Beckett was setting out horseshoes by the fire pit in back when he heard a car in the drive. He figured the Kellers would start showing up early for the party, but it was barely afternoon. When he walked to the front of the house and spied Eli, he grinned.
Eli got out and lifted his chin in greeting. “Hey, Beckett. Long time no see.”
“Yeah, some of us don’t have time for a vacation.”
Eli laughed and hugged Beckett with one arm. “I needed time to unwind.”
“You sure it wasn’t because of Olympia?” Beckett asked. Eli’s old girlfriend from high school had just moved back to town after her husband passed away and Beckett knew they had a complicated history.
Eli shrugged easily. “It wasn’t because of any specific thing. But I had to come back. I couldn’t miss out on this thing you and Poppy have going. The plan.”
Beckett frowned. “There’s nothing going on anymore. No plan.”
Eli pulled a few bags from the back seat of his car and passed one to Beckett. “I don’t believe you. This is my sister we’re talking about here. You have to tell me what’s going on. It’s your job.”
Beckett allowed for a chuckle. “Don’t give me any of that bro code shit. I don’t have to tell you anything I don’t want to.”
They brought the bags inside. Beckett opened them to find Eli had brought more provisions. Beer and chips and party cups. He set them out with the rest on the counter and brought the drinks to the refrigerator.
“Come on, I need details,” Eli told him. “You and Anna. This is epic.”
Beckett pulled a cold beer from the fridge and passed it over before getting one for himself. Instead of telling Eli about his relationship with Anna, he chose to bring up the other issue still weighing heavily on his mind.
“Did Poppy tell you about Tom?”
Eli’s eyes darkened. “What about him?”
“That his fiancée waltzed into the store last week looking for a wedding planner.”
“What? Wait—his fiancée?”
“Yep.”
“Shit.” Eli shook his head and took a long swig of beer. “He’s already hitched? And his fiancée? Don’t tell me it’s that woman—”
“One and the same.” Beckett scrubbed his hand over his jaw. He could barely believe it himself. He hated that Anna was having to deal with this. Hated it more that there was nothing he could do about it.
“So he cheats on Anna with the mayor’s daughter and now he’s marrying her?” Eli cursed again.
“I hear you,” Beckett said.
“What do you want to bet he’ll cheat on the daughter before the wedding?”
Beckett shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t enjoy the topic of conversation, but he was grateful to have someone else to talk to about it. He knew Eli shared his same feelings about Tom. They both agreed he was an ass who should have nothing more to do with Anna.
“What else aren’t you telling me?” Eli asked.
“He’s kind of been bothering Anna.”
“What do you mean bothering her?”
“I mean, he keeps coming around saying he wants to talk to her.” Beckett considered what he wanted to say, then finally just came out with it. “I think he wants her back.”
Eli slammed his beer on the counter. “Over my dead body. Hasn’t he done enough? We should go talk to him right now, or—”
“Hold on,” Beckett said. “Trust me, I want nothing more than to tell Tom how I feel and to get him out of Anna’s life for good, but this isn’t the way to do it. Besides, she wants to deal with it on her own.”
Eli gave a choked laugh. “Sure. Like we’re supposed to just stand by and do nothing.”
“I don’t like it either, but I think that’s what Anna expects. She…”
“What?”
Beckett sighed and walked to the living room to look out the window and see if any of the others were arriving. The sun burned bright in the afternoon sky, warming the day and promising a nice evening for the holiday.
He heard Eli’s footsteps approach behind him and turned. “Anna and I have been spending some time together.”
Eli had brought his beer with him and he lifted it to his lips, taking another swallow before saying, “I thought that was the plan. Figure out a way to spend some extra time with her. That’s what Poppy said.”
“I mean, it’s been more than that.”
Eli’s lips curved. “What’s more?” His eyebrows lifted. “Wait, if it’s that, I don’t want—”
“Hell, you had to take it there? No.” God, they hadn’t slept together. Not that he didn’t want to. Not that he hadn’t been more than ready to take that route when Anna had last been at his house, but he could see where she was coming from. It made sense to take those smaller steps.
“You care about her. I get it,” Eli said.
It was even more. He was in love with her. And it was the first time they’d ever had a chance.
When Beckett didn’t answer, Eli asked, “You’re taking it easy with her, right? I mean, after Tom—”
“I’m not trying to push her into anything if that’s what you’re talking about. But I brought up Tom and what I thought he was doing and she wasn’t happy.”
“She can’t blame you. Come on, you’re like family. Of course you’re going to look out for her—especially with Tom in the picture.”
“I know. I just don’t want to step on her toes, you know? Push her away. I need…”
“What?”
