After being his caretaker for eight years, she wouldn’t shirk that responsibility but… “How? There’s nothing left for her to do. His body has been cremated. His service has been arranged. People have been notified…”
“What’s she wearing to this funeral?” Seth turned his way with a shrewd stare. “I prowled through her things yesterday. Unless she plans to wear yoga pants, scrubs, or that fucking scrap she wore at Bazookas—”
“I’m going to burn that fucking outfit.”
“I already tossed it in the dumpster, man. But our girl doesn’t have many clothes. Certainly nothing appropriate to wear to her dad’s funeral.”
“So…we take her shopping.”
Seth nodded. “She’ll need a dress, shoes, a purse, makeup… Do we have any idea the last time she got a manicure or saw a hairdresser?”
“Maybe never.” That broke Beck’s heart.
“While we’re out, we’ll be starving and need some lunch, right?”
“That’s no lie,” Beck quipped.
“So she’ll have to eat, too.”
“Sure, but this plan only gets her up for an afternoon. What about tomorrow? And next week? It’s spring break.”
“We’ll get creative, but she sure as fuck isn’t sleeping that time away.”
“Oh, hell no. I cleared my schedule for a while. I know you just started a business here, but can you get free?”
Seth nodded. “I need to take care of a few things tomorrow. After that… Well, River wanted a job, so he can hold down the fort for a few days.”
“Good. Let’s use that time to help her ‘see the world.’ That way, not only does she keep her promise to Abel but she doesn’t spend too much time grieving and she doesn’t get too far from us.”
“I like it.”
“Good. Now we just have to coax her out of bed.”
Seth shrugged like it was simple. “We’ll just drag her out.”
“We can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
Beck reared back. “I’ve never forced a woman to do anything she didn’t ask or plead for.”
“This isn’t sexual.”
“Doesn’t matter. I won’t touch her without her consent.”
Seth leveled a hard stare his way. “You can either worry about your scruples or watch her waste away. I already know which I’m choosing.”
“Non-con is a hard limit for me, man.”
“We have a duty to put her needs above our own. She needs our intervention.”
Seth had a point, but Beck never thought he’d see the day that the Dominant Code clashed with his Hippocratic Oath.
The big blond at his side leaned in. “Look, you don’t like it. I get it. I’m not thrilled, either. But we’ve already tried the gentle approach. If Heavenly isn’t going to take care of herself, we have to do it for her.”
With a curse, Beck scraped out of his chair and paced to the edge of the balcony. Seth was right…but he’d seen firsthand people use their power to twist and pervert others. Coercing someone went against his moral fiber, but forcing Heavenly was an absolute no-go for him.
“She’ll thank us for it…eventually,” Seth murmured, suddenly standing beside him.