“How? He’s being a dick about it when he knows damn well that ranch would thrive under our control. We could even work it into the deal that they would retain a certain amount of land, for Destiny. Word it differently though.”
Leaning back in his chair, he rested his chin on his index fingers. “It could work.”
“Then I say we give it a try, but only if he doesn’t come around.”
With a firm nod of his head, he dropped his hands. “All right. Let’s give him some time to come to his senses, then we take this approach.”
My cell rang in my back pocket with Ava’s ring tone. With a smile, I reached for it and excused myself as I walked out of my father’s office.
“Hello?”
“Ugh.”
“I’m glad to know my voice turns you on so much.”
“I told them. It didn’t go very well.”
Swallowing hard, I felt my stomach drop. “How bad?”
“Well, considering I tried to kind of throw it into the conversation at dinner, it could have gone worse. My father is currently debating if he wants to fly up there and kick your ass.”
“What?”
With a chuckle, she sighed. “Oh man … not really. But they both think we’re rushing.”
“Do you? Do you think we’re moving too fast?”
The silence scared me until she blew out a deep breath. “I called my manager at the boutique and told her I wouldn’t be coming back. It’s kind of a good thing you asked me to marry you, because she really loves my replacement.”
With a chuckle, I breathed a sigh of relief. “Tomorrow I’m going to see if Liza will take me in to Austin. I’ll need to pack up my apartment and all of that.”
My cheeks were beginning to ache from the huge smile I had on my face. “I still have to go back and take care of my place. We can do it together.”
“I like the sound of that. I don’t think it will be too hard to sublease my apartment. I have the ideal location for downtown Austin.”
“What about Maurice?” I asked while my mother motioned for me to help her with getting the dishes on the table.
“That’s not a problem. I can work anywhere for him.”
The sound of her voice stirred the craziest emotions in me. I longed to see her and this feeling of missing someone was totally new.
“I can’t wait to see you, Ava.”
“You have no idea how much I want to cut my visit short and come back to you.” She paused for a few moments and said, “Um … Ryder this is something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”
My heart stopped while I held my breath. “Oh?”
“Nothing bad! It’s about Kate though.”
My shoulders dropped. Ava had decided to merge the wedding dress she was designing with the one Kate was since they were so similar. She had spoken to my mother and father about it and they gave her their blessings for Ava to do what she wanted with Kate’s designs. They did ask that if she was to do anything such as sell them, to give credit to Kate as well which Ava totally agreed should be done. Yet, at the same time, it felt as if she was getting lost in my sister as well as with Robert and Lizzy’s story. She had read over half of the letters in the shoebox we found at the house in Helena.
“Okay. But Ava, maybe you should take a step back from this whole Kate and Lizzy thing.”
“Kate and Lizzy thing? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Taking in a deep breath, I slowly blew it out. “Maybe you’re bored in the stone house. We could move into the main house if you want. Get you away from these crazy ideas you have about feeling a connection with Kate and that you feel a presence in the house. I’m sure Mom could find something for you to do with volunteer work or even learning about the cattle ranch.”
When she didn’t respond, I knew I had fucked up.
“Volunteer work?”
“Well, maybe that wasn’t the word I was looking for.”
“Oh, I’d certainly love to know what word you were looking for. ‘Cause from the sounds of it, I heard I’m a bored, lonely, crazy person with nothing to do so I might as well put on the pants of a bored house wife who has nothing to do with her day other than go sit around and gossip with a bunch of women who are also bored and lonely crazy women. I have a job, asshole, that I do a good portion of the day. I’m not sure if you’ve been aware of it or not, but Maurice has been sending me ideas and asking me for more designs. He’s loving what I’ve been sending him.”
Shit.
“Ava, wait that’s not what I meant.”
I heard a door slam. “Maybe what you’re looking for Ryder is someone like your old buddy, Vanessa. She fits the part of dutiful wife to the tee. By the way, dickhead, I happened to have been raised on a cattle farm and know a thing or two. I could probably repair a fence faster than you … you … you jerk.”
“That’s not what I meant and …”
“You know what? I’ve decided to stay a few extra days here in Texas. Maybe I’ll stay a week longer, possibly two.”
Before I had a chance to say anything, the line went dead. I pulled it away from my ear and stared at it.
“What in the fuck just happened?”
Nate walked by and let out a snicker. “You were bound to fuck it up sooner or later. Hate to say it, bro.”
Turning to look at him, I took my cell phone and threw it at him. Too bad I missed and it smashed against the wall and broke into pieces.