Page 41 of The Moment He Saw Her

“Honestly, brat, if I didn’t love you, you’d be dead to me right now,” Dan said.

“He’s not wrong,” Ryder said, taking a bottle. “You did want a cake made with bananas, right?” Ally hated anything with bananas.

“This is for your own good,” she said. “You were bitching about not wanting to lose this race, so Nana and I decided to make sure you didn’t.”

“Excuse me, but we don’t bitch,” her father said, “and don’t talk like that, young lady.”

Ally rolled her eyes, and Ryder snorted. “Your life is going to be hell for a few years.”

“Phoebe’s taking some online courses so we’re prepared. But God’s truth, bro, I don’t think anything can prepare you. I spoke to Red about it. He said his eldest went from being sweet to surly and rebellious overnight,” Brody said. “And now we’re….” his words fell away.

“Now we’re what?” Zoe asked, moving to stand in front of him, her face no more than three inches away. “What were you going to say?”

“Nothing,” Brody said.

“The tips of his ears are red. He’s lying,” Dan said.

“Just tell them, Dad. Phoebe said we could. It’s you that wants to wait,” Ally said.

Looking at her, Ryder could see that whatever the news was, she was happy about it.

“You tell them.” Brody looped an arm around her neck and hauled her into his side.

“You’re all sweaty, Dad,” she protested, but Ryder saw she didn’t push him away. She was still firmly her daddy’s girl.

“We’re having a baby,” Ally said.

Dan whooped and picked her up. The rest of them just hugged Brody hard. Birdie cried.

“Our b-babies will be close in age,” she managed to get out.

“Very exciting, but now back to the training,” Bart said. “Dan’s starting. The rest of you, get on the back of the pickup.”

They were deposited the exact right number of yards apart, as was marked out beforehand by Bart and Ally. Ryder was last, as he’d always been the fastest Duke, which pissed off everyone else.

“You all right, sweetie?”

“All good, Mom,” he said when she wandered up still wearing that ridiculous hat. “Brody was saying?—”

“It’s so exciting! Two new grandbabies,” she said, clapping her gloved hands.

“Pretty awesome, all right,” he said, squinting down the road. It wasn’t that long, so what the hell was keeping Sawyer?

“How’s Libby?”

“You say that like she’s a local and you’ve known her for years, yet to my knowledge, you’ve never met her.”Hurry it up, Sawyer.Ryder could feel a lecture coming on.

“I’ve heard people talking about her. She sounds troubled. Is she troubled, Ryder?”

“No clue, Mom. I’m not really a guy who asks that kind of cr—question.”

“She’s been living under your roof for four days, Ryder. If I hadn’t been on that course, I would have come in before now. So bring her to dinner tonight.”

“I’m not bringing her to family dinner, Mom.”Where the fuck are you, Sawyer?

“Now you listen to me, Ryder Duke.”

There was just something that made you turn into a weak-kneed five-year-old when your mother spoke to you in that particular tone of disapproval.

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