“I need to do this right,” he decided.
Which meant he needed to talk to Anna and tell her about the plan he’d had with Poppy and Jillian. He had to tell her how he really felt and make sure he was as open as possible with her. So that their relationship could start on solid ground. And then he’d convince her to be open with her family. They couldn’t have a relationship if it was a secret.
Eli nodded toward the window. “Looks like the gang’s here.”
“Could you do me a favor?” Beckett asked.
“Sure.”
“Don’t say anything to anyone yet. Especially not Anna.”
“Why?”
“Because this is new, and we haven’t really talked about what’s going on between us. I don’t want her to hear that everyone already knows about us and how I feel before she does.”
Eli held up his beer in salute. “If that’s what you want. But if I were you, I’d get it figured out fast. My family isn’t that great at keeping secrets.”
“Yeah.” Beckett sighed. “I know.”
Eli grinned. “Let’s party.”
{}{}{}
Anna had finally returned Celeste’s text, feeling bad about putting it off. But now Celeste was intrigued and kept sending her messages Anna wasn’t sure how to answer. Celeste was persistent.
“Who are you texting?” Poppy asked her as they pulled up in front of Beckett’s house.
Jillian turned from the front seat and looked at her with a smile. “A secret boyfriend?”
Anna’s cheeks heated thinking about Beckett. He was a secret. But a boyfriend? She wasn’t sure. All she knew was how she felt when she saw him, when he had his arms around her. She felt safe. Wanted. And damn, she was attracted to him. More than attracted. She’d been completely under his spell the last time she was at his house, barely able to keep her head. A nice change from the monotony of her relationship with Tom. Or any of the others.
“It’s Celeste,” Anna told them before getting out of the car.
Poppy looped her arm through Anna’s, stopping her from following Jillian and the others inside.
Anna frowned at her. “What?”
“Nothing, I’m just concerned about you. You’ve been…distant since yesterday.”
“I have a lot on my mind.”
Poppy nodded, pressing her lips together briefly before saying, “Are you telling Celeste that you’re going to go there?”
“She wants me to come visit.”
“Visit or stay permanently?”
Anna sighed, torn. She normally told Poppy everything, but she’d been quiet about this because she knew how Poppy would react. “Both,” she said honestly.
Poppy’s eyes widened. “Anna! Why are you keeping this a secret?”
“I’m not. I just haven’t made up my mind yet. I don’t want to jump into something before knowing exactly what I want.”
“But you can’t really be considering leaving. Have you even told Mom?” Poppy released Anna’s arm and placed her hands on her hips.
“No. Because, like I said, I haven’t decided yet.”
“This is not something you can decide on your own. If you leave, it affects everyone. Everyone. Mom and the whole business, Beckett and—”
“Wait,” Anna said, stopping Poppy. “Why would this affect Beckett?”
Poppy glared at her. “Because he’s your friend. You know what a friend is, right? Someone you talk to instead of keeping everything to yourself—”
Poppy broke off as Anna felt pain trickle into her heart. Poppy had never talked to her like this before. They were always so close, and Poppy was right, they talked. A lot. About everything.
“I’m sorry.” Poppy blew out a breath. “Listen—”
“No, let’s not do this now. Everyone’s waiting for us.”
She didn’t want to argue. And she definitely didn’t want to think about how this would affect Beckett.
“But—”
“I need some space, okay?” Anna asked.
Poppy stepped back, looking as surprised as Anna felt. “Okay. Fine.”
They both walked up the front steps. Gail was already inside with the others, and when Anna saw Eli, he gave a lopsided grin. He pulled her into a hug that made her feet come off the floor.
“Eli, I’m so glad you’re back.”
His eyes searched her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just—I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” He hugged her again.
Her phone chimed from her pocket. When she pulled it out and saw a familiar number, she frowned and opened the message.
I’d love to catch up. Can you meet for coffee this week?
Tom. She’d deleted him as a contact from her phone after they’d split up, but she still recognized the number.
As her stomach twisted into knots, she felt a light touch on her elbow. When she looked up into Beckett’s eyes and saw the concern there, she didn’t know whether to turn away or lean into him for support.
She didn’t do either. No, she couldn’t. Her family didn’t know about them. And he didn’t know about France.
“Are you okay?” Beckett asked.
Anna shoved her phone in her purse. “I’m okay.”
“You look…sick.”
“I think I just need some water. Maybe something to eat. I forgot lunch.”
He started to reach for her again, but then stopped and pulled back, eyes scanning the crowd. “Let’s get you something from the kitchen.”
She followed him across the living room, grateful when she found they were the only ones in the kitchen. She was torn between telling Beckett about Tom and keeping quiet. She didn’t know how he would react, but she needed to talk to someone and she didn’t think she could go to Poppy with this right now.
