His Plan: Book 2 in the Crossing Midian Series - A Small-Town Christian Romance

Chapter 16

Late that evening, after the kids and teenagers had gone home and the farm was back in order, ready for the next day, Beau sat in the living room with his dad. Ruth had turned in a while ago and shortly after, T.J. headed up to Wesley's old room, leaving the two men of the house to finish watching the Clint Eastwood western that played on the T.V.

As the credits rolled, Beau stood from where he'd been laying on the couch, and stretched his back before he reached for the remote to turn off the movie. "I'm gonna call it a night, Dad. Those kids wore me out today."

James laughed as he put down the footstool of his recliner, but he made no move to get up. "Are you sure it was the kids and not the time you spent with a certain spunky red-head?" He winked a bright blue eye at his youngest.

Beau flashed his dad a wide-eyed look. "I... what? No, I just—" he stammered as heat flooded his tan cheeks.

"I saw you two today. The way you looked at each other. You like her," James continued to tease.

Beau quickly shook his head and moved toward the stairs, eager for this conversation to be over with. "No way. Lenore's great and we're friends, but 'like' is a strong word. She drives me crazy, for sure, but that's about it."

James stood and crossed the room toward the hallway that led to his and Ruth's bedroom. "I believe you," he said in a tone that clearly meant he didn't believe him. "Probably for the best, anyway. Girl like her, good with kids, smart, funny, loves the Lord and mighty pretty to boot; she's way out of your league," he added with a laugh as he disappeared down the hallway, leaving Beau alone.

Beau turned to the front door and walked out onto the porch, no longer tired at all. He settled into his favorite chair, letting his long legs stretch out in front of him, and thought of Lenore. Beau thought about how easy it had been for him and Lenore to talk like they had that morning at the breakfast table, and the teasing banter they'd picked up while they mucked stalls together.

He wasn't sure why or when it happened, but if Beau was being honest with himself, he could grudgingly admit that there was a possibility, a tiny possibility his dad was... not wrong. That maybe he was beginning to feel something less that aggravation for Lenore, especially after what had happened in the barn today. He closed his eyes and could still feel her hands on his chest and how perfectly she'd fit when he'd pulled her against him. His hand flexed at the memory before he balled it into a fist instead. He recalled how ragged her breathing was after the near fall and how she had looked so flustered and pretty. But mostly, he remembered that moment he had wanted to do nothing more than kiss her and how he had to pull away finally, or risk doing exactly that.

Beau had walked away, silently fuming, out of the barn and toward the field where T.J. was with the kids and horses. Lenore had gone with him, watching her steps carefully as she, no doubt, tried to avoid another almost fall. Had it been his imagination, or was she walking a little farther away from him than usual? She'd been quiet; hadn't said a word, actually, but he had a feeling she knew what he'd been about to do back in the barn, and Beau wondered briefly how she would have reacted. "She would have slapped you probably," he said aloud.

Even now, hours later, he still felt angry at himself. He would have ruined everything they'd been working towards if he'd kissed her. "Just because a pretty girl falls, literally, into your arms doesn't mean you're supposed to kiss her," he grumbled into the night air. The rational side of his brain reminded him he hadn't, in fact, kissed Lenore. "But you're not supposed to want to either!" he argued back. "She is your partner. Anything else could be bad for the youth group."

Beau looked at the stars in the inky black sky and tried to ignore the voice in the back of his head that said it had been him and not her who had pulled away. And maybe, just maybe, she was feeling something for him as well.