Page 50 of The Outpost (Jamison Valley 4)
“Probably when Janessa and I tried drinking for the first time. We got smashed on cinnamon schnapps and I puked all over myself and the boy I had a crush on. He never talked to me again. Even after all these years, I still can’t stomach the taste of artificial cinnamon.”
“No Big Red gum?”
I made a sour face and he laughed.
“My turn.” I shifted on the chair as the wind outside the outpost started howling. “What’s the scariest thing to ever happen to you?”
Beau leaned his head back against the wall and spoke to the ceiling. The tortured look on his face made me want to take back my question.
“A couple of years ago, Jess, one of his deputies and me were up in the woods searching for a meth house. We found it, but before we could check it out, an old propane tank exploded. It was some sort of trap. Milo, the deputy, got third-degree burns. Jess got thrown into a fallen tree and a branch punctured his side. Lucky for me, I was far enough away that it just knocked me down but they both almost died that day.”
“God. I’m so sorry.” My hand went to my chest. The pain in his voice was palpable.
He lifted his head off the wall. “We got lucky. Both of them survived. But Gigi, Jess’s wife, was at the hospital when I brought them in. She’s a nurse. The scariest moment of my life was when I was sitting with her, waiting for a doctor to come out and tell us if Jess was going to live. I knew if he didn’t make it, I’d see her heart break.”
I sat silent and stunned. Beau wouldn’t meet my eyes. He just kept staring at the ceiling as he relived the memory.
Me and my damn questions. I hadn’t thought that question through. It had just come flying out of my mouth and now I’d dredged up that awful pain for him to relive.
“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered. “I’m sorry. I think we’d better quit this game.”
He shook his head and looked back down. “Don’t be sorry, Sabrina. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Maybe just make the next question a little lighter.”
“I can do that. Your turn?”
“You go again.”
I smiled, thinking of a topic sure to cheer him up. “Okay, I’ve got one. Who’s your favorite sibling?”
“Michael.” He grinned but then pointed his index finger at me in warning. “But if you ever tell Maisy, I’m taking you over my knee.”
“I’ll take it to my grave.” I held up three fingers in the scout’s salute. “Why Michael? I would have bet good money that you’d say Maisy.”
He shrugged. “I love my sister, don’t get me wrong. But Michael and I have always been tight. He used to be my shadow growing up. A lot of guys I knew would have hated their little brother tailing them around but it never bothered me. He was my little buddy.”
“What’s the age difference between you guys?” Beau had graduated with Felicity so I knew we were both thirty-four.
“Maisy is six years younger than me. Michael is nine. Mom had some health problems after I was born so they waited awhile to have more kids.”
We talked about his parents and siblings until he started asking me about mine. Then the conversation veered to even lighter topics. I learned that we both hated folding socks more than any other household chore, including toilet scrubbing. We both had a deep love for chocolate and his aversion to strawberry yogurt was as strong as mine was to blueberry.
After a couple of hours, I had completely forgotten this was a game. The back and forth was so easy and comfortable it felt like the best date I’d ever had.
The buzz from my whiskey had faded and I decided to have a little more before bed. I went to the kitchen to refill my glass and did the same for Beau, but just as I was walking back to deliver his drink, a bright flash filled the room, immediately followed by a deafening crack of thunder.
My whole body jolted and whiskey sloshed in our tall cups. Had they been any fuller, I would have gotten an alcohol shower. I started to relax but lightning flashed again and a boom rattled my bones.
“You okay?” Beau asked, sitting up off the wall.
I shook my head. “I like to watch thunderstorms, not be in the middle of one. That felt way too close.” At any moment, lightning was bound to strike a tree and it would fall onto the outpost.
He chuckled and patted the floor next to him. “Come and sit. We’re completely safe inside.”
I hustled to the floor and settled in close with my knees pulled into my chest. When another flash and crack split the air, Beau’s arm came around my shoulders and he tucked me tighter into his side. On his other side was a freaked-out Boone.
We all sat quietly, listening to the wind and rain beat against the outpost’s walls and roof. When the thunder and lightning finally blew over, my body relaxed and I started to breathe deeply again.
The thunderstorm left a steady rain in its wake and the drops dinged and drizzled loudly against the tin roof. The noise was comforting, louder than a rainy day in Seattle, but so blissfully familiar that I melted further into Beau’s side.
