I nodded and gazed up at him. “They did. It’s gone.”
His lips flattened as he inhaled deeply. “That’s because I dropped it off at the shop today.”
I pushed against his chest. “What? It’s not stolen?” Beau shook his head as he used his thumbs to wipe under my eyes. My body sagged in relief, but I was still beyond confused. “What shop? And why?”
“How about I take the little critters to my place while you two chat?” Trey suggested with a smile on his face. “Hey? Do my little guys want to come over to Uncle Trey’s apartment to play?” he asked the puppies. They didn’t answer, but they were having fun sniffing at his bare feet.
“Geneviève?” Beau said quietly to me, leaving the decision up to me. He knew things between me and his assistant captain hadn’t been good for a while.
“Thanks, Trey. That would be nice.” Trey grinned his handsome smile at me, then turned around and disappeared with the puppies. The whole time, he talked to them like they were kids.
“Come with me to the Jeep. I have something to show you,” Beau said, then took my hand in his and we walked out through the iron gates.
Once in the parking lot, Beau clicked his key fob, making his vehicle’s lights flicker as the locks clicked open. He opened the back hatch and inside I saw two guitar cases. “This one’s mine, I picked up from my house.” Beau pointed to a shiny, black case. “This one is your dad’s,” he said, pulling a new, brown case toward us.
“His never had a case,” I said, letting my fingers lightly touch the soft, dark leather on the lid.
Beau sighed and gazed down at me. “And that’s why the strings were so messed up. You have to store an instrument properly or it’ll get damaged.”
“Huh, I’d never thought about it. I mean, it wasn’t like I’d ever thought anyone would be playing it again.” I watched closely as Beau opened up the case. “I don’t remember Dad ever having a case for it.” Not that I’d honestly paid that close of attention to how he stored it.
“Well, I thought you’d play it and I’d play mine.”
Beau lifted Dad’s guitar up carefully, as though it were made of glass. “It looks cleaner.” I observed, trailing my fingers over the glossy wood surface. The strings looked tight and new.
“I had them give it a polish. I hope that was okay?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He smiled a rather defeated grin down at me. “I thought I’d make it back in time to surprise you. But it was bath day at the daycare and they took forever to bring the puppies down. Your practice on Wednesdays usually goes later, so I thought I’d have more than enough time to get the guitar back on the wall before you came home.”
“I’m sorry for making you worry. And making you cry.” Beau swallowed, making his Adam’s apple bob in the process.
“You’re going to teach me how to play?” I asked, biting the corner of my lip.
He nodded, almost sheepishly. “A few days ago, I saw you doing a search for ‘how to play the guitar’. You don’t need videos when you can have the real thing.”
My lips tipped up at the corners, and I leaned overtop the guitar. “Thanks, Beau. That was incredibly thoughtful of you.” He bent down and kissed me lightly. “But if you ever take my guitar again, I’m going to hurt you.”
“Noted.” He laughed before kissing me again.
I knocked lightly at first.When there was no answer, I banged harder on the door, making it shake—almost as much as my nerves currently were.
Finally, the door opened. “Well, look who we have here,” Trey’s voice was loud and teasing as he leaned against the doorframe. “Come to pick up your young ones?”
Even though his voice was playful, his eyes still scoured my face with uncertainty. Probably wondering if I was done being mad at him yet or not.
I smiled and nodded. “And to give you this,” I said, handing him a loaf of banana bread.
He backed up into his apartment and let me in. “Still warm?” Trey asked, giving the loaf a long sniff.
“Fresh from the oven.”
“Think I’m the one who owes you humble pie, kid.” His eyes landed on mine, not letting them go. All I did was shrug in response.
He sighed as he closed the door behind me, then swaggered into the kitchen. “The puppies already ate, and I took them outside about a half hour ago.”
I took in my surroundings—well, Trey’s surroundings. He still had boxes piled up everywhere. Even on top of the kitchen table and island. Nothing was up on the walls.