Chapter Thirty-Four

Charlie parked at the edge of the lot and scrambled out of the truck. What a day. Over the past forty-eight hours, she’d grown to appreciate the term bone-tired. Everything ached. She wanted to fall into bed, pull the covers over her eyes, and sleep until Christmas. But it was only four o’clock. In three hours, all of Holiday would descend on the Rose for the annual Founder’s Day Fling. And according to Beck, she’d be in charge. This time not only as manager but as owner and operator of the oldest honky-tonk in Texas. It hadn’t sunk in yet.

She’d spent the past couple hours driving all over Holiday, looking for Beck. He wasn’t downtown where he’d left her at the start of the parade. Wasn’t at Sully’s. Wasn’t at the bomb shelter where Dwight admitted to hiding him overnight. God, she could strangle that idiot with her bare hands for what he’d put both of them through today.

Beck wasn’t answering his phone or responding to any of her texts. There was so much she wanted to say to him. So much she needed to say. He couldn’t avoid her forever. She’d make sure things were ready to go at the Rose and resume her search.

“Hey, Boss.” Angelo called out from the barbecue pit. He’d been smoking brisket for the past two days. “How was the parade?”

She stepped over the long grass on the side of the building. Add that to the list: someone needed to mow the lawn. “Memorable. You ready for tonight?”

“I will be.”

“Good. Should be a big crowd. Everyone setting up inside?”

“Yep.”

Charlie nodded. Where would she be without the reliable help of folks like Angelo and Shep? She owed Darby and Waylon a year’s worth of babysitting for what they’d done for her today. But that’s what it was all about. Looking out for the people she loved and knowing she could count on them to have her back, too. She entered the building and headed toward her office. She expected to hear the sounds of pots clanging in the kitchen, servers setting up the tables in the dance hall, and Shep slinging bottles into the cooler. Instead, music drifted through the speakers. The band wouldn’t set up until six.

As she moved toward the ballroom, the music got louder. She’d recognize Charlie Daniels’s voice anywhere. What was going on?

She paused at the entrance to the room. Thousands of twinkle lights crisscrossed through the rafters. Vases of pink roses decorated every table. Where had everyone gone? She walked to the center of the dance floor and turned in a slow circle, peering into the dark corners of the room. Charlie Daniels sang on, the familiar lyrics like a balm to her soul.

Beck crossed the stage and hopped down onto the dance floor. The sight of him smacked into her like a bucking bronc’s heels to the chest, and she didn’t know whether to hug him or tackle him for all the stress and worry she’d suffered over the past several days.

“Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over town for you.”

He met her in the middle of the dance floor and set down the pink paint cans he held in both hands. “I need to talk to you, Charlie.”

“Where is everyone?”

“I sent them outside.”

“Who did this?” She gestured to the lights and flowers. Darby had suspended some giant pink-tissue-paper balls from the beams crossing the ceiling, but this, the lights, it was breathtaking.

He raised a hand. “Guilty.”

“When?”

“Just now. Dwight helped. I think he felt bad after he finally confessed about skunking my beer, changing the paint color, and kidnapping me overnight.”

She placed a palm on his chest, preventing him from getting any closer. “He did that all on his own. I just wanted to talk to you.”

He caught her hand. “I know. I should have listened.”

“Where’s your dad?”

“He left. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about him again. I met with Mr. Hill right after the parade and signed the paperwork.” He handed her a fat envelope. “The Rose is yours now.”

Her eyes welled, tears threatening to spill over. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do.” He tugged her close and started to sway to the music.

“But what about your park? Your promise to your nanny?”

“I’ll sell my apartment and my car. With the money Sully left me, I can still afford to make the donation in my own name.”

“Are you sure?”

His lips met her hairline, and a shiver raced through her. “Positive. It’s the way it’s meant to be.”

She trembled, chilled by his admission. “But it’s not fair.”

“Yes, it is. Sully would have wanted you to have it.” He stopped moving and pulled back to meet her gaze. “I’m so sorry. I agreed to hand the Rose over to my dad long before I got to know the people in Holiday. Before I really got to know you. At the time, I saw the Rose as my dad’s due and my ticket to a guaranteed seat at the table of his company.”

“And now?” Her breath hitched in her throat. His answer could break her. She braced herself, steeling her heart against his response.

“Now?”

She nodded.

“Now I know what matters. You’ve taught me so much in such a short time. How family doesn’t necessarily mean the people who share your DNA. About putting other people first and not expecting anything in return.” He tipped his head down, his voice so soft, speaking right against her lips. In time with the music, he sang the lyrics with Charlie Daniels: “How very much I love you.”

“I love you, too.” His mouth found hers, and the Rose faded away. Nothing existed except her and Beck, cocooned against the rest of the world in their own little bubble. The kiss moved from tentative to testing to torching in the space of seconds. She was toast. This was it for her. She had the Rose. She had Beck. She had it all, everything she’d ever hoped for and never thought she’d be able to hold.

The sound of applause burst her little bubble, and she backed away from Beck to see her family and staff filling the dance hall. Their hands clapped together, their smiles reflecting the happiness in her heart.

“Does this mean you’re staying in Holiday?” She tucked her chin against her chest and gazed up at Beck. She’d never get tired of seeing that face, not if she lived to be as old as the Texas hills.

“I hope so. But it depends on you.”

“On me?”

“Yeah. I quit my dad’s company and gave up the Rose. Any chance you might be willing to give me a job?”

“A job, huh?” She tucked her hands in his back pockets and nuzzled into him. “Well, I do need someone to clean out Baby Back’s pen.”

“From Midtown Manhattan to slopping out pig stalls, huh? If it means I get to see you every day, the answer’s yes.”

“Good. Now, will you be my date to the fling tonight?”

“For as long as you’ll have me.”

Charlie closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer of thanks to Sully. He had to have had a hand in this. No other logical explanation would do. She only hoped that Beck meant what he’d said. Because a lifetime with him wouldn’t be long enough, and she intended to hold on to him for the rest of hers.