“I know.” She plopped down on the couch next to him, putting her feet up. “You should take me on a date.”
He coughed. “Darlin’, what about me makes you think I’ve got a death wish?”
“I’m very pretty. And I’m funny. And, I have it under good authority that my boobs are nice.”
He clapped a hand over his eyes. “No. Way. Your brother would kill me, no matter how nice your, um, whatever, may be. Plus, Joe. No way. Nuh-uh. No how.”
She sighed. “I need your help. Please.”
He took his hand away and looked at her, groaning. “You know I can’t take that tone.”
She did. And again, she nearly felt bad for using it. But not bad enough.
“Do you want to help me or not?”
“If Joe punches me in the face, you have to pay my medical bills.”
“If he tries to punch you in the face, I’ll know he still wants me.”
He sighed. “Girl, he wants you. Good God, how can you even doubt that? Lemme tell you, since it’s become public info that you two broke up, the place is swimming with women making googly eyes at him. He doesn’t notice a single one of them. No matter how low-cut the tops are. Plus, Buck tries to bite them.”
She laughed, delighted. “Really?”
“Really.”
“I still need you to take me out and pretend you like me.”
“This stuff is high stakes, Beth.”
“Don’t you think I know that? I’ve tried. It’s been a month. An entire month since we broke up. I’ve given him space. I’ve tried to poke around gently. I’ve tried being pushy. I’ve tried pretending that it doesn’t matter. But it does. I’m desperate.”
He scrubbed hands over his face. “I’m going to be so sorry for this.”
She fluttered her lashes. “Nuh-uh. You’ll have the knowledge that you helped true love find a way.”
“Yeah, five fingers of it in a fist, planted in my face. Your boyfriend is huge.”
She laughed. “It’ll be fine. I promise. Now, here’s what we need to do.”
Two nights later, they sat in a booth up against the front windows of the Sands. Beth figured Joe probably wouldn’t come back there after the whole thing with his dad, though she knew Roni had refused to press charges. Joe had paid for the replacement glass and Roni cared about his dad, not jail time.
But it was on the way between the garage and most everything else in town. If he walked past, he’d see her. She wore a bright red sweater with a vee neck. She and Lily had gone and picked up an awesome push-up bra that had her girls mounded nicely at the neckline. Hell, even Trey had looked a few times and he professed to be scared for his life.
Tate had done her hair so it was tousled in waves, long and lush all around her face. Anne had done her makeup and had even given her fake eyelashes. She’d looked at herself in the mirror, in her jeans and that sweater, with her eyes lined all smoky and sexy with the lashes and red lips. “If he doesn’t respond to this, I may have to finally admit it’s over.”
“Are you kidding me? Gurl, I’m straight and marrying your brother and I’d look twice. Hell, your boobs are so hot I can’t stop looking.” Lily had waggled her brows. Of course Trey had nearly tripped, and then he’d cursed under his breath and tried to keep his gaze anywhere else.
She didn’t eat much. Enough people had seen them that even if Joe didn’t walk by, and he hadn’t so far, he’d hear about it the next day. She had no guilt about using the power of a small town to her advantage. Gossip moved lightning fast. And she knew those hoochies sniffing around her man would find a way to tell him if no one else did.
“I haven’t seen him,” Trey said. “I’m sorry. You sure do look pretty tonight.”
“I’m so bummed I’m not even hungry for pie.” She did smile at him though. May as well put on a show.
“That smile of yours makes me feel like a rabbit and you’re the wolf.”
She laughed then, relaxing. He’d make some woman a good match. He was cute and smart and he made her laugh. He was also too young and a lot like family.
“Wouldn’t do to go out with a new man and mope around. No. If he’s going to go home and hide without walking past, he’ll still hear we were here. And I want him to hear how much I smiled and laughed.”
“You’re diabolical.”
She tsked. “Of course I am. My goodness, Trey, is this a surprise?”
“I guess not. You always seem so nice and funny.”
“I am nice and funny. Which is why Joe Harris loves me. But if a girl isn’t willing to use all she’s got to fight for her man, what use is she as a partner in life? Hm? Nice is great. But I’m resourceful.”
He laughed, taking her hand and kissing it. “How’s that?”
“Nicely done. How about a beer? I can use one. My treat for spending your night with me.”
He got out first, holding an arm for her to grab. “Don’t tell Jacob, but it’s been fun. Anyway, it can’t hurt for the ladies of Petal to see me with a pretty woman on my arm. Raises my value.”
“Like a house with a pool.”
They laughed, walking arm in arm over to the Pumphouse. It was a Friday night so the place was full. The pool tables in the back were likely to already have a wait. The jukebox was humming, and it made Beth remember that there was a life outside her mopey little world.
Some folks got up and she saw the opening at the table. “Oh, look. A table just opened.”
“Grab it. I’ll be back in a second with beer. My treat, not yours. Jeez.”
She grinned, settling in as she looked around. Well, what do you know? She’d recognize that gorgeous head of hair and long, tall body anywhere. Joe was in the back with William and the Chase boys playing pool.
The night was looking up. She shimmied from her coat, adding some extra shimmy, just in case he looked over.
