Part 17 (1/2)
”What did he tell you?”
Curses! Would the girl always interrupt? ”You'll have to forgive me, Brook Lynn, but I won't give you dirt on him, either. I don't know what he's shared with you and what he hasn't. I won't betray his confidence.”
Silence.
Would Brook Lynn hang up now?
”All right. How can I help you?” the girl asked again, and this time a layer of warmth wrapped her tone.
Uh, talk about confusing. But if the s.p.u.n.ky blonde who'd managed to snag the town dragon was finally willing to listen... ”Well, Beck and I kissed last night and now-”
”You kissed?”
”They kissed!” Jessie Kay demanded.
Argh! ”Would you please stopping b.u.t.ting in? You are the most frustrating person on the planet right now.”
”Sorry, sorry,” Brook Lynn said. ”Where are you? No, you know what, forget I asked. You're at Beck's office. Duh. Caller ID. In just a few minutes, Beck is going to get a call. Soon after, he'll leave. And soon after that, I will arrive-I'm currently at Two Farms-and we will finish this conversation in person.”
Click.
Okay. Wow. But true to the girl's word, Beck received a call on his cell phone before he stuck his head into Harlow's-his-office.
”I have to go,” he announced. He wouldn't meet her gaze.
”Oh. Is something wrong?” Did she sound too breezy?
”Nothing I can't handle.” He was gone a few seconds later-and she realized she missed him already.
What the heck is wrong with me?
As she began to pace, she noticed Cora received a call, as well, and left soon after. Then Brook Lynn arrived with her sister and, yep, Kenna Starr. The best friend. Harlow was too worked up to care about the potential hate mob.
The girls invaded the office, each pulling a chair up to the desk. Brook Lynn appeared giddy, Jessie Kay suspicious and the redheaded Kenna befuddled.
”How did you get Beck to leave?” Harlow asked.
”Had Jase call him for a bro-mergency,” Brook Lynn said. ”Meaning Jase is finally telling him how Tawny Ferguson has been coming to the house, asking questions about Beck. She's there now, in fact.”
What!
I mean, whatever. Wasn't as if an old flame of Beck's mattered. He never went back for seconds. ”You are here to help me, right?” Harlow asked, hesitant.
”Yes,” Brook Lynn and Jessie said in unison.
”Yes?” Kenna asked. She was a beautiful woman, her hair like living flames, her eyes steel gray and her pale skin adorably freckled. And, lightbulb! She would be the perfect model for Midnight Romp, one of the characters in West's game. Fierce avenger by day, seductress by night.
Harlow was making a mental note to ask her to model when Brook Lynn said, ”So...how was the kiss?”
”Oh, she liked it, no doubt about it,” Jessie Kay piped up. ”She didn't have to tell me that part. I just know from experience.”
A twinge of jealousy. Not important, either.
”Jessie Kay is right. I liked it. But now I don't know what to do about it,” Harlow said. ”I would have done more than kiss him, but I want forever and he wants a single night, so we called it quits and now he's treating me like I'm the devil.”
Kenna opened her mouth.
”I'm not,” Harlow insisted, and Kenna closed her mouth. ”Not anymore.”
”This sounds made-up. Beck is always nice,” Jessie Kay said. ”Even to his leftovers. Again, I know this from experience.”
”I guess I really ticked him off. But I have no idea how.”
Jessie Kay tapped a fingertip against her chin. ”I have a suspicion, but I need more info before I voice it. Tell me how he's treating you, exactly.”
Easy. ”He snaps at me. He glares at me, and he's stopped opening my car door for me. He doesn't call me lollipop or dove.”
”Wait. Let's backtrack just a bit. We want to help Harlow Gla.s.s...why?” Kenna asked.
”There's a good chance she isn't the girl we once knew,” Brook Lynn explained.
Not quite a s.h.i.+ning endors.e.m.e.nt, but she'd take it.
”So we like her now?” Kenna asked.
”We're deciding.” Brook Lynn settled deeper into the chair. ”But either way, we are helping her today.”
”Can you?” Harlow asked, not daring to hope. ”What was your suspicion, Jessie Kay? You never said.”
”Well, I think he still wants you, despite your desire for forever. And since you denied him, and he thinks he can't give you what you want, he's acting like a baby whose favorite toy was taken away.”
The storm raging inside her stopped, just stopped, the sun suddenly s.h.i.+ning brightly.
”Game changer, right?” Jessie Kay asked. ”Do you now just want Beck to be nicer to you-or do you still want him to commit to you?”
”Both?” Could he commit? Why did he go for so many women? Just because he could, or was there a deeper reason behind his he-s.l.u.t behavior, the way there'd been a deeper reason behind her bullying?
What did she know about Beck's past? The loss of his mom, the rejection of his father, the family members who'd kicked him out. The foster system. No telling what he'd seen, heard and experienced as he was shuffled from one home to another.
Mental note: study problems foster kids might develop later on in life.
Fingers snapped in front of her face. She blinked, found Jessie Kay leaning over the desk in a bid to gain her attention.
”Where'd you go?” the girl asked.
Harlow propped her elbows on the desk, rested her chin against her knuckles. ”That's not important. What is? Boys.”