Chapter 70

The limo pulled up to the Montoya's and Henry, my driver, and I both got out. He went back to open the trunk and I went to the front door. It opened before I got there and Kelli came out, closely followed by an older man with a weathered face and gray peppering his hair. My view of him was quickly cut off by Kelli's jumping into my arms.

"Well hello," I said with a grin.

"Hi yourself," she answered back. Then there was a kiss. Slightly longer than I felt comfortable with, given that it was probably her father getting the close up demonstration, but not as long as I wanted. Afterward, she stepped back and to my side.

"Cooper, this is my father Silvano Montoya. Father this is Cooper James." we shook hands and I smiled, which might have thrown Mr. Montoya off. The smile was caused by the tiniest of hesitations between 'Father this is' and 'Cooper James'. In my mind she had almost inserted 'boyfriend' there.

"Mr. Montoya, it is a pleasure meeting you at last, sir," I said, extending my hand.

"Mr. James," he answered, and we shook. It was interesting to note that he was at least three inches shorter than Kelli, which had me towering over him. He had wide shoulders which tapered down to a still trim waist. "I have been interested in hearing my daughter speak of you. She speaks quite highly of you."

"She speaks well of you sir, and of course I think the world of her."

"Indeed," his eyes flashed as he somehow managed to look more directly into mine. "As do I, and I would not want to hear of her being hurt."

"I would do nothing to dishonor her, or you sir. Besides, she wouldn't let me." I grinned at that. Thankfully, Mr. Montoya smiled with me.

"She is a bit headstrong. A father's life is never easy with a willful daughter under his roof."

"I was an only child, and grew up in what I have come to discover was something of a sheltered life. I guess I can't appreciate your problem. Rest assured though, I do appreciate your daughter."

"Michael Guilford speaks highly of you, and your parents. My condolences young man."

"Thank you sir. Mike is a good guy, and I'm glad to have him worrying about what to do with my parent's money."

"Well, you two have plans and I don't want to keep you. Take care of my daughter, eh Mr. James?"

"Of course."

We shook again, and Kelli hugged him. During our conversation, someone from the house and the chauffeur had loaded Kelli's things into the limo, so all we had to do was slide into the back and let Henry close the door. Kelli and I kissed as he got in and during our kiss, the limo pulled out of the Montoya's and took off for the airport.

"Well, I thought meeting my father went well, don't you?" Kelli asked after we broke our kiss.

"Yes, it did," I nodded. "I didn't realize he would be so much shorter than you though. He comes across as taller though, after you talk to him for a minute."

"He has a large presence," she nodded back. "I've always thought so, and so have others. It is one of the reasons he is so successful in his business."

"He had me checked out, I assume, since he talked to Mike Guilford about me."

"Actually Mr. Guilford manages my father's investments, so that may not have been why they talked about you, but I do know he had you investigated the first time I mentioned you to him."

"Oh, and when was that?" I asked.

"I might have mentioned you that night, when you first checked into the Hillside," she blushed and looked down at her hands.

"That's alright," I said, giving those hands a squeeze where I held them in mine. "I'm pretty sure I was mentioning you to people immediately as well. You were only the second person I met in Santa Rosa, but I was immediately attracted to you."

"Well, my father might have been reserved this time, but he tells me that his investigators found nothing he didn't like about you. It doesn't hurt either that you could buy my father's business several times over."

"It doesn't?" I was surprised. Her father had obviously shared what he'd learned of my wealth with Kelli.

"No," she laughed. He doesn't have to worry that you're after his money."

"I guess that's a valid concern when you're successful. Hey you're not after me for my money, are you?" My grin gave away my lack of seriousness, but Kelli decided to play along.

"Oh please!" she laughed evilly. "A guy comes riding over from the IHOP on a motorcycle looking for a room for the night, looking like he hadn't slept in a real bed in a week, and I decide then and there to seduce him for his obvious wealth?"

We both laughed over that.

"Mr. James," the driver called over the limo's intercom. "We've got clearance from Keiser Air to proceed straight to the tarmac."

I'd known the trip to the airport would be quick, but this had been quicker than I'd expected. We passed through a gated fence and suddenly we were on tarmac, rolling up to a very nice looking Citation V executive jet.

"Okay, just where the heck are we going and where did you get a jet?" Kelli laughed.

"Coincidentally, I got the charter flight through Mike Guilford. Howes investments has a lease arrangement with Keiser Air. You'll find out where we're going soon enough."

Henry opened our door and offered Kelli a hand as we got out. "Will either of you want one of your bags as a carry on?" he asked.

"Oh, yes please," Kelli said. "The Baggallini please," I shook my head and Henry went to open the trunk, and I noticed there was a man there wearing the prototypical ground crew jumpsuit, waiting.

We were standing in front of the open cabin door and a woman in uniform came down through it to greet us. "Good afternoon Mr. James, I'm Eliana Mack, your pilot today. If you and Miss Montoya want to go ahead and board, I'll make sure your luggage gets secured properly."

"Thank you," we both said. Henry brought Kelli's bag and we stepped up into the cabin.

The cabin was very nice. We were met immediately by an older man dressed similarly to our pilot.