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“Where are we going?” Beck asked.
“We’re going to 139 Bitterroot Plaza Drive.”
It only took him about five seconds, and he laughed. “The hotel.”
“Yes. The hotel. There is no way anyone or anything can interrupt us there.”
“Don’t say that!” he said with a look in my direction. “You’ll jinx us.”
I giggled. “How was your day yesterday with your uncles?”
He didn’t say anything for a minute. “I guess I need to get used to hearing that. Do you think they mind that I’m not calling them uncle?”
Shrugging, I replied, “I don’t think it bothers them, but then again, I don’t think I should be answering for them, either.”
“Yeah.”
“But the day was good?”
A wide smile spread over his face. “It was really awesome. I got to meet Blayze and Hunter. They’re both great. Blayze was interesting to talk to. He wanted to know all about my grandfather’s ranch, and we chatted about that for quite a bit.”
“That’s good. Were you able to meet anyone else?”
He nodded. “Lily and Maverick, and of course you know I met Josh and Nathan. Stella mentioned something about planning a family dinner before I leave to head back to Texas.”
An ache developed in my chest at the mere mention of Beck leaving, but I did my best to ignore it.
“Brock, Ty, and Tanner took me somewhere that, um…well…it left me feeling pretty emotional afterward.”
I adjusted in my seat so I could look at him. “Where?”
When he didn’t say anything, and seemed to be struggling to hold back his emotions, I reached for his leg and placed my hand on his thigh.
“Beck? Are you okay?”
He let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, so sorry. I’m trying to get myself in check.”
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
Beck snuck a look at me and smiled, which made my heart skip a beat.
“They brought me to an area that was my father’s,” he said. “Where he was going to build a house. You can even see where he’d cleared some trees for that very reason.”
I could feel tears pricking at the back of my eyes. That had to have been emotional for Beck and his uncles.
“It was the strangest thing, Avery. I swore…I swore I could feel him there with me. I know that sounds crazy.”
“No! It doesn’t sound crazy, Beck. Not at all.”
He shrugged. “Needless to say, feeling him there made me miss him. I don’t know how you can miss something you never had.”
“That’s just it,” I said, squeezing his leg lightly. “Your dad was taken from you, and just because you never met him doesn’t mean that he didn’t leave a hole in your heart. I’m sure your mother spoke of him so often that you felt like you knew him, even if you didn’t know certain details. So you felt like he was there, growing up.”
He gripped the steering wheel tighter. “That’s exactly it.”
We drove for a few moments in silence, and I knew Beck was taking the time to gather his emotions.
“They told me that my father would have wanted me to have the land, and that it’s mine to do whatever I want with. I mean, not sell, of course…but if I wanted to build a house on it, I could. This morning, Stella and Ty Senior told me that they’re going to have their lawyers put it in my name, since it’s still in my dad’s.”
“Beck, that’s amazing. I mean, how do you feel about all of this?”
He laughed, but it was a distant sound. A laugh that said he couldn’t believe any of this was happening to him. “They hardly know me, Avery. You hardly know me, and here I am, making you come with my mouth in your parents’ home.”
“That wasn’t a bad thing, Beck.”
Sighing, he pushed a hand through his hair. “I know, it’s just… I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I just met you all, and somehow I feel like you and I have been friends forever, and I don’t want to fuck up simply because I can’t keep my dick in my pants.”
“Is that all this is?” I asked.
Glancing at me, Beck asked, “What?”
“This thing we’re doing. Are we just fucking because we can’t stay away from each other?”
“Avery, no. I-I…I feel something for you. I don’t know how to describe it but, no…shit, it’s so much more than that.”
I nodded. “Good. Because it’s more for me as well.”
“But,” he said, pushing those fingers through that luscious hair again. “I don’t know what the future holds. I live in Texas, you’re in Montana, and I would never ask you to leave your family.”
“I’m not worried about what’s going to happen next, Beck. I just want to spend time with you. Be with you, show you Montana and all the things I love about it. Just like Uncle Brock, Ty, and Tanner want to share the ranch with you. They want to give you a piece of their brother, and yes, it’s only been a couple of days, but they already want you in their lives. So do I…and we don’t have to figure out what that looks like right now. You said you were staying for two weeks, right?”