When Trey came back with a pitcher and two glasses, she smiled.
“Joe is here. In the back.” He said this in an undertone, getting close.
“I know. I just saw him. Okay, Trey, act like I make you tingly.”
He choked and she had to pat him on the back.
“The stuff you say. My God. You probably aged Joe five years.”
“But they were really good five years, Trey.” She winked.
Joe bent to take his shot, glad he’d decided to accept the invitation to play pool and drink beer. It had been way too long.
Something caught his attention near the front. It was the lush red of the sweater first. Then the tits. Holy crap. Immediately he felt guilty. He might be broken up with Beth, but he shouldn’t be oogling anyone else’s boobs. And then he tore his gaze away, past those tits and up. It was the hair. Thick dark caramel.
It was Beth, her head bent toward none other than Trey! Trey, who was also caught up in those magnificent boobs.
He held her hand. A hand Joe used to hold. And kissed her fingertips while she laughed prettily. God, probably saying something dirty and sexy.
“You gonna take that shot or just bend over the table for a while?” William asked this lazily, as he sipped his beer.
“Did you know about that?” He jerked his head in Beth’s direction before taking a shot he missed terribly.
He noted the surprise on his friend’s face. He hadn’t known.
“I didn’t. But I don’t know why you’re surprised. She’s been trying to get you back for over a month and you keep telling her to move on. I guess she finally decided to.”
“Sweet baby Jesus. No offense, William, but your sister is looking mighty fine tonight. And you?” Royal looked to Joe. “You’re a dumbass for letting that slip through your fingers.”
“Says the guy who chases after Anne.”
“Says the guy who has finally decided to take her no as a no and move on. Maybe I’ve been looking at the wrong sister all along.”
The thought of Beth in Royal Watson’s bed on a Saturday morning, naked and warm? No.
Joe scoffed
. It was either that or punch his friend for even imagining such a thing. “Dream on. Beth would never get anywhere near you in a romantic sense. They have that sister code.”
Royal’s expression told Joe he knew exactly the response his claim would evoke. “She’s in love with you anyway. For now. That’s not going to last forever. I have no idea why you’re over here when she’s just over there looking like a shiny Christmas ornament.”
“I don’t have time for a relationship.”
“You already had a relationship with her.” William took his shot. “You’re messing up, Joe. Royal is right. She’s not going to wait around forever.”
He watched, sullen, as she talked and laughed with Trey until he leaned over, whispered in her ear, and she nodded, her eyes going half-mast.
She got up and he helped her into her coat. Near the door she looked back over her shoulder, straight at Joe.
She knew him, damn it. That shock of recognition zinged through him. But he didn’t move. She shrugged and let Trey pull her out the doors and onto the sidewalk where he slung an arm around her shoulder and they walked away.
He’d still been thinking when William shoved him.
Hands pulled at the two of them, shouting to calm down.
“What the fuck?”
“You just gonna stand there while the best thing that ever happened to you walks away? What is wrong with you, Joe? You said you came back here to start fresh. You’re acting like such a dumbass.”
“I…”
“I told her, damn you. I told her that you were worth fighting for. But that if you didn’t wise up I was going to have to punch your face for making her sad. I also said I’d hate to do it since you were my best friend and all. But you’re making me regret that last bit.” William’s eyes had narrowed.
Nathan sighed as he put a hand on his brother’s shoulder a moment before speaking to Joe. “Originally, I tried to warn Beth off. I told her you weren’t the kind of dude she needed to be with. She told me what she thought of you. And through her, I realized that maybe you were what she needed. You came here and helped out your family. Oh get that look off your face. We know what’s going on. I know she told you about our childhood and I know you pushed her out the door after that. She risked something and you rejected her.”
It hit him then and he swallowed back nausea. He shook his head, hard. “I didn’t reject her for that. That’s not true. I’d never do that. Does she think that? If she did, why did she keep coming around to check on me?”
“She loves you for starters. And she doesn’t think you rejected her because of that. Though I think she might have thought it for a while. You tell me, Joe Harris. You think long and hard and you tell me what other woman on this planet who’d be better for you than Beth. What woman would support you and help you? She’s there for you. You and I both know it and you let her walk out those doors. I don’t know what your problem is. But I will tell you this is go time. Either go get her, or let her go for good.”
Joe put his cue back and grabbed his coat, heading for the doors. Not to go get her, but to take a ride. Yes, he needed to get the hell away from town and all the Murphys for a while.
He drove back home to grab his gear. When he opened the closet, he saw her helmet on the shelf next to his. He grabbed his and Buck barked.
“What?”
The dog sat, his tongue lolling as he took Joe in.
“I’m going for a ride to clear my head. It’s dry enough.”
Buck just kept looking at him.
“It’s a good thing she’s moving on. I mean, I’m not what she needs.”
Buck snorted, got up, gave Joe his butt and walked away.
“Whatever.”
He was arguing with a dog. This is what his life had sunk to? He got the bike out, driving slowly out of town before opening her up and roaring through the night.
She needed someone else. Hadn’t he told her that?
Of course she’d argued that he was the one for her. And he’d refused her. She’d sure moved on easily enough.
