Dedication

To everyone out there who are written off without having a chance to tell their side of the story.

Chapter One

Beau

“Tell me that my brother is not Ethan’s father,” I hiss. My heart pounds in my chest while the tears stream down my face as I stand here looking at who are supposed to be my best friends. The tie around my neck suddenly feels tight. I have the white paper clenched in my hand so tight that my whole body feels like it’s shaking. Savannah stands there looking more beautiful than she has ever looked in her whole life, and trust me, I know. I’ve been watching her for what feels like my whole life.

“Tell me!” I shout, and the tears flow down her face.

“Ethan is mine,” says Jacob, my best friend and father of Ethan. Kallie, who left eight years ago when Savannah found out she was pregnant and said it was Jacob’s, stands beside him. When I learned the news, I was cut off at the knees. I was gutted and hollow, thinking that my best friend had slept with the only woman I have ever loved. I pretended to be supportive of them, but deep down inside, I died. A piece of me was gone forever.

“Really,” I say. Shaking my head, I walk around the big brown desk that belonged to my father for the past twenty-five years. And before that, it was my grandfather’s. Today was supposed to be a day I never forgot, and after this, it will be. Jacob and I would always sneak into this office and take a couple of swigs of the top-of-the-line whiskey my father kept in here. More than once, we got caught, but my father would just smile and walk back out of the room.

“Beau.” Casey says my name, and my eyes fly to his. Casey is Kallie’s brother and another one of my best friends. I look at everyone in the room and wonder if they all lied to me. Was it all a lie? Was everything a lie? “Sit down.”

I shake my head. “Imagine my surprise …” I start, my voice low so Savannah can hear me. She stands there watching me, her face wet from tears. “When I walked in here to take a drink with my best friends.” I swallow. “To take one shot of whiskey. Then my leg hits something on the desk, and the sound it made caused me to stop. But it would sound weird since the desk was one hundred years old. But when I bent down, this little box was under there. And if you look closely, you can see it is a hidden compartment.”

“Beau.” Savannah whispers my name, and my heart shatters in my chest.

“I had no idea what could be that confidential that he would have to lock it up this tight.” I laugh bitterly, looking down at the paper. “I flipped over a couple of things and then found this.” I hold up the paper being crumpled by my tight fist. “My brother is Ethan’s father.”

“No,” Jacob states loudly. “He’s my son.”

“Is he?” I ask, wondering how he could stand there after all he’s been through. He’s tolerated the judgmental looks from the townspeople for the past eight years. He heard all the whispers from everyone when Kallie left. He lost fucking Kallie, and he still takes Savannah’s side.

“I, Savannah Harrison, relinquish Liam Huntington from all parental duties.”

“I can explain,” she finally says. Sobbing, she puts her hand in front of her mouth. Ten minutes ago, I would have been the first one rushing to her side to hold her in my arms. I would have given her anything. But now I look at her, and I can’t give her anything.

“Explain this to me!” I shout at the top of my lungs, and it startles her. The music from outside at my party can be heard. A party my parents put together to honor me for being the third generation to fill the shoes of mayor. “Why you would sign this paper?”

Jacob steps forward to stand in front of me. “You need to calm down and let her explain,” he tells me. When I push him away from me, Casey now coming forward to make sure that nothing else happens. The anger radiates from me now, and I brush away my tears.

“You lied to me.” I point at Jacob and lean forward, hissing in his face. “Everything was a fucking lie.” My normal calm and cool demeanor is now out of the door. Suddenly feeling hot, I throw off my jacket. “This whole time, it was all a lie.” Laughing, I shake my head and loosen my tie. “What a fucking joke this was.”

“You need to stop talking right now.” Jacob has tears in his eyes, his chest rising and falling the whole time. “Seriously, you need to just stop.”

“Stop,” I growl. “After everything.” My hand grips the white paper even harder in my hand. “After standing there beside you all this time. Supportive, stupid Beau.”

