Page 17 of Rancher's Strength

“We are. Need anything taken over?”

“Nope, but I think I might pop over in about twenty minutes.” Her smile said everything she wasn’t saying. She was coming along and going to make sure the guys were on their best behavior and save Lexie and me if we needed it.

“Jules, you don’t need to be inserting yourself in things,” Phil said, shaking his head.

“Mind your business, old man. I’ll take care of my boy even if he doesn’t want me to.” Julie patted my arm.

“Oh no, I want you to,” I said with a smirk. Julie was the only woman who could settle us down. Julie was the matriarch of the ranch, and there was nothing we wouldn’t do for her.

“I thought you said Kipp was your only son?” Ruby asked as a frown crept over her face.

“He is, but I decided a long time ago that Ryder was too. I might not have given him life, but he’s my boy all the same.” My heart clenched, and I blinked a little faster. The little boy who’d never had anyone love him ended up having more parents than he knew what to do with. If I’d met them all sooner, maybe the trauma of being abandoned wouldn’t have hurt so badly.

“We should get going,” I said, my voice a little thick with emotion.

“Tell Lexie she’s always welcome here, she doesn’t need to sit in the truck,” Julie whispered, just loud enough for me to hear, and I nodded.

“Thanks for a fun day, Ms. Julie,” Ruby said as she hugged the woman.

“Yeah, can I come back, Mr. Phil? I had a great time,” Sawyer asked as he looked up at Phil.

“You can come back anytime you want, Sawyer,” Phil said as he swung the little boy up for a hug.

“And how about you call us Grandma Julie and Grandpa Phil? All the other kids on the ranch do, so you need to as well.” Julie looked over at Phil, who nodded and smiled as the kids looked at one another and then hugged their new grandparents tightly.

The kids climbed into the back seat, buckled themselves in, and I pulled away from Julie and Phil’s. We all waved at them and headed for the next stop. It wasn’t a long drive, but the kids chattered nonstop about their morning. Ruby’s smile was genuine, and I think Sawyer was worn out, yet he grinned too.

“Wow!” Ruby said, looking out her window at Kipp’s house. “This is massive.” I pulled open her door and helped her out. She wasn’t wrong; the very large log home had been added onto multiple times over the years. It was built to house a massive family, and there’d been times over the years when it had. Not always blood, but always family.

“I used to live here. Auntie Lexie did for a bit, too.” I looked across to where she was helping Sawyer out of the truck, and she just shook her head. We’d been dating, and she didn’t feel comfortable staying at the farm—something about sleeping with a boy in her parents’ house—so we stayed here when we came home from college.

“Well, this is a surprise,” Kipp called from the porch, “We didn’t expect you so soon.” He smiled at the kids, but when he saw Lexie, his face fell.

“Figured we might as well get these two comfortable with everyone straight away. Ruby, Sawyer, this is one of my best friends, Kipp Miller.” They both looked up at him.

“You’re Grandma Julie’s boy… you don’t look like a kid.” Sawyer’s eyes were about to pop out of his head as he looked up at Kipp, wide-eyed but not afraid. Kipp’s size usually made kids scared of him, but not this one.

“Well, Sawyer, to Grandma Julie, I’ll always be a kid. Why don’t you and Ruby come in and meet my son Cooper and daughter Halley? The other kids will be here in a few minutes.” Just as he said it, a squeal came from the house across the yard.

Nash, Fallon, Josie, and Lottie had come out of the house, and Josie ran straight to Ruby. “Hi, you’s Ruby, I’n Josie, we be best friends.” Josie’s grin made Ruby smile at her.

“I’d like to be your best friend,” Ruby said cheerfully as Josie took her hand, and the three kids ran inside the house.

“Lexie,” Nash said as he and Fallon joined Kipp on the porch.

“Nash, Fallon, nice to see you both.” Lexie clasped her hands together so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

“What are you all doing out here? Get in this house,” Nora said from the door. She pushed the screen door open, and Nash and Fallon walked in ahead of Kipp and me. “I’m Nora, Kipp’s wife. It’s so nice to meet you.” Nora’s voice floated easily through the entryway as she welcomed Lexie.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Lexie’s words were timid, nothing like the cutthroat lawyer I knew she could be, but this wasn’t her courtroom, and she had baggage with almost every adult who would be in this home, except for Nora and Elle.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Nora,” Kipp said tersely.

“Got something to say?” She crossed her arms and stared her husband down. “Not everyone in this house is rude, so either say your peace or keep your mouth shut.” Her pointed staremade him clench his jaw, and he took a seat at the table without saying another word. She’d been in control of him since the day she came home from town with him. Nora was a force, and if I was being honest, she’d been keeping all of us in line since she showed up.

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m fine.” Lexie wasn’t fine, and everyone could see it.

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