Beard Science (Winston Brothers, #3)

by Penny Reid

I tried my best to pretend unkind words were actually just erroneously expressed compliments, as it just made everything nicer for everybody.

Just because a person was a looker doesn’t mean they’re not a psychopath.

No one person should be allowed to be that pathologically intelligent and oppressively handsome.

I don’t like to judge people. I love it.

“This is weird. How can all you Winstons be so good-looking?”

My grandmother said he was an enabler, and it was a good thing my momma wasn’t an alcoholic because he would’ve been pouring her drinks.

But just knowing I could leave, if I wanted to, made the reality of each day feel less overwhelming.

I can be real tough. You can’t be a sissy and make fifty loaves of bread in a day. That’s a lot of kneading. I’m tough as nails. I’m basically the Rocky Balboa of bakers. I’m unstoppable!

How odd, for a person to always have an expression. Unless that person wore emotions like a mask, meant to misdirect the true nature of his thoughts.

All my meddling efforts were now focused on my family and their happiness, whether they liked it or not.

“You’ll know one day, Cletus. You’ll discover what it’s like to find the other part of yourself. You’ll know it’s her, only her, always her. Maybe not right away, but eventually you’ll know. She’ll be your beginning, middle, and end. And your intentions won’t matter. Love brings its own intentions, and all other plans, hopes, and dreams fade to insignificance in the face of love.”

All his brutal cleverness was on display and it made meeting his eyes—then and now—extremely difficult. I felt like I was being dissected.

“You surprise me, and I am not accustomed to being surprised.”

“Her heart was a secret garden and the walls were very high.”

He was a grumpy, brooding little bastard who had the habit of only speaking when spoken to—and sometimes not even then. I was going to miss him.

Since she’s a nurse, she knows just where to stab a person. You should see her skin a rabbit. We’re pretty proud.”

I didn’t usually make pie, but I was waiting for the bread to rise so I could knead it again. I’d woken up with a thirst for violence. Cutting the butter into the flour for pie crust was almost as good as kneading bread.

I couldn’t imagine how they must’ve mourned her passing. Cake wouldn’t make things better, but sometimes it helped add some sweet and softness to the sting.

“No. I grew a beard because no one was around to teach us boys how to shave.”

‘Being quiet can be louder than shouting.’”

‘Old things have soul.’ Then to me she’d add on a whisper, ‘And young things have spirit.’”

I felt hushed. I felt smothered. I felt suppressed and . . . ignored. Not just by my parents and their expectations, but also by me. I’d been ignoring myself. I’d been ignoring my own wishes and hopes.

“I can’t believe I agreed to your plan for the party. Can’t we just go with the original set-up: Beau’s scavenger hunt, drink whiskey, and burn stuff?”

if you don't want someone to get your goat, don't let them know where it's tied.”

Bullshit was the adult version of Santa Claus. For reasons I’ll never comprehend, the general population seemed to enjoy wallowing, spouting, and believing in bullshit.

“Let's clear one thing up: Introverts do not hate small talk because we dislike people. We hate small talk because we hate the barrier it creates between people.”

So, in summary, I had no plan. I only had a whim.

Saying someone would make a great politician is like saying someone would make a great serial killer. It’s not a compliment.”

I want to have a family to take care of, to love and fuss over and think about. That’s what I want.

I’m a firm believer that if a person needs a hug, you give that person a hug.

“I offer invaluable character building opportunities. I help them reach their true potential through suffering.”

“I’m here to help. We are now good friends and you can ask me anything you like.”

But I was not in a thinking state of mind. I was in a covetous state of mind. And a wish fulfillment state of mind.

I wanted to taste more of her, every part of me demanded it.

And that was basically it. That’s all it took for me to lose my mind.

I wasn’t going to be another person she trusted who took without asking, who made her decisions and perpetuated the vacuum of ignorance.

Absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. Whoever said that was a damn fool. Absence makes the heart suicidal.

I wanted predictable, and she’d never ceased to surprise me. Together we would not be perfectly pragmatic. We would be impressively impractical.

“It’s in the past. As momma used to say, ‘Best to leave farts and the past behind you.’”

I feel like I’m a character in the theme park of my life, and it’s a lonely place to be.

I’d been an achievement she was proud of for so long, and I didn’t know where I fit in her life if I wasn’t her pride and joy.

If I had a nickel for every time I’d thought about how fantastic the kiss had been, I’d own all the nickels in the world. Every single nickel.

I didn’t want his help. I wanted . . . Well, I wanted him. And I wanted him to want me.

“No, I will not hear you out. I will not stand here and listen to you tell me that we were just practicing, or that we’re not suited, or that you don’t feel for me what I so clearly feel for you. So save the shit for your garden and drive me home.”

“I can’t break your heart without breaking mine, and I’m terribly fond of my heart.”

The raw truth of him—of his soul—was beautiful. It was precious to me.

“You want to know what you are to me? Fine. You’re my beginning, middle, and end.”

I’ll never regret spending the rest of this evening discovering and touching your body.”

Her heart beat along with my heart, our skin sliding together and she endeavored to press closer, as though she wanted to climb inside me and live within. I know, because I feel the same.

Don’t all men like looking at naked ladies?” His eyes dropped to my coat and they heated. “I like to unwrap my own presents.”