LLucy’s Revenge(Divine Creek Ranch 15)(59)

Lucy stood by the door, peering at the bulky piece of furniture and shook her head. “No. Move it to the left about seven inches.”

“Lucy, this thing is heavy,” Beck said with a grunt. “Why do you need a buffet in a massage room? Isn’t this a piece for a dining room?”

“Originally, yes, but it’s going to hold all my supplies and look pretty. With candles lined up on it, it’ll add to the atmosphere in here.”

“I thought the other piece was just fine. Why move everything around?” he growled, enjoying picking at her just a little.

Lucy whapped him on the butt as she walked past and replied, “The other piece needed to go in the smaller room. This one balances the room out.” She scooted the massage tables back into position, parallel with the buffet and he hurried to help her.

She squinted at the heavy piece of furniture from across the room and bid them to scoot it over another few inches…and then put it back where it had been.

“Perfect.”

Patrick Junior trotted into the room and said, “Hey, how come it’s so dark in here?” He hopped onto the massage table and Beck hefted him off of it a second later before he got scuff marks from his sneakers on Lucy’s pretty linens.

Lucy said, “That’s because these windows have room darkening shades on them. It helps my clients to relax.”

“Oh, yeah? While they get their massoogey?” the boy asked with a snicker.

Showing that he trusted Beck completely, Patrick Junior threw his arms over his head and leaned backward as Beck airplane-d him around the room. The kid was almost too big to do that now but Beck indulged him anyway. His dad chuckled at them as he plugged one of the little lamps into an outlet and put it on the buffet.

“Massage,” Lucy corrected with a giggle.

The four of them had hopped into Patrick’s truck early that morning and made the trip to a neighboring community that was famous for its weekend craft fairs and antiquing. While Patrick and Lucy had scoured the antique shops and vintage furniture barns, Beck had taken Patrick Junior with him and they’d wandered around the craft fair downtown. It was a win-win situation from Beck’s point of view.

It got Beck thinking about his booth at the Divine Trade Day and Craft Fair which was happening at the beginning of May. Besides that, he would’ve been bored to death walking through antique shops all day and much preferred to entertain the little man. He was easy to make happy.

Splitting into pairs also kept Patrick Junior out of shops that were full of vintage and antique china, crystal and glass, and other stuff that was ridiculously expensive and fragile. Patrick Junior was as rambunctious as any other four-year-old boy and it just seemed like a bad idea to test those stores’ “you break it you buy it” policies.

So they’d spent their time wandering, eating popcorn, and Beck had talked to a number of vendors. He’d gotten some great ideas from them about displaying his products and he planned to expand what he brought to that year’s fair.

The year before, he’d kept it simple and brought only honey to sell from his booth. His heart just hadn’t been in it. But this year was going to be different, not only because he planned to include beeswax and pollen products but also because Lucy would be helping him, since her shop would be closed that day. Patrick and the kid planned to be there as well. If he was being fanciful, he’d almost think of it as a family endeavor. Lucy’s brother, Seth, and Beck had rented large booth spaces right next to each other.

Seth had taken Beck aside earlier in the week and asked him straight out, as was his way, if he was serious. Beck smiled, remembering the conversation. Seth had a habit of using words sparingly and Beck had to ask him what he meant. Seth had summed up his feelings and in the process had used more words than Beck was accustomed to hearing from him in one encounter.

“Are you serious about being there for my sister? Because if you’re not, you’d better either get serious or level with her. If you think that because she likes to laugh and have fun that she’s easy, you’d be wrong. If you hurt her, I’ll have the guys tie you down, knock you out, and then I will tattoo you a new nickname on your forehead. That’s my sister. Clear enough?”

If Beck had been a player, he would’ve hightailed it right then. But he’d quietly told Lucy’s brother what he needed to hear so he wouldn’t worry anymore.

“I know I’m rough around the edges at times, but I care very much about Lucy. I’ve stopped running and you don’t have to worry about me. I’d hate myself if I hurt her.”

Seth had nodded and brandished his tattoo machine with an evil gleam in his eyes and the hint of a smile on his face. Beck shivered again, wondering if Seth had been serious. The guy was so stoic at times it was hard to tell.