Winnie’s mom greeted them at the elevator, enveloping her in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
The woman was definitely a lawyer. In a knee-length pencil skirt, soft blouse, and her hair pulled back into a braid, she looked every part the shark to take someone down in court. Bear did not want to get in this woman’s crosshairs.
She kept her arm around Winnie as her gaze raked from the top of his head to the tip of his boots. “Thank you for accompanying my daughter. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, offering his hand to shake.
Her gaze dropped to his hand and then back up. “Winnie needs to be with her family right now. I’m sure you understand.” The not welcome sign couldn’t have been larger if she tried.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, stepping back and pressing the down button for the elevator.
“Mom,” Winnie said, pulling away. “He’s not going anywhere. I asked him to be here.”
“It’s okay.” Bear smiled. “Your mom’s right. This is time to stick close to family.”
Shaking her head, Winnie put her arm around his waist. “Please stay.”
Now what should he do? “Mrs…I’m sorry. I don’t know if I should call you Mrs. Dawson or something else.”
“Dawson is fine.”
“Mrs. Dawson, I’m in a bit of a predicament here. I can see you’d like me to leave, and I’ve got Winnie asking me to stay. I want to be respectful to you, but if she’s asking me to stay, I’m not moving. She comes first in my world.”
Her mom crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing him. “I know about your deal with my daughter. You can save the charm for someone else.”
“This—”
“That deal is over. We’re friends,” Winnie said. “I want him to stay.”
The word friend sucked the air from his lungs. He was okay with that term until it came from Winnie. He wanted to be more than that, but that meant risking his heart, which he just couldn’t do. With that little reminder, the term friend would have to do.
Winnie’s mom seemed to have a silent standoff with her daughter. A moment later, her hands dropped to her sides and she sighed. “Okay.” She held out her hand. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be nasty.”
Shaking her hand, he replied, “Mrs. Dawson, it’s a stressful situation. No one should be expected to be on their best behavior when someone they care about is hurt. Plus, she’s your little girl. Believe me, I’d be the same way.”
She swallowed hard. “Thank you for that.”
“Can we see him yet?” asked Winnie.
“Yeah, come on.” Her mom held her hand out, and Winnie took it with Bear following.
Before they reached the room, a man’s voice could be heard. “Oh, for crying out loud. The only paper you get is the Houston Sun Examiner? That’s not a paper. It’s a gossip rag.”
Mrs. Dawson pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why does he always have to be so difficult?” She strode into the room, leaving Winnie and Bear at the doorway. “Oh, Jim, stop.”
“What?” The man’s gaze landed on Bear. The man sported the same color of hair Winnie did with a few gray hairs mixed in. “Who is that?”
Winnie laced her fingers in Bear’s and crossed the room to her dad’s bedside, bringing Bear with her. “This is Bear West. He owns a ranch in Caprock Canyon.”
“A ranch? You’re an ivy-league-educated woman. What could you possibly have in common with this man? Do you even know anything about cattle?”
Bear wondered if the man had an off switch. He’d seen folks after a heart attack, and this guy didn’t look like the ones he’d seen at all. He was an over-cranked spring.
“Jim.” Mrs. Dawson covered his hand with hers. “Please, slow down. You had a mini-stroke. You need to rest.” For a divorced couple, they sure didn’t seem very divorced.
“Mini-stroke?” Winnie asked. “I thought it was a heart attack.”
Her mom shook her head. “They thought that at first but changed their diagnosis.”
Her father grunted and eyed Bear again.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fordham,” Bear said, extending his hand in hopes that the man would shake it.
Apparently, her father did have a few manners because he did shake Bear’s hand. “What kind of ranch do you have?”
“It’s a cattle ranch.”
“How many acres?”
Bear held in a chuckle, thinking these were the kind of questions he might hit a person with if his own children brought someone around. “Nine hundred and sixty.”