Okay, that wasn’t fair. He knew she’d tried to get him back. But if she was dating now it meant she’d accepted that they couldn’t be together. It was what he wanted.
Maybe.
Maybe it was more about what she needed. Right? Shouldn’t he be the bigger person here and do what was best for her? He had baggage.
She was a beautiful woman. Successful. Family centered. It wasn’t hard to see why a guy like Trey would be interested in her. It was good she was getting past Joe. There were men in Petal who could give her what she needed.
She needed…
He thought back to Beth telling him she needed him. Who was he to tell her what she needed when she seemed to know so strongly?
The truth was, he needed her. He could admit it as he rode alone in the dark. Needed her so much just the thought of her got him through many a rough spot in the last month.
She made him laugh. She didn’t take him seriously when he was pissy. Took a strong person with a sense of herself to blow off someone’s mood the way she did. It disarmed him.
He thought about her sense of humor. Bawdy. He loved that part of her. When it was just the two of them, she could be so dirty. Carnal. He was sure he’d never laughed so much and had so much great sex too.
More than that and just in general, she had a quick wit. An easy way with her siblings and friends. She was the one who tended to run interference when tempers flared. She diverted anger and annoyance and teased it away. William or Nathan got gruff and she handled them. They knew it, of course, but she was impossible to resist. If Beth wanted you to smile, it was pretty hard not to.
He growled inside his helmet.
Beth Murphy was a strong woman. A helpmate, his mother would have called it. She was the kind of woman a man could come together with at the end of the day and share with.
The kind of woman who’d kick a man’s ass six ways to Sunday if he acted a fool, but who’d defend him to the death when he was right. She was ferocious when it came to the people she cared about.
Strong. He’d never looked at her as another responsibility. Though he cared about her, she didn’t need him the way his mother did. She was her own person. Independent.
The way she’d gone out and done all that research, how she’d contacted Trey’s sister to get him more information about mental-health treatment and resources—it had touched him then, and over the month they’d been apart, he’d thought about it more and more.
She’d seen a need and had jumped to fill it. Though he’d dumped her. She’d done it, had brought him food. Had made him dinner while she had opened up some really private parts of her life to make a point.
And it had been a damned good point. At the time, he’d been so wrapped up in his dad and his guilt and shame that he hadn’t really seen all the facets to that story she’d told him about her life.
More than just a way to prove her point about not carrying other people’s actions, it showed him how tender she was. Despite the horror she’d grown up with. Despite enduring stuff that would make most people hard and angry, she was not.
She’d done nothing but show him love. Kindness and compassion. At the same time, she’d shown spine to keep coming back. Even as he rejected her over and over. She’d encouraged him to keep fighting to find the right course of treatment for his father. Even as he’d stopped answering his door when she came over.
She gave and gave without expecting anything in return. She did it because he needed it.
That was love.
He pulled off to the side of the road and yanked his helmet off.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
If he let Beth go he was a total moron.
He loved Beth Murphy. Loved her persistence. Her strength. Her humor. Her sexy walk. The way she just bulldogged her way through everything. He’d never in his life met a more stubborn woman.
And it worked.
He put his helmet back on, turned the
bike around and headed back to Petal.
Chapter Fifteen
“Man oh man, he’s totally going to hurt me tomorrow.” Trey cast quick glances at the back where Joe was.
“He won’t. He’s got too much pride. Anyway, when he finally wises up, I’ll let him know it was just a way to poke at him and then he won’t want to hurt you anymore.”
He’d better wise up. Here she was looking absolutely freaking gorgeous, sitting with another man who totally couldn’t stop looking at her boobs. If Joe didn’t come over to their table and declare how stupid he was being, she…well, she might just give up.
They chatted as they drank their beer. People stopped by their table to chitchat. Mostly though because the whole damned town knew she and Joe had broken up and that he was in the back playing pool. The drama of it was too delicious to pass up.
Whatever. She had no intention of giving them a show. That would have been too much like her parents.
“People in this town are nosy.”
She smiled at Trey. “No one can resist the excitement. This is going to be all over town tomorrow. Maybe I made a mistake doing this.”
Trey took her hand, kissing her fingertips. It brought her words to a halt. He gave her such a wicked grin too, knowing that he’d gotten her a tiny bit tangled up.
He laughed. “Ha! See, I can do it too. Now you listen here, if that dumbass back there doesn’t come to his senses, you’re better off without him. I’m not playing now. You intended to give him a lesson about how beautiful and desirable you were. That if you took his advice to move on, this is what it would look like. It’s got to be hard to swallow, a man like him. But he needed to understand what his words would mean. As for all over town? Well yeah. It’s Petal after all. But look, it would have been anyway, no matter who you started dating. There are only so many places in town to take a date. It would be bound to happen.”
“Thanks, coach. That was a good speech.”
“You use humor to push stuff away too, I know your game.”
“You’re right, of course. Really, thank you. I hope I don’t have to start dating anyone else. It would suck to break in someone else. All that work with Joe down the drain. Plus, I like the man’s dog. And his motorcycle. He orders extra cake when we go out so I can have it.”