Page 132 of Beating Heart
“You have my blessing, but maybe let’s not make out in front of me just yet.” Demi was laughing hysterically, which had Romeo on his feet, hurrying over and bending down in front of her. He placed his hands on her cute round belly, this look of concern that was almost comical.
“Our boy loves when his mama laughs,” Romeo said.
We’d had a gender reveal party not that long ago, and they were having a boy. We were all thrilled for them, but Cutler seemed to be the most excited about having a new brother, as he called him.
“Are you going to grab her stomach every time she laughs, hiccups, or coughs?” Hayes grumped as he joined us at the table, pulling up a chair beside me.
“Yeah. This little dude is active. He’s always kicking around in there, and I fucking love it.”
“I want to make fun of you real bad right now, but I get it,” Nash said as he rubbed the back of my neck. “Hey, I heard John Cook announced that he was finally retiring.”
Hayes nodded slowly. “Yep. He’ll be retiring in a few months. Lenny and I are both up for the position, but that fucker is practically campaigning for it now. He keeps mentioning how his wife loves to host potlucks and fundraisers, and I can’t compete with that. I sure as shit don’t want to.”
“Play the game, brother. You’re damn good at your job. You deserve the promotion. Maybe you could marry Trish Windsor real quick,” River said over his laughter. Nash had filled me in that she was a woman who’d pursued Hayes hard, and he avoided her any time she came around.
“I’d rather get demoted than be alone with that woman. She tried to tie me up, remember? I’m not into that shit.”
“Unless you’re the one doing the tying, right?” Romeo teased, and Hayes balled up a napkin and tossed it at him.
“Something like that.” Hayes shrugged.
“Sad news about Abe Wilson,” River said, taking a long pull from his beer. “I wonder if Savannah will come home for his funeral.”
“Who’s Savannah?” I asked.
“Savannah Abbott lived next door to Hayes when we were growing up. She and Hayes were—what do you call that, baby? When they’re inseparable?” Romeo was now sitting with Demi on his lap as he rubbed her belly.
“Besties, baby.”
“Pfft.” Hayes shook his head with disgust. “I don’t use the word besties in my vocabulary. We were neighbors, and we looked out for one another. And then all that shit went down with her family, and she went radio silent.”
“Ahhh… she ghosted you,” Ruby said with a laugh.
“Whatever. Call it what you want.” Hayes stared out at the dance floor, but he looked a million miles away.
“You two were tight. I remember you and Kate having some brutal fights about how jealous she was over that friendship,” Nash said. He’d filled me in on Hayes’s ex-fiancée who’d slept with his coworker at the firehouse. She sounded like a real piece of work.
“Yeah, Kate liked to go off about anything and everything. I should have run for the hills long before I caught her riding Lenny like it was her fucking day job.”
Laughter bellowed around us.
“That’s called red flags,” Demi said with a brow raised. “Well, I hope Savi comes home for the funeral. She was always so sweet and kind to everyone. I hated that she left town so abruptly. But she and the Wilsons were really close. The last time she came home was over a decade ago—for Lily’s funeral, right?”
Hayes nodded, and something crossed his gaze that I couldn’t read. Sadness, maybe? “Yep,” was all he said.
“I wonder who he left his millions to,” Romeo said. “That man owned the largest piece of property in Magnolia Falls. He’s got no kids, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens with his estate and land.”
“He married that crazy-ass woman, Sheana, for a short time. If she gets that land, I’d guess we’ll have a strip mall in town within a few months.” Hayes took another pull from his bottle.
I gave Nash a questioning look, and he leaned down close to my ear. “Abe was a sweet old man who lost the love of his life, and then a few years later, he got worked over by this young gold digger whom everyone in town despised. Thankfully, he figured it out quickly and filed for divorce.”
“And she just left?” I asked, my mind blown that someone would be so cold.
“Yep. She got a large settlement and moved out of town.”
“Money brings out the crazy in people,” Hayes said, shaking his head with disgust.
“She got what she wanted,” Romeo said, as Kingston sauntered our way.
