Chapter 10

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Beth could feel the vibration of the music in her gut. She rarely went out, but now that Henry was staying with her, it was almost a nightly occurrence. She felt he was doing his best to forget something, and lord knows she could do with a little forgetting of her own.

"You up for it?" Henry shouted and grinned across the table at which they were standing.

Beth nodded since the music was too loud for her to be heard over it and watched as he slid her another shot.

It wasn't the first time Beth would be getting drunk, and she knew she would regret it in the morning, but she was here now, and she wanted to have fun for a change.

Beth grinned at Henry and knocked back the drink and then started to move to the music. Henry took it as a sign that she wanted to dance and moved them out onto the floor. It was a fast tune, and Beth enjoyed moving to the music. The alcohol had smothered her inhibitions enough for her to let loose, and she wasn't oblivious to the fact that she was with one of the most handsome and most dangerous looking men in the club either. It was a nice feeling.

They danced and drank for another hour before she started to lag, and Henry shook his head with a laugh.

"Come on, lightweight! Let's go home." He took her arm and escorted her through the crowd. She was weaving only a little, and it gave her the giggles, which amused Henry. Thankfully there was a cab waiting, and he was able to get Beth back to her apartment without mishap.

"Henry." Beth put her finger in his chest as they stood on the sidewalk while she weaved a little as she looked up at him. Whatever she had been about to say fled as she noticed a cab pull up behind him.

Beth blinked hard and weaved a little more as she saw Wyatt get out and then hold out a hand. Then she watched as Katherine placed her hand in his and joined him on the sidewalk.

Henry noticed her attention had been diverted and turned to see what she was staring so hard at. "Hello, Katherine. Did you have a fun evening?" Henry asked, reaching out a hand to steady Beth without thinking.

Beth was staring at Wyatt as if he was an alien from another planet, while Wyatt's thoughts were guarded behind a bland facade.

"Henry?" she whispered loudly since she was still partially deaf from the club.

"Beth," he whispered back, with a grin.

Beth licked her lips as she stared at Wyatt. "Is that Wyatt with Katherine?" she whispered loudly again.

"It is Katherine, but I don't know who the man is, would you like me to ask?" Beth was utterly unaware that Henry was amused at her antics.

"Yes, ask." She nodded and almost fell over, so Henry steadied her again.

"Are you Wyatt?" Henry asked across the ten-foot distance between them.

"Yes," Wyatt said in a grave voice as he stared at Beth.

"Yes, Beth. It's Wyatt. What now?" Henry turned his attention back to Beth.

"Does he look mad to you, he looks mad to me?" Beth squinted as she let her eyes skim his steady presence. "He thinks I'm a good girl. He's probably disappointed I'm tipsy." Her legs turned to jelly as she realized that she was looking at Wyatt, and Henry pulled her close, letting her use his body as a prop.

"You are a good girl, Beth, and you are a little more than tipsy." Henry laughed and gave her a hug.

Beth did her best to stand straight, licked her lips that felt suddenly dry, and cleared her throat. "Wyatt, this is Henry, Henry, this is Wyatt." She introduced. Henry nodded to Wyatt, and he nodded back. Neither man felt the need to shake the other's hand. "Henry is staying with me for a while, so is Katherine." Beth gave a little wave to Katherine, who gave her a wave back.

Beth was too far gone to notice Katherine's grin.

Beth started to giggle nervously, then the giggle turned into a snort, and she slapped her hand over her mouth until she had control of herself once more. "Sorry!"

"Come on adorable, can you do the stairs?" Henry asked, looking down at her while considering the options.

Beth, who decided it was time to save face, pulled her arm from his hand. "Yes, I can!" she said with a nod and turned sharply with a wobble then headed towards the wrong set of stairs.

"Wrong way!" Henry called, and Beth stopped, checking herself.  She looked back and forth between the two sets of identical stairs, looking for something familiar, then with a nod, she changed direction and immediately caught her toe on the first step. Before Beth could fall, though, there was an arm around her waist, holding her up. She knew it was Wyatt because of the sensations that rocketed through her at his touch.

Beth allowed her hand to clasp on to his for a moment, forgetting that she was drunk, and they were being watched as she enjoyed the brief contact. "I don't think this was what my grandmother had in mind." Beth looked up at Wyatt and noticed the wrinkles around his beautiful green eyes as he smiled at her words. She reached up and rubbed his cheek with her finger and could feel the roughness of the beginning of his beard stubble. "I've missed you, Wyatt."

Beth squeezed Wyatt's hand, and he quickly stepped away from her, moving his hand to her arm to hold her up as he looked over at Henry.

"I got her!" Henry said as he swooped in, past Wyatt, and threw Beth over his shoulder in a fireman's hold.  "Katherine, do you have a key ready?" he asked.

It was nothing for Henry to lift her and carry her.

Beth lifted her head and looked at an upside-down spinning Wyatt. He had moved back towards Katherine, said something to her, kissed her on the cheek, then got back in the taxi without a backward glance.

Beth closed her eyes as mortification at what had happened started to sweep over her. She had made a mess of things. Henry cleared the steps in seconds and had set her on her feet once they were outside her door while he waited for Katherine to join them and unlock the door.

They got Beth inside, and Katherine helped her get ready for bed while Henry made himself a sandwich.

"I screwed it all up!" Beth said as Katherine pulled the covers ups over her.

"No, I don't think you did," Katherine said with a smile. "Get some rest. Hopefully, you won't have a hangover in the morning." Then with a pat on Beth's shoulder, Katherine left her to sleep.

Beth knew she wasn't going to sleep, though. She was completely sober now, and she groaned as she replayed the event in her mind again.

Why had Wyatt made an appearance tonight! she picked up her pillow and held it over her face.

*******

"What was that all about?" Henry asked Katherine as she joined him in the living room. She was a lovely lady, and if he was looking for a relationship, she might be a good start, but he wasn't.

"It's hard to say. I don't know all the details, but I know Beth likes Wyatt, maybe even loves him." She shrugged as she sat on the chair opposite him.

"And how does he feel about Beth?" Henry asked around a mouth full of food.

"I'm not sure, he plays his cards pretty close, but sometimes the way he looks at her makes me wonder if there is something on his end too." Katherine kicked off her shoes.

"I saw it tonight." Henry nodded in agreement. "You think I hurt things?"

Katherine smiled. "No, I think you may have given him something to consider. I've known Wyatt for years, and I barely know him at all. Something is holding him back. I'm just not sure what."

"Leave it to Beth. Once she decides to get to the bottom of something, there's no steering her off course. It can take a year or ten, but she'll get the answer in the end.

"Then perhaps Wyatt has met his match." Katherine grinned and Henry returned it.

"Only time will tell," Henry agreed.


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