Beard Necessities (Winston Brothers, #7)(71)

“Sienna.” I placed a hand on my hip. “Do I look like I know the first thing about seducing a man?”

“Honestly?” Her eyes moved down and then up my body. “You look like you could write a textbook on the subject. Besides, what is there to seducing men? Just get naked and lie on a bed. All their blood leaves their brain and they can’t think. Science.”

Despite the bleakness of the situation, I laughed.

Or maybe, because of the bleakness of the situation I laughed.

Dragging my feet, I walked to the couch and sat next to her. “I don’t know what to do. It’s like, I’m forever banging my head against brick walls, wanting things that are impossible.”

“What’s impossible? What is it you want?”

“Billy understanding my perspective and apologizing, sincerely. And then I want assurances that he’s done withholding the truth. First, he kept the fact that Duane and Beau are my brothers a secret from me, now this. If there are any residual secrets, I want to know them.”

“You don’t want him to grovel?” Sienna pushed my upper arm lightly with her fingertips. “Beg for forgiveness?”

I sent her a side-eye. “Billy doesn’t beg.”

“But it would be nice, right? If he did?” Now she elbowed me. “Picture him, on his knees, a long stem rose in his mouth, wearing one of those sexy, well-tailored suits of his—who is his tailor, by the way?—his hands clasped together. Take me back, Claire! TAKE ME BACK!”

I chuckled at the picture she painted and her dramatic imitation, it was so absurd. “Honestly? No. I don’t need him tying himself in knots. I need him with me. I need him to stay and talk through everything so we can build a bridge to the other side together. I feel like all these secrets between us built bridges to nowhere. And then . . .”

“And then?”

I couldn’t help my rueful smile as I peeked at her. “Would it be terrible if I said lots of sex?”

Now Sienna laughed, her head thrown back as she smacked her leg with her palm. Her laughter was exceptionally friendly, so of course I laughed too, even though my cheeks were made hot by the admission. I hadn’t been joking.

When she finished laughing, Sienna’s eyes turned assessing as they moved over my face. “None of that seems impossible.”

I glanced at her. “It is when I can’t even get him to talk to me.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She patted my leg and then stood. “Leave it to me.”

I watched her cross the room, pick up her phone, unlock it, and then type furiously.

“Leave what to you?” My stomach twisted with discomfort. It was one thing to be the unwitting recipient of the Winston family’s shenanigans and hijinks. It was quite another to be in cahoots with them.

Confirming my fears, Sienna grinned, and then winked, lifting the phone to her ear. “Or, more accurately, leave it to us.”





Billy was with Ashley.

Sienna called Jethro and Jethro called Duane and Duane called Cletus and Cletus sent a group text.



Cletus: I know you hate group text messages same as me, but would someone please holler back if Billy is with them?



Their sister messaged almost immediately.



Ashley: He’s with me, helping me carry groceries up the hill. Why?

Cletus: Stall him. I’ll bring Claire to you and I’ll help you carry the bags the rest of the way.

Ashley: Sure thing. Suddenly I feel faint.



Cletus met me at the front door, and we set off together down the hill. He didn’t ask any questions. In fact—wearing a grim expression, his arms swinging with purpose, his eyes straight forward—he said nothing at all.

Billy and Ashley came into view almost immediately once we left the gravel driveway and cut along the steep nature trail that was set next to a small stream. A quantity of large lavender bushes lined the other side of the trail where little white butterflies flirted with the purple flowers. Across the stream was a primitive wooden fence and beyond the fence was a vineyard, tidy rows of emerald green grapevines capped on the end with rosebushes in full bloom.

Ashley was sitting on a big rock just off the trail, her elbows on her knees, surreptitiously glancing up the hill every so often. Billy crouched in front of her, his back to us, his head angled like he was inspecting her for strain or injury.

I felt a twinge of guilt, but just a twinge. If he hadn’t walked out, then I wouldn’t have tricked him now. Maybe that was screwy logic, but it was the only logic I had.

We were about fifty or so feet away when Billy glanced distractedly over his shoulder, doing a double take, and then slowly rising to his feet. The transformation of his features—one minute surprised, the next angry, the next aloof—complete as he faced us, slowly placing his hands in his pockets.

“Proud brother is proud,” Cletus mumbled under his breath.

“Oh. Look at me.” Ashley stood from the rock where she’d been sitting, turning to pick up several cloth grocery bags. “I’m feeling quite recovered all of the sudden.”

Billy glared at his sister, and then he glared at Cletus. “Let me guess, you need me to go back to the store for something?”

“Yep.” Cletus closed the distance to his brother and picked up the groceries near Billy’s feet while Ashley lost no time in hiking past all of us straight up the hill with the dexterity of a professional mountain climber.