Chapter 14 #2
“Here’s the thing. Mr. Bigsby is elderly, as you know.
His wife can’t be left alone, and she’s not in good health, so it’s not convenient for him to have to load her into his old truck and drive her two hours away to sign papers.
Is there a time that it might be possible for you to meet us at his home so that we don’t have to inconvenience him and his wife? ”
“Let me check…” she was quiet for a few seconds, before she spoke again.
“The only time I’d have available would be Tuesday of next week.
I had an afternoon meeting canceled and planned to take the rest of the day off, but in light of the circumstances, I’d be happy to drive out to Mr. Bigsby’s home. ”
“Thank you, so much! I’ll be there.”
“Don’t thank me, yet. We have to get all the paperwork in line first. If we can do that, then I’ll meet you on Tuesday. Otherwise, we’ll have to make different arrangements.”
“I understand. I’ll go over the contract as soon as I get it, and I’ll call Mr. Bigsby to make sure there’s nothing else he wants in it, and then I’ll get it back to you.”
“I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”
Clay ended the call, then got up and grabbed his laptop, and headed into the small kitchen of the apartment he and Cruz shared. He made himself a pot of coffee, then sat down at the kitchen table, a notebook beside him to make notes of anything that might need to be revised.
It wasn’t long before Cruz came out of his bedroom, lured by the scent of fresh, hot coffee.
“Need coffee,” Cruz said sleepily as he grabbed a cup and poured it full before sipping it and sighing in satisfaction.
He looked over at Clay, who was reading something on his laptop and holding a pen at the ready over a blank notebook page.
“What are you studying so early? I thought you only had two finals left, and they’re not that hard. Or at least that’s what you said.”
“I’m not studying. I’m looking at something else,” Clay said.
“Oh,” Cruz said, walking over to read over Clay’s shoulder. He read enough to realize it was a transfer deed to some property, but not long enough to figure out where it was.
“You buying some property?” Cruz asked.
“Yeah,” Clay said, looking up at Cruz with a smile.
“Where?” Cruz asked.
“You know the Bigsby Equine Center?”
Cruz’s brows bunched up as he thought about it. “You mean the place Harper volunteers at?”
“The same. I’m buying it.”
“Why are you buying a horse farm?”
“It’s not exactly a horse farm. It’s an equine center. It does boarding, and training, and used to have a riding school for kids. And it would be a great place for equine therapy for kids with special needs.”
“Okay, and that matters to you why?”
“Because. Harper loves it.”
“Okay…”
“And I love Harper.”
“And there we have it. I told you you weren’t just friends. Why’d you deny it?”
“I didn’t want to hear about it and I wasn’t ready to share it, and Harper doesn’t know yet.”
“Wait, you’re buying the equine center for Harper because you love her, but she doesn’t know yet.”
“That about sums it up.”
“What do you expect her to do when you buy her a horse farm, Clay? It’s kind of a big step without consulting her.”
Clay sat there, looking at his laptop and the place on the document he’d stopped reading.
He lifted his gaze to Cruz’s. “She’s my mate.
I’ve always had a thing for her, but didn’t have the guts to act on it until I left the party for Cristie and Remi with her the last time we were home.
I want to go home and start building something of my own.
I hate school. I only did it because it was what everyone else was doing. ”
“Does she know?”
“I don’t know. But I think she might.”
“Clay, if you never listen to anything anybody else has to say, listen to this. It’s not like you to jump the gun and do something so drastic without thinking it through.
You haven’t told her how you feel, you haven’t made sure she wants this, or you.
You could be throwing away a perfectly good degree, flipping her out, and spending a lot of money on a place you know nothing about. ”
“First, I’m not throwing away a perfectly good degree.
I came back to take my finals so I wouldn’t lose the credits I’ve completed so far.
I can finish it at any time if I ever decide I want to.
Second, I know she cares. I haven’t told her what I’m doing about the Bigsby place, but it’s her engagement gift, along with one other thing.
I know she’s my mate, and I’m fairly sure she knows that she’s mine, too.
We’ve always been friends, and that’s a more solid foundation than most start with.
There was more than a friendship connection between us the last weekend we were home.
And the equine center? Worst case, if she refuses me, I’ll still own a nice piece of property and a business with a probability of making a lot of money.
