“I saw it on Facebook,” Papa declared. “Just looked it up again when you decided to be an ungrateful whelp and not get excited about getting married like I know you should. Save the Hyenas is legit.”
Beck returned to his walk along the river trail but it was more of a storm. “Whatever,” he said angrily. “Do whatever you want with your money, you earned it.” Beck didn’t need the money. He earned a great salary with the Colorado Avalanche and he’d been investing in stocks and mutual funds since he’d started cleaning his dad and granddad’s offices back in elementary school. He had millions of dollars in various investments and a great home of his own.
The only problem was he had spent a lot of time researching and he’d known exactly what he was going to do when he received all his family money, billions of dollars in assets, property, and liquid cash. He had it all mapped out to donate everything but the family homes and the jet to his favorite children’s charities, saving only enough to start a foundation of his own. Every year from the time he was ten-years-old until her death three years ago, his mom had taken him on a church humanitarian mission and they’d always chosen to work in orphanages or be with children. His foundation would focus on trips like that, working with churches to find worthy volunteers who had the desire but not the means to help. His foundation would provide everything they could for the workers and the children in need.
It had hurt too much to go without his mom these past few years so he’d focused on helping children locally. But he’d dreamt of using all that money to further his mom’s dream and help the little children he’d fallen in love with on those trips. They were innocent, happy, and loving, even if they had so little food their bellies hurt, slept in the dirt, or didn’t have a family to love them. He wanted to bring needed love, attention, and relief to those kids.
It wrenched something deep inside him to take away the dream of helping so many children, almost like having his mom ripped from him again. It would also sting to say farewell to the homes in Newport Beach, California; Tuscany, Italy; Victoria, Minnesota; and Kauai that he’d grown up in. He had so many great memories with his parents in each of those places.
The least important thing was the jet, but if he was honest with himself, he’d still miss having a private jet at his disposal. The Boeing 747-8 was one of the most luxurious jets in the world and Beck loved it. But at the end of the day it was his granddad’s money and the man could do what he wanted with it. Papa always did exactly what he wanted anyway, Beck didn’t know why he’d gotten his hopes up.Please say he’s joking about the hyenas, he prayed.
“Beckett! Don’t you say ‘whatever’. Don’t you dare take that tone with me,” Papa demanded.
“You’re the one telling me I have to get married in two months. That’s insane.”
“Well, you do. I feel it deeply, and don’t you tell me it’s insane. You’ve had enough of this playing around, dating for fun, being the hockey superstar, driving around in your Bugatti like you’re the king of the world. It’s time for you to settle down with a beautiful angel, like my Grace, and have a passel of kiddos. Don’t be stupid and only have one like your daddy and I did. That one might disappoint you.”
Beck rolled his eyes. He and his father had both worked hard to surpass Papa’s expectations, but he loved to throw out barbs like that if Beck wasn’t doing exactly what Papa thought he should. As he stormed up the asphalt trail, he missed the beauty of the trees and Clear Creek, which was more of a river than a creek in his opinion. He tried to smile at the children on bikes and scooters as he passed and not just plow right past them.
“I’m serious about this, Beckett.”
“I don’t doubt you are, sir, but I don’t believe you’ll give your fortune to Save the Hyenas. Who even likes hyenas? They’re the villains in Lion King.” He tried to keep his tone light, but he was peeved. His grandpa could and would give his fortune to the hyenas, or almost as bad, to politicians who told him what he wanted to hear. It was still Papa’s money and his choice, but Beck also had a choice. The old man had no right to tell him to settle down. Papa had gotten married at thirty-nine after seeing the world, and securing his fortune. Grandma had been thirty-eight, a retired actress. Their age was the real reason they’d only had one child. He wasn’t sure what his parents’ excuse was. His mom used to say when you’d created the perfect child, who wanted to tempt fate again?
His mom. She would side with him on this one, maybe. She’d actually told him once she wanted him to not wait too long to get married. She’d told him to find the right one and have lots of babies for her to spoil. Too bad she and dad had been killed three years ago in the small propeller plane Dad loved to fly.
