Flirting with Texas (Deep in the Heart of Texas) (25 page)

The doctor was optimistic. Since Minnie went for regular mammograms, the cancer had been caught early. And with surgery and treatment, he felt like the odds were in her favor—even with her advanced age.

Although Minnie stared at a spot over his head, the doctor spoke directly to her, occasionally reaching out to pat her hand that rested on the arm of the hospital wheelchair. Beau couldn’t remember Dr. Flanders patting his hand, but he did remember his soothing voice and caring demeanor. And Beau suddenly felt guilty for never thanking the doctor. Especially for being so kind to him when he’d been one pain-in-the ass patient.

In Minnie’s belligerent face, Beau saw a reflection of himself. It was so much easier to hide your fear behind anger.

Beau reached out and took Minnie’s hand, and the doctor smiled as he continued. When he was finished
outlining what he would suggest for treatment, he sat back in his chair.

“Of course, the decision is all up to you, Miss Ladue.”

Minnie finally looked at the doctor. “I’m not gonna let no wet-behind-the-ears surgeon cut on me.” She pulled her hand from Beau’s and wheeled her chair back. “And I figure I’m done listenin’.”

Dr. Flanders got to his feet and nodded. “Very well, but I was wondering if I might ask you a question before you go, Miss Ladue. Do you remember my grandfather, Colonel Barnes? He spoke about the henhouse often before he passed away—especially a Miss Millicent Ladue who helped him out of his depression when he returned from fighting in Europe during World War II.”

Minnie stopped in the middle of turning her wheelchair around. “You’re Lester’s grandson?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Minnie wheeled back toward the doctor. “Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place? So about this surgery, would you take one boob, or two? And can I get me some of those fake ones like the movie stars have? I’m thinkin’ Raquel Welch. She looks damned good for her age.”

Dr. Flanders laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

A gleam came into Minnie’s eyes, and Beau figured the decision had been made.

Once they had scheduled the surgery, they wheeled Minnie down to another floor for some tests. Since Brant and Beau weren’t allowed in the room with Minnie, they were shown to a waiting room.

“She is an ornery old cuss,” Brant said as he took a chair. He smoothed out the brim of his cowboy hat before
resting it on the table next to him. “One I want to keep around for a while.”

“Me too.” Beau walked over to the magazine table and picked one up. He barely glanced at it before he tossed it back down and moved to the window. He hated hospitals. Hated the expired magazines. Hated the smell. And hated waiting around for news that never turned out to be good.

“You okay?” Brant asked as if reading his mind.

Beau continued to look out the window. “Yeah, I guess I’m just a little scared—or more like scared shitless.” He turned around and looked at his brother, who was watching him with their mother’s piercing blue eyes. The same color eyes Beau had. “Is this similar to the hell you’ve been going through since I left?”

When Brant didn’t say anything, Beau turned back to the window and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Brant. I had no idea what I was asking of you.” He released a breath. “No, that’s not right. It wasn’t that I didn’t know. I just didn’t care. I was too wrapped up in my own fears and selfish desires to worry about other people. Even the people I love most in the world.”

A hand settled on his shoulder.

“After what you’d been through, you had the right to be a little selfish,” Brant said.

Beau turned and looked at him. “No one has that kind of right. You and our entire family stood beside me through all this.” He waved his hand around. “And I repaid you by running off like a coward with my tail between my legs.”

“You’re young, Beau,” Brant said.

“I am a selfish bastard, Brant. I’ve been home twice in the last two years, and both times, I left after only a few
days. And do you want to know why? Because I was so jealous of what you and Billy have that I couldn’t stand to be in the same state with you.”

Beau didn’t know what he expected from his big brother, but it certainly wasn’t a smile. A smile that rivaled any Beau had ever flashed.

“And just what are you grinning about?” Beau asked, suddenly annoyed.

“Because I think my little brother has finally grown up.” He thumped Beau twice on the back. “And I’d say it’s about time. So when are we going to set up the tests for you?”

Beau took a deep breath and released it. “I figured I’d do it after we get Minnie squared away.”

“Like hell.” Brant strutted over to the table and picked up his hat. “We’re here today so we might as well kill two birds with one stone—no offense.”

Beau laughed. “None taken, but just how are you going to get me in without an appointment?”