Harper loves the horses, the land, and the Bigsbys.
I have the business sense. I can just be the silent owner and let her run the place.
I planned to invest in it anyway, why not proceed? ”
“You’re caught up in the emotion of finding your mate. I get it, everybody says it’s like that. But if you want to do something impulsive, buy her a ring, get down on one knee — before you buy the land and the horses.”
Clay looked at Cruz as though he was considering it. Then he shook his head with a grin. “Nope. The farm and the horses are her engagement gift, not a ring. We’ll pick that out later.”
“You’re not going to back down are you?”
“No. I’ve already got everything in motion. This is right, Cruz. I can feel it in my bones. She’s mine. This will make her happy. And her happiness will make me happy.”
“If she’ll have you. Has she even called you?”
“Texted! She’s out of town at a trade show for her dad. He didn’t feel up to going so Harper went.”
“He’s not going to be happy that you’re giving her a place of her own that’s not his. He wants her running the tree farm.”
Clay sat back in his chair and looked at Cruz.
“I completely understand that. I respect Uncle Travis and everything he’s worked for.
But it’s not what Harper wants. She wants to work with horses.
The horses at the Bigsbys. She doesn’t want to work on the tree farm for the rest of her life.
Why can’t she do what she wants with her life?
He’s chosen his, we’ve all chosen ours, why shouldn’t she? ”
“He’s protective and very overbearing. He won’t be happy.”
“I can live with that, as long as she’s happy. Hopefully, he’ll see how happy she is and be happy for her and me, too, but if not, I can carry that.”
“When do you finalize the purchase?” Cruz asked.
“Tuesday.”
“You have your last final Tuesday.”
“I know. I’m going to beg to take it Monday afternoon. If he won’t let me, I’m going to ask to take it first thing Tuesday morning, rather than the afternoon. I’m going to tell him I have to be home that afternoon — family business.”
“And what about the apartment?”
“This place? No reason for anything to change. You’ll have it to yourself instead of having to share it with me.”
Cruz thought about it, his head canting to the side a little. “You know, that might not be such a bad thing. I could get used to that.”
Clay laughed. “Just don’t say anything at all about my plans. Nobody knows except my father. I don’t want anything to get back to Harper until it’s all in place.”
“I’m wishing good things for you, but I really think you should do it all in a different order. It’s not even like you to proceed without taking your time and thinking about it.”
“I know, isn’t it exciting?!” Clay asked with a wink.
~~~
After sitting silently on a two and a half hour flight from Utah to Missouri, not acknowledging Joel at all — not even when he tried to share a snack or speak to her — Harper jumped up and made a break for the door the moment the plane came to a stop and the stewardess gave indication that they could begin disembarking.
“Harper!” Joel called out as she rushed to join the passengers already stepping through the door and onto the jet bridge. “We have the same ride home! Why are you running?!”
Harper ignored him and quickly put space and people between them. She ducked into the first bathroom she saw after leaving the gate and dropped her bags beside her as she leaned against the wall. She took out her phone and quickly sent a text to Summer.
“Hey, can you be at my house in about an hour and a half?”
She immediately got a reply.
“Yay! You’re back! On my way!”
Harper rolled her eyes and typed again.
“No, I'm not there yet. I will be in about an hour to an hour and a half. I need you to be parked outside my house,
near the road if possible with the car running. If they piss me off like I think they will. I’m staying with you.”
Like a true friend, Summer came through as she’d hoped she would.
“Uhh, confused, but okay. I’ll be there. Should I come armed? Maybe a shovel or two?”
Harper grinned to herself.
“Nope, just keep the engine running.”
Harper tucked her phone into her purse, picked up her carry on bag and her purse, and stepped out of the bathroom.
She looked around to be sure that Joel wasn’t near and started walking down the concourse again, her eyes not even landing on the signs above her path after she located the route to the baggage claim, which is where her father would be waiting.
When she rode the escalator down to the first level and baggage claim, the sirens were already sounding and the lights flashing to indicate baggage from a recently arrived plane was already preparing to be sent out along the conveyor to make its rounds of the very large room until it was all claimed by its owners.
The second thing she noticed was her father standing with Joel, glancing around the room, presumably for her.