“Stop it!” Savannah yells. “Stop talking!”

“What’s the matter, Savannah? The truth hurts,” I say. I know I’m going over the line, and that I’ll regret it in the morning. “That the whole time, people were talking about you. Can you imagine what they would have said about you?” I laugh. “Guess what? They did say it.” I don’t even see the fist that comes flying at me, so I can’t duck, but Jacob hits me right in the jaw, snapping my head to the side.

“Jacob!” Kallie shrieks, and it takes me a second to realize that he hit me. After tasting the blood in my mouth, I reach up with my hand and wipe away a trickle of blood with my thumb.

I look down at my hand and then back up at my best friend. Savannah’s still crying silently. I turn back to look at Jacob. “She isn’t worth it.” The sound of Savannah’s gasp fills the room, and now when I look over at her, she looks down and then up. She never says a word. Instead, she turns and walks out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

“You son of a bitch,” Jacob hisses. “You stupid son of a bitch.” I feel numb, completely numb. I pick up the bottle of whiskey and take three long gulps, only stopping when the burning gets to my stomach and it feels like there is a fire there. I don’t know if it’s from the whiskey or if it’s because I just lost the woman I love. I slump into the chair, gripping the bottle tightly.

“How could you do that to her?’ he asks. I wonder if he’s for real right now. “Do you know what you just did?”

“Me?” I point at myself. “What I did? I did nothing.”

“You just shit all over Savannah,” Kallie says, and my eyes fly to hers.

“Out of everyone in this room, I’m surprised you’re sticking up for her.” I take another gulp. “She ruined your life.”

“She is Ethan’s mother,” Kallie says, walking toward me and the big brown desk that held all these secrets.

“And God knows who the real father really is.” When I look into Jacob’s eyes, Casey shoots his arm out to stop Jacob from charging over to me.

Jacob looks down and then up. “It just goes to show the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

I look straight into his eyes when I say the next words, coming out before I can stop them. “Isn’t that the truth. Like mother, like daughter.”

He shakes his head, then over at Kallie. “Let’s go.” He turns and walks out of the room with Kallie right behind him.

“You better get your head out of your ass and go after her,” Casey says. Turning, he grabs Olivia’s hand and walks out of the room, then closes the door behind him. I look down at the paper I still have gripped in my hand and read the words over and over again until they are blurred from my tears.

I take another pull of the whiskey, and it takes five gulps until the burning starts. After another six, the glass bottle flies out of my hand and crashes against the white wall, shattering everywhere like an explosion while the amber liquid leaks down. The pictures on the wall of my father and my brother stare back at me. The picture of the three of us standing in front of this very house. “Fuck you,” I say to the empty room, but more to my brother whose picture I’m staring at. “Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.”

Chapter Two

Savannah

“She isn’t worth it.” His words cut me more than anyone else. I knew this day would probably come, but I thought I had more time, or at least I hoped I would. I’m standing in the same office as I was eight years ago when I begged his father to help me. All he did was laugh at me, then toss me two hundred dollars and told me to take out the trash. I was broken then, but nothing could have prepared me for the look Beau is giving me. Nothing could hurt more.

I can hear the music from outside, and I can see the pain in his eyes. I can feel his hurt all through my bones. I want to reach out to him and touch him and tell him that it’s all a mistake. I want to tell him everything, but I don’t. No words come out. The only thing that comes out is a sob, and then Jacob swings, and it’s the final straw. Everything I touch gets ruined. I turn and open the door, then step outside to rush to my car. I’m almost out the front door when I feel a hand on my arm. Something inside me wishes it was Beau, but I know right away it’s not. My eyes roam down to my arm, and I see the stupid fucking gold pinky ring, making my blood run cold and the sadness suddenly turn to hatred.

