The Love That Split the World(80)

“Natalie,” Beau murmurs into my hair, his mouth moving down to burrow into my collarbone. “I want you.”

A door slams shut somewhere in the house, and I sit bolt upright, my head colliding with Beau’s. He swears and clutches his head.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” I say, clamping a hand over his. He shakes his head and looks over his shoulder to his door, through which we can hear voices. “Who is it?”

Apart from the stern lines between his eyebrows, his expression is wiped clean. “I think it’s my mom.”

He stands up, pulling his rumpled shirt back down over his stomach before running his hands through his hair and smoothing out his face.

“Beau!” a shrill voice calls from down the hall.

He looks over at me apologetically.

“It’s fine,” I say, standing and smoothing my tank top and hair. The corner of his mouth tweaks up, and he crosses toward me, pulling my hips against his. He kisses me on the mouth and then the forehead before leading me into the hallway. We step into the living room, and the woman on the far side of the couch squeals.

“Hey, baby,” she says with a sloppy grin, holding her arms out for a hug. She’s thin with bleached-blond curls and leathery, overly tan skin, dressed in jeans, cowgirl boots, and a tight denim jacket.

Beau looks between her and the burly, bald man standing behind her. “What’re you doin’ here?” he says to his mom.

She glances at Mason on the couch then back to Beau. “That any way to talk to your mama?”

“What’s he doin’ here?” Beau tips his head toward the man, who snakes an arm around Beau’s mom’s waist.

“Tell him, Darlene.”

She holds her left hand up in front of her chest and brandishes a diamond ring. “Bill and I got back together, and—well, baby, we’re married!”

Beau stares at her blankly, and Mason takes a long sip of beer, eyes fixed on the coffee table he has his feet up on. This is when Darlene notices me, leaning around Beau to get a good look at me, her lips pursed. “Hi there,” she says to me, then turns to Beau. “Beau, baby, why don’t you be a gentlemen and take your friend home. It’s time we celebrate, as a family.”

Beau stalks right past her to the front door without a word, and I hurry after him, turning back to say, hastily, “Nice to meet you all,” before chasing him down the steps and to the edge of the moonlit cornfield. He has both hands twisted through his hair, and he’s breathing heavily.

I touch his shoulder and he spins around. “That guy’s scum,” he spits. “What the hell is she thinking, gettin’ back with him?”

“I’m sorry,” I say helplessly.

He drags his hands down his face. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”

When we get back to the top of my cul-de-sac, Beau’s still fuming silently. I wonder what happened between him and his mom, or him and Bill, to make him this upset. “Are you going to be okay going back there?” I say softly.

“I’m not goin’ back there.”

“Where are you going?”

He shrugs. “I’ll sleep in my truck.”

I pull his face toward me, and he nestles against the space between my neck and shoulder. “Come inside,” I say. “We can sleep in my closet.”

He tightens his arms around my middle. “I won’t sleep if I’m layin’ next to you, Natalie.”

Heat spreads all through me, and my insides start vibrating again. “Then I’ll stay in my room,” I say. “We’ll have a door between us.”

“You think I’ll sleep better layin’ ten feet from you than I will in my truck?”

“Don’t you?”

He laughs, and drags me onto his lap, his hands soft on my hips. “How tired do you feel right now?”

“Like I haven’t slept for four days, and someone just stabbed a shot of adrenaline into my heart.”

“That’s how I feel when I’m at home, miles away, and I think about you.” He brushes a few stray hairs away from my lips and kisses me. “Goodnight, Natalie.”





25


“Why are you glowing?” Alice says flatly when I come into her office.

“I don’t know,” I reply. “Maybe because my parents agreed to let me stay until the end of the summer?”

Alice eyes me skeptically. “You’re screwing the guy from the other world.”

“I am not.”

She holds her hands up in front of her. “Whatever, making love, I don’t care. Just don’t let it get in the way of everything else.”

“I’m not, and it won’t.” I will my blush to fade as I plop down across from her.

“I wonder what would happen if you got pregnant,” she says, eyes growing distant with thought.

“Alice, I’m not having sex with Beau.”

“I’m just saying, do you think the baby would disappear after your Closing? Do you think it would be like you two? Which world would it belong in? It’s actually not a bad idea . . . are you open to getting pregnant?”

“Are you open to me leaving and never coming back?”

She waves a hand dismissively. “Don’t get all bent out of shape. It was just a thought. Anyway, good job buying us time. But three weeks is still not much.”