Page 10 of Rancher's Strength

“So, what should we do now that Uncle Ryder’s back?” I asked, my voice sounding way too chipper. Both kids turned and looked at me like I had five heads. “ Well, I’m going to bake cookies.” I turned and walked into the kitchen. Cookies never made anything worse.

I froze when I opened the cupboard where Anita stored the baking supplies, and that’s where Ryder found me when he finally came into the kitchen.

“Lex?” His voice was quiet but filled with worry. I didn’t turn—I didn’t even acknowledge him. He placed his big hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him. “Lex, what is it?” His eyes were full of concern, and I shook my head.

“What do we do with all the stuff? The food, the freezer, the pots and pans?” It was something I hadn’t even considered, but we were essentially packing up an entire lifetime of stuff.

“We let the moving company deal with it.” A slight frown crossed his handsome face, and his brows furrowed, accentuating the line between his eyes. I used to run my fingers over it, trying to get him to relax, but it was permanently part of his face. “I’ve given them directions on what to pack and what to leave. We don’t have to do all this at one time, either. It’s a few-hour flight from the ranch. We can come back whenever we need to.” He brushed my hair off my face and waited for me to reply. All I could do was nod.

“I promised the kids cookies.” A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, but as expected, Ryder was on top of everything and immediately went to get it. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but the door closed, and Ryder walked into the kitchen with two massive platters of food.

He set them down on the table, left the kitchen, and came back with bags of groceries. I stared at him when he left again, this time returning with boxes of soda and beer. “The law office sent it,” he said as he finally stopped leaving the kitchen.

“What are we going to do with all of this?” I looked from the table to him.

“You’re going to call Sam and her parents, ask her to reach out a few of Hank and Anita’s close friends, and we’re going to have a party for them.” Another knock at the door made himstop talking, and he went to answer it. More food arrived, and in a way, I was more grateful for that than flowers. Flowers would be hard to get to the ranch, and it would be a shame to throw them out if they were still perfectly good.

“A party it is,” I nodded as I grabbed my phone from my back pocket and dialed Sam’s number. At that moment, an idea dawned on me. “Ry, why don’t we ask Sam if she wants to move in here? She’s only renting the place she’s in. This would be permanent, and if the kids wanted to visit, they’d be coming home.” As I stared at my phone before dialing her number, it seemed like an outlandish idea.

“Tell her to come over now, and we can talk to her about it. I think it’s a good idea.” He gently pressed a kiss to the side of my head before heading to the living room. He sat between Ruby and Sawyer, both of whom cuddled into his side.

Chapter Six

RYDER

“Did Sam say why we needed to stop at the office?” I asked Lexie as she climbed into the car. The kids were in the back seat, looking longingly at the house they’d called home, but now, it was just a house.

“No, she didn’t even give me a hint.” Lexie reached over her shoulder and pulled her seatbelt across her, stopping just before she clicked it. “Why are you driving my car?” The crease between her brows deepened.

“Habit, sorry. Do you want to switch places?”

“No,” she sighed as she settled into her seat.

Our drive was silent. Ruby grasped Lexie’s hand, and Sawyer had essentially climbed me like a tree, tucking his head into my neck as we walked into the law office. I’d never thought of this place as difficult for the kids to visit, but it must just be another reminder.

“You’re here,” Sam said as she came out of her office. Her smile was sad, and I longed to see the bubbly redhead who had forced her way through my grumpy exterior and brought me into the friend group where I’d met Lexie. Lexie wrapped her freearm around Sam. “Ryder,” she smiled at me when she let Lexie go.

“Hey, Sam.” I hugged her tightly, and I heard her sniffle against me.

“Come into my office.” She motioned down the hall, and we followed her.

I set the kids up on the couch in the office with my phone and a show before taking a seat beside Lexie. “So, I called you both because there’s an addendum in the will you both need to know about.” I’d always hated surprises; nothing in my life had ever benefited from them, and I highly doubted it would start now.

“There’s a clause in here that you both have to be married to take the kids.” Silence filled the large office, and Sam’s eyes darted from Lexie to me. It was as if she didn’t know how to focus on us.

“We what?” Surely, I’d heard her wrong. We’d read the letter.Lexie had seen the will. She would have seen the addendum.

“It was a clause to get Anita’s mother off her back before she went no contact. We’d always intended to take it out when the kids got older.” Sam grimaced when Lexie stood. “We’d talked about it last year but figured Shirley would cause trouble no matter what, so we left it in.”

“You’ve got to be kidding? There has to be something we can do.” She paced the length of the office. She knew there was nothing to be done. It was a legal document, and even if there had been intentions to change it, those changes were never made, so it didn’t matter.

“When would we have to be married?” I asked, shifting in my chair before I pulled at the collar of my shirt.

“You have a week from today.” Sam closed her eyes, waiting for Lexie’s temper.

“Who gets the kids if we aren’t married?”

“Anita’s mom and stepdad,” Sam said quietly. “You know that’s how the law works. With Anita’s dad dead and Hank’s parents gone also, it leaves Shirley as the only next of kin.”

---