Chapter Nine – Beck
Chapter Nine
BECK
Stella and Ty kicked everyone out of his office so that they could call their other sons. The rest of us headed to the large family room, where Brock suggested a friendly game of Pictionary, which everyone in the room voted against, including me. I sucked at drawing.
He came and sat down next to me, slapping me somewhat gently on my back. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much you look like your father. It’s strange to catch a glimpse of you when I look around the room.”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
His eyes went wide. “First off, it’s not sir, it’s Brock. And second, you don’t owe me or anyone else any apologies. I couldn’t be happier to meet you. I won’t lie and say I’m not on pins and needles waiting to hear this story, but I can be patient.”
Deciding to put him out of his misery, I gave him the story. “My mother and your brother dated, they were in love, and he planned on marrying her when he got out of the military.”
Brock nodded. “Is your mother’s name Heather?”
It was my turn for my eyes to go wide. “Yes. Did he tell you about her?”
He smiled, and it was so bizarre to see the same blue eyes I saw every day in the mirror, staring right back at me. “He didn’t tell me much. He did say he was crazy about her, and she was the reason he was getting out. Well, one of the reasons. He said he couldn’t wait for us to meet her in person, to see what an amazing woman she was. I often thought about her over the years. I figured one of his Marine buddies had told her when he died. At least, I’d hoped. They all knew about her, had met her a few times.”
The constant squeeze around my heart felt like it eased a little more, knowing that my father had told at least one of his brothers about my mom.
“I don’t know if they ever did or not. She received a letter from the Marine Corps, telling her of his passing while in service. She’d sent him a letter to tell him she was pregnant, which he never received. She didn’t talk about my dad a whole lot, but she did tell me little things. Nothing about his family, unfortunately.”
Brock nodded. “If I remember right, she came from a wealthy family. Not sure which state, though. Beck never told me. He did tell me that her father wasn’t happy about them being together.”
“No, he was against the relationship, even after she told him she was pregnant. When I was growing up, she would tell me stories about their time together. When I would ask her for more information, the older I got, the less she wanted to tell me. She died of cancer last year.”
Brock’s brows drew down slightly as he said, “Oh, Beck, I’m so very sorry for your loss. That had to be so hard on you, with her passing so young.”
I nodded. “It was tough. Still is. It was always her and me. We were a team.” I smiled. “That’s what she used to say.” Rubbing the back of my neck, I went on. “She told me about some boxes she had up in the attic of her house. They held letters from my father, and some other items she wanted me to have. When I asked her why she never told me about my father’s family, she kept to the same story she always gave. She never wanted to disrupt your lives.
“When I found the letters, and googled his name, I learned about the ranch. Took me a bit to decide what I wanted to do with that information. Eventually, I decided to come to Montana. The crazy part of the story is, Avery sat next to me on the flight from Dallas to Montana.”
“Avery? What was she doing in Dallas?”
“Layovers and storms rerouted her there during her flight home from Paris. For some reason, maybe it was all the beers I’d had at the airport, I told her my story, and she figured out who I was. Brought me to her parents’ house for dinner last night without telling them who I was. They had just about the same reaction you did.”
“I imagine,” Brock said. “What does your grandfather think about you being here?”
“He isn’t happy, but he can’t run my life like he did my mother’s. He held money over her head, told her if she left to be with my father, he’d cut her out of the will. From the sounds of their letters, she didn’t care. I only have Beck’s, though, not my mother’s. So it’s only one side of the love story.”
Brock slowly shook his head. “I can’t believe Beck had a son. How old are you? Where do you live? What do you do?”
Avery sat down next to me. “Are you sure you can’t wait for everyone else to get here, Uncle Brock?” she asked sarcastically.
He grinned. “I suppose I can.”
“I’ll be twenty-eight in July. I work for my grandfather, who’s in the oil and gas industry. I went to Texas A although, he seems to think that means I can still work.”
“I hope you told him no.”
That came from Stella. Before I had a chance to respond, she went on.
“If we get you for two weeks, then I want you for the entire full two weeks. Have you thought any more about staying here instead of your hotel?”
Again, before I had a chance to reply, someone else spoke.
“You can’t stay at a hotel,” Brock said. “You have to stay here with Mom and Dad. That way you won’t have to drive back and forth to town, and you’ll be here so we can show you the ranch.”
