Beard Necessities: Winston Brothers Book #7 by Penny Reid

Author:Penny Reid [Reid, Penny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: www.pennyreid.ninja/newsletter/
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

*Billy*

“I think of you only twice a day - when I am alone and when I am with someone else.”

Amit Kalantri, I Love You Too

First thing in the morning, after another sleepless night, I changed into workout clothes and headed downstairs. A few days ago, Duane had mentioned in passing that the property had a small gym and weight room down the gravel driveway and on the far side of the roundabout parking area. No time like the present to exhaust myself. Then maybe, after a shower, I’d find Scarlet and—

And . . .

Well, I’d do something.

After what happened at the pool yesterday, she’d been polite for the rest of the day. Not cold. Not warm. Just polite. Turns out the only thing worse than her constant little touches was when she withheld them.

I didn’t blame her. It was clear she was frustrated, and not just because of what she called my lack of interest in touching her. She wanted me to talk to her. I needed to talk to her. I would. Today, I will find her and I will talk to her.

That much decided, I further determined I’d focus on chest and arms in the weight room. Look at me, deciding things. Finally.

To my surprise, Jethro and Beau were already up and working out. This simplified matters considerably. We took turns spotting each other, and by the time we were finished, the sun was much higher in a partly cloudy sky, fully committed to day.

“You want to go swimming?” Beau wiped his forehead with a towel. “Sure is hot today. You need to borrow some swim shorts, Billy?” Beau stepped off the long driveway, clearly planning to cut across the olive orchard instead of taking the longer, gravel path to the main house. “I have an extra pair.”

“Maybe later.”

“Hey.” Jet hit my shoulder lightly with the back of his hand. “If this orchard is too much like forest for you, you should stay close. Otherwise you may get lost.”

Beau chuckled.

“Shut it,” I grumbled, not precisely smiling. My family, especially Jethro, never let me live down the fact that I always got lost in the woods.

“Hey, who’s that?” Beau pointed at a barley field beyond the orchard and—after stopping, squinting, and straining my ears—I realized Scarlet was at least one of the people. The other three looked to be Jess, Shelly, and Ashley.

“We should go over and say hi,” Jethro suggested cheerfully.

My oldest brother, eyes on me, was precisely smiling, like he knew a secret about me. My frown was immediate. Here we go.

“Hey ladies!” Beau shouted, already walking toward them. “Y’all want to go—Wait, is that food?”

With a parting twinkle in his eyes, Jethro followed Beau, leaving me to bring up the rear with my suspicions. Soon, we were upon the gathering, which was obviously a morning picnic. Bethany came into view, picking red poppies among the green barley and handing them to her mother.

It was a sweet picture and I would’ve taken one, except Scarlet’s gaze

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