“Yeah, no problem,” Jacob says. “We were going to ask you if we can take him up north this weekend anyway.”
“That’s perfect,” I say and walk away from them. Going inside, I finally drop my arms from across my chest. Heading to my office, I close the door and take the wet shirt off, putting on a black tank top with the bar’s name across my chest. I walk out of the room, and I see Beau there in the middle of the room with his hand covering his mouth.
“This …” he says. “This is.” I blink my eyes, trying not to think about it.
“Yeah,” I say and walk over to the broom, trying not to look at him.
“Savannah.” He calls my name, and the way he says it just makes my heart fill up. “Look at me.”
“No,” I say. He’s seen enough of my tears. I grab the broom and start to sweep, hoping that he walks away. But instead, I feel him coming closer. His hand stops the broom from sweeping, and then he places his finger under my chin. I try to fight it, but he doesn’t let me, and I finally look up at him, and he sees the tears running down my cheeks. “Please.”
He brushes the strands of hair falling out of my bun away from my forehead with his pinky. “Please what?”
“Please, I don’t want to talk about this,” I say, my lower lip trembling as I try to be strong. “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to think about it. All I want to do is clean it up so I can put it behind me.” His hand moves down to my cheek as he brushes the tear away, and I finally let it out. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.” I admit my biggest fear to him. “I don’t know how much longer I can stay in this town.” I drop the broom. “At first, I stayed to show them that it didn’t bother me, but now …” I shrug. “But now, I don’t think I have it in me.”
“You can’t let them win,” he tells me quietly.
“But when am I going to win?” I ask. “When is it my turn to be happy? When do I get to walk down the street with my head held high and not get pointed and stared at?” My voice quivers. “When is it my turn to walk into a place and have people greet me with a smile instead of a sneer?” He takes me into his arms now, and for the second time in two days, he holds me as I cry my fears and shame away.
Chapter Seven
Beau
I hold her in my arms as she cries, and nothing I can say will make her feel better.
When Jacob busted into my office and told me about the vandalism, I turned to my brother right away.
“If you did this …” I pointed at him, and he held up one of his hands while the other pinched his nose.
“I wouldn’t waste my time and energy on her,” he said, and I looked over at my father, who just glared at me. I turned and started to walk out when my father called my name.
“You aren’t leaving in the middle of a family meeting for ...” He looked at Jacob and then back at me. “That woman.”
Jacob was the one I had to hold back this time. “Let’s be very clear here.” My voice came out in a low growl. “That woman trumps both of you. So, to answer your question, yes, I am leaving because to me, she’s family.” I turned but only for a minute before turning back. “You need to get the fuck out of my office.” My father glared at me. “Now.”
“You’re unbelievable.” Liam held a handkerchief to his nose. “You wouldn’t even be in this office without him.” He pointed at my father, and I rolled my eyes.
“You wouldn’t be the worthless piece of shit that you are without him.” I pointed at my father. “Now get the fuck out.” I waited at the door, and my father reluctantly walked to the door, stopping to look at me.
“I would choose your side wisely,” he said under his breath.
“See, that is where you and I differ. I choose my family’s side,” I said. Leaning in, I whispered, “And her having my nephew means she’s family.” I shut the door and looked at Bonnie. “I don’t want anyone going into my office when I’m not here.” She looked at me and then at my father, waiting. “If that will be a problem, I can find someone else to take your position.” I didn’t wait for her to answer. Instead, I turned and walked out of the house and down the steps.
“Dude,” Jacob said from beside me. “I thought your father was going to …” He stopped when I turned around.
“I don’t care. What happened at Savannah’s?” I asked, and he looked down.
“It’s all trashed.” His voice went low with the rest of it. “And some not nice words were painted on the side of the bar.”
“Fuck,” I hissed. “How fucking long is this going to go on for? It’s been eight fucking years.” I didn’t wait for him to answer. Instead, I got my ass in her truck and made my way to her.
Now I’m standing in the middle of the bar, and my heart breaks for her. “Why don’t you go wash your face, and we can go grab something to eat at my house?”
“Okay,” she mumbles, and her voice just sounds defeated. She walks to the back of the bar where the bathroom is, and once she’s out of earshot, I pick up the phone and call Tony, the town’s contractor.
“Hey there, Mr. Mayor,” Tony answers right away, laughing. “One day in the office and you’re already on my balls.” I have to laugh now. Tony has been in this town for over twenty years. He moved here when he was just twenty and out of school. He started his business slowly, and over the years, he’s gotten all of the town’s contracts. From the looks of everything that I’ve seen, he does his job, and he does it under budget, which is what you want.
“I’m not calling on official business,” I say and then look to make sure that Savannah hasn’t come back yet. “It’s more of a personal favor.”
“That sounds like a favor I want,” he says. “It’s always a good day when the higher-up owes you instead of the other way around.”
I laugh now. “I need you guys to come out to Savannah’s bar and fix it. Someone broke in last night and vandalized the place really good.” I take a look around, and my stomach sinks again just as it did when I stepped in and assessed the situation.
“Um …” His voice goes low, and then he lets out a deep breath. “I can’t.”
My shoulders snap up, and my neck gets tingly. “What do you mean, you can’t?”
“Listen, I don’t want to be put in the middle,” Tony says.
“In the middle of what?” I ask, and somehow what he tells me isn’t a surprise.
“Got a call from your father about twenty minutes ago,” he starts. His voice goes even lower, and I have to wonder if he doesn’t want people to know he’s on the phone with me. “If I so much as step foot on that property, my contract bid for the rec center is going to be passed to someone else.”
“Motherfucker,” I hiss. “Listen to me and listen to me good, Tony. My father has no say anymore. He has zero say in how I run my office.”
“I didn’t mean any disrespect.”