Page 11 of Healing Home
BB erupted into laughter, her blue eyes dancing. “Um, no.” Then she grinned. “Close though.”
Link gave her a hard stare. “Bucephalus Blue.”
She giggled even harder, her eyes tearing. Gasping, she shook her head, covering her mouth with her hand.
“Blennerhasset Baker,” he said, forcing his ridiculous smile away.
BB could only shake her head, laughter rolling through her.
“Beatrice Beaumont.”
For a second she stared at him, then began nodding her head.
Link got a queasy feeling in his stomach. Oh, shit. He’d been trying to be ridiculous but had he actually guessed her name? “Beatrice?”
She nodded again and took a breath, cleared her throat. “It’s an old family name. My mother wanted to honor my grandmothers, so my name is Brandilynn, for my paternal grandmother Brenda Lynn, and Beatrice for my maternal grand, also of the same name. BrandiLynn Beatrice Jones.”
He blinked. “That’s a mouthful. No wonder you go by BB.”
She gave him a crooked smile. “Yeah, it was hell in school. My older sister actually started calling me BB first, and it stuck. I was completely happy not to have to write the damn thing out all the time.”
“How many siblings do you have?” He asked.
BB grinned. “I have four sisters and two brothers. Carolina is one of the younger, though you can’t tell it with the way she bosses everyone around. Somehow we ended up being her pinch hitters. We started the business with her and ran all of the initial contracts until she built her employees up to handle the business. She’s booked months in advance for some things, but other contracts come in on an as-needed basis. That’s why she also has so many day contractors. If her schedule is packed like it is now, and she still needs something, she has a pool of reserve people. They usually have a regular day job but have committed to helping out active duty and veterans as much as they can. She also has a pool of higher level contractors that can be hired for more difficult, involved jobs.”
Link had to shake his head. “I’ve never heard of anything like it.”
“Carolina calls it a concierge service. It works. She’s been in business six years now.”
Link was impressed. The entire premise was unique and he knew it would definitely serve a need.
“And what about you?” She asked softly. “I know you don’t have a lot of family, but where are you from? What’s your background?”
Link looked out the window for a moment to gather his thoughts, then back to her.
“I’m from a small town in rural New Hampshire. I still have some cousins and an uncle there but it’s been several years since I saw them. My dad worked for the national forestry service and he was mauled by a bear more than twenty years ago. Mom moved us back to her home in Idaho. She still lives there, actually, and we try to get together every year, but it’s hard sometimes. My job isn’t exactly conducive to strong connections, and her ranch doesn’t allow her to leave very often.”
She nodded in understanding. “That’s a shame. No siblings?”
His mouth twisted. “I had a brother but he took his own life about five years ago.”
BB gasped. “I’m so sorry, Link. I had a cousin take her own life and it just leaves you shaking your head, trying to understand. Did you have any idea?”
“Not exactly,” he said, voice flat. “He’d been a cop in Boise, but he’d just gotten separated from his high school sweetheart. We think he probably didn’t mean for it to go as far as it did.”
BB nodded, sympathy in her eyes, and he realized he’d not told anyone about his brother other than his team when he’d needed time off for the funeral. It was nice to talk to someone that understood. “I never would have expected him to try something like that. He was a solid guy and he loved being a cop.”
“I saw a statistic the other day that really surprised me,” she said softly. “There’ve been almost fifty police officers killed this year, but three times that many have committed suicide. The media just doesn’t cover those.”
“Damn,” he sighed. “I got back in-country after he did it and I had a package waiting for me here. Mom sent me some of his things.”
He motioned to a shelf on the far wall. BB left her chair and crossed the room to stand before it and he followed her.
“Wow, you two looked so much alike,” she breathed, leaning close to look at the two of them grinning in the pic. He’d been about twelve then, and Matt had been nine. Both dark haired, just like their dad standing behind them. Actually, it was only a year or two before dad was killed. Mom stood to the side, leaning against his father, antagonism radiating off of her.
BB’s arm slipped through his and he jerked. She smiled at him softly.
“Why was she angry?”