He smiled slyly. “The same way I got Minnie in so quickly. I’ll just mention a certain wing C-Corp helped build.” Reaching in his shirt pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and tossed it to Beau. “I called Elizabeth when you and the nurse were getting Minnie into the x-ray room, but while I’m browbeating Doc Flanders, why don’t you call the hens and let them know that everything is okay. They looked terrified when you carried a ranting Minnie out of the house this morning. All except for the new girl.” Brant’s eyes narrowed. “What did you say her name was? Jennifer Jane?”

“Jenna Jay,” Beau said. Just the name made him smile.

His smile had Brant lifting an eyebrow. “Do we need to have that talk about bosses fraternizing with employees?”

“Jenna isn’t an employee.” At least, Minnie hadn’t hired her. But that hadn’t stopped Jenna from helping out with all the work around the place. She wasn’t much of a cook or maid, but she was great at customer service. If a guest had a problem, Jenna was more than happy to help.

Especially if she had to go up against management.

“Then who is she?” Brant asked.

It was a good question. One he didn’t have an answer for. If Brant had asked the question two days earlier, Beau would’ve said that they were just friends. But after spending the last couple nights with her, friendship didn’t even come close to describing their relationship. Not only because of the phenomenal sex, but also because of the way Jenna made him feel. Like anything was possible.

The thought made him realize that Minnie’s condition wasn’t the only reason he was willing to face the return of his cancer. Jenna was also responsible. Most women would be devastated after finding out that they were adopted. Jenna had embraced it and was making the best of the situation. Her determination was not just admirable. It was inspirational.

“She’s my life coach,” Beau said with a grin.

Brant shook his head before he turned and walked out of the room.

The henhouse phone only rang a few times before it was answered, and Beau wasn’t surprised to hear Jenna’s voice. He
was
surprised by the way his heart thumped in overtime.

“Miss Hattie’s Henhouse. Hen Jenna Jay speakin’. How can I help yew?”

“Well, that depends,” he said. “Just what does Hen Jenna Jay have to offer?”

There was a pause before she spoke. “We offer all kinds of things here at the henhouse. Was there somethin’ you had in mind, sir?”

“Oh, sweetheart, there’s plenty I have in mind,” he said. “But I think tonight we’ll try out the handcuffs and some of those antique sex toys.” He could almost envision her rolling her eyes.

“Really? Well, that sounds like fun. And I promise to go easy on you.”

Just like that the tension of the morning was gone, and Beau laughed. “You just can’t resist being in charge, can you?”

When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. “You didn’t seem to mind last night.”

Beau closed his eyes and visualized Jenna straddling him. Nope, he hadn’t minded at all.

“So how is Minnie?” she asked.

“I think she’s going to go through with the surgery.”

“Good, I’ve been looking up breast cancer online and there’s an entire support group of women over sixty-five who have undergone the surgery. I got all the information just in case Minnie wants to contact them.”

Beau’s smile got even bigger. It was so like her to want to champion the underdogs of the world. “So did you get a chance to call your mama and ask her about Olive?”

“No,” she said, “I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to tell her that I know. It would only hurt her. And you’re right; it doesn’t change who I am. Although I do plan on meeting my biological mother.”

“You got Minnie to tell you who she is?”

“No. When I showed her the picture, she said I had it all wrong. Of course, she refused to go into detail. She wouldn’t even tell me the woman’s name. Fortunately, Sunshine didn’t have any problem giving it to me. Olive Washburn.”

“Washburn? That’s almost as bad as Scroggs.”

“And just what’s wrong with Scroggs?”

“Not a thing,” he quickly replied. “So how are you going to find this woman?”

“I just got finished calling Dusty to see if he could find an address for me. Hopefully, he’ll have it tomorrow when I meet him for breakfast.”

A feeling settled in Beau’s stomach. A feeling that had his eyes narrowing and his fists clenching. “Dusty as in Sheriff Hicks?”

“The same,” she said. “He wasn’t real thrilled about doing it, so it might take a little sweet-talking to get it out of him.”

It took everything inside Beau not to push a hole in the waiting room wall. “Firstly, you’re not going to breakfast with Sheriff Hicks. And secondly, you’re sure as hell not going to sweet-talk him out of anything. You want an address. I’ll get you an address.”

