“No, I don’t think we’re the same age,” he replies, “He’s more Atti’s age if I remember right.”
“Okay, so tell me how, then, you assaulted another grown man and didn’t get arrested?” Metaphorically, I put my hands on my hips. “Just because you’re friends?”
He doesn’t say anything and his handsome features scrunch together, as if he’s thinking or holding back.
“The other deputy called you sir. They knew who you were,” I finally say. “They knew your last name. I didn’t even know your last name was Burns,Just Beau.”
“I know this is going to sound very forking convenient but… I swear to you, part of bringing you and Jett to my place tonight was so we could talk.”
Confused, I ask, “talk about what?”
“Well,” he scratches the side of his jaw, searching for words.
“What, Beau? You’re…scaring me.” I don’t know what’s going on and how those police officers knew him or why they treated him like he was Johnny Depp or something. But wanting to talk is never good.
He grabs my attention from my racing thoughts when he clears his throat.
“My father, Graham, he wasGraham Burns.”
“Okay,” I drag out, confused as to why this is supposed to mean something to me.
From the doorway, Jett bounces uncontrollably. My dad got him that jumper yesterday, so it’s still fun and new. Thank goodness because adding a grouchy Jett to this conversation is all I need. Beau swallows, his dark eyes focused on mine.
“He was the CEO and founder of the Wrench Kings.” He pauses, studying me like he’s waiting for me to understand, but after Dustin showed up here drunk, looking to cause a scene, my brain just… can’t. “He passed the title of CEO down to me.”
“You’re… the CEO of the Wrench Kings?” I blink. Wrench Kings are literally everywhere; they’re as common as Kroger, the grocery store. That means…
“I am. Have been for over a year. And I knew he was going to leave it to me when he passed. That was always the plan, even before he got sick.”
I don’t even think of the title or the job or what any of it means. All I can think of is the fact that just an hour before this, he was cupping my cheek and tasting my lips, and we were about to pack a bag to go to his place. Jett, finally sick of bouncing, starts to cry but I don’t leap up to grab him because Beau does it first.
Holding my son to his chest, his large arm looped around his underside, my eyes water as I process that this man that promised me so much–that I believed was different and could give me things I didn’t have before–liedto me.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Is all I can manage to ask.
He lowers Jett to the floor to crawl around and keeps his voice quiet when he answers. “I really didn’t think it mattered because at the time that I met you, being the CEO of Wrench Kings wasn’t a big deal to me. It was actually a stress, and by avoiding it, I allowed myself to pretend it didn’t exist.”
He rakes a hand through his hair, letting out a full sigh. “But then when I met you, I wanted to be better. I wanted to be a man worthy of you and Jett, and I knew I couldn’t do that by ignoring my problems.”
I want to understand. I don’t want this to be a deception so large that it breaks us. Because, even though I haven’t told him,I’m in love with Beau.
“Then life just started happening. You and Jett were sick, we were figuring us out…” His expression isn’t really remorseful, and that keeps my spine straight as he stands before me in my home. He’s obviously sorry, but I can see more there and it makes me uneasy.
“Atticus told me I was stupid for not telling you sooner. But everytime I planned to tell you, something came up. I know it sounds like an excuse but it’s the truth. Things with us were so good and you were the only thing going well in my life so I didn’t push it when things came up. I just told myself another time.” He shrugs. “And as stupid as I know this is going to sound… I really just didn’t think you’d care.”
I’m standing now, keeping my eye on Jett as he tips over a stack of magazines on his way to chew on the side of the couch.
“You didn’t think I’d care about what? The money?” I fold my arms over my chest and shake my head. “I don’t give a crap about the money. I care about the entire chunk of your identity that I didn’t know existed until a few minutes ago.”
“I was going to tell you tonight. I never lied to you, though, Beck. I may not have told you, but I do work as a mechanic there and plan to keep doing that. If you had asked me if I was the CEO I wouldn’t have said no.I don’t lie.”
Those last three words come out very pointed, and I draw my hand to my chest, inadvertently pointing inward. I went and saw Dustin and I haven’t come clean about that. I need to, and by not telling him, it’s so incredibly unfair of me to be angry about this.
He enjoyed the good and didn’t want to ride another wave of struggle. I really do get that.
Within a second, he’s guiding me to my couch, and we’re sitting. Jett crawls over, drool stringing to the floor from his chin. He grips Beau’s calf, and pulls. When he’s standing, Beau stares down at Jett, wide-eyed.
He points, mouth open in a silent, shocked cry. And when he turns to me with triumph and pride on his face, his eyes are wet. “He stood up.”