Page 72 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

She had been flipping through the file of bills when Beau texted.

I ordered a new Scrabble set. I’m pretty sure yours is missing twot’s.

Sienna realized he had secured a seemingly open invitation to the weekly gathering—but she wasn’t mad about it. Not one bit.

Would those twot’s have made a difference last week? You lost by 42 points.

Immediately, Beau called her.

“Henry cheats.”

Sienna sighed. “Qatisa word.”

“Words that start withqneed auafter.”

“Didn’t you see it in the dictionary when you challenged him?” Sienna asked.

“I also bought a new dictionary. Whatever you guys have was published twenty years ago.”

She laughed. “Alright. Let’s see how things turn out this weekend.”

“What are you doing?” Beau asked.

Sighing, Sienna looked at her watch, wondering if she would make it back to Brookwood by the time Grace was out of school. She had promised to take her shopping for a prom dress, even though the dance was still months away.

Sienna eyed the typing receptionist. “Preparing for battle.”

“What?”

She sighed. “I’ve got these bills to work out with my insurance company, and they aren’t working out so well. And they’re overdue.” Sienna grimaced. “Wayoverdue.”

There was a pause over the call. “I can help—”

“No,” Sienna interrupted. “No, absolutely not. It will work out. I need the hospital to be clearer on some things, that’s all. I’m here now waiting to speak to someone. I just want this headache to be over.”

“Sienna, if you need money—”

“I don’t,” she said confidently.

Even though she was short twelve thousand dollars, Sienna knew in her heart she would never accept Beau’s offer to help financially.I’ve done it all on my own so far. I can close this chapter too,she thought.

“Alright,” Beau said, not pushing it. “Listen, if you’re at Texas Children’s, you’re not far from me. How about I take you for a late lunch? I just got back from my trainer. I’ll hop in the shower—”

“I need to get back home. I need to pick up a friend on the way, and we promised to take Grace shopping. I’m sorry.”

“Right, of course.”

Sienna tried to decipher a hint of hurt in Beau’s voice but found nothing but clear understanding. And Sienna gnawed on the inside of her cheek in both appreciation and frustration. Balancing motherhood, work,anda relationship was something she never had to worry about too much. She learned quickly that one ball had to drop—it never could or would be Grace. But in the weeks since they had decided to give their relationship a shot, Sienna realized it was often Beau who got dropped first.

“Maybe you can come to Maloney’s tonight?” Sienna still hadn’t hired another bartender. “It will be quiet.”

Beau was silent for a minute. “You know, I uh... I told Damien I’d meet him before school tomorrow. 6:00 AM in North Dallas. I’ll need to hit the hay early. That kid can nearly outrun me,” he said.

“You’re still working with him?”

“He’s a good kid. I’ve got some time, you know? Why not.” Beau shrugged it off as if offering training to a high school student he hardly knew wasn’t a big deal.

But it made Sienna’s heart swell. Her father had met Beau on the field many early mornings.

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