Beckett pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator and opened it for her, his eyes still concerned.
“I got a text from Tom,” she said.
His hand froze as he passed the bottle over. She took it from him and tipped it for a long swallow before meeting his eyes.
“If he’s harassing you—”
“It’s not like that,” Anna said, shaking her head. “He wants to meet for coffee.”
“And what do you want?”
She thought about this for a moment before saying, “For him to leave me alone.”
“Then he’s harassing you. I’ll talk to him or—”
“Beckett. I didn’t tell you because I want you to do something about it.”
“Then why did you tell me?”
She frowned and set the bottle of water aside. “Because you told me to tell you if he talked to me again and I didn’t want to keep it from you. But—”
“No, you’re right.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I did say that. I do want you to tell me. But it’s hard knowing he keeps bothering you and you don’t want me to do anything about it.”
When he moved a step closer, her heart picked up speed. She could smell him from here, like pine and the outdoors and everything that felt safe and warm to her. And she had no idea why things were so difficult when she enjoyed being around him so much.
“There’s something I want to talk to you about,” Beckett said.
She tipped her chin as he moved even closer. His height dwarfed her, and a chill ran through her body. She leaned into him, loving the feel of his hands running up her back.
“What do you want to talk about?” she asked.
He started to tell her when they heard footsteps approaching the kitchen. She backed up and hastily reached for her water for a distraction.
“Good. Food!” Summer said. She pulled Anna close for a quick hug before grabbing the potato chips.
“Horseshoes,” Eli said matter-of-factly. “Anna, I challenge you.”
She looked helplessly to Beckett before averting her gaze. She wanted to finish their conversation. She wanted to be alone with him.
But she also hadn’t seen Eli in forever.
“You’re going down,” she told him.
He grinned and looped his arm around her neck. “You wish. Let’s go.”
{}{}{}
Beckett watched Anna walk outside with Eli, cursing himself for not pulling her aside to tell her how he felt. He needed to clear things up with her about Tom. If she didn’t want him involved, she was going to have to compromise. He didn’t want Tom around her. And if Tom tried to get in touch with her again, he wasn’t going to be able to keep his distance.
Along with that, they needed to tell her family about them. Get it all out in the open. The sooner, the better.
He went to follow the rest of the group outside, but Poppy stopped him at the door.
“No way,” he said when he saw the look on her face. “I’m not doing any more planning with you about Anna.”
She shook her head. “No, you’re right, that’s probably for the best. But…”
“No,” he said again. “I know that look, Poppy. I know you have a secret and you aren’t sure whether or not to tell me.”
She laughed. “You always wanted to know before.”
“Yeah, well, before I wasn’t involved with your sister.”
Her smile turned sly and she lowered her voice even though everyone else was outside. “Involved?”
“You know what I mean,” he hedged.
“No, I don’t. I want details.”
“Then ask Anna.”
“She doesn’t know I know about you guys and she’s not…Let’s just say we’re not communicating like we used to.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Why not?”
“I thought you didn’t want to talk about Anna like this. You know, behind her back.”
“You’re right, I don’t.”
“But there’s something going on between you two. I can see it in your eyes.”
He glanced out the window and spotted Anna with a horseshoe in her hand. She laughed at something Eli said and it made his heart squeeze. He was in love with her. Plain and simple.
Poppy joined him at the window. “I see how you look at her. She looks at you the same way now, too.”
“She does?”
“She just needs a little push.”
“That’s not something I want to do. Push her in any direction. I want this to be natural. Right. I don’t want her to regret anything.”
“If you don’t move a little faster, she’s going to end up regretting something anyway,” Poppy mumbled.
He narrowed his eyes. “What?”
“I…I’m trying hard to keep everyone’s secrets but it would be a lot easier if everyone knew what everyone else was up to.”
“What are you talking about?”
Poppy gripped his arm. “Do not tell Anna I told you this, but she’s thinking of leaving.”
“Leaving? The party?”
“No, the town. The state.” She frowned. “The country.”
“Poppy, what are you talking about?”
“Celeste invited her to France to stay for a while and Anna’s considering it. With Tom in the picture now…” She trailed off.
Beckett’s stomach dropped. Leaving her family? Her job? Him? But they’d only just started something. And that didn’t sound like Anna at all. Sure, she avoided her problems sometimes when she could have dealt with them head on, but family was the most important thing to her. And he’d been trying to become a part of that.
Beckett peered through the window again, his mind whirling with decisions. Maybe stopping his plan with Poppy wasn’t a good idea. Maybe now, more than ever, he needed all the help he could get.