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“Hey,” I replied, putting my hand to the side of his cold face. “You must be freezing.”
A brilliant smile broke out on his face. “Not at all. I had the best time just riding around the ranch and hearing stories about them and my father growing up here. I really feel more connected to this ranch than ever.”
My brow raised. “Then you’re really going to want to see this painting.”
“Painting?”
I nodded and took his hand as we made our way toward the house. “Aunt Kaylee painted it twenty-five years ago, she said.”
“Wow, I didn’t know she was a painter. Just like Rose.”
“Yes,” I said as we walked into the house. Uncle Ty was currently trying to get Aunt Kaylee to drink some water.
“Ty! Will you stop. I was simply overcome with emotion, and if you would leave me alone, I can show you all why!”
Uncle Brock and Tanner stood off to the side, trying not to laugh.
Aunt Kaylee walked over to the painting and took it down. All three of my uncles moved toward her, as did me and Beck.
“Do you remember me painting this before Ty and I were even together?”
They all nodded.
“Look at it closely.”
They did so. Then they all looked around at each other, then at Kaylee.
“Now look at this.” She pulled out her phone and showed them the picture she’d snapped.
“Holy shit,” Uncle Ty whispered. “That looks almost exactly like the painting.”
Uncle Tanner shook his head slowly. “That’s kind of creepy.”
“Yeah, it is,” Uncle Brock added.
Beck simply stared at the painting. I watched him carefully, and he finally drew in a sharp intake of air. He’d seen what I had.
“You see it, don’t you, Beck?” Aunt Kaylee asked.
He glanced at her and nodded.
“See what?” Brock, Ty, and Tanner all said in unison.
When neither Kaylee nor Beck answered, I did. “The fifth rider, behind the last rider on the right…which is where Beck was just riding.”
Brock, Ty, and Tanner all leaned forward—and saw it at the same time as they all whispered, “Holy shit!”
Uncle Ty jerked his head up and looked at Aunt Kaylee. “Has that always been there?”
She shrugged. “I guess so.”
“Has what always been where?” Josh asked, as he walked up to where we were all huddled.
“That fifth rider in the back there, behind…” Uncle Ty’s voice trailed off.
“Beck,” Uncle Brock added.
Josh looked around at all of us like we were crazy. “Yeah, of course it’s always been there. You have to look hard to see it, though. Rose pointed it out to me a long time ago.”
Everyone stared at Aunt Kaylee.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?”
It was then I noticed Beck sitting down on the sofa. He looked like he’d just seen a ghost.
“What are the odds that you paint this painting, and it comes to life over twenty-five years later?” Uncle Tanner asked.
“I mean, the sky often looks like that at sunset, and I don’t really remember why I painted the four brothers.”
“It’s not four brothers,” Beck softly said. “It’s me with my three uncles, and my father watching over me, over all of us.”
A chill ran down my spine, and I was pretty sure everyone else felt the same thing.
“How is that possible?” Aunt Kaylee whispered, dropping into a chair with a hand over her mouth. “But he’s right. Beck is right.”
Everyone remained silent for a good two minutes before Josh said, “I cannot wait to tell the guys at school my mother can see into the future!”
Chapter Twenty-Three
BECK
I stared at my grandfather’s name on my phone, willing myself to make the call.
My head felt like it was spinning. After the whole painting thing at Ty and Kaylee’s, I’d taken Avery out to eat in Hamilton, and then we went back to the hotel room I still had booked. I told myself I was simply going to hold her, but somehow, she knew I needed to escape from the world for a bit. I didn’t want her to think I was using her for that reason, and I told her so. She had other plans.
She slowly started to undress me, and before I knew it, we were making love, and the only thing I could think about was the woman kissing me so tenderly. After, we both got dressed in silence, and when I took her home, I cupped her face in my hands and desperately wanted to tell her that I was falling in love with her, but the words wouldn’t leave me. Not yet.
There was something I needed to do before I could say those three words.
Drawing in a deep breath, I tapped Granddad’s name and listened to the phone ring. It was early morning still back in Texas, so I knew he’d be at his desk, preparing for the day.
“Beck, it’s about time I’ve heard from you. When that assistant of yours comes back, I’m firing her. She hasn’t answered her damn phone once!”
