau laughed darkly. "Nick would never—"

He turned to Nick, who only raised his chin instead of denying what Miles had to say. "I would look out for her."

I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe you took my lack of interest in dating you as a sign to go tattle to Beau. It's really clear how little you know about me, Nick, since as much as I love my brother, he's literally never had a say in my life."

Beau raked his fingers through his hair. "What the hell is going on here?"

Our dad clapped him on the back. "It seems you've been taken for a ride, son. Your buddy, Nick, played on your trauma from growing up with an alcoholic dad to use you to bludgeon a path for him straight to Daisy."

"Dad…" Beau shook his head. "I don't have trauma. It's been a long time. I barely remember you like that."

Miles kissed the top of my head. "I'm going to get Reed out of here. We'll take Sol for a walk. All right?"

I nodded, relieved to have fallen for a man who was thoughtful and sensitive. Reed didn't need to hear any of this. He had enough on his plate. I didn't want Miles to hear it either. He didn't deserve any of the vitriol Beau and Nick had locked and loaded for him.

As soon as Reed and Miles were gone, Mama pointed to Nick. "You need to hit the road, Nicholas. You're not welcome in my home anymore, and if I see you lurking around Daisy's place, I won't think twice about gettin' my shotgun." She stepped into him. "I grew up in the dirt in Alabama. Don't let the nice hair and clothes fool you. I'm not afraid of gettin' messy."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Dunham. I was just—" Nick cut himself off when Mama kept pointing to the door. Hope sprung eternal—except when a southern mama put her foot down in front of her babies. All hope was lost for Nick in this house. "I'm sorry," he repeated, this time to the room at large, before he made a swift exit.

Landry finally made herself known, clucking her tongue. "I never liked that kid. He used to go through my dirty laundry, and I swear I had more than one pair of panties disappear after he'd visit."

We all looked at her in various stages of stupefaction.

She examined her nails. "What? I took care of it. Last time I caught him in my room, I told him if he did it again, I'd knock him out and put him in a coffin with a dead body. He never bothered me again."

Beau threw his arms out. "You should've told me. We wouldn't be in this position now."

Mama gave him a pointed look. "If you picked up the phone, we could have told you all about the wonderful man in Daisy's life. You chose to believe the worst for no good reason."

"Well, the last guy wasn't anything great," Beau muttered.

"This guy is," I informed him. "I'm hoping he'll stick around for a long time. You're going to have to figure out how to get over his last name and past that's more than a year in his rearview and get to know Miles for who he is. That is, if you want anything to do with me."

"Daisy," he croaked. "I was worried about you."

I put my hands on my hips, trying to keep my defenses up. "Funny way of showing it."

"Flowerpot." He came at me with his arms wide, and I let him envelop me in them.

"Beau-ses," I mumbled into his chest. "Nick's an asshole."

His rumbling laugh vibrated my cheek. "I'm getting that now. And your boyfriend's…not an asshole?"

"Not even a little bit."

"Good." He took me by the shoulders and peered down at me. "You look happy. And Reed looked…happy too?"

Landry squeezed in between us to get a Beau hug. "That's because Miles adopted a dog to share with him."

Mama thumped Beau on his big arm. "We like Miles. How about you be on your best behavior so he still wants to come around every once in a while."

Beau's gaze traveled around the room, to most of his family who was still sort of angry at him, and he exhaled a long breath.

"I'm sorry for the reason I came, but I'm glad to be here."

Dad spoke for all of us. "You're always welcome, Beau. We'd like to see you a lot more."

"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his thick neck. "Me too."

Calm settled over the Dunham house once more. Until Solomon returned, dragging Miles and Reed with him. He immediately went to sniff Beau, giving him a thorough check.

Miles pulled me into his side. "You okay, Cupcake?"

I let myself melt into him, thinking of the way my family had defended him. The night hadn't gone as planned, but I couldn't be mad knowing my family sincerely approved of the man I absolutely adored.

I smiled up at him. "I am now that you're here."