“That’s a sizeable place. How many head are you running? My great-grandfather was a rancher. Excellent businessman. You have to be to keep it going. Too much fluff, and you’ll go under.”
“Yes, sir. I agree. I bought it a few years ago. The family who had it went under. I’ve slowly been building it up, and I’ve got about eight hundred head of grass-fed, both for selling and self-consumption.” A sense of pride filled Bear as he spoke. He didn’t get much of a chance to talk about his ranch very often, so he hadn’t really thought about it until now.
Nodding, her dad smiled. “Grass-fed, you say? That’s good beef. And you bought it a few years ago?”
“Yes, s—”
“Call me Jim.”
Again, Bear choked down laughter. Sheesh, Winnie’s dad really didn’t have an off switch. “Jim, yes, about four years ago. My dad and a family friend helped me plan it before we started bringing the cattle onto the land. Took a year to get things the way I wanted them, but it’s running pretty smooth right now.”
Bear placed his hand on Winnie’s back. “I’d love to talk more about it, but Winnie’s been pretty worried about you.” He smiled at Winnie. “I’m kind of thirsty after all the travel. I think I’ll go downstairs and get something to drink.”
Mrs. Dawson mouthed, Thank you.
Bear pressed a kiss to the top of Winnie’s head. “I’ll be back shortly.” He winked and left the room.
Hopefully, Winnie and her dad could have a good conversation while Bear was gone. One that would help their relationship. As far as meeting her parents went, it had gone pretty good. Not that it changed their circumstances, but it felt good to know that if he and Winnie were actually dating, they wouldn’t hate him. For some reason, that gave him a pep in his step.
Chapter 18
“Hey, Dad.” Winnie shuffled a little closer to the bed, not feeling like an adult at all. That was typically how she felt around her dad, though. Like the nine-year-old in pigtails and a poufy dress when all she wanted to do was dig for bugs. It had always been difficult for her and her dad to see eye-to-eye.
Her dad laid his head back on the pillow. “Your mom didn’t need to call you and make you fly to Houston. It was just a minor stroke. I’m fine.”
Scoffing, her mom said, “They said you need to take a vacation.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’ve got too much work, but…” He cut a glance at Winnie. “If I had my daughter, maybe my workload would be a little lighter because I’d have someone I trust to lean on.”
Winnie inhaled and let it out slowly. “Dad, I hate law. Yes, I have a degree. Yes, I have the ability. No.” Aside from that, she hadn’t fit in with her classmates when she was in college. She wasn’t a pantsuit kind of girl.
“You could do something other than divorce. I’ve been looking into intellectual digital property rights. You could do that.”
“Dad, I prepared Thanksgiving dinner for Bear’s family. I wish you could have been there. I wish you could have heard them. I wish you could…I wish you could see me.”
His face fell. “I do see you, sweetheart. I do.”
“No, you really don’t, but I want you to know that I’m sorry for all the horrible things I said to you the last time we spoke. I know you love me. You want the best for me.”
He sat up a little and looked down at the bed. “I just don’t want to see you fail. Restaurants are so hard. There’s food cost, staff
, people you’ll have to depend on.” He lifted his head. “Every day, people come into my office with sad stories of someone letting them down. Every single day. I didn’t want you hurt like that.”
Winnie had never seen it that way. That he was wanting to protect her from heartbreak. “Dad, Tammy ran off with the money.”
“She what?”
Her mom sighed. “Tammy emptied the bank account and ran off with her boyfriend.”
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.” That wasn’t the response Winnie expected at all.
“You don’t think I deserved it?” she asked. All this time, she’d thought for sure he’d laugh at her and hold it over her as proof he was right.
Shaking his head, he said, “No. Never. The reason I didn’t want you opening a restaurant in San Antonio is because the industry is volatile. Between food costs and paying staff, it’s so easy for it to go under. Yes, I want you to be a lawyer, but only because it’s safe. Everyone needs a lawyer.”
