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“From what I’ve been able to find out, that family isn’t suffering for money. Maybe if you just eased up, let him go visit them every now and then, he’ll get sick of Montana sooner or later and stay here in Dallas, where he belongs.”
“You were the one who ruined everything, Rachel! You couldn’t keep your eyes on the damn prize. I told you he’d be worth millions one day.”
I closed my eyes and felt a sharp pain in my chest.
“Don’t put this on me, Will. I know you and my father had this dream of us getting married and taking over, but I didn’t love him.”
He laughed. “And now you do?”
She made a noise. “What’s the saying? You always want what you can’t have?”
“The toy looks shinier in someone else’s hands, you mean,” my grandfather said sarcastically.
“Whatever. And what if he finds out you lied about the heart attack?”
A cold sense of shock rushed through my entire body. It suddenly sounded like my grandfather was talking in a tin can.
“He won’t find out.”
I leaned back against the wall and fought to control the emotions running through me. My own grandfather had lied to me. Had been plotting to keep me away from Avery and my father’s family.
My family.
It took me a good minute to get my head to stop spinning as I realized my own flesh and blood had lied to me. With a deep breath, I turned and pushed the door open. My grandfather was looking out the massive windows, and Rachel sat in a chair in front of his desk.
“Am I interrupting?” I asked.
They both jumped. My grandfather turned and smiled at me as Rachel quickly stood. She attempted to look calm and cool, but I could see the panic in her eyes. She wasn’t sure how long I’d been standing there.
“Where is my assistant? She should have let me know you were here.”
Slowly walking into the room, I looked around the office. “Do you know how many times I’ve run around that desk?” I asked, as my grandfather looked confused, and Rachel looked worried.
Granddad laughed. “I have no idea. A lot, I’m sure.”
I walked over and sat in the chair that was next to the one Rachel had vacated.
“If you’ll both excuse me, I have something I need to take care of.”
Neither my grandfather nor I said a word as Rachel turned and quickly left the office. The soft click of the door the only sound to let us know we were alone in the room.
“You lied to me.”
Granddad’s shoulders dropped, and he shook his head as he sat down in his chair. “I did what I had to do to get your head out of your ass.”
I stared at him. He suddenly seemed like a stranger. “Did you have a heart attack?”
“I was in the hospital, wasn’t I?”
Shrugging, I said, “You have enough money to pay people off. I wouldn’t be surprised if you used it for bribing a few doctors and nurses.”
“I thought I was having a heart attack. It was from that damn conversation with you that morning. My stress level was through the roof. It turned out to be nothing more than a panic attack.”
The urge to stand up and pound my fists on his desk was so overwhelming, I had to close my eyes and count to twenty. “So, what…you cooked up the idea of the heart attack for what, exactly? To get me home?”
He let out a long breath. “Rachel came to the hospital when she found out. Said she’d been worried sick and asked if anyone had called you. At first I said no, there was no reason to bother you with a panic attack…and then I thought if you were told I’d had a heart attack, it would bring you back to Texas sooner.”
I stood and let out a curse. “How could you do that to me, Granddad? How? You knew how important that trip was!”
“They were pulling you away from me. I could see it! Then you met that girl, and I knew if you fell in love that would be it. You’d leave and never look back.”
I scrubbed my hands over my face in frustration. Dropping my arms to my sides, I asked, “Aren’t you supposed to want me to be happy?”
“Of course.”
“Yet, you can’t seem to let me live my own life. You’re constantly sticking your nose into my business, my love life. Not anymore, Granddad. This is where it ends.”
He stood. “What does that mean?”
“It means I quit. I’m done with this company, with your lies, and with the way you’re trying to run my life like you did my mother’s. If she hadn’t been so afraid of you, her life might have been very different.”
He laughed. “Different? You think if she would have married that cowboy and moved to Montana, she’d still be living? Wrong, Beck. The cancer was going to kill her either way.”