“Now, now.” When I hear his slimy voice, I rip my arm away from his touch. You would think he would get the hint, but he doesn’t. Instead, he closes the distance between us and puts both hands on my bare arms. “I hope you’re not leaving yet.” Hearing his voice and feeling his breath make me want to vomit. The smell a mixture of cigars and whiskey. “We didn’t have a chance to catch up.” I look at him, and I have to wonder how the fuck I ever found him attractive. Sure, he’s tall, and his hair is always perfectly coiffed, and his blue eyes just pop with his brown hair. But underneath all those preppy good looks is a spineless piece of shit.

“Get the fuck away from me, Liam,” I hiss. Moving away from him, I spin to face him. I look at the man who lied more than anyone I’ve ever known.

“Now, now,” he says, coming down the last step to me. He looks around and then leans his head in closer. “Is that any way to talk to your baby daddy?”

I look around to make sure that no one is around and can hear him. The big white house is filled with people who walk around, but none of them pay any attention to us outside. “Fuck you, Liam,” I hiss. “Where’s your wife?”

He smirks at me. “Don’t worry about that,” he says and brings his hand up to rub my arm, causing me to throw up in my mouth. “Besides, we have an understanding.”

I step back, and my heel almost gets caught in the rocks, but the last thing I will ever be is vulnerable to him. “Do you both understand what a grade A piece of shit you are?” I ask, and he just laughs at me.

“I like you feisty,” he says, giving me the smirk that worked on me eight years ago. “Always did.”

“Get the fuck away from her.” I hear Jacob hiss from behind Liam, and he turns to look at him.

“Hey there,” he says as if they are long-lost friends. “Great seeing you again. I didn’t get a chance to see your son.”

“I dare you,” Jacob says, coming closer to him, “to fuck with me.”

Liam throws his head back and laughs. “Calm down there, Sheriff.” He shakes his head and turns to walk away.

“Are you okay?” Jacob asks, and right then, Casey walks out the front door, his hand in Olivia’s, and he spots us.

“Why did you leave him by himself?” I ask them. “He’s hurting.”

“He’s not going to listen to anyone right now,” Casey says, walking down the steps and looking at me. “You got this?” he asks Jacob, and then he looks at me and nods. As Kallie’s older brother, he’s never really spoken to me, but when shit went down, he was one of the few who didn’t look at me like I was the scum of the earth. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he was not all flowers and shit, but he never looked at me with disdain the way everyone else did.

“You still shouldn’t leave him by himself,” I tell them and then look down. “I’m going to get going. Can you grab Ethan?”

“Yeah,” Kallie says.

I look down and blink away the tears. “I’ll call you guys later,” I say, walking toward my truck with my head down. Something that I’ve done for the past eight years. Opening the door and getting behind the wheel, I look down at my red dress I chose for this occasion. When I got dressed today for the function, I did it hoping Beau would tell me that I was beautiful. When he came over last week and begged me to come, I couldn’t say no to him. There isn’t much I would say no to him for because I loved him. Bottom line, he was the hero in every single romance book I’ve read. He was the prince in every Disney movie. He was everything, but he looked at me like he always did—as a friend. I was his best friend, and he was one of mine.

I mean, let’s face it, I didn’t have many people to choose from. I was the kid from the wrong side of the tracks, or so I was told my whole life. My father could be one of five people, which just made me shake my head.

My mother tried as best as she could. She was a waitress at the local watering hole, and then one day, she applied for a job for the mayor and his wife. She was their cleaning lady, and she became very close with the mayor’s wife, Mary Ellen. Soon, she was doing the cooking and the cleaning, and Mary Ellen got me into the school where Beau and Jacob attended. I started there wearing secondhand boy clothes since my mother could never save enough for clothes, and Mary Ellen always felt sorry for me and gave me the boys’ hand-me-downs. I dressed like a boy until I was fifteen and got my own job and could buy my own stuff.

