The Vincent Boys (The Vincent Boys #1)(49)

Leann let go of my hands and slipped her arm around my shoulder instead.

“Wow,” was her only response.

“I know. It wasn’t the only time either and, and although I know it won’t happen again . . . I think . . . I think I love him. Maybe I always have. No. I know I always have. When I’m with Beau I feel things I’ve never felt with Sawyer. I can be me. There’s no pretending. Beau knows my worst flaws.”

“The heart wants who the heart wants. We can’t help that,” Leann said.

I sighed and finally lifted my eyes to meet hers. The unshed tears blurred my vision.

“But I’ve ruined his life. All he ever had was Sawyer. Make no mistake, I went after Beau. I can look back and see it now. This is all my fault. I should have never come between them.” I sniffled and buried my head in her shoulder.

“Beau could have said no. He knew he was destroying his relationship with Sawyer every moment he spent with you. Don’t you take all the blame for this.” The stern tone in Leann’s voice only caused me to cry harder. Beau needed Sawyer. He might not realize it but he did. Somehow I had to make it right.

“How do I fix this? How do I help Beau get Sawyer back?”

“You can’t fix this for them. Beau knew what he was doing, Ash. He chose you over Sawyer. Now you’ve let Sawyer go, are you going to choose Beau?”

I wiped the tears from my cheeks and peered up at her. “Choosing Beau will cause everyone in Grove to hate him. They’ll all see him as the guy who took Sawyer’s girl away. I can’t do that to him.”

Leann shrugged. “I don’t think Beau cares about everyone else. He made that apparent when he decided sneaking around with his cousin’s girl was what he wanted to do. He has to love you, Ash. Never in this lifetime would I have thought Beau would do anything to hurt Sawyer. He loves him. So that can only mean he loves you more.” She reached down and patted my shoulder. “Question is, do you love him as fiercely? Are you willing to snub your nose at your family and the people in town in order to have him?”

Chapter 20

Beau

“Well, hell has done froze slap over. Sawyer Vincent is walking into a bar.” My mama’s voice carried loud and clear over the empty room. I sat the beer down I’d been nursing since walking in here five minutes ago. Ashton was nowhere to be found so I came here hoping she was looking for me too.

“I’m not here for a social visit, Aunt Honey. I came to see my back-stabbing lying SOB of a cousin.”

Mama let out a low whistle and shook her head. “I shoulda known better than to believe you knew all about Beau and Ashton galavanting around town together.”

“Shut up, Mom,” I said without glancing her way. I kept my eyes on Sawyer. The hatred in his eyes wasn’t something I’d ever imagined seeing directed my way. Even though I knew I deserved it I still had a hard time swallowing it. His hair was tucked behind his ears and his teeth were so tightly clenched I could see his jaw tick.

“Is she here?” Sawyer asked, scanning the empty bar. He’d thought she would come to me too.

“No.”

“Where is she?”

“I don’t know.”

Sawyer stalked toward me. God, I didn’t want to hit him. I just wanted Ash. The real Ash. The one he didn’t know. The one he’d never be able to love.

“How could you do this, Beau? You’re like my brother.”

The pain in his eyes felt like a knife twisting in my gut. It wasn’t enough to make me regret anything but it hurt like hell.

“You don’t know her. You never did.”

“I don’t know her? I DON’T KNOW HER? Who in the HELL do you think you are, Beau? She’s been mine for three years. THREE YEARS. The two of you hardly acknowledged each other for three years. Then I leave for the summer and you two make up? Become friends? What exactly happened? Because the bull crap she tried to feed me outside the church isn’t gonna fly.”

Did I tell him the truth? He deserved the truth but I couldn’t tell him everything without Ash’s consent. It was her story too.

“We got close. We spent time together. We remembered why we were so close when we were younger.” I stopped and stared at him. There was one truth he needed to know. One truth that was mine to tell. But admitting it would probably kill any chance of us ever getting over this. It all boiled down to who was more important. My cousin. The one guy I’d always known would stand by me no matter what, my best friend. Then there was Ash. The one person I couldn’t live without. Not anymore. “I love her.”

Sawyer’s jaw dropped then clenched within a second. He was gearing up to take a swing at me. I could see it in his stance.

“You. Love. Her,” he repeated in angry disbelief. “Are you aware I intend to marry her one day? What about you, Beau, huh? You planning on marrying her? Moving her into your mama’s trailer? Maybe she could get a job working here with Aunt Honey once her parents completely cut her off.”

My fist slammed into his face before I knew what was happening. Sawyer staggered back, blood trickling down his nose. A loud roar erupted from his chest and he charged at me, tackling me to the ground. His fist connected with my jaw only because I knew I deserved it. But that was the last lick I’d take from him. The blood running down over his mouth now from his nose had me doing everything in my power to constrain him. I didn’t want to hit him again but I’d be damned if I’d let him hit me.