Champagne and Lemon Drops: A Blueberry Springs Chick Lit Contemporary Romance (23 page)

Her eyes watered as the bark stung her skin.
"Ow, ow, ow!"

She loosened her grip as the scraping
continued and plunged out of control, her left foot making flimsy
contact with a young branch. She scrambled like an uncoordinated
squirrel, grabbing a handful of withered leaves.

An "ooooh!" came from the crowd below and
Beth bit back a curse. If she hadn't been blessed with such a curvy
figure, i.e. big boobs, she was certain she could have climbed down
with grace.

"Are you coming, Beth?" Mandy called. "Ozzie
is already down!" She caught the brightness of Mandy's scarf and
she fumbled to get out of the tree fast enough to gauge what was
truly going on between the two of them.

"Enjoying the view!" Beth
chirped. Her arms were now covered with long, red scratches, stung
like hell, and felt completely useless. When she finally hit the
ground she was
not
going to look good. She climbed down a few feet and ignored
Oz's offer of help.

Peering through the branches she saw the
glint of a can as it met Oz's lips. If she was around he had to
drink. It was that simple, wasn't it? By the time her feet touched
the ground, she was pissed off and damp under the arms. Fluffy and
Mrs. Everett had wandered off, as had most of the crowd. Oz rocked
back on his heels and smiled at Beth.

"Best entertainment in town."

"Bite me." Beth dusted herself off and
grabbed her jacket, hoping nobody would notice the sweat on her
brow. Some hurry he was to get back to Benny. His pants must be
rather uncomfortable considering they must be on fire. The
liar.

"Aw, come on, Beth," Mandy cooed, hanging
off Oz's arm. "Everyone knows Oz rescues Fluffy because he's the
best climber in town."

Beth turned away, sick at how at home Mandy
looked on Oz's arm. She spotted Nash crossing the street, striding
toward the action with determined purpose. Beth moved to head him
off. In her current mood, she might find herself making out with
her former fling in the center of town just to spite everyone.

"Hang on there, Beth," Oz drawled. She
stopped and turned, hand on her hip, jacket slung over her
shoulder.

Oz, a casual jumble of limbs, the can of
beer hanging from his hand as though it had always been a part of
him, stepped forward, slipping Mandy off his arm like he had so
many times in the past.

"What?" Beth asked sharply, her eyes
catching the amber glint in Oz's dark eyes.

He reached out and touched Beth's shirt
above her left breast. She reached out to slap Oz, but a fist flew
past her, knocking Oz to the ground before she could make
contact.

Beth stumbled forward, turning to see who
had come up behind her. Nash gave a primal huff, his blue eyes
flashing like frozen blades.

Oz slowly raised himself into a crouch,
rubbing his jaw.

Nash pushed himself in front of Beth, fists
tight under his chin. In a flash, Oz lashed out with his legs
making Nash do an awkward dance in order to stay upright.

"Stop it!" Beth shrieked.

The men, brows lowered, repositioned for
another blow. Katie pushed her way between them, Mandy on her
heels.

"You planned this!" Beth pointed a finger at
Katie who slapped it away.

"Did not!"

"You don't grab a woman's breast," Nash bit
out.

Mandy stepped in. "He didn't, you liar!"

Katie moved to stay between the men and said
calmly to Beth, "Your shirt is ripped."

Beth looked down to see her bra's pink lace
exposed through a large tear.

"I was being a
gentleman
," Oz growled,
pushing his torso toward Nash. Katie placed a hand against his
chest to keep him at bay. "Which is more than I can say for you."
Oz gave Nash a look loaded with judgment. "You may have intentions
for my girl but—"

"You call—" Nash squared his shoulders.

"
Your
girl?" Mandy cried.

"Where's your sense of honor?" Oz
called.

"I was protecting hers!" Nash quipped.

"Well, it's a little late for that!" he
spit.

Beth stepped away from the growing fight as
Katie stayed between the men, her face lined with anger. "What are
you?" She glared at Nash. "A Neanderthal? I expected more out of a
man like you. Fighting and acting like Beth's your piece of
meat."