Jacob and Beau ignored me at first, but then when we got back to the house, I would be stuck waiting for my mother to finish, so Beau was stuck with me. Slowly but surely, we became three peas in a pod until that fateful day when our lives changed. I want to say I wish I could go back and change it. I want to say I regret everything, but then I would regret Ethan, and I refuse to allow him to feel like I’ve felt my whole life. He was never going to be told that he was lucky I kept him. He was never going to be told I had no choice. He will always know how much he is loved and how much he is wanted. I hope that if he ever finds out what I did, he will still love me as much as he does today.

Starting my car, I make my way toward my house. When I walk into the cold house, I take off the new black shoes I paid way too much for. I can’t even return them now since I scuffed the heel. I close my eyes, and all I can see is the hurt on Beau’s face. My knees give out, and I collapse with a sob, lying on the floor with my broken heart. When I finally peel myself off the floor, I walk to the couch. The same couch I spent every single night watching movies with Beau on. The same couch I bought because he came shopping with me and said it suited me. I grab the blanket hanging over the couch and cover myself with it. The smell of Beau is all around me since he fell asleep on the couch just yesterday, and I didn’t have the heart to wake him up. So I just put the blanket over him and watched him sleep, wishing I could curl up next to him. Even more, I wished he would take my hand and lead me to my bed. But instead, I moved his hair away from his forehead and bent down to kiss him lightly and then I walked to bed. By the time I woke up this morning, he was gone, but he left me a little note on the counter like he always does.

Closing my eyes, I can’t stop the tears, and my eyes are burning and getting heavy. Then I hear the soft knock on my door. I think it’s my imagination, but then I hear it again. I get up and make my way to the door with only the light from the moon streaming in the window. I don’t check to see who it is, which is stupid of me since not too long ago someone was in town chasing Casey’s girl. I open the door, and I see him standing there with his hands gripping my doorframe and his head hanging. When he finally looks up, I see that his eyes are bloodshot. My heart breaks again when I look at the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.

“Beau,” I whisper in a plea.

“I’m sorry,” he says, and the sob rips through me. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Chapter Three

Beau

“I’m so, so sorry.” Those are the only words I say right now. I stand here, and my whole body is numb as I look at her still dressed. Her eyes and nose are both red, and her hand over her mouth stops the sob that rips through her. My hands drop from the doorframe, and I rush in, wrapping one arm around her waist. She wraps her arms around my neck and buries her face in my neck. All I can do is realize that with her in my arms, I feel like everything is going to be okay. Her tears soak my skin as I walk her farther into her house and close the door behind me.

Two hours ago, my life changed, and for the first time, I couldn’t control it. I had no way of controlling how this was going to play out, and that made me struggle even more.

I sat in my office chair, watching the tiny droplets of amber liquid travel along the wall to the floor. My eyes remained fixated on the wall when the door opened , and I looked up to see Jacob walk in with Kallie behind him.

“What the fuck?” he asked, looking at me and then at the bottle. I didn’t know what to say.

He came into the room and sat on the brown leather couch against the wall. “Are you ready now?” I knew he was giving me time to cool off. I didn’t even care that he sucker punched me because I would have done the same to him.

“Why?” I looked over at him and then Kallie, who sat next to him. She wiped her eyes with her thumb, not looking at me. “How?”

“I can’t give you those answers,” he told me, and all I could do was hang my head. “There is only one person who can give you that, and you know it.”

“She lied to me.” I wasn’t even sure if I was asking him or telling him. All I knew was that it hurt. It hurt all through my bones.

“You have to give her a chance to explain,” Kallie said quietly. “I didn’t give Jacob a chance, and I lost eight years. Don’t do that.” I dropped my head back on the chair and closed my eyes. The only thing that played over and over again was the look in her eyes when I told her she wasn’t worth it. Even mad, I knew that wasn’t the truth. She was worth it all, and she deserved to have it all. “We can take you to her.”

I blew out a long breath. “She’s going to kick me in the balls and tell me to go fuck myself.” I got up and had to hold onto the desk when the room started spinning.

The Story Continues on BooksBarbecue!

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