Healing Beau (The Brothers of Beauford Bend Book 6) Read Online Free PDF

course not. I can fix it.”
    She frowned. “You can fix it?”
    He nodded. “Nothing to it.” He had never fixed anything in his life, at least not a physical object. Arms dealers, drug lords, kidnappers—he’d fixed plenty of them. So what was one little box? “There are woodworking tools at Beauford Bend.” He hoped that was true. “And I know how to use them.” Biggest lie so far. “You won’t even be able to tell.” Her eyes widened and she smiled. She believed him. “I promise.” And he kissed her temple. “I’ll take it over there right now.”
    • • •
    The last thing Christian wanted to do today was go to the local knitting shop and eat soup and try to make a snowflake or star Christmas ornament that probably wasn’t going to come out right. Savory Soup and Christmas Stitches, the lunchtime knitting classes at String, had been scheduled to end last week, but everyone had liked them so much that Miss Sticky and Miss Julia had offered to do one more. Christian had agreed to go, though maybe not as enthusiastically as everyone else. Though her knitting might not be up to par, it had been fun to gather with her friends in the happy little shop—but that was before. Before Beau had come home. Before she’d had to watch him cast around for something to fill his time. Before she’d had to try not to notice when he was in pain. Before she’d had to live with the longing 24/7.
    And before she’d broken that stupid box. Okay, so the writing desk wasn’t stupid. She loved it, but did she love it because of its history and sentimental value or because she’d spent so many hours with it on her lap writing to Beau? She’d always felt content and connected to him when writing him a letter. So she’d written and rewritten until she was sure every word was the best it could be.
    And now there wouldn’t be any more letters. She had thought that when that day came she’d be happy because he wouldn’t be in danger anymore. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Was being in danger worse than being miserable because of lack of purpose? Beau had always been purpose driven—on the football field, on the baseball diamond, and in the classroom. He thrived on it. But those purposes had always been served up to him, and it hadn’t been any different in the military. She wasn’t sure he even knew how to find purpose for himself.
    She’d been thinking about all that when she’d knocked the box off the table. It wasn’t like her to overreact, but when she’d seen that writing desk lying on the floor broken, everything had caught up with her.
    And why had she not gone to her room to cry? Why had she let him catch her? It was as if her brain had shut down and she couldn’t think of another thing.
    But it was over now, and he’d gone over to Beauford Bend to fix her writing desk. Maybe he’d make peace with the place and move back. In a way, she wished he would, and in another way, the thought of his leaving gutted her like a red snapper on a deep sea fishing boat.
    There was no help for her—never had been. She’d been away from him ten years, and it hadn’t helped. Maybe he’d just live in Moon Glow at Firefly Hall for the rest of his life. Maybe they’d grow old together, yet apart. That was better than without him, because sometimes love meant taking what you could get. Not that she was going to get that either.
    She parked across the street from String. Ah. Emory, Gwen, and Abby approached the shop from one direction as Noel and Neyland came from the direction of Piece by Piece.
    Except for Gwen, none of them had been in relationships when they’d become friends. Now look them—all settled and happy, all except Christian. And there was Neyland’s cousin, Hope, opening the door to welcome them. She had recently come back to town for a temporary visit and was staying to marry Heath Beckett, the renowned stained glass artist.
    All of a sudden, Christian was a little mad. What was Beauford anyway? A hotbed for