Winnie snickered and then barked a laugh, and before she knew it, she was laughing harder than she had in a long while. Bear was right. Her dad loved her and didn’t want her to get hurt. “So, all this time, you just wanted me to have job stability?”
“Well, yeah. It’s just practical to pick a profession that is always in demand. When I looked up the area in San Antonio, it seemed to me there was a restaurant opening weekly with at least two closing.”
With a loud groan, her mom sat in the nearby chair. “I told the both of you to just sit down and talk, but no one wants to listen to the mom.” She crossed her legs. “Now that you two are actually speaking again, I have a question. Do you really want to open a restaurant in San Antonio, or were you just being obstinate because your father was trying to tell you what to do?”
Winnie’s pulse jumped. She had to return to San Antonio. Quitting wasn’t an option. “Of course I do.” Yes, she’d enjoyed her time with Bear, but he’d been clear that he didn’t want a girlfriend. Even if he did, would she have regrets later? She loved how he’d held her on the plane, admired him for standing up to her mom, and appreciated the support he’d given her from the moment she’d told him about her dad.
It was a good thing she’d kept her feelings to herself when she and Bear were talking. If she hadn’t, she would have hurt him. Now that she was talking about it with her dad, the very idea that she’d fold made her want to throw up. “Yes, I want to open it. I’m really close, too.”
“Okay.” Her mom regarded her a moment. “I just wanted to make sure. Remember? I lived with him before I lived with you. He wrote the definition for stubborn.”
“No, I did not, Henrietta.” Her dad raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, you did.”
He sat up a little further. “No, I didn’t.”
“Dad.” Winnie used the tone he’d normally use with her when she wouldn’t stop.
Flopping back, he said, “Fine. But I’m not stubborn.”
With a snort, her mom rolled her lips in and then laughed. “I think there’s mule in your bloodline.”
Winnie tried to hold back a laugh and couldn’t. She’d missed her dad and hated that it took a hospital visit to reconcile. They were talking, though. Something good had come from something that could have gone a very different way. For that, she was grateful.
As soon as her dad was cleared to leave the hospital, she’d return to Caprock Canyon with Bear, spend the holiday with him, and then go home to start her dream. Now that she’d made up with her dad, the dream was even that much more important to her.
Chapter 19
After two days in the hospital, Winnie’s dad was released with an appointment scheduled for a cardiologist. Apparently, this was the best doctor in Houston, so it had taken an additional week to get in to see him. Most likely, the doctor would want to run tests and Winnie wouldn’t want to leave until she knew the results, which would take a few more days. Bear had already been gone from the ranch for a week and a half, but he hadn’t broached the subject of returning to the ranch with Winnie yet. Adding another level to her stress wasn’t right. Her dad was more important. Being a support for her meant more to him, and his ranch was in good hands.
They hadn’t wasted time while waiting for the appointment. Winnie had shown him around Houston. He’d been there before, but it was fun to see things from her perspective. When they weren’t sight-seeing, he was doing his best to stay out of her way so she could work on her restaurant.
Bear slipped his hands into his pajama pockets and stared out the window of Mrs. Dawson’s high-rise apartment. When Winnie said house, he wasn’t thinking a penthouse in the Galleria area of Houston. It shouldn’t have surprised him since her mom was a lawyer and her stepfather was an accountant for an oil company that took him all over the world. According to Mrs. Dawson, he was in Dubai until Christmas.
The sun was barely peeking on the horizon, but he’d been up most of the night. Between the new bed and wondering if Winnie would stay in Houston now that she’d made up with her dad, it had been next to impossible to sleep. While it made his heart happy for her, it made him wonder if she didn’t need him anymore.
Footsteps behind him caused him to turn around to find Mrs. Dawson hurrying as she slipped on her high heels. The night before, she’d let Winnie and Bear know she’d be going in to the office until Jim’s doctor appointment. She stopped short. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake anyone.”
