Page 22 of Dirty Ginger

“No, it’s rude, trust me,” Amelia shot back. She pointed to the brewery. “Beckett brought these guys here to help me after I told him yesterday that I had a lot to do, and I was finding it overwhelming.”

Clara’s expression pinched. “You’re not thinking clearly, Amelia, and that makes me very worried.”

Not this again. Amelia threw up her arms. “I already told you that you don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine. Leave it alone.”

Clara’s nostrils flared. “How can you be? Honestly, two weeks ago you were supposed to marry another man. Now you’re heating things up again with the guy that you once said was your one and only. How is any of that fine, Amelia?”

Okay, so it was confusing. “Seriously, nothing is happening.” Well, a few things were happening, but it was none of her sister’s business.

Clara inhaled a deep breath before the deepest glare Amelia had ever seen in her life crossed her sister’s face. “He’s not only your friend—you are aware of this, right? I care very deeply about Beckett too. And this… Amelia, what you are doing to him is cruel. He has never stopped loving you. Never. He’s been patiently waiting to see if he ever had another chance with you. If you don’t realize that, you’re stupid.”

Amelia glared now. “Harsh.”

“I’m not sugarcoating this for anyone,” Clara said, coldly, matter-of-factly. “I stood by and watched you fall in love with a total shithead, and I said nothing. But both you and Beckett need to wake up and see that this is a dangerous game you’re playing.” Her sister leaned in and narrowed her eyes, pointing a finger in Amelia’s face. “As much as I don’t want him to hurt you, I don’t want you to hurt him.”

“I have no plans to hurt him,” Amelia said in all seriousness.

Clara didn’t back down. Her eyes narrowed further into slits. “Is your head clear enough to even make that decision?”

Yes, nearly escaped her mouth, but the word couldn’t find its way through her lips. She took a deep breath and considered. Clara rubbed a lot of people wrong. Not Amelia. She appreciated that Clara didn’t wear a mask or hold back. “Fine, I’ve heard you, and I’ll take what you’ve said into consideration,” was Amelia’s carefully worded reply.

“Good,” Clara said, softer this time. “That’s all I ask. Think this through and don’t blindly walk around pretending that what you two are doing is not a huge deal.” She finally huffed and gave Amelia a quick kiss on the cheek. “Now let’s go save those cowboys from Mason.”

Amelia laughed softly, even though it felt a little forced. She strode next to Clara as they approached the brewery, absorbing the conversation. She couldn’t deny she wasn’t thinking things through completely, but she’d done that with Luka and that only got her dumped at the altar. Beckett was a grown man. He seemed happy, why couldn’t Clara get on board with that too? The cowboys were talking and laughing, and considering no one was covering their noses, she thought that was a good sign.

“All right, boss,” Beckett said when she stepped into the brewery. He leaned against the tank, looking like a woman’s dream come true, with Mason hanging off his arm. “Put us to work.”

She smiled at how much Mason always seemed to love being around Beckett before she looked at her helpers for the day. “I hope you all don’t mind getting dirty.”

Laughter echoed through the brewery.

Smirking to herself, considering they had no idea what they were in for, she climbed the ladder and opened the tank. The scent of rancid grain quickly infused the air. Each and every one of them covered their noses. One even gagged. “Anyone want to back out now?” she asked.

They all glanced at Beckett.

He glared.

“Where do we start?” one of the cowboys called.

* * *

Beckett loadedthe last of the plates in the dishwasher before he caught Amelia laughing at something Chevy, one of the young stable hands at the ranch, had said. He wondered if she knew that she was laughing easier since she’d come home. He hadn’t seen her laugh like this in a very long time. If he was being honest, he hadn’t seen this sweet laughter from her since before the accident, and Beckett took blame in that.

Cleaning the tanks and disposing of the spoiled grain had taken longer than expected. Amelia had ordered pizza for lunch, but Clara and Amelia had made a home-cooked meal when cleaning the brewery took up until dinnertime, but they’d managed to get it done. All in all, the day was successful, and Beckett was glad she could get ahead of the game. The sun was beginning to set, bathing the gorgeous sky in pink and purple hues, and Beckett took a deep breath. Things had been bad for a very long time, and then even when they were no longer bad, they were lonely. Sure, Beckett took women to his bed to fill the void of Amelia’s absence, but they never lasted, because he gave nothing of himself. Now, as he looked upon Amelia laughing, he wondered if things were about to take a turn for the better.

“What exactly are you doing here, Beckett?”

He sighed at Clara’s sharp voice. Christ, she was relentless. He closed the dishwasher and then glanced back, meeting her hard gaze. He had it in him to remind her again that whatever was going between him and Amelia didn’t include Clara’s input, but he saw the raw concern on Clara’s face. “Taking care of her.”

Unforgiving eyes searched his. “Is that it, then? You’re looking out for her?”

“That’s it,” he told her, not feeling the need to explain that, if Amelia would give him her heart, he’d take it and protect it forever.

“What about you?” Clara asked, with a rare gentle voice. “Who’s looking out for you in all this? Can you really handle a fling with Amelia, since it’s pretty clear that a serious relationship is the last thing on her mind?”

Her words hit him like a brick to the chest. It hadn’t occurred to him that Clara would worry for his wellbeing. She shocked him into silence for a few seconds. “I’m looking out for myself,” he eventually answered, “but thank you for your concern.”

Everything typically hard on Clara softened as she took him by the arms, holding them tightly as she looked into his eyes. “I have waited for this reunion for a long time. Please, please, take this slow and easy so that it works out and you both come out of this happy.”

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