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She swatted his shoulder. “You’re ridiculous.”
Okay, well, it appeared that perhaps Grant and I weren’t the only ones falling in love in Montana. Was their romance as doomed as ours? Holly’s life was back in Stonehaven. Rhett’s life was in Nashville. How could they possibly make that work?
At the end of the month, we’d all return to our real lives, leaving all this love right here on Crescent Moon Ranch as if it never existed at all.
16
GRANT
December 14
Luci’s Birthday Dinner
Gray · a brief mild thaw
Supper: Fried chicken · Mac & Cheese · Birthday treats
The morning of Luci’s birthday, I slipped out of bed before seven and hustled over to the restaurant to get her breakfast. Toast, jam, poached egg, and some berries, plus a whole mess of food for myself. On the way back, I ran into Beck, who appeared to be leaving Blake’s cabin.
“You having sleepovers?” I asked. “With our favorite film maker?”
Beck glanced around, looking sheepish. “Yeah. It’s … I don’t know what it is. Other than she’s amazing.”
“Why the hesitation?” I asked.
“We live in different states. Have completely different lifestyles,” Beck said. “We’ve agreed just to have fun this month and deal with reality later.” He nodded at the tray in my hand. “Big breakfast.”
“You know me,” I said. “Yeti needs his food.”
Beck placed a hand on my shoulder. “You deserve good things. Good people in your life who love you.”
“What are you talking about?” I stared at him, baffled.
“I’ve just been thinking about you,” Beck said, taking his hand off my shoulder. “Noticing how we seem to think the same way about love. My parents withheld it when I didn’t do what they wanted. Makes a man think he’s not lovable and to fade into the woodwork and ask for nothing, so you don’t make anyone angry. So no one sends you away.”
I still wasn’t sure what he was talking about. Had he guessed about Luci and me?
Beck looked up at the sky for a moment. “If we don’t figure this out, we’re going to spend a lot of our lives testing people to see if our hypothesis is correct. Unless we’re perfect, no one will love us.”
“How do we do that?”
“I have no idea. But I’ll let you know if I do,” Beck said. “In the meantime, be kind to yourself, okay?”
I nodded as he walked away, heading to his own cabin. Focus on Luci, I told myself. She deserves a good birthday.
When I got to Luci’s door, I knocked. She opened it seconds later. Her face lit up. “Breakfast? For me?”
She backed up and I entered, praying no one else was awake.
“Happy birthday, beautiful.” I set the tray on the counter next to the coffee maker. “I brought a variety of different things. Thought you might want to change it up on your big day. But I also brought your usual.”
“Thank you. That’s very sweet,” Luci said.
“Do you feel older?”
“Not yet,” she said, laughing. “Did anyone see you?”
For a second, I considered telling her about my strange conversations with Beck, but decided against it. I didn’t want her worried on her birthday.
