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“I’ll get ‘em back in,” Kenny said. “I’m done with the barn repairs.”
Beau nodded at him, and Kenny went past them to get the wheelbarrow. They’d have to move for him to get out, and Charlotte let Beau keep her hand in his tightly as they went outside.
The sunshine made her squint, and a strong blast of pain shot behind her eyes. She groaned, and Beau glanced at her with a fierce look in his eyes. “Charlotte.”
“I just need to take some medicine and lie down,” she said.
“Then let’s get you home.”
Home. The word echoed in her head, and she hadn’t felt completely at home anywhere, not like she did here. Not like she did at Beau’s side.
He led her inside and right down the hall to her bedroom. “I’ll bring you some painkillers.” Before he left, he pulled her curtains closed, and Charlotte didn’t bother to change her clothes. She took off her boots and lay back on her pillows, and when Beau brought her a bottle of water and some pills, she drank and took them readily.
“My teeth hurt,” she said. “Can you bring me an ice pack?”
“Your teeth hurt?”
“When I get really bad headaches, it goes all the way into my teeth,” she said, her eyes falling closed again. “And Beau?”
“What else do you need, little bird?”
She smiled at the beautiful pet name he had for her. At first, she hadn’t liked it much, though she’d enjoyed how it rumbled in his voice. But birds were weak—or so she’d thought. But over the past several weeks, she’d realized that Beau didn’t call her “little bird” because he found her weak.
He did it because he cherished her.
“Something to eat, please,” she said. “Something easy. Just so the pills don’t upset my stomach.”
“Pizza coming right up.” He left the room then, and Charlotte exhaled out and tried to relax. For some reason, she didn’t mind when Beau took care of her, but she’d have been annoyed if she’d had to call her brother or her mother. She wasn’t sure what the difference was, only that it existed.
When Beau returned, he brought the scent of marinara and pepperoni with him, and he sat on the edge of the bed while she scooted up and leaned against the wall to eat.
“I finally got to hear you sing to the horses,” he said.
“And? What did you think?”
“I think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world.” Beau grinned at her, and she couldn’t quite tell if he was joking or not. A flirt, he was, for sure.
“Because I sang a lullaby to a horse?”
“Because you sang a lullaby to a horse,” he confirmed, and he certainly didn’t seem to be joking. He threaded his fingers through hers. “You have a beautiful voice, and I’m sorry you aren’t feeling well.”
“I’m fine, really,” she said. “Just a long day, and I have a headache.”
“So, do you want to come lie on the couch and ice your teeth? I’ll hold you and you can sing me your horse lullabies.”
Charlotte grinned at him and reached out to cradle his face in one palm. His beard was soft and prickly at the same time, and he leaned into her touch as if he craved it. “Can you just hold me right here?”
Surprise crossed Beau’s face, but he got up and went around to the other side of the bed. He lay down, and Charlotte scooted back down and pressed her back into his chest as his arms came around her. “Mm, this is nice.”
She repositioned the ice pack so it covered her jaw and cheek, and she only grunted slightly when Ruby and Pepper joined them by jumping up onto the bed and finding spots near their feet.
Dozing, she finally felt every muscle in her body soften. So she couldn’t be sure if she heard Beau whisper, “I’m falling in love with you, little bird,” or not. Perhaps she simply wanted to hear it, or perhaps it had happened in her dreams.
No matter what, she liked hearing him say it, and she started wondering if she was falling in love with him too.
Chapter Fifteen
Beau couldn’t wait to get back to the ranch—and take a shower. He’d been out on the roundup for too long, and he wasn’t sure his soon-to-be-forty-year-old body could take another night sleeping on the ground.
