Healing Beau (The Brothers of Beauford Bend Book 6) by Alicia Hunter Pace

got me through a really rough spot.”
    She nodded and smiled brightly. “Then I’m glad. And, Beau, we had a great couple of days, but you know, we probably shouldn’t revisit that.”
    A thousand pounds was lifted from his shoulders—and then came crashing down in the form of guilt. She was saving him again.
    He laughed, trying to lighten the mood. “But it was great—greatest holiday I’ve ever had.”
    She joined in the laughter and squeezed his hand. “That’s the best thing about holidays—you can have a little no-remorse treat. And it was great, but not as great as our friendship, and we would never want to compromise that.”
    He pulled his hand away and absentmindedly scratched behind his ear—at least he hoped it looked absentminded.
    “I wouldn’t say it was a little treat. It was more like the grand champion of all treats. And, Christian, if not for our friendship, I’d be hauling you up those stairs right now.” He felt hollow as he spoke those words, maybe because he didn’t want to say them, and maybe because it sounded like he was throwing her a bone.
    She cocked her head to the side. “And I’d be letting you. But what we’ve always had is more important than a little fun between the sheets.”
    Was that all it was to you?
Ridiculous thought. Why should he expect it to mean more to her when that’s all it had been for him?
    She went on. “And we’re meant for better things, Beau. We are going to be godparents to each other’s children, and you’re going to be holding my hand—my very old and gnarled hand—when I die. That’s who we are, who we’ve always been. In the scheme of things, we just had a moment.”
    A moment? It had felt like more than a moment. But who was he to judge? He was way too screwed up to judge much of anything.
    “It could be me,” he said, because he didn’t know what else to say.
    She looked at him for a long moment. “It could be you? In what way?” Her eyes widened.
    “I could be the one who dies first. You could be holding my hand.”
    For just a second, all the life went out of her face, but then she laughed. “You wouldn’t do that to me—go first.”
    “Christian? Are things going to be awkward with us?”
    She shook her head from side to side, but then stopped.
    “Truthfully? Probably a little, for a little while—but only that. This time next month, we will have forgotten the whole thing.”
    Not likely, at least for him. But Christian looked pretty sure. It seemed unlike her, but what did he know about Christian’s sex life? Maybe she had amazing, miraculous, casual sex all the time and forgot about it. Not that he was judging. Except for the amazing, miraculous part, he’d been doing that since he was fifteen years old.
    But one thing was for sure. Jackson was wrong, dead wrong. Christian had no feelings for him, at least none beyond those she’d always had. Was it possible Jackson had told him that to manipulate him into moving back to Beauford Bend?
    Maybe I’ll stay at Firefly Hall after all.
    Not fair. Jackson might be domineering and interfering, but he was straightforward about it. It would never have occurred to Jackson that he would need to stoop to manipulation. However wrong he might be, Jackson believed what he’d said or he wouldn’t have said it. You’re just looking for an excuse to stay at Firefly Hall.
    And that couldn’t happen. Still, it seemed there were things left unsaid—though he had no idea what they were.
    Christian looked as if she was going to speak again, but a voice from the back of the house interrupted her.
    “Miss Christian? Can you come here a second?”
    She stood abruptly. “Don’t worry, Beau. Really. We’re good. Now, you go home and enjoy your family.”
    “I’ll see you soon. Maybe we could get some lunch.”
    If she heard him, she didn’t reply.

Chapter Eleven
    The last thing Christian wanted to do was walk up the steps and enter Nickolai and Noel’s front door—but there was no