Her uncle Neil was the entrepreneur in the family, a man who, in her mind, operated in the business world at a level she didn’t understand. Although they were family, her dad and Neil were as different as two brothers could be. Her dad was a rancher, the head of the family, in a way, whereas Neil was about glitz and glamor and everything to do with making money in business. He owned a resort in Cancun, made other offshore business deals she’d also learned of, and had investments she couldn’t begin to understand. Even though she didn’t get any of the depth of what he did and what made him tick, her charismatic uncle loved his family deeply.

Then there was her aunt Candy, a woman she swore could have been a supermodel back in the day, as well as their adopted daughter, Cat, in her teen years, who was deaf, and Michael, her little cousin, who was all about hockey. She didn’t know he’d come up with that, but every time she saw him, he was working a ball on the driveway with a hockey stick, whacking it at the siding of the garage.

“So your mom said you needed some help with course selection,” Neil said.

Becky was sitting in a soft plush chair opposite her uncle’s desk in his home office. He’d added it as an addition just the previous year, a glassed-in solarium that faced north and south, with a bookcase in the corner, a sitting area by a gas fireplace, and pictures of places he and Candy had traveled.

When she said nothing, Neil glanced up to her with the same amber eyes as her dad, his dark hair graying some, just as a knock on the open door brought her head around.

“Neil, I’m heading into town, shopping, and then picking up Cat and Michael. Just remember Trevor is still here and waiting for you to help him finish that table he started. He’s sanding it down now out in the garage.” Candy stepped into the office. She had long legs, a slim figure, and the perfect curves, and she appeared so young in a simple cream flowing peasant blouse. It was classy. She leaned down and kissed Neil, and the diamond stud in his ear flashed. His hand rested on her curvy butt. Becky had to look away from their private moment. Awkward!

“Becky, don’t let Neil have you arranged and signed up for something you don’t want to do. You make sure he hears what you’re saying. Make sure he understands what you want and what you don’t,” Candy added as Neil pretended to be offended. His burgundy knit sweater hugged his broad chest.

“I wouldn’t do that,” he said, sounding defensive.

Becky took in the notes on his desk and what looked like details or organization for Becky’s future, considering her name was written at the top of his notepad and underlined twice. She just stared at her aunt, who knew her uncle likely better than all of them and was the only one who could also get him to see reason on anything, especially when he got an idea in his head.

Candy pressed her hand to Becky’s shoulder. “Seriously, Becky, speak up and tell Neil not to push. Your future, your choice. You need to be clear with everyone.”

She was about to nod as her aunt gave her a knowing look. Maybe she understood how Emily had directed her to her uncles as if she had no say. “And he’ll listen?” she said and didn’t miss the smile that touched Candy’s lips.

“Seriously, you two,” Neil snapped, and Candy wandered out, leaving Becky alone with her uncle, who was now watching her with a look that bordered more on frustration. Then he took in the papers, looking across at everything he’d organized to help her, what, decide on a future? He moved it all to a pile and leaned back in the chair, gazing out the floor to ceiling window. “Becky you’ve probably said no more than two words since arriving. I got a call from your mom that you needed some help figuring out your future, but sitting here across from you, I’m starting to wonder some things.”

She stared down at her finger, which was stitched and swollen, now a nasty red after she had pulled off the thick bandage that morning. It ached, and she hadn’t bothered wrapping it again after applying the antibiotic ointment. It looked bad, red, and inflamed—her own fault for letting her mom distract her. “And what is that?” She looked around the room, glancing out at the light rain that was falling and seeing her uncle’s SUV and the small silver smart car her dad had bought her a year ago. She realized then the garage door was open and Trevor was inside, bent over what she assumed was the table, his latest woodworking endeavor her uncle was helping him with.

“Let’s start at the beginning. You have all your credits now to graduate, so it’s time to choose some courses to begin your future. Tell me what it is you have in mind.” Her uncle gestured to her and gave her all his attention.

Great, now the hot seat. She had to clear her throat, feeling on edge. Nothing was coming to her. “Honestly, I don’t have any one thing I’ve thought of that truly inspires me, but I was thinking I’d start taking some general courses, you know, at one of the good universities…” She let her voice trail off as her uncle frowned, lifting a brow. She wondered by his expression whether he thought what she said was amusing. She cleared her throat, as he was shaking his head, and continued. “You know, like Ohio State, Cambridge, Berkley.” She stopped again when he opened his mouth and leaned forward on his forearms, still shaking his head.

“Sure, maybe in, what, a year or two, after you get applications in, but they all have requirements that depend on your GPA, your SATs, and your recommendations, and although your grades are pretty good, I don’t think you’ll be at the top of the list for their admission requirements. Maybe for next year, after you figure out what you want to do, but right now, stick with community college. Grays Harbor has open admissions, so it will be easy enough to get you in, and you can live at home. Your mom will be happy, and your dad, too, I’m sure.” Neil tossed her an easy amused smile.

