Page 21 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

“Did you talk with Beau?”

Sienna half shrugged, half shook her head. There had been more wondering than talking on her part. She wondered, even though he was older, larger, if he felt the same. Was the crook of his neck still the perfect hiding place for her lips? Would he exhale when she inhaled so their bodies never moved apart? Sienna wondered if Beau still felt like a missing piece—the one that brought peace to her chaos and a smile to her sadness.

“Son of a bitch canstillrun like hell,” Dylan said.

“Running was never his problem,” Sienna retorted before spinning around. “Do you know anything about refrigerators?”

“Yeah. They keep food cold.”

Sienna sighed. “The back fridge has been giving me trouble. I need to keep it going for a few more months. Would you mind taking a look? I can afford a fifty-dollar Band-Aid, but that’s about it right now.”

He raised his beer. “Show me which one after I’m done with this.”

“Thanks, Dylan.”

Maloney’s was as crowded as it usually was on Mondays, which wasn’t very much. But Sienna was at the point where every five-dollar beer, every basket of $2.99 greasy fries, counted. It wasn’t just business Sienna was worried about. Sienna was behind on thousands of dollars of hospital bills that had collected as she argued with her insurance company, which she was no longer sure was worth the massive amount of money she paid annually to keep.

But the good thing about owning a sinking bar was that there wasalwayssomething to do. With her bartender at home with a brand-new baby, she was popping bottle caps and pouring drinks. Sienna was in between doing those two things when she felt the stare, direct and strong, right into her.

If she hadn’t gone to the game, Sienna might have forgotten how intensely Beau looked at her. But when her cheeks flushed and she said a quiet prayer, thankful for the dim lighting, Sienna knew that wasn’t true. You couldn’t ever forget someone who could see right into your soul with the quickest of glances.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Dylan said. “Beau Walker. The prodigal son has returned.”

He was the first to call Beau’s name. But he wasn’t the last. One by one, the handful of customers said it, repeating it to themselves and friends and family over their phones as if they couldn’t believe he was there.

Beau Walker. Beau Walker.

The continuous echo of his name forced Sienna to take hold of the counter to keep from swaying

It was bad enough that she had to be on his turf a few weeks ago. But here he was in her place of business, welcomed like the hometown hero and not the heartbreaker who never looked back.

“You aren’t going to say hi?” Dylan asked, sitting back on the barstool when patrons swarmed Beau on the other end. “Beau Walkeris here,” he whispered, as if she didn’t know.

“You don’t say.”

Dylan knitted his brows together and lifted his hat to smooth down his red hair. “Y’all used to be close.”

We used to be inseparable.

“I’ll catch up with him later.”

Later, Sienna hoped, would be never, but as the night went on andmorepeople flooded into Maloney’s, she suddenly wasn’t so upset that Beau had made an appearance. But an hour after his arrival, Sienna realized the excitement of his presence had made everyone lose their sense of southern hospitality, so she poured him a whiskey, then slid it over.

Beau turned and held her gaze, not saying anything. Goose bumps crept up her arm when one of his fingers brushed against her hand as he reached for the glass.

Spinning away and prepping to close out for the night, Sienna wiped down the bar, tryingnotto overhear any of Beau’s conversation with Phil and Leslie Cummings, an older couple who owned Brookwood’s small grocery store.

“Never thought we’d see you here again,” Phil said, giving Beau a light punch on the arm. “Thought you forgot about this old place

“No,” Beau said firmly. “I could never forget.”

“Liar,” Sienna seethed under her breath.

Leslie smiled. “Well, we miss your parents a whole lot. Never could quite find a good peach cobbler since your mother left for Florida.”

“That’s why I’m here actually. Season’s over, so I’ve got some time on my hands. They want to list their house.”

Oh,nowhe wants to get the house ready to sell?Sienna scoffed to herself. Beau’s parents had moved to Florida a long time ago.

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