“That’s what I said!” Stella added with a smile. “Please say you’ll stay.”
Avery leaned closer and said, “You’re not going to win this battle, so you might as well just agree.”
Vanilla and roses filled my senses, and I almost forgot where I was for a moment. I nodded and smiled at her before looking around at all the waiting faces.
“If you’re sure you don’t mind me staying…”
Stella clapped, then hugged Ty Senior.
Tanner laughed. “They wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Um, Beck, do you have plans for this evening?” Ty Junior asked.
“I’m probably just going to head to the hotel to pack my things. Or I can do that tomorrow and stay at the hotel tonight.”
“Oh no! I want you to stay this evening. Ty, you and the boys can have him tomorrow. He’s bound to be exhausted by all of us and having to repeat his story so much. Avery, you go with Beck to the hotel and help him get his things.”
“That’s not necessary,” I quickly said, glancing between Avery and Stella.
“I don’t mind. I just need to let my parents know. You can drop me off on the way back to the ranch.”
All I could do was nod. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend time with Avery. I did. But I also needed some alone time to process this instant family. It was all a bit overwhelming—and I hadn’t even met everyone yet.
I was feeling overly emotional. Normally when I felt this way, I got lost in a woman…which wasn’t often, but it had happened a time or two. Meaningless sex wasn’t a healthy coping mechanism. I knew that. And Avery wasn’t the type of girl I would ever do that to anyway. For one, she was too young. Two, she was a part of the Shaw family, even if it wasn’t by blood. And…
Okay, I didn’t really have any other reasons, beyond the fact I was becoming dependent on her, wanting her by my side—and that wasn’t a good thing, either.
Avery had left the room to go find her parents and tell them she was going with me to the hotel. I would love to be a fly on the wall to see how her father reacted to that plan. Despite Stella being the one to suggest it, I wasn’t sure how that would go over with Dirk.
Brock stood, so I did as well. Tanner and Ty Junior followed suit.
“The weather is supposed to be clear tomorrow after some late-night snow tonight. You up for trying your hand at horseback riding in the snow?” Brock asked.
I raised a brow and replied, “How hard can it be?”
Tanner laughed. “He’s a Shaw, all right.”
Ty Junior and Brock both chuckled. “We’ll let you spend some time with Grams and Grandad, then swing by around one and show you the ranch.”
I nodded. “That sounds nice, thank you.”
The way all three of them looked at me with a mixture of sadness and happiness was so strange. I just hoped they knew I wasn’t Beck, their brother. I was my own person, and I wasn’t here to replace my father.
As if reading my mind, Brock said, “We all know that no one could ever replace our brother, but having you here is…” His voice trailed off, and Ty Junior and Tanner both looked at him. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “It’s like having a piece of him again. Our brother would’ve wanted us to fold you into the family and take care of you.” He held up his hand and smiled. “I know you’re a grown man, Beck…but I hope you’ll let us spoil you a little these next couple of weeks. We’ll most likely chase you away, but I sure hope that it won’t be for forever.”
I felt a muscle in my jaw twitch and realized I’d clenched my mouth in an effort to keep my emotions in check. “From what I’ve seen so far, my father was a lucky man to have such an amazing family. I wish…well…I wish I could have known him.”
Ty Junior let out a shaky breath. “I wish you could have as well. He was an incredible man, soldier, and friend. He would have made one hell of a father.”
I smiled. “My mother used to say the same thing.”
“She was a smart woman, it sounds like,” Tanner stated. Then he frowned at his older brothers. “Why in the hell didn’t I know about Heather?”
Brock and Ty Junior both rolled their eyes. “You were a baby,” Ty said.
“I wasn’t a baby!”
Brock huffed. “You would’ve run and told Mom the first chance you got.”
Tanner looked offended to the third degree. “I would not!”
“Who was the one who told Mom that Beck broke the vase from playing football in the house?” Ty Junior asked.
“And who was the one who told Dad that Beck was in the barn making out with Melinda Jackson?” Brock asked.
Tanner looked away and mumbled, “I liked her, that was the only reason I said something.”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. “I can’t wait to hear more of your stories.”
Brock grinned like a small boy. “Oh, hold onto your cowboy boots. We’ve got a lot.”