“You’re welcome, Beau. You know I’m always here for you.”
“I know. Besides my family and Tyson, you’ve been the only constant in my life. I can’t wrap my head around this.” And that’s the bitch of it. Most of my favorite childhood memories revolved around Tyson and Addy. For a long time, it was the three of us. Then Lizzy came along.
She shifts so her knee is resting against the back of the seat. “Can I tell you something?”
“Of course.”
“I’m not surprised about him, either.”
“Why?” I ask her, voice calm despite the fact that I’m angrier than I’ve ever been.
“I always got this feeling that he was jealous of you.”
“Of me? Why? He’s got everything.”
She shakes her head. “No. He doesn’t. He doesn’t have this,” she says quietly as she places a hand over my heart. “You have the best heart of anyone I’ve ever met, Beau Aikin.”
“No, I don’t. I’m like a live wire, always looking for a fight. At least, that’s what the principal reminded my parents of any chance he got.”
“You were never looking for a fight. You were always standing up for someone. You just chose to use your hands to get your point across instead of words.”
There’s major truth to that statement but still, Tyson has had everything a teenage boy could dream of his entire life. Always the best clothes and shoes, vacations all over the world, a brand new truck when he turned sixteen, always the latest video games. His grades might not have been straight A’s but he managed B’s and C’s just fine. In every sport he played, he was the star of the team. An endless string of girls trailed after him.
“He had everything. Why did he have to take what was mine?”
“No. He didn’t. His parents might have a ton of money and he might be a great athlete, but none of that matters if what’s inside is filled with resentment.”
“Who does he resent?”
She gives me a pointed look and then points at me.
I pull a face and shake my head. “What does he have to resent me for? That makes no sense, Addy.”
“If you think about it, it’ll come to you.” She starts to climb out but I stop her.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s one thing you always had that he wanted. Even if you didn’t know you had it, it’s been yours all along.”
“Huh?”
“Get some sleep, Beau. We’ll talk tomorrow.” She jumps down out of my pickup and moves to shut the door.
“Addy, wait.”
“What is it?” she asks, turning to face me.
“Thank you, again. For being there for me.”
“Always, Beau. Always.”
Chapter One
Beau
Fifteen years later
I stretch my arms over my head and twist my back, hearing a satisfying crack that not only relieves the tension in my mind, but in my body, too. I’ve been sweating my ass off, baking in the hot summer sun. I work for a roofing company which means summer is my busiest season. By the time the sun sets at night, my body is completely exhausted but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Well, maybe being the owner and having a group of employees that answer to me alone at the end of the day. As it is, I’m second in command, run my own crew, as well as basically the entire company because the owner, Grant, has all but officially retired to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Can’t say that I blame him, though. While he spends most of his time here in the summers, he doesn’t do it on top of a roof.
“I’m heading out, Beau,” Alden says. He’s been working here for about eight years, starting right out of high school because college wasn’t his thing. Which works well for us, considering he’s one of the hardest working men I know. So hard working, in fact, that he also runs his own crew and the men who report to him respect the hell out of him.
“Sounds good. See you on Monday.”
“You got it,” he says, giving me a mock salute. “Plans for the weekend?”
I shake my head. “Nothing major. You?”
He grins. “Yeah, me and Hannah are going camping.”
“Oh, yeah? Just the two of you?” Hannah is Alden’s girlfriend of a few years, I believe, and things seem serious. “Or your whole crew joining you?”
“Not this weekend. Got a ring and planning to propose.”
I stand up from behind my desk where I was filling out some invoices on the jobs we completed this week. “No shit? That’s great, man. Congratulations.”