Page 69 of Courageous Hearts

“Bo!”

My head snaps up as my name is called, and there, standing not thirty feet away, are Cooper, Will, and Tru. A smile overtakes my face as I head their way. They hasten to intercept me in the middle, and without warning, I’m pulled off my feet.

“Coop,” I shout in alarm, laughing as my half-brother swings me around once.

The blonde-haired goofball places me back on my feet, his smile a mile wide, and then Will tugs me close.

“It’s so good to see you,” my friend, once sparring partner, says.

I nod, throat tight, and when Will pulls back, those sharp blue eyes of his soften, as if he knows this is difficult for me. Being back here. All of it.

Tru is last to pull me into a hug, but his arms squeeze the tightest. It only took one meeting for me to learn not to underestimate the short, curly-haired man. The smallest of the trio is ferocious in his kindheartedness.

“Your pants,” Tru says when we step apart. His eyes are wide. “I love them.”

I huff a laugh, looking down at the purple camo print. They are pretty badass. “Thank you,” I mutter.

Cooper bends over, grabbing my carry-on. “Ready to go?”

“Just need to pick up my rental keys,” I note. I wasn’t about to make everyone drive me around all week.

Coop nods. “I’m heading back with you. Will and Tru are staying in the city for the day.”

“I have to get back to work,” Will explains.

“And I’m delivering some cupcakes to Mateo’s shelter,” Tru puts in. Mateo is Will’s uncle’s boyfriend. He started up a domestic abuse shelter in the city not that long ago.

“But we’ll be back tonight,” Will says as we head away from the arrivals terminal. “Figured we could catch up then.”

“Yeah,” I say with a nod. “There’s a lot to tell you.”

Will gives me a smile as we stop near the line for the car rentals. “I’m glad you’re here, Bo. You look great. See ya soon, all right?”

I nod, we say our final goodbyes, and Coop and I get in line to grab my car keys. My brother fills me in with the going-ons around town as we wait—like how they just repaved Main Street and how Coop got to do his first solo surgery this past week. But as soon as we’re safe inside the confines of my rented Hyundai, he pounces.

“So what’s going on with you and that bartender?”

“Jameson,” I fill in.

“Oh, I’m well aware,” Cooper says with a grin. “You’ve only mentioned him a trillion times over the past month. But you haven’t told me everything, I can tell.”

I told Coop that Jameson and I were seeing one another, but I was afraid to divulge too much too soon. What if we fell apart? What if I told Cooper, Will, and my aunt how much I adore Jameson only for us to end? Then they’d know how crushed I was, and I didn’t want to deal with that fallout.

I think that’s also why I haven’t told everyone at work. We’re not exactly hiding our relationship, and Dee and Bridget know, of course. But I’ve tried to keep our private lives private while at Gertie’s, and Jameson has followed my cue.

At some point, I need to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it’s hard to feel like this is real. That Jameson really does want me the way I want him.

“Where’d you go?” Coop asks. I can feel the weight of his stare on the side of my head.

Blowing out a breath, I tell him, “We’ve been spendin’ a lot of time together. I really like him, Coop.”

Shifting my gaze to Cooper briefly, I catch him beaming my way. He looks like literal sunshine, and not for the first time, I wonder how this man and I are related by blood. Cooper was lucky enough to inherit his mom’s bright looks and disposition, whereas I take after our father.

“That’s great, Bo,” Coop says, and I can tell how much he means it. How simply happy he is for me. “Tell me about him.”

So I do. I tell him about our first kiss back behind Gertie’s. About how, the very next day, we jumped into things. Dating, not the sack. I’m not about to give my brother those details. But I tell him about visiting the beach and all about Jameson’s house and cooking together. About how respectful he is. How caring and focused.

And when the cow-shaped sign for Plum Valley comes into sight at the top of the hill we’re traversing, I realize I’ve been talking about Jameson for nearly an hour.

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