Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98345 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98345 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“Grams, Grandpa,” Avery started. “This is Beck Dahlstrom.”
Stella let out a cry as she hurried toward us, throwing her arms around me. I instinctively wrapped my own around her. She was shaking, but it wasn’t from nerves like me. It was from crying.
Ty Senior walked up, slowly shaking his head as he pulled us both into his arms.
It was only then, for the first time in my life, that I shed a tear over the father I never knew.
It felt like we’d been standing on the porch for an eternity. I could hear a soft sniffle from behind me and figured it was Avery. However, I waited until Stella made the first move to break apart.
When both of them stepped away, I glanced at Avery, who, sure enough, was wiping a tear off her cheek. It was only us four on the porch. The rest of the Littlewoods must have decided to give Stella and Ty some alone time with me.
Avery started for the door, and I almost called out to her to stay, but I let her leave. Light snow began to fall, causing me to snap out of my daze.
“You’ve got to be freezing,” I said as I looked at the two of them, neither one wearing a coat.
Stella shook her head and, once again, brought a hand to her mouth.
“You look exactly like him,” Ty stated as his eyes scanned my body. “Spitting image. It’s…uncanny.”
“My mother would often tell me I looked a lot like him.”
That snapped Stella out of her daze. “Your mother?”
I nodded.
“What’s her name?”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I answered. “Heather.”
Stella let out a soft sob. “He mentioned her to me. Only a few times, but he told me that he was in love.”
I fought the tears that were stinging at the back of my throat. I hadn’t realized how much it would mean to me to know that my father had indeed told his family about my mother.
“He called her his honeybee, if I remember,” she added.
My legs felt unsteady as I nodded. It was the only thing I could do. No words would form, and even if they had, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to speak them.
Ty cleared his throat. “Let’s get into the house. It’s cold out here, and by the looks of that jacket, this boy isn’t from Montana.”
I laughed. “No, sir, Dallas, Texas.”
“Oh Lord, a Texan.”
That time, I laughed harder as I followed Stella into the house, Ty bringing up the rear.
Once we got inside, Stella motioned for me to give her my jacket. That’s what it was: a jacket. It hardly kept the bitter cold from the wind out. If I was planning on staying for any length of time, the first thing I needed to do was buy a winter jacket and some warmer clothes.
“Let’s head into the kitchen. Dinner is about ready. I think Merit took over for me,” Stella said, wrapping her arm around mine and guiding me through the house. I glanced around and wondered if it was the same house my father had grown up in.
As if reading my mind, Ty said, “Your father grew up in this house.”
A strange feeling wrapped around my heart, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand it.
“Stella, you made your famous cheese tortellini and pesto sauce,” Avery said with a wide smile.
Stella crossed to Avery and embraced her. She whispered something into her ear, and Avery nodded.
“I hope you like pasta,” Stella said as she looked back at me.
“I love it. Italian is my favorite.”
Her eyes glistened with more tears. “It was Beck’s…um, your father’s as well.” She cleared her throat and went on. “Right, okay. Ty, grab the tea out of the refrigerator and start pouring the glasses. Bradly, you get the plates. Mackenzie, silverware, and, Avery, you show Beck around quickly…downstairs, the bathroom and such, while we get dinner ready.”
Avery beamed as she motioned for me to follow her.
“There are three bathrooms down here. Years ago, Stella and Ty Senior remodeled the house and enlarged their main bedroom and bathroom. Here’s the half bath. Then down that hall and the last door on the right is the full bath.”
I nodded.
She walked to another door and opened it. “This is Ty Senior’s—”
I took her arm and drew her to a stop. “Avery, call them Grams and Grandpa.”
Chewing on her lower lip, she said, “I feel guilty. They’re your grandparents, not mine.”
Smiling, I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen out of her ponytail. “They’re more yours than they are mine.”
She shook her head.
“Blood isn’t always thicker than water.”
Letting out a breath, she opened the door. “This is Grandpa’s office. He used to run the entire ranch out of this place.”
I scanned the office. It appeared he still did. There were folders sitting on the desk, along with what looked to be an accounting book. I wanted to laugh. He most likely didn’t want to do things on a computer, just like my grandfather.