Nash's fists fell, the fight gone.

"Nash, let's go." Beth pushed at Nash's
tight shoulder and didn't dare look back. "This isn't worth our
time."

***

Beth quietly placed her silent phone on
Katie's coffee table. She'd sent her resume and application in to a
nanny hiring service in Dakota an hour ago and called to make sure
they'd received it. The director reviewed her application over the
phone and was quite frank. No second language skills. No formal
child development training. No experience as a nanny. She would be
at the bottom of the pile. If she was lucky she might get a call
for an interview in six months to a year, but due to the number of
highly qualified nannies available and a slowdown in the local
economy, the director didn't see someone like Beth getting a
placement other than as a relief worker for three to six hours a
week. Beth couldn't live off of that.

She rubbed her eyes. Plan Nanny swirled away
like water down a gopher hole. Fast and furious. She was truly
stuck in Blueberry Springs with a pissed off best friend, an
ex-fiancé, and an ex-lover. She was going to have to stick it
out.

And after taking sides in the park yesterday
things were going to be tough between her and Katie—assuming Katie
ever came home again. The fact that she had stayed over at Will's
place—something she so very rarely did—demonstrated how much Beth
either needed a new place to crash or a massive gesture of
forgiveness combined with a fortuitous alignment of planets and
stars.

She unzipped her ratty suitcase. The airline
had finally found her biggest bag and delivered it to her an hour
ago. She dug under some dirty laundry and pulled out a plastic bag
with the Eiffel Tower on it. Perfect.

She heard footfalls on the back steps and
the door opened, a cool, crisp breeze roaring in, winter having
blasted in overnight reminding her how a mountainous November may
as well be December. Beth shivered and waited for Katie to enter
the room.

"Hey," she said, gauging Katie's mood.
Shoulders stiff, mouth set at a firm line. Not good.

Beth picked up the gift bag. "The airline
found my luggage. This is for you."

Katie slowly pulled the snow globe out of
the bag, her expression softening. "Wow."

"Do you like it?" She knew she'd just added
the nicest snow globe to Katie's eclectic collection.

"This is very nice. Thanks." Katie shook the
heavy globe and Beth stood beside her, admiring the fine sparkles
as they floated down over the pewter scene of Paris, the Eiffel
Tower sitting in a place of honor at the center.

Beth pointed to a spot near the tower. "We
had a picnic right there." A contented feeling enveloped her
thinking about that evening. It was an experience she'd never
forget. The way she'd felt with Nash that evening. The way they'd
laughed and carried on... it was well worth all the BS piling up
around her.

Katie's eyes narrowed and Beth realized
she'd done exactly the wrong thing. Mentioned Nash. She backed up a
step and tried to think of a way to change the subject to make
Katie see that they could still be friends even though she hadn't
chosen her brother's side.

Katie banged the globe down on the shelf
with the others. "I only suggested Nash as a way to divert your
attention and help motivate Oz, not destroy him."

"I—"

"Haven't you noticed what your trip has done
to him?"

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

"The drinking. Mandy... I
can't believe he
kissed
Mandy."

"That was before I booked the trip," Beth
protested. "Why do you think I left? I had to preserve a piece of
myself."

"Is that what
he
told you?" Katie
asked, her eyes flicking to the snow globe, her head titled to the
side. There was a hard look in her eyes that told Beth she'd never
understand Beth's side because in order to do so she'd have to
abandon her brother, her own blood. And blood was always thicker
than water. "Can't you see that it's you?" Katie asked. "You're the
one pushing him to all this stupid-assed, self-destructive,
humiliating behavior—"

"Am not!" She promptly clamped her mouth
shut, knowing if she opened it again she'd lose her friend.

"You are
destroying
him." Katie
prodded Beth's shoulder with a finger. "You need to stop seeing
Nash and show Oz you still love him."

"I'm
not
seeing Nash," Beth said hotly.
"And even if I was it wouldn't be anyone else's business because Oz
BROKE UP with ME!" Beth tried to calm the shakes that had taken
over her body. Her words came out fast and blurred. "Don't you get
it, Katie? He's broken up with me! He told me to move on so he
could go kiss Mandy. He doesn't want me. He wants
her
."

