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“He’s always falling asleep when we talk at night,” I admitted, and my father shook his head.
“Any clue when he’ll be back?” Dad asked.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure and I don’t think Beck is sure either. I guess when the doctor releases his grandfather to go back to work full time.”
My father’s eyes narrowed, and he gave me a sly smile. “Well, I have an idea about that.”
“What’s that?” I asked, as I pulled the hose down from the roller and started to water one of the rows of cosmos and snapdragons. Emily was watering the rows of strawflower, peonies, and salvia.
“I think you should fly to Texas and surprise him.”
I laughed. “Dad, every penny I’m making at the boutique is being poured into this business. I can’t afford to fly to Texas.”
He raised his brows. “Did you forget Brock has a private plane?”
Turning the water off, I frowned. “What?”
“I spoke with Brock about using his plane for a short weekend getaway. He doesn’t plan on using it anytime soon, and said you’re more than welcome to it.”
Chewing on my lip, I said, “Dad, Beck’s so busy. I’m not sure he’ll have the time for a break.”
“He’ll find the time, trust me. What do you say? Want to do something crazy?”
The inner turmoil was unreal as I weighed the pros and cons. The only real con I could think of was Beck might not be able to get away from work. “I don’t know.”
My father walked up to me and took my hands in his. “Princess…I was talking to your uncles, and we all agree that something doesn’t smell right with Beck’s current situation. I researched his grandfather’s business when he first came to Montana—”
“Dad!”
He held up his hands. “I told Beck all about it. Anyway, it’s a multibillion-dollar company, and there is no way his grandfather is relying on Beck to run the entire show. I think he’s playing him.”
“What do you mean?” Emily asked.
My father looked to her, then back to me. “I mean he’s actively trying to keep Beck from coming back to Montana.”
“Do you have proof of this?”
He raised a brow. “Do you think I’m wrong?”
I chewed on my thumbnail. “Can I ask Beck first about going down there for a visit? I don’t want to just show up.”
He leaned in and kissed me on the forehead. “Of course. Just let me know as soon as you can, so Brock can get his pilot lined up and the flight plan filed.”
Nodding, I said, “I will. Thank you, Daddy. For everything. And I’ll send you that file so you can look over the supply list.”
He winked, then smiled at Emily. “Good seeing you, Em.”
I watched as my friend and business partner blushed. Lifting her hand, she said, “You too, Mr. Littlewood.”
When he raised his brows, she giggled and corrected herself. “Dirk.”
When my dad left, I looked at her with an appalled expression.
“What? I can’t help it if your dad makes me blush! He’s hot as hell.”
I laughed. “He is a good-looking man.”
Later that night, I sent Beck a text to see if he was home. He instantly called.
“Hey, beautiful.”
“Hi! How was your day?”
“It was okay. I got home a little bit ago and just made some dinner. I got your website updated with the Q&A page Emily asked for.”
“Thank you so much. Um…listen…my father suggested something today, and I wanted to run it by you. If it doesn’t work out, that is totally okay.”
“Tell me,” he said, his mouth full of whatever it was he’d made for dinner.
“He said Uncle Brock offered to let me use his private plane to fly down there and visit you. Since it’s been almost a month, and you’ve been working so hard and all…”
“Avery, that’s a great idea! When would you come?”
“Whenever is best for you. But I know you’ve been working weekends.”
“I’ll have Kelsey clear my schedule this Friday and Monday. We can head out to the ranch and spend the weekend there.”
My stomach did a little dip, and I felt my entire body tingle with anticipation. “Are you serious? I would love that!”
“If that works for you, I’d love for you to come this weekend. I can introduce you to my grandfather. We’ve got an upcoming meeting to talk about him coming back to work full time.”
“Oh, that’ll be nice. What will that mean for you?”
He paused for a moment, then said, “I’ve been waiting for him to get the all clear before I tell him I’m going to be taking an extended leave of absence.”
I sucked in a breath. “Beck…can you do that?”
He laughed. “My grandfather has so many people on his payroll, all of them more qualified than I am to run this business. The longer I’m away from you, and everyone else up in Montana, the more I realize that’s where I want to be.” His voice lowered. “I had a dream last night that I built a place on my father’s land. Your log cabin you want.”
