Page 90 of Darlin'

CHAPTER 27

Choices and Consequences

"Damn, girl."Beau clicks his tongue as I smirk up at him from the Remington 22 rifle. He glances at all the fallen cans sprawled beside the log. "I forgot you were an excellent shot."

"That's nothing." I snort, brushing the dirt off my pants as I stand up. "Last summer, daddy took me to the club for the annual skeet shooting competition." I shimmy my shoulders. "I won first place."

"Fucking right you did," Beau chuckles, settling down on the log and fishing a soda pop from the cooler he brought. I'm surprised it's not beer, but he must remember daddy's rule. "I always sucked at those. Daddy could never understand how my shooting aim was so bad, yet I could throw a no-look-pass for fifty yards and a touchdown."

"Truthfully, I didn't either," I admit, my phone buzzing in my pocket. I check the caller ID, freezing. "Well...only took five weeks."

Beau looks over my shoulder, cringing. "You gonna answer?"

"Nope," I say, muting my momma's attempt for contact. "I'll call her back later. She's probably gonna hound me about when I'm coming home."

"Whenareyou planning on heading back to 'Bama?" Beau fidgets beside me. "Summer's almost over, Sav."

"I don't know." I sigh, looking around the dry desert full of nothingness; and surprisingly, I've never felt more full, more whole, more comfortable. "Classes start in a few weeks, but..." I shrug. "I don't feel like leaving yet."

"It's your last semester, right?" Beau asks, sipping on his cola. "After that, you're done?"

"Yup, I'll be just another girl with a general arts degree and no real direction.” I scoff. "Really going places, huh?"

"To the alter if I recall momma's plan correctly," Beau muses, casting me a cheeky side-eye. "Are you to be the future Mrs. Ronald Sutherland? Or was it uh—" Beau gazes thoughtfully into the distance. "Mrs. Frederick Hughes?"

I roll my eyes. "More like Mrs. I-Ain't-Cooking-For-No-Man."

Beau laughs. "That's cause youcan'tcook, Savvy. We both know you'd hire help."

My jaw drops. "Excuse me, I'll have you know that I can now cook several dishes, okay? Jesse taught me how to make lasagna, poached eggs, and the tastiest salmon you'll ever try."

Beau taps his soda can, lightly shaking his head. "Did he now?"

"Yup," I say, proud of my growing culinary skills. "And weren't those gingersnaps at the toy drive to die for? Jesse helped me with those too."

"Yeah, I figured," Beau hums. He turns to face me, clearing his throat. "Listen, Sav..."

"Don't get mad at him, Beau," I say, giving him a pleading smile. "I don't wanna cause a riff between y'alls friendship. This thing between Jesse and me—it wasn't like we planned for it to happen, okay? It just sort of did."

Beau clears his throat. "And what is thisthing? Y'all dating or?"

I shrug, hating that I don't know the answer to such a simple question. "Not sure."

"Is he the reason you don't wanna go back?" he asks nervously.

"Maybe a little," I muse out loud. "But...but I think it's more than that. I know that at first, I hated this place. I hated that you were here. It all seemed so grimy and gross and—" I wince, apologetic. "Sorry."

"S'okay."

"Anywho, I don't know." I close my eyes and tilt my head up at the clear skies. "I seem to have changed my mind. The people here, they've...they've become my friends." I chuckle to myself. "Marlow's such a shit disturber, but I love her, and Pippa...she's like the older sister I've always wanted. Even Andy doesn't bother me as much these days." Sighing, I turn my attention back to my brother. "I can see why you love this place. These people."

Beau swallows. "I love you, Savvy. You know that, right?"

"I know you do," I say, grabbing his hand. "And I love you too. I—" Understanding dawns on me. "And I respect you, Beau, and the choices you made. They were your choices and yours alone. I...I didn't have any right to judge 'em or think they were beneath you."

Choices. It all comes down to choices. Beau chose to join The Sons. Miguel chose to approach me for information. And now it's my turn to choose. Miguel said The Sons are vicious. That they're criminals. That they're dangerous and evil. I haven't seen that. If anything, I've seen the good. I've seen the generosity. I've seen the love and loyalty that should accompany any family unit. I love my brother. I don't want to see him put in jail, but choices come with consequences. Beau knows the consequences. He's accepted them. And I'll accept them too.

"These are good people you've got around you," I say. "Sorry I didn't see it earlier."

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