Confusion filled him at Patrick’s tone. “What?”
“Do you think you’ll ever be able to move on from Chloe?”
Beck sighed wearily. It was a fair question. He just didn’t know why Patrick asked.
“I don’t know, man. Sometimes I feel like I’ve had a limb amputated. Other times…” Maybe I am ready to move on. “I don’t know. But I don’t want to get in your way. I know you have strong feelings for Lucy and you’d probably rather be alone once the little man is asleep. I’d just put a damper on your evening.”
Beck groaned and winced as he sat on the bed, his head aching. His shoulders and back had tightened up on him and it was downright painful to turn his head in either direction.
“You okay?”
“Head still aches. My neck and shoulders are stiff.”
“You should go see Lucy. Her new place is opening in a couple of days.”
“What new place?”
“When was the last time you spoke to her, Beck?”
“Valentine’s night.”
Beck’s guilt grew deeper as Patrick made a sound of disgust. He really had neglected someone he genuinely cared about. “You’re her friend but you don’t have any idea what’s going on in her life right now. Call her, or better yet, go see her at her little spa downtown. She left Madeleine’s to open her own place. Get her to work out your neck and shoulders. It’d probably help you feel better faster. That flu really knocked you on your ass.”
Patrick’s words stung but Beck refused to even consider it. Chloe had been—was—a massage therapist. Anytime she’d ever massaged him they’d wound up making—Don’t go there, idiot! Sweet brown doe eyes flickered in his memory, along with a sweet smile.
No, he couldn’t go see Lucy for a massage. He’d likely have an inappropriate reaction and then she’d be even more pissed at him. If that happened, he’d agree with her that he was a self-absorbed dick.
“How are the girls?” Patrick asked, changing the subject.
“I went out there yesterday. Two hives were abandoned over the winter but the rest were fine. I’m backed up as hell on filling supply orders.”
With so much time on his hands the summer before, he’d found a reasonable supplier of cypress wood and had begun building quality beehives and parts to market on the Internet. It had helped to keep his mind off the loneliness. Duke Rivers and Gage Randall had set up a website for him the previous fall and his orders had steadily grown. He’d worked long hours the last couple of weeks trying to put the fresh pain behind him.
“Back to the reason I called. I’m inviting you because Lucy would like it if you stayed overnight, too.”
“What?” He sat up to attention so fast his head spun for a few seconds. What the fuck?
“You don’t have a clue, do you? You really don’t.” Patrick’s tone dripped with the unspoken accusation. Self-absorbed dickhead.
Beck made eye contact with himself in the mirror and noticed how gaunt and haggard he looked. Why would Patrick and Lucy want me there? His beard was unkempt and his hair was longer than it’d ever been. He hadn’t had it cut since the last time Chloe had done it for him. He wasn’t even sure where in Divine to go to get it done. The painful knots in his neck and shoulders tightened a bit more.
“Because you haven’t answered, I’m taking that as a no.”
Beck cut him off before he could speak further, unsure why he was unwilling to hear the next thing out of Patrick’s mouth. “I appreciate the invitation, man, but I’d just put a damper on things. I feel like hell and…”
“And?”
“I need to talk with Lucy privately. Need to make some things right. Maybe I’ll pay a visit to her, like you suggested.”
“Come just for supper. You can get alone with her and talk then. Patrick Junior would like to see you.”
“How’s the kid doing?”
“Fine. So you’ll come for a little while?”
A long, slow breath left Beck’s lips. The headache had even dissipated some, taking away his excuse. “Yeah, I’ll come for a few minutes. I’ll take a shower and be over there a little later. But I probably won’t stay.”
“Understood. Lucy will be happy to see you, man.”
Beck ended the call and got into the shower wondering if he should cut the beard off and then shave or if he should hurry up and get over there. His heart ratcheted up its rhythm as he looked forward to an evening doing more than staring at the walls.
Pathetic dumbass.
Chapter Five
Lucy’s fingers trembled as she pressed Patrick’s doorbell.