Taking a step onto the deck, I let the door slam behind me. She startles and turns to me with her hand on her chest in fright. “Beau?” she whispers, as if my name is a curse.
“I reckon a congratulations are in order.” I try to force a smile, but it never reaches my eyes. As much as I fuckin’ hate Mason, and as pissed as I am someone else gets to hold Callie when I can’t, I can’t say I’m not upset that the person she’s going to end up with comes from money. At least she’ll want for nothing. After all, it’s the whole reason I broke things off to begin with. She deserved more. Apparently, she’s found that.
“I’ll see you around, Mrs. Aldridge.” I know they’re not married, yet, but I can’t help but poke the bear.
She never says a word. Her mouth stays slightly ajar and she simply watches me as I walk toward the barn and my SUV. Once I round the corner, I see the old man leaning against the door.
“You knew she was comin’, didn’t you?” I say to Earl. It’s a rhetorical question, the man never does anything unplanned.
“Reckon I was trying to mend two fences today.”
“Sorry, old man, there ain’t nobody that can mend the shit I broke.”
“Time can heal all wounds, if you let it. You’d be surprised how broken things can find their way whole again. I’ll see you around, Beau.”
With that I nod and hop in my Rover. Too many questions rolling around in my head to go anywhere but home. I need a shower and I need a damn drink. Married? Callie Williams is getting married. I’m happy she’s happy, but all I keep thinking is it could’ve been me.
As we sit down at the fancy restaurant Mason chose for lunch, I can’t help the questions nagging at my brain. The whole car ride Granddad kept to the basics happening with the farm. He conveniently kept leaving out the fact my ex-boyfriend was there helping him. Did he need an extra pair of hands that badly? But after all these years why would he call over Beau? And how the heck would he get in touch with him? The phone number we all had for him has been disconnected since he left Alabama all those years ago.
A ding from my phone causes me to jolt. I hadn’t realized how withdrawn into my own head I had become until my heart began racing from the slight scare. Looking down, my mood plummets even more.
Mason: Running Late.
“Mason’s going to be a little late,” I say to Granddad based on Mason’s very impersonal text.
That’s it. No love you. No sorry. Just straight to the point and no room for pleasantries. Is that how normal couples communicate? My mind drifts back to Beau and how we used to talk. The easy way with which we rambled back and forth about our days or our hopes and dreams. Mason may be a lot of things, but a good conversationalist is not one of them.
“And this surprises you, Sunshine?” Granddad asks. I smile at the term—he’s always called me Sunshine. For as long as I can remember that’s the name my granddad adorns only to me. I asked him once and he said it’s because when I smile it’s brighter than the brightest ray of sunlight and sweeter than the sweetest peach. But the words he said with them are not as smile worthy as the name he paired them with.
“How do you mean?”
“I just mean he’s a busy man. You’ve been dealing with a lot of the burden of this wedding alone because of his commitment to work.”
“He’s a hard-worker. That’s something to be admired,” I defend, but I’m not really sure I believe the words I’m speaking. I’ve never seen Mason put in a hard day’s work in my entire life.
“Then why rush the wedding? Why not wait until things are a little less hectic?” Granddad places his hand over mine on the table and I know he says these things out of love, but they sting regardless.
“Granddaddy, it’s been two years. We’re not really rushing into anything.”
“Even so, the Lord gives us signs pointing toward the right path. You need to be strong enough to see the signs and courageous enough to follow them blindly. I’ve never known you to be a coward, Sweetheart.” A single tear falls. He lifts his palm and places it against my check, wiping the moisture with his thumb. “You’re much too beautiful to cry. Everything always happens for a reason.”
His words drag me back to the scene I walked into this afternoon at his farm. “Speaking of reasons behind actions. Why was Beau Davis at your house? You know Deacon would be more than happy to help out at the farm if you need it that badly.”
“Who says I need more help than I’ve got?” he asks, but there’s something hidden in his aging green eyes.
“Well, I just assumed with Beau there it was because you were desperate—” I cut myself off because I don’t want my granddad to sound helpless.
“Baby girl, Beau came to visit because it had been a few weeks since we last talked and we had some catching up to do, but when he saw the fence line, he insisted on helping. I didn’t need his help, he offered.”
“Weeks?” I ask confused.
“Beau and I have stayed in touch for years now.”
My mouth drops, and I’m shocked. All those years ago, he watched me crumble under the pain of the breakup. How could he be in contact with Beau and not tell me? Not that it would have done any good. I probably would have never been able to move on, not if I knew he was lingering on the fringes of my life.
Did Granddad tell him about my life over the years? Has Beau ever asked? With each question that sits on the tip of my tongue fifteen more filter through my brain. I don’t know what to ask and I feel like my privacy was invaded slightly.
When I finally gain control of my voice, the only question I ask is, “Did he ever ask about me?” It’s insecure and unfair to put myself through the pain once.
“Sunshine, he’s a good man. He never asked because he knew I wouldn’t tell him. He knew my answer would be to pick up his phone and call you if he wanted to know about your life.”
“He never did,” I say, putting my hands in my lap rolling my napkin.
“No, because he’s a good man. He couldn’t hurt you anymore than he already had. He loved you too much to put you through more pain.” The words he says and the memory I have don’t equate. I can’t reconcile the good man my granddad is describing with the boy that ripped my heart out and walked all over it as he left this town and never looked back.
“I’m sorry I’m late.” Mason comes rushing to the table right as a headache threatens my temples. Leaning forward, I move to give him a kiss, but he lifts his chin at the last minute and places a chaste kiss against my forehead. The brush off only plummeting my mood.
“It’s okay, you didn’t miss anything,” I say, as he takes a seat and I place my hand in his over the table.
“Right,” Granddad says and pulls out his notepad. “So, are we still settled on the two of you doin’ your own vows?”
“Yes.” I nod looking to Mason who’s looking at his smart watch.
Nudging him with my elbow, he looks at me then quickly to my granddad. “Uh, yeah sure. Whatever Callie wants,” he says distracted then pulls out his phone and releases my hand to type out what looks like a novel.