“It’s the hyenas, or you married and happy. I promise you I’ll make those hyena lovers happy if you’re not going to be.”
“I believe you, sir.” His grandpa was both determined and full of integrity. He didn’t make empty threats. Though he believed in tough love, he usually didn’t throw around too many threats. Beck truly did love the guy and would miss his last family member when he passed. He was just supremely annoyed with him right now.
“I know you’re a bleeding heart, Beckett. All those trips with your mom to orphanages and the videos she sent to me showed how you lit up around the kids, how happy helping them made you. Nowadays you’re always participating in some charity event to help the children, bringing a kid out on the ice to make their day, and other junk like that. It’s admirable. I love it about you, son, that tenderness for little ones. And now I’m going to use it against you. Would you truly rather the hyenas getyourmoney instead of all those children you could help?”
Beck gripped the phone tightly. The hyenas. His stomach tightened in anger. His grandfather would do it too. If Papa wouldn’t use all that money to help children couldn’t he at the very least choose dogs or penguins or an animal that peopleliked? Hyenas. Sheesh, he was getting more and more eccentric every day.
“Sir, I can’t get married in two months. I’m not even dating anyone.” Again Eve’s beautiful smile and incredible blue eyes appeared in his mind but she hadn’t even seemed interested in him and for all he knew she was already married or engaged.
“You can and you will. I’m getting the will changed. Don’t push me on this.”
Beck had no response. Papa had made up his mind. Beck would honestly try to find someone. It wasn’t that he was opposed to marriage. He’d been dating since he was fourteen when he realized he liked girls, a lot. He just hadn’t found that certain someone he wanted to spend the rest of all eternity with over the last twelve years of dating. How was magic going to happen in the next two months, no matter what Papa insisted that his angels had told him? Insanity. His grandfather had officially lost his mind. It was horrible, but Beck wondered if he could challenge the will. The children in need definitely deserved all that money over the stupid hyenas.
He reached the point where the trail split, going over a bridge or arching up the other direction toward the small college. He took the bridge option and then headed back down on the opposite side of the river, past the city’s water supply.
“Beckett?” Papa sounded tired. “I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t for your own good.”
“Papa …” Beck tried to reason with him. “Rushing into marriage is not smart. You’ve always taught me that it’s a forever commitment. I need time to find the right person, to date long enough to make sure she doesn’t have any issues.”
“That’s the problem, right there. You young men wanting to find some perfect model.Everybodyhas issues, everybody has junk hiding in their closet, but if you love the Lord, love each other, and have the guts to commit to something besides hockey, you’ll be just as happy as Grace and I were, as your mom and dad were.”
“My mom and dad dated for years before they married.”
“That’s cause your dad was stupid and slow and had commitment issues. I could go on, but don’t make me badmouth my own blood about how he was a wimp about marriage. Grace and I dated three weeks and knew it was right. Married a month later and happier than anybody had a right to be.”
Beck was passing the RV park now. He’d love to stay here with his own wife and family, right on the river with a park nearby, and head up into the mountains every day for hikes, but he had to find that wife first. Everybody had issues? Well, that was probably true, but he wanted the right woman for him with issues that Beck could handle.
“Papa, it’s not like I don’t want to be married.”
“Not sure I believe that one. I’ve seen the pictures of you with empty-headed, big-chested, hair-color from a bottle, redheads.”
“Papa! You can’t judge women like that.”
“Who’s gonna stop me? Two months and ten days to find your woman Beck, or the hyena supporters are going to be howling like hyenas.” He laughed like a hyena at his lame joke and hung up.
Beck slid his phone into his pocket as he stormed down the trail toward the lower bridge, back into town and to his car. Married in two months or the hyenas got the inheritance he’d hoped to use to help millions of children.
If only Eve Jewel was available and interested in him. He shook his head and pounded across the bridge. For the first time since his sixteenth birthday—when the old man had told him he had a big present for him and walked him slowly through his glistening shop full of dozens of beautiful Bugattis, Lamborghinis, and Maseratis then cackled as he handed him the keys to a twenty-year-old, rusted-out Civic—he really hated his grandfather.