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“Fine. Waste time with your newfound family. But I want you to know I’m having them investigated. Just like I tried to tell your mother and she wouldn’t listen to me, they only want your money.”
Closing my eyes, I sighed. “Granddad, they don’t need my money.”
“Ha! Everyone wants more money.”
Resisting the urge to tell him that he was the only one who felt that way, I said, “I’ll check in with you in a few days. If you have something pressing, send it to me. I’m sure I can take care of it from here.”
He grunted, then said, “I have a meeting I need to get to.”
I started to say goodbye, but the line went dead. With another sigh, I dropped my phone to the bed, staring at nothing.
Avery and I walked hand in hand along the road leading to the future garden for her new business. A light dusting of snow had fallen last night, giving everything a clean look, but the air didn’t feel that cold. That, or I was getting used to it.
“We haven’t really spoken a whole lot since last night, after we left the hotel,” she said, gazing up at me.
I blew out a long breath. “I know. I’m sorry, I’m stuck in my own head.”
Squeezing my hand, she replied, “It’s okay. I just want to make sure it isn’t something to do with me?”
Stopping, I turned to face her, and she faced me. “You’re the best thing about my life right now, Avery. It’s just that I’m feeling a bit lost at the moment. Spending the day with my uncles yesterday was great. I never laughed so much in my life, and I felt so at peace. I don’t know how to describe it. Then that painting…it really threw me.”
“I imagine it would. It’s crazy that Kaylee painted that, and she hadn’t even realized she’d painted a fifth rider.”
We started walking again, and I saw the survey markers laid out for what would be the future gardens and greenhouse for Avery and Emily’s flower subscription business. “Wow, that’s a lot of land.”
She smiled. “Ten acres!” Doing a little jump, she looked at me and grabbed my arm. “Ten acres, Beck. Of nothing but beautiful flowers! I’m so excited for spring, I can hardly think straight.”
Her happiness was infectious, and I found myself smiling so big, my cheeks ached. “Have you gotten your website going?”
“Not yet. I haven’t found a web designer who can accommodate us as soon as we’d like. We met with the tech guy from the community center, but turns out he’s not able to get started for at least a few months. We were hoping to have it up as soon as possible, so we can start getting the word out and have people subscribing for late spring and summer. It’s already mid-March, so that is top priority.”
She looked out over her newly acquired land, no doubt already seeing rows and rows of flowers.
“I can do it for you.”
Spinning around, she gaped at me. “What?”
Shrugging, I said, “I can build your website for you.”
Her eyes went wide. “You know how to do that?”
I laughed. “My grandfather has basically made me learn everything about running a business. From my first job working in the mail room, to designing and maintaining the websites, to knowing how to do the accounting.”
It was obvious that she was attempting to contain her excitement. She cleared her throat and calmly said, “We can pay you, of course.”
Grabbing her coat, I pulled her to me roughly. “The only payment I want is you.”
Biting down on her lower lip, she gave me a flirty look from beneath her lashes, and I was once again struck by how beautiful her eyes were. I could get lost in them for days. “I know a place where I can give you a down payment right now.”
My brows lifted. “Really? I’m listening.”
Taking my hand, she led me back toward her parents’ place. The Littlewood Ranch had two homes on it, if you only counted the cattle ranch side. What they called the main house, where Dirk and Merit lived, and the original ranch house, which was now Bradly’s place. On the side that was Merit’s family farm, there was the original farmhouse, now home to Merit’s brother Michael, and an apartment above a huge barn, where Mackenzie normally stayed. But she was currently living with Bradly because her sister, Emily, and her fiancé, Doug, would be arriving in Hamilton in a few weeks after moving from New York.
“Where are we going?” I asked, as she went straight to my rental.
“Get in, and I’ll show you.”
Doing as she said, I started the car. “Where to?”
“The other barn.”
I frowned. “The other barn?”
Before she could reply, a knock on my window caused us both to jump, and Avery let out a small scream.