There was a long pause, and for some reason, Beau thought he heard a giggle.

“Firstly,” she said with a definite smile in her voice, “who are you to tell me who I can have breakfast with? And secondly, are you jealous?”

Beau flopped down in a chair and rubbed a hand over his face. Was he jealous? Damn straight, he was jealous. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the right to be. Not when his life could easily come tumbling down like a house of
cards with just one x-ray. And Jenna didn’t deserve to be caught beneath the pile.

Still, he couldn’t quite hand her over to Dusty either.

“I was just thinking about Sheriff Hicks, is all,” he lied. “You can’t expect the man to jeopardize his job for you. I’ll be more than happy to get you an address. And we can discuss it over dinner tonight.”

“You are jealous.” She sounded pretty happy about it. Or just gloating. “And stop being stupid. Dusty is only a friend, and he can get the information a lot easier than you can.” She paused. “And yes, I’ll have dinner with you tonight. Just like I had dinner with you last night and the night before last. I like having dinner with you.”

Her words completely snuffed out his anger and replaced it with a feeling of contentment that Beau hadn’t felt in a long time. The feeling concerned him almost as much as his jealousy. Now would be the time to slow things down. To offer up some witty joke or casual comment.

Too bad he wasn’t feeling witty or casual.

“I like having dinner with you too, Jenna,” he said.

“Are you sure it’s the dinner you like or what we do afterwards?”

“Both,” he answered truthfully. Sharing a meal with Jenna was almost as much fun as sharing a bed.

“Speaking of afterwards,” she said, “Miss Hattie’s room is booked this weekend, along with every other room at the henhouse. So unless we want to sleep in the barn, I guess we’ll be spending Memorial Day weekend in Bramble.”

“Are you inviting me home with you, Miss Scroggs?”

“It would appear that way, Mr. Cates. Although I probably should have my head examined.”

Beau smiled. “I don’t know about your head, but I’ll be happy to examine the rest of your body.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” she said. “Now go take care of Minnie and quit bugging me.”

“Good-bye, Blondie.”

“Good-bye, Cowboy.”

T
HERE WAS NOTHING LIKE
M
EMORIAL
Day weekend in Bramble. It was the official start of summer, and all the townsfolk were in a festive mood. Children sat on street corners and sucked on melting Popsicles, or raced through Confederate Park with squirt guns blasting streams of water. Their parents loaded up on hot dogs and watermelon at the Fresh Mart for their backyard barbeques or weekend camping trips. And the old folks sat on the benches that lined Main Street, gossiping about how hot the summer would get and if there would be rain.

Jenna Jay hesitated on the corner, right beneath the huge flapping flag of the post office, and couldn’t quite contain the bubble of happiness that welled up inside her.

Of course, it wasn’t just the sight of the townsfolk enjoying a holiday weekend that had her feeling like she wanted to skip down the street, singing “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.” The steamy hot cowboy she’d left sleeping in her bed probably had something to do with it.

She still wasn’t sure why she had invited Beau to her house. It would’ve been easier to leave him at Miss
Hattie’s—a clean break, so to speak. Except Jenna wasn’t ready to say good-bye. To Beau. The hens. Or Bramble. And standing on the corner, a corner that she had passed thousands of times in her life, she worried that she might not ever be ready.

Which was crazy. Even without Davy, she had a life back in New York. She had a job and friends and causes to champion. Yes, her family was here. And in the last few days, she’d come to realize just how much family meant. But she could be part of their lives without moving back. Just like she would continue her relationship with the hens. And who knew, maybe she would even keep in touch with Beau.

As soon as the thought popped into her head, she realized it wouldn’t work. Whatever they had was only for now. Once they went their separate ways, she would never see him again. Never experience the brilliance of his smile. Or the heat of his touch. Or the sweetness of his kisses.

For a moment, she thought about forgetting all about breakfast with Dusty and racing back to the warmth of Beau’s arms. But then sanity returned, and she headed down the street toward Josephine’s Diner. She had just passed Sutter’s Pharmacy and Moses Tate snoozing on the bench when she saw Dusty. He was standing beneath the maple tree in front of the town hall, talking to Sheriff Winslow.