I bristle. “Why are you saying it like that?”
I can practically hear him shrug through the phone line. I know him so well. And he knows me so well.
“Dunno, man. Just seems weird that you completely failed to mention your engagement to me until you were announcing it everywhere.”
“Aw. Jasper, baby, don’t get all up in your feels.”
“Beau, take that shit somewhere else. My feelings aren’t hurt. What I’m telling you is I don’t buy it.”
The whoosh of air conditioning is all I hear for a few seconds as I consider my options.
“Why not?”
“That’s offensive.”
I snort. It is. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have tried to pull one over on you.”
“For fuck’s sake, Beau. What are you up to?”
I sigh, palms twisting over the steering wheel. “Bailey needed some support. She’s trying to get outta here, and people are so damn mean to her.”
He hums.
“You can’t fuck this up for her. You need to keep your mouth shut.”
“You know I’m a vault.” He sounds annoyed that I even had to say it. We’ve been best friends, practically brothers, since we were teenagers, and I don’t know a more trustworthy person than Jasper Gervais.
I sigh. “Yeah. I know.”
“You guys have a plan? How long you doing this charade?”
“As long as it takes.” My words lead to more silence. Jasper isn’t a big talker. But he’s a sensitive dude. A deep thinker. And I can almost hear him thinking right now.
“But what’s in it for you?”
My head tips from side to side as I consider my answer. “A friend. I like her.”
“I can tell. And that’s what’s got me worried.”
15
Bailey
“Why not?” The little boy crosses his arms and stares back at Cade, looking like a tiny version of his dad. Dark hair, set jaw, narrowed eyes. He can’t be more than seven or eight, but he carries himself a lot older than that as he glares at his dad from across the dinner table.
“Because they make a huge mess and are hard to contain. And I don’t need another living thing to take care of and clean up after.”
“I’ll feed it and take care of it.”
All heads swivel back and forth between the two. No one says a thing, but I can tell every single person sitting around the Eaton family dinner table is invested.
“You’re only bringing this up here so people will take your side,” Cade grumps.
“Willa already took my side. She said she’d back me up when it came to it.”
Willa groans and tips her head back. “Luuuuke. You can’t just throw me under the bus like that. We’re supposed to be a team.”
I stifle a smile, rubbing my fingers over my mouth as I focus on staring at the empty plate before me.
“Shit, sorry, Mom.”
Beau’s hand lands on my bare thigh. It’s casual, natural. He’s doing it to brace himself against laughing, but I can’t peel my eyes from his broad palm and calloused fingers, the way the size of him almost swallows me. The way my flesh gives beneath the firm squeeze.
It sets me ablaze instantly. I pull my stare away from the sight that’s got me hot and focused on keeping my breathing even, just in time to see Cade’s eyes bug out.
“Luke!” It’s clear the cuss word is not approved, but based on the hushed chuckles from around the table, it’s not exactly new ground.
“Dad, come on. What’s one little goat?”
“No.”
The boy’s eyes go big now, wide and pleading. “But Dad, they butcher all the boy ones because they don’t produce any milk. They practically give them away.”
Luke is really taking his shot here; he’s gone from tough and driving a hard bargain to trying the sensitive approach.
Smart kid.
“So what you’re telling me is that I’d be better off investing in a female goat and making you milk it so it produces something useful rather than work and mess?”
“Dad, please.” His voice cracks. I swear his eyes fill with tears. “Consider it a rescue goat.”
“Cade, come on. Live a little,” Harvey pipes up. I’ve been watching his keen gaze take in the entire exchange. I can tell he’s a great dad, loves his kids—his grandkids. I don’t know Harvey Eaton well, but I know he’s unlike any man I’ve had in my life.
Cade shoots his dad a dry look. “Of course you’d side with a child. What am I supposed to do with a male goat?”