Page 65 of Love on the Run

Her attention caught on a long, slanting scar over his ribs. “Um, what’s that?” she asked, pointing at the mark.

Beau glanced down before looking back up. “Crowbar.”

Anna’s eyes widened. “A crowbar? How?”

“I was pulling old boards up on a porch, and the crowbar slipped. Almost stabbed me in the heart.”

Well, that was one way to distract her. There were other scars in lines, circles, and jagged splotches. “Good grief, where did you get all those?”

Beau shrugged. “I was reckless,” he said, as if that explained a history of wounds.

“Why?”

“Why not? I thought I was invincible until I was about twenty-five.”

Anna huffed out a sharp breath. It was the opposite of how she’d lived her life—careful and orderly.

“Do you have regrets?” The question was out before she thought about how he might feel about the scars that had obviously been painful in the moments.

His brow scrunched. “No.”

Anna shook her head. “We are not the same.”

“Wait.” Beau held up a hand. “I do regret one.” He turned to the side to show his bicep. A faint line ran horizontally across the muscle.

“I pushed Olivia off a tractor when I was about thirteen. She got up and grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on and threw it at me.”

Anna leaned in to get a better look at the white mark. “What was it?”

“A saw blade. She threw it like a frisbee.”

Anna gasped. “She did not.”

“Oh, she did. She got in so much trouble. I did too, but at least I deserved it. She didn’t speak to me for weeks. She also had to do my farm chores, and she hated it.”

“But now she loves working on the farm. Her chickens are her life.”

“She always liked the chickens. My chores included baling hay and milking the goats, and those were her least favorite.”

Anna covered her mouth to hide her chuckle. Olivia still didn’t like those things.

Beau reached into the shower and let the water run over his hand. “It’s warm now.”

“Wait, what’s that?” Anna asked when she spotted the dark markings on the underside of his arm.

Beau lifted both arms, not only showing the tattoos but effectively flexing the muscles that needed no extra show. “Rock” was written on one arm, and “Solid” was written on the other.

“Rock solid?”

Beau jerked his head toward the shower. “Let’s get this over with.”

Anna stepped into the shower. “Fine, but I need you to tell me about that while we do this.”

The warm water rushed over her, soaking her clothes, and she carefully held her braced hand out of the spray.

Beau stepped in behind her and engulfed any remaining room in the small shower. His large presence loomed over her, but instead of feeling trapped or suffocated, there was only peace.

She turned around to wet her hair, facing him in the small space.

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