"Nobody wants Mandy and certainly not Oz!
And yesterday, why do you think he—"

"She was draped all over him!"

"He shook her off like he always does! He
still loves you. And he doesn't love HER!"

"Well, he has a really fucked up way of
showing it! A real man would marry the woman he loves and not tell
her they were over so he could get back together with his ex!"

The tenants upstairs banged on the floor for
them to keep it down. The girls faced each other, puffing as their
chests heaved, daring each other to be the one to take up the fight
again, to prove the other one wrong and to make them admit
defeat.

"I think I'd better find a new place to
live," Beth said, turning to pick up her suitcase.

***

Nash nuzzled Beth's bare shoulder. "Why
don't you move in with me?" he asked.

Forty-five minutes ago Beth had appeared at
Nash's door, suitcase in hand. He'd let her in, no questions asked.
He'd filled her with ice cream and listened without interrupting as
she'd spilled the story of her fight with Katie.

As agreed, their Parisian fling had ended on
the tarmac. But sitting on Nash's couch, his hand still slightly
swollen from punching Oz, Beth found she hadn't been able to—or
even wanted to—keep her hands off of him. She'd set her empty bowl
aside and pounced. He'd greeted her renewed affections with the
same desperate vigor and passion. The problem was, somewhere along
the line her feelings had edged toward serious and she assumed
Nash's hadn't.

"You have a guest bed?" she asked, gauging
his reaction.

His eyes squinted for a split second and his
body tensed. "Right. Of course," he said quickly, sitting up.
"There's a Murphy bed in my office. You are welcome to take it
over."

Was that disappointment in his eyes? Had
Nash been offering her a path to her dreams?

She sat up and studied him, trying to see
all of him without an enveloping cloud of hope. He was kind and
supportive. Stable. Fun. A good lover. They'd been amazing in
Paris. Add all that to the total package, along with the potential
of him being ready to hand over his heart...

But. But, but, but. Stop the bus. This had
nothing to do with his heart. He said he wasn't looking for
anything serious while in Blueberry Springs. He wasn't going to
fall for a country bumpkin.

Had things changed, or was his offer simply
a lonely man seizing an opportunity? Nothing more. After all, at
their age, it was fashionable in small towns to be with someone.
Not like in the city where it was fashionable to be single and
independent.

"You okay?" Nash asked, the air between them
electric and tense.

"Say I accept your offer to stay here. Can
we—would it be okay if I didn't tell people right away?"

Nash raised an eyebrow and crossed his
arms.

"I mean," she said quickly. "I want to
establish to everyone that we're friends, not lovers."

"Haven't we already done that?"

Beth paused. "Well... yeah."

"Are you worried what others will think and
say?"

She nodded.

Nash gave her chin a light nudge with his
swollen fist. "Since when did my Beth care about what others
think?"

She gave a small smile, a warmth washing
over her. More than anything she wanted to wrap herself in his arms
and stay there. Instead she sat with her knees drawn up to her
chest, thinking.

This was her life.

Was this the exit sign she'd been
seeking?

Was this a way to start over? A lifeline? A
stepladder into the life she wanted?

She let out a hefty sigh. "I guess I just
don't want Oz doing something self-destructive if suddenly it's
like—BAM!—here we are."

Nash ran a hand through his golden hair.
"Uh... Oz. I see."

"It's not that way," she said quickly, eager
for him to believe he wasn't competing with her ex. "I just need to
be sensitive to the impact our actions might have because every
time I move forward I seem to set him back and it's getting scary
the way he's self-destructing." She watched Nash, hoping he'd
understand that she still cared about Oz and what happened to him
even if they weren't together.

Nash flipped the covers off his legs and
stood. He pulled on satin boxers that urged her to forget talking
and to pet its bulges. He paced the end of the bed, then eventually
settled next to her. "You know you deserve better than Oz and his
issues."

"I just need to take things slowly."

"Take what slowly?" he asked, hope lighting
his eyes. He leaned closer, his eyes bright and clear.