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I closed my eyes and prayed for patience. “She’s on vacation, Granddad. I told her not to answer the phone. She works hard and deserves some time away with her husband and kids.”
“She has kids?” he asked. “I didn’t even know she was married.”
My hand went to the back of my neck, where a sudden throbbing pain started.
“Forget about her. When are you coming home from this foolish trip of yours?”
“That’s what I’m calling you about. I’m going to be staying longer.”
I could see my grandfather right now, his face full of pure rage as he stood and started to pace across the expanse of his office.
“I don’t believe I heard you correctly. You’re staying longer?”
“You heard me correctly. Maybe another few weeks…or more.”
The sound of his fist hitting the desk caused me to jump. “I demand that you come home right now, Beck Dahlstrom. This is your home. This is where you belong. Not up in the frozen tundra. Is it a woman? That Ava girl you mentioned?”
“Her name is Avery, and she’s part of the reason.”
He cursed. “For the love of God, Beck. You can get a woman anywhere! If you’re still trying to get over Rachel, just find someone else here. In the end, they’re all the same when the lights get turned off.”
I could feel the anger rushing through my body. “This has absolutely nothing to do with Rachel. She hasn’t crossed my mind in a very long time, Granddad. This is more about my family in Montana.”
He huffed. “Your family is here. I raised you, sent you to school, gave you a very good life. Are you willing to turn your back on that? Not to mention the inheritance you’ll be getting from me?”
I rolled my eyes. Money was everything to my grandfather, and had been ever since I could remember. “I believe it was my mother who paid for my education, I simply went to the college you insisted I go to. And I don’t need your money. You and I both know that.”
My grandfather was well aware that I had a hefty amount of money in a trust my mother had left for me. My mother’s mom came from a wealthy family in the Boston area. They were old money, and I’m pretty sure that was why my grandfather had married my grandmother to begin with. When she passed, everything was left to my mother since she and my grandmother were the only family left, except for a few distant cousins. The amount of money was insane, and after selling some properties in Boston, my mother made even more money. Much to my grandfather’s dismay, Mother wouldn’t let him tell her what to do with the money. She’d put most of it into a trust that would go to me, should anything have happened to her.
He sighed into the phone. “Beck, you’re all I have left in this world. I can’t run this business without you.”
I laughed. “I’m low on the totem pole, Granddad. You’ve always handled the business just fine without me.”
“You’ve had to learn every aspect of the business, Beck. I couldn’t just make you vice president of the whole damn company. It doesn’t work that way. You have to earn it so you have the respect of your employees. That was how my father did it, and his father before him. You’re a Dahlstrom, Beck. Not a Shaw. A Dahlstrom, and that’s what you’ll always be. Nothing can change that.”
“Do you know how easy it would be to legally change my name, Granddad? I would be a Shaw if my father had lived. My mother would have been happy if only my father would have…”
My voice trailed off. My father would have what? Been more careful? Taken fewer risks if he’d known he was going to be a father?
I pushed a hand through my hair and internally cursed. “There’s more to life than a last name.”
He laughed. “Your last name is everything. People stop and take notice of you because of that last name. You get respect. People look up to you and envy what we have.”
“I don’t care about any of that.”
“Bullshit.”
I wanted to argue with him. I knew I didn’t crave the same things as my grandfather…but what did I want?
A family. A real family. A family that loved me for who I was, not what I could do for them. A family that wanted me to come over for big dinners and game nights. What did I have with my grandfather?
Work. Money. And more work.
Deciding arguing was pointless, I said, “Listen, I’m going to stay a few more weeks. I’ll let you know when I book my flights.”
“You’re not going to budge on this?”
I shook my head, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “No, I’m not.”
