Page 10 of Dirty Ginger

Hayes followed Beckett back outside, and as Beckett relocked the front door, Hayes asked, “Any idea what spurred this?”

“Yesterday was my mother’s birthday,” Beckett said, trotting down the porch steps and hoping back into his truck, fastening his seatbelt.

“Shit,” said Hayes, when he slid into the seat next to him. “I totally forgot. You all right, man?”

Beckett nodded, turning on his truck and reversing out of the driveway. “I’m not in the same headspace as him. Yeah, I miss her, but not living isn’t going to bring her back.”

Hayes agreed with a swift nod, fastening his seatbelt. “Good headspace to have.”

Beckett settled his wrist atop the steering wheel, the truck’s engine humming as he drove Hayes back into town. “Is my dad looking at any charges?”

Hayes shook his head. “Nah, he wasn’t being a nuisance, just an eyesore to those in the park.”

Beckett hadn’t felt embarrassed over his father in a long time. The town knew his dad, knew his history, and knew that sometimes Jim fell apart. Beckett had been well on his way to becoming that same guy. Until his mind cleared and healing began, and while he had wished the same healing for his father, Beckett eventually accepted, with the help of therapy, that was never going to happen. Determined to keep his promise to never again allow his father to ruin his day, he shifted the conversation. “Did you hear Amelia’s back?”

“Yeah, I did,” Hayes said, tension in his voice.

Beckett gave him a quick look. “What is it?”

Hayes’ lips pinched before he glanced sidelong. “Amelia was in town meeting with Luka.”

Beckett swerved the truck to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes, dust bellowing around them. “Say that again?”

Hayes removed his hand from the dash he’d obviously been holding to avoid slamming into it. “I told Maisie you wouldn’t be happy about this, but when do any of the Carter sisters listen to me?”

Only one thing mattered to Beckett. “Is she getting back together with him?”

“That’s a negative,” Hayes said with a snort, leaning his elbow against the open window. “Maisie said there’s absolutely no chance of that.”

“Thank God,” Beckett breathed, slowly his racing heart. “That prick doesn’t deserve her.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

Beckett glanced out the front window, realizing he pulled off outside his house. From the road, the quaint but gorgeously built ranch farmhouse stood proud atop a small hill. The barn with the five horse stables was to the right. The property had four large paddocks, with a sand ring and round pen that his grandfather used during his rodeo career. Beckett knew that’s why his grandfather left him the property in his will and didn’t gift it to his mother. Back then, Beckett was meant to follow in his footsteps. Even if Beckett wasn’t using the stables or fields, he kept the property in pristine condition and he never stopped training with his rope. He still loved the sport, missed it every day, but he knew he would never go pro. He let out a long sigh, considering what he heard. “If Amelia is not meeting him to reconnect, why is she seeing him?”

“Yeah, this is the part you’re not going to like,” Hayes grumbled. “Darryl and Penelope popped over to her house this morning with groceries. Maisie told me that they updated her on what transpired between you and Luka.”

“And somehow, that made Amelia want to meet up with that fuckhead?” Christ, Beckett had only just seen her again.

“From what Maisie’s told me, she’s doing it to protect you.”

Beckett went still. “Protect me from what exactly?”

“Jail time.”

Beckett’s hand tightened around the steering wheel. He didn’t have to look to know his knuckles were white. “Where is he?”

Hayes gave him a firm look. The cop, at the ready. “Get that idea out of your head. You can’t go see him. He’s got a restraining order.” Unusual softness reached Hayes’ gaze as he shifted in his seat and cupped Beckett’s shoulder. “Besides, what’s done is done, there is nothing you can do now anyway.”

That fire burning in his gut began to creep up his face. “What do you mean, what’s done is done?”

“Apparently, Amelia paid off Luka for the surgery to make this all go away.”

Beckett’s vision tunneled. He thrust his hands into his hair, desperately trying to hold onto his damn pride. “What in the hell was she thinking?”

“It’s not hard to imagine how responsible she’d feel for this. That she’d want to protect you.”

Beckett dropped his head back against his head rest and breathed deep. “I didn’t want to pay that fucker off.”

---