The Vincent Boys 1 [Extended & Uncut] by Abbi Glines Page B

He was right of course. Even God couldn’t have moved her if she wasn’t ready.
    “Bye, Grana,” I whispered one last time.
    “You ready?” Beau asked, lacing his fingers through mine.
    I turned and walked back down the aisle while nodding and speaking to others who were making their way to pay their condolences. Beau stood quietly and patiently beside me. I noticed several people flick their gaze curiously up at the town’s black sheep stationed beside me. This would be all over town before the night was over. Somehow that didn’t matter right now. Beau had been my friend since he’d pulled my hair on the playground and I in return grabbed his hand and twisted his arm behind his back. After the preschool teacher corrected us both and threatened to call our parents Beau had looked over at me and asked, “Want to sit by me and my cousin at lunch?”
    They could all talk. Beau had come to my rescue when I needed it the most. He might not be the perfect citizen but Grana always said perfect was boring. She would love that I’d snubbed my nose at the gossiping betties at her funeral. I glanced back over my shoulder, smiling. She was here somewhere and I could almost hear her laughter as I walked out of the church holding Beau’s hand.
     
    Beau
    “I don’t know that they will ever recover from that,” I said as I held open my truck door and helped Ashton inside.
    “What?” she asked, frowning down at me.
    Did she really not know what I was referring to or was she trying to act like it was no big deal? Because it was a big deal. My showing up tonight was a step I’d taken knowing Sawyer would find out about it. I hadn’t cared about the repercussions. I just couldn’t stand the idea of Ashton having no one but people who had no idea what she was going through or feeling surround her. She had needed me.
    “They’ll talk, Ash,” I said carefully, waiting to see if she’d just been so broken over her Grana that she hadn’t thought about the statement we had made walking out of the church together.
    She shrugged her shoulders. “So. That’s what they do, Beau. They talk. They’ll get over it.”
    Damn if I didn’t want to crawl in and press her back against the worn leather seats and kiss her until we were both begging for more. But even I didn’t do it in the church parking lot. Closing the truck door I made my way around the front of the truck and climbed inside.
    I didn’t ask if she wanted to go home. I was taking her to my place instead. Mom was working tonight and I wanted Ash in my room. I wanted to see her in my space. Know what that felt like. Smell her close even after she’s gone.
    Ashton scooted over until she was up against my side. “Where we going?”
    “Does it matter?” I asked instead of answering her.
    She let out a small, sad sigh. “No. Not really. Just so I’m with you.”
    My chest thumped against my chest and the possessive beast inside me roared with pleasure. She was mine, dammit. I had to fix this. I couldn’t give her back to Sawyer.
    “I want to see you in my room. I want my pillows to smell like you. I want to have the image of you laying back on my bed imprinted in my memory.”
    Ashton tilted her head back to look up at me. I glanced down at her big green eyes before looking back at the road. “When did you get all sweet and charming?”
    Since I’d been buried deep inside the only girl I’d ever loved. I didn’t tell her that though. She wasn’t ready for me to repeat my feelings again. She’d frozen up on me the last time I’d told her how I felt. “Don’t tell me you are just now figuring out how charming I am?”
    She snickered and pressed her mouth against my arm to keep from laughing louder. I loved hearing her laugh. Especially after seeing her fall apart and listening to her weep earlier. That had torn me apart. I didn’t want her sad. I didn’t want her to have to feel any pain. I just wanted to protect her from everything. I knew it sounded