Page 34 of Rancher's Pride

Kipp walked into the kitchen and looked at the three of us. “What’s wrong?” The crease between his eyes deepened, and his jaw flexed as he clenched it.

“Nothing. Everything’s fine. Nora’s dad is in therewith her,” I said, looking up to the ceiling and blinking quickly so my mascara wouldn’t run. Why hadn’t we used waterproof mascara? Such a rookie mistake.

“Oh.” He nodded his head. “I wish he was here, too. You three aren’t the only ones who’ll miss him on your wedding day.” He opened his enormous arms and the three of us walked into them like we used to when Dad did it. This felt good. We all had our own grief that we hadn’t dealt with, but we were still a family.

“Would you four knock it off? I’ve been trying not to cry all day and I walk into all my kids getting along. Why can’t you be at each other’s throats like you used to do when you were kids?” Mom said as she walked over to us and we pulled her into our group hug.

“You know he’d be so proud of all of you.” Her muffled words hung in the air. I couldn’t help but feel he’d be disappointed in me, but would things be different if he’d been here? Would I have Josie and Lottie? Would I still be hopelessly in love with Nash?

Freezing at that thought, my family all stepped away from one another, dabbing tears from our faces. Kipp’s heavy arm fell over my shoulder. “Josie and Lottie would have been his world. You belong here and no matter what’s going through your head, I know he’d be proud of you.” His words were quiet and nobody else would have heard the chatter in the room.

Putting my arm around his back, I looked up at him. “Thanks. You always seem to know what I’m thinking.”

“It must be the oldest and youngest telepathy thingwe’ve always had. Although somehow I missed the you and Nash thing.” I expected a smile or a smirk, but a flash of anger simmered just under his eyes.

“I paused it then.” I tried to lighten the mood.

“Thanks for that.” He said flatly.

“I know today isn’t the day, but we should talk about it. He’s your best friend and what we did.” Kipp held up his hand and I stopped talking.

“You’re right, today isn’t the day, and he’s still my best friend, but he’s also the father of your daughter and stepping up to be that man for the one that isn’t. We don’t have anything to deal with.” He kissed the side of my head and let me go. “It’s time for me to get married. Let’s go.” His voice would have been heard all through the house.

Griff, Linc, and Ryder walked into the kitchen and they took their places beside Tayla, Lark, and Kristin. Mom already had her arm wrapped around Kipp’s and I stood alone.

“Sorry, Lottie was fussing, so I took her from your mom and got her to sleep,” Nash said as he slipped in line beside me.

“Is she okay? I should go to her.” I went to set my flowers on the counter and he pulled me back to him.

“She’s asleep. I gave her a bottle, burped her, and she was out like a light.” He glanced at his watch. “Her sleep schedule is going to be all messed up, but I figured one day wouldn’t matter much.” He cocked a smile, and I wanted to kiss him. Nash reached around me andgrabbed my flowers off the counter and handed them to me.

“Thank you.” I sighed, and he offered me his arm. Wrapping mine around him, he held me tightly to his side.

Music floated out of the living room and we all began to move slowly. Tiny, quick footsteps on the hardwood floor and laughter from the other room made my stomach drop. Josie ran around the corner and wrapped herself around Nash’s leg. “Go with you?” She looked up at him, smiling. Her eyes were on his and I let go of his arm to let him pick her up.

“Sure darlin’, let’s go as a family.” Nash settled Josie on his hip and my heart exploded when she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “It’s what we are, Toots. We’re a family.” He offered me his arm again, and I nodded.

“Yes, we are. A messed up, secret family.” I hadn’t intended to say the other part, but it was true. We hadn’t told Josie Nash was her father, and he acted like he was Lottie’s dad. What the hell were we doing?

“Quit thinking. It might be messed up, but it’s the best one I’ve ever had.” He looked at me like I hung the moon and it didn’t matter who knew. From the front of the line, someone clears their throat, and I looked up to see Kipp frowning at us. Moving slightly, I put a little space between us and saw Nash frown at Kipp out of the corner of my eye.

This was going to be a problem.

The music changed, and I took my place behindKristin and my sisters. Nash stood next to Kipp, followed by the other three co-owners of the ranch. Looking up, I blinked faster as I watched Nora walk down the aisle. There was a pang in my chest thinking back to my courthouse wedding day. It was rushed, and there was no emotion. We only did it because I was pregnant and Andrew said there was no way he wasn’t going to do the “right thing.” Too bad the right thing didn’t include not having a mistress and hitting me.

“Dearly beloved.” The officiant’s voice snapped me out of the memory and I looked up and saw Nash’s eyes boring into me. The slight movement of him arching his brow was enough to know he saw me go back to a place that wasn’t happy. Pasting on a smile, I shook my head slightly, but he didn’t soften his stare. Shifting, I looked at Kipp whose smile couldn’t be any bigger. It had taken over his face.

Cheers filled the room as the bride and groom kissed. I couldn’t help but smile, and clapped with everyone else. Mistakenly, I glanced over at Nash, whose face said he was happy but he hadn’t moved his eyes from me. I wanted to disappear, but I knew he would find me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

NASH

Looking around the event barn, I couldn’t find Fallon anywhere. The small crowd should have made it easier to find her, but I didn’t see her. There was just a low hum of chatter as I stood at the back of the room. “Nash, have you seen Fallon?” Julie asked as she stopped in front of me, bouncing slightly as she swayed back and forth while patting Lottie’s back. How can she sway and bounce at the same time? I had to walk with Lottie, because I wasn’t coordinated to do something I’d only ever seen women be able to do.

“No, I haven’t. I was just looking for her, actually.” Julie turned and looked around and when she looked back at me, worry filled her eyes. “I’ll find her,” I said as I nodded before I grabbed my coat and walked out the door. If Fallon needed space, I knew exactly where I would find her.

The door to the horse barn creaked from the cold, so there went my stealthiness, but it was okay. Wandering through the lower level, I didn’t see her in any of the stalls, not even in Rover’s old stall. Rover was her childhood horse that we had to put down last year. I’d almost called her, but if she didn’t want to be found, I wasn’t going to force her hand.

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