“You didn’t. I’ve been awake a while.”
“I bet you’re anxious, not being on your ranch.”
Sure, that’s the excuse he’d use. “A little, but my family can handle it until I get back.”
Mrs. Dawson opened her briefcase sitting on the entry table by the door, rifled through it a second, and then closed it. “I’ll see you and Winnie later today.”
“It’s nice you’re friends with Jim.”
A smile quirked on her lips. “We are better as friends. I always love him, but we didn’t need to live together.”
“I can understand that.”
She joined Bear at the window, crossing her arms. “You know, when Winnie told me about your deal with her, I was worried. I even tried to talk her out of it.”
Chuckling, he nodded. “I’d take issue if my kids ever did what I did. I didn’t like lying to my parents, but…”
“But…”
“I couldn’t handle another year of being the odd man out. My siblings are all married now with kids running around. I just didn’t want sad looks pointed in my direction.” He’d keep the rest of the reason to himself. If he was telling anyone, Winnie would be first.
“I think I can understand that. I went to my high school reunion not long after having Winnie. Most of my old classmates had two point five kids, white picket fences, and minivans.” Her posture relaxed, and she sighed. “There was a little envy, but I love my life. I had Winnie and my career, and I was happy with that.”
Having Winnie was a win in his book. “Thank you for that. She’s a sweet, talented woman. I wouldn’t tell my best friend this because he’s the best cook in Caprock Canyon, but she’s a fantastic chef. She pours her heart into it.”
“You have real feelings for her.”
Admitting that would mean an even worse heartache later. “We’re friends. She has a dream, and I support that.”
Winnie’s mom eyed him until the silence turned awkward. “Denying it isn’t going to make it hurt less. When Jim and I went through the divorce, I tried to deny that I still cared about him. Once your heart’s involved, reason goes out the window.”
“I’ll think on that, but she comes first.”
“As her mom, I appreciate that. As her friend, between you and me, the only reason she’s so set on opening a restaurant in San Antonio is to get Jim’s approval. She’ll deny it until she’s blue in the face. If there’s one thing she has in common with him, it’s his stubbornness. She’d rather eat a rusty nail than fail.”
Taking his hands from his
pockets, he crossed his arms. “That might be, but it would need to be something she decided. You can’t build on something born from manipulation. I’d rather see her dreams come true than be the one who dashed them.”
Nodding, she smiled and crossed the room to the front door. “Wisdom isn’t a character trait easily found these days. I’ll see you later, Bear.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Henrietta, please.”
Dropping his arms to his sides, he nodded. “Henrietta.”
The door clicked shut as she left, and Bear faced the window again. During his chat with Henrietta, the sun had inched its way higher.
He rubbed his face with his hands as his thoughts turned chaotic. It was true. His heart was most definitely involved now. He’d fallen for Winnie, but he didn’t want to talk her into being with him. Spending the years wondering if she would have chosen him of her own free will would haunt him.
That’s not the kind of love he wanted. It’s not what he wanted for her. How long would it take for the resentment to build before she left too? Angela had destroyed him when she left, and the feelings he had for Winnie went so much deeper. He wouldn’t recover from her absence.
His head and his heart had finally found the same page, and now they were both singing the sad notes.
Bear yawned and held his chest as it turned into a cough. Yeah, he needed to lie down and grab a nap before Jim’s appointment. Maybe that would help him clear his head a little more.
Chapter 20
Closing her eyes, Winnie inhaled the aroma of garlic, onion, rosemary, and basil filling her mom’s kitchen. The flavors were perfectly married for the meal. She opened her eyes and stirred the squash to keep it from burning.
It was more of a celebratory meal now that her dad’s test results were in. It had only taken a couple of days to get them back. Her dad was given orders to reduce his stress and a prescription for blood pressure medicine.
The Fake Girlfriend's Billionaire Match (Caprock Canyon Romance Book 4) Page 8
