Page 84 of Seeing Harper

“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?”