Page 42 of Darlin'

A tickle in my nose travels to my eyes. "And I'm not?"

"Of course you are," Beau says in a soft tone. "But I owe everything to the Paxtons. If it weren't for JP and his momma, God knows where I'd be."

Sniffling, I ask, "You knew Jesse's momma?"

"She's the one who found me," he reveals, pulling out a joint and lighting it up. "The dude I hitched a ride with had to go back home to Ohio, and by then, I spent all my money, and momma, well...you know. So I took this under-the-table job as a detailer. Guess working on all of dad's vintage cars paid off. Job didn't pay a lot or anything, but it was enough for food and shit." He blows out a cloud of smoke over the couch. "But not enough fora place to live." A smile curls the corner of his lips as he adds, "Hey, don't feel sorry for me, Sav. Out of all the places to sleep on the street, sunny California ain't bad."

"You should've called me," I mutter. "You should've..."

"Laura found me sleeping outside the shop one night," Beau continues, ignoring my hushed whisper of regret. "Had a tire blow out mid-ride. Apparently, Big Mike only kept the shop open past midnight for a select few. Anyway...that night, she brought me back here. Gave me a job as a mechanic. Set me up with a roommate. And then eventually..." Beau smiles. "I was in."

"I see."

My temples throb as pain spreads through my head to my heart. This was all for nothing. I thought I'd be rescuing him. I thought I'd be saving him from a life of danger and misery. But he's not miserable here. He's not stuck or unhappy or dreaming of a different future. He's home.Thisis his home. But where's my home? Maybe I'm the one who's homeless now.

"I know this is hard for you, Sav," Beau says. "JP told me all the hoops you had to jump through to find me, and I'm so thankful you did. You're braver than I am, always have been. I'm glad you didn't give up. Otherwise—" His voice breaks. "Otherwise, I might've never seen you again."

"Right," I mumble, exhaustion overtaking my muscles and mind. "I guess..."

"Spend the summer with me," Beau suggests, and I snap my head in his direction. He beams at the idea. "Yeah, spend the summer here, Savannah. I don't...I don'twant you to leave like this. I know all this looks scary to you, but I promise it's not." I scowl, glancing at his gunshot wound. Beau winces. "That's only like ten percent, okay? Listen—" He perks up. "There's so much I want to show you and tell you." He pauses before adding in an overly excited tone, "Marlow! You met her, right? Well, she and I are engaged, and I'd love for her to get to know you?—"

"Beau, stop," I say in a lethargic tone. "I can't stay the summer."

"Why not?" Beau asks.

"Because..." I shrug. "Momma signed me up for Miss USA, and preliminaries are in a few weeks, and I haven't been training, and you know she gets 'round pageant season?—"

"Savannah." Beau grabs my hand and squeezes it tight, demanding eye contact that I'm afraid to give him. "If you can look at me and tell me with a straight face that you'd rather doanotherpageant than spend the summer with me, then fine, go. Go spend the summer with a woman who lied to you for nearly three years. But if there's a part of you, even a tiny itsy-bitsy part, that wants to say fuck you to that woman, then stay." He nods repeatedly. "Stay."

Momma would be livid if I stayed. She would scream and yell and possibly throw a vase. She'd be disappointed in me. She'd probably pray she had a different daughter. A more obedient daughter. A daughter that always said yes. A daughter that wanted everything she did and more.

Too bad for Momma. I ain'tnoneof those things.

"Say yes," Beau encourages with a wide grin. "Just say yes, Savannah."

I nod slowly, the word slipping through from my tongue so naturally that it catches me off guard. "Yes."

"Yes!" Beau exclaims. "Fuck yes!"

"What are we shouting about in here?" Jo asks, entering the lounge with Jesse in tow. She hands Beau a plate of fries. "Well?"

"Savannah's gonna spend the summer here," Beau says. "Ain't that great?"

"She'swhat?" Jesse asks in a flat tone. "Rad..."

"She's family, JP," Beau states. "She'smyfamily."

Jo eyes me thoughtfully for a long ten seconds before saying, "Welcome to the family, Savannah. I guess it's time to introduce you properly." Jo looks down at Beau. "Is she going to stay with you and uh—" She blinks. "Lucky?"

"Well..." Beau cringes, scratching the back of his neck. "We only got a pull-out couch, and Luck's a bit...you know..."

Jo chuckles. "Oh, I know."

"She could maybe stay at Mar's, but that roommate of hers rarely even lets me come over, so..."

Both Jo and Beau look over at Jesse.

Uh oh.

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