Did he have any idea what he was saying? The whole reason for going away to college was to leave home, for freedom, making her own choices about everything.

“You don’t know what you want to do, so start with business management,” Neil said. “You can use it for everything, and when you arrive at the aha that will hopefully hit you down the road and figure out what it is you want, the years of courses in business management will not be wasted. It’s a skill that will come in useful in everything.” He was leaning on the desk, his fingers linked together, staring at Becky as if considering something.

Okay, maybe she hadn’t thought this through or planned it out, but then, she’d really been going by the seat of her pants: Finish school, take another year. She hadn’t planned on the principal calling midyear and saying, “Oops, surprise, you’re done!”

“Tell me why you came up with those places,” Neil said.

“Excuse me?” she said, taking in his amusement again.

“Cambridge, Berkley, Ohio State—impressive, really, but why those places?” he asked, and for the first time, she was fighting the urge to fidget under his scrutiny, worrying that he’d somehow figure out why she wanted to go away and put a huge roadblock in her path. The Friessen men were overprotective alphas. She had been raised in it, and at times it was stifling.

“Because,” she started, and he raised a brow. Not going to work with her uncle. Come to think of it, it didn’t work with her dad, either. Her mom pushed and prodded and eventually just started doing things for her, though she wished she would stop. She sighed. “Because they’re exciting, and things happen there. They have a nightlife…” A life other than being in the middle of nowhere.

“You want excitement.” Her uncle sounded shocked. He wasn’t smiling, and she wasn’t sure what to make of his expression other than to tread carefully.

“Yes, and a life that doesn’t involve cows, peace and quiet, and nothing. Someplace that isn’t living at home. Don’t get me wrong, I love my mom and dad, even Jack, who’s pretty annoying at times. Trevor…” Her autistic brother, who was in his mid-twenties now, would always live on the property, always needing family to care for him. Hence his time now being spent with Neil, who was looking at her as if she was about to say something she shouldn’t. “But I want my own life, and I feel it’s time to leave the nest, so to speak, so I can spread my wings and experience life—”

“You mean have fun,” he said.

“Well, yes. I’m nineteen, and I would like a chance to make my own mistakes, to live…” She let her words fall away, as her uncle’s expression was so serious that for a second she wondered whether she was about to get some lecture.

“I see” was all he said, as he seemed to study her. Maybe he was trying to figure out what she was thinking. She hoped not. She wanted to keep everyone from having an idea of her personal dreams. Maybe he knew, as next she thought she saw a hint of a smile touch his lips. “So ranching isn’t in your blood,” he said. Was he kidding?

She shook her head. “So far down the list that it doesn’t even make it.” Ever!

“What about accounting?”

Working with numbers? She could do it, but it was nothing that excited her. She said nothing else, letting out a sigh. She wasn’t feeling it and was starting to get the sense she was being herded in a direction she didn’t want to go.

“Hmm, not really your thing, so you’re more about people, working with people? You said excitement?”

Okay, where was he going with this? “It’s better than numbers or being stuck in an office. Yeah, actually not interested in that area at all.”

“Okay, so that leaves a whole lot of stuff. Customer service, marketing, management of some kind.” Her uncle reached for his laptop, sliding it over and opening it. He started typing before resting one arm on the desk, touching his lip with his hand, reading whatever he’d pulled up, before his gaze extended to her. “So how about this? Grays Harbour for now. We’ll pull some strings to get you into their business program, the bachelor of applied science, since they’re only taking applications for the fall, but…” He was reading and then typing again, and she didn’t have a clue what it was he was doing. He glanced over to her after closing his laptop. “Sent an email to the dean, so fingers crossed I can encourage him to slip you in so you can start now, get your feet wet, and get an idea of what you want to do. At least your mom will be off your back.”

How did he know? “So you knew all along?”

“I love Emily. She’s an amazing mother to you and Katy, Jack, and Trevor. My brother is lucky to have her for his wife, but I know she also pushes more than she should, out of love, but…” He stopped for a second, and she wondered what he was going to say.

“My dad called you, didn’t he?”

Neil smiled and didn’t say anything as he started laughing. “Yeah, he did. Mentioned you threw out this idea of linguistics. We both had a chuckle over that.”

She shrugged. “It was all I could think of at the time. Dad kind of caught me off guard.”

Her uncle laughed again. “So linguistics isn’t your dream?”

She knew he was teasing her, so she shook her head again. “No.”

“One more thing, Becky: If you want to keep your mom off your back, I’d put some serious thought into a direction, but remember you can always change your mind down the road.”

That may have been reasonable. Unfortunately, as Becky glanced out the window again to her very happy autistic brother, who would always live with family, be cared for by family, she knew that what she wanted for her life was something that would get her out of there. Right now the way everything was lining up against her, Becky was beginning to realize she might very well be stuck in a small town out in the country where nothing ever happened, with a life that was entirely too predictable.