Page 18 of Rancher's Strength

Another truck roared into the yard, and I heard three doors slam. It was Griff. I looked up at Lexie, whose eyes were glued to me, wide and full of fear. Smiling at her, I nodded, and she walked over to my side, and I reached for her hand.

The kids ran down the hallway, and Cooper pulled Parker along behind him; they were all gone again. Griff walked into the kitchen, holding Elle’s hand, and the tension was palpable. “Lexie. I’m sorry to hear about Anita and Hank.” There was little emotion in his words, and the hair on the back of my neck rose as the anger bubbled inside me.

“Thank you,” Lexie said, but it was barely audible.

“Wow, hard to believe this is a homecoming,” Linc said from behind Griff. Pushing his way past Griff and Elle, he opened his arms to Lexie, and she walked into them for a hug. “Welcome back Lexie-Lou, it’s good to see you.” Lexie said something to Linc, but I wasn’t sitting close enough to hear it. Linc wasn’t one to hold grudges or dwell on the past, so the fact that he’d been so open to seeing Lexie again gave me hope that the others could get there too.

“There are a few things we need to discuss, so if everyone could take a seat.” The nice thing about this table was that it was large enough for all of us to gather around.

“We need to make space in the cemetery if that’s okay. I was going to call while we were still in Wyoming, but there was so much to get done and I forgot. Hank and Anita would like tobe laid to rest somewhere the kids can go to.” I glanced at my friends, and at least they all nodded in agreement.

“I can go out and do it tomorrow,” Kipp said without looking up from the table.

“Hank and Anita asked that Lexie and I live together for the first year and then remain in the same town to raise the kids. So, as of right now, we’ll be at the farm raising the kids where Lexie grew up.” There wasn’t any pushback from them because they knew they had no right to have an opinion about us living there.

“There’s also the small fact that we’ll be getting remarried.” All eyes shot to me and then moved to Lexie. “This week… so… I’d like you all to be there if you would.” The silence was deafening, and I was pretty sure I could hear the cattle chewing all the way over in the far pasture.

“Married?” Griff asked shock in his voice. I should have known he’d be the first one to say something.

“Yes, married.” I reached for Lexie’s hand. She didn’t pull away; instead, she turned and smiled at me.

“Congratulations, you two. Our anniversaries will be so close. We can celebrate it together every year,” Elle said, smiling at us and seemingly oblivious to the rising anger at the table.

“Whatever you need help with, please just ask,” Nora said as she reached over to put her hand on Lexie’s shoulder.

“Thank you both so much.” I hated how quiet she was. There’d been a time when Lexie would have put every one of these people in their place. How many times had she bailed Fallon out of trouble after Miller died? And she’d been Griff’s sounding board when he needed to talk about the things we’d done. Now, they were all treating her like she was dirt on their shoes.

“I think it’s time to go.” I stood up from the chair, and the kids just happened to run past. “Ruby, Sawyer, we need to get going. We’ve got a few more places to go today.” That was a flat-out lie, so I was going to need to figure something out. Maybe we’d go to town and get something from Fred’s, or maybe we’d just go to the grocery store and grab something for supper. Whatever it was, I just needed to get out of here. The kids said goodbye to one another and walked out of the house with Lexie.

Everyone followed me to the porch, but my business partners stood in a line together on the top stair. “This is the first time I’ve been ashamed to be one of you.” I glared at Kipp, Griff, and then at Fallon before walking down the porch steps and getting into the truck. I couldn’t lump Linc into that group. He’d been a little warmer to Lexie, and Nora and Elle were as sweet as I’d figured they would be. But the others could go to hell at this moment as far as I was concerned.

If today could’ve gone any worse, I wouldn’t have believed it. As I pulled out of the yard, Julie and Phil drove in, and I didn’t miss her frown as we drove past them. What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on that wall when she got into that house.

“Where are we going, Uncle Ryder? I was having fun.” Ruby’s voice was sad, and it took everything in me not to turn around and knock-out some teeth. The pastures whizzed by as I sped up on the highway, and I passed the entrance to the farm. Maybe we were too close? We could move into another house further from the ranch.

“I’ve got someplace to show you, and we need to get there before it closes.” She nodded, and I was glad that was all the explanation she needed because I wasn’t sure I could come up with anything more.

Fred seemed to be the safest place to go. Lexie had seen him often since our divorce, and they’d seemed pleasant the last time I’d seen her there. Fred would also spoil the kids, which might take their minds off me ending their fun.

Chapter Ten

LEXIE

We fell into a routine, and the kids were getting used to waking up with Ryder and me instead of their parents. Sawyer and Cooper were best friends, and over time, I think Ruby and Jake’s daughter Libby would become friends as well. Ruby was shy, while Libby was outgoing, but I was sure they’d figure things out.

“Where is she?” Lydia came flying through the door, the screen slapped against the closure a few times from the force of her opening it.

“Hang on just a minute,” Ryder said, as he stood and moved between me and my sister, who was moving so fast that she didn’t stop before bouncing off Ryder. “What’s the problem?”

“She’s been here for days and hasn’t set foot in the bar. I had to hear it from the town gossips that she’s back. She couldn’t even tell me and Mom what was going on.” Lydia bobbed and weaved to look around Ryder, but he didn’t let her move toward me. Her voice rose a little more with every sentence. “And now she’s shacked up with you, living her happily ever after.” Shelifted her hands and placed them on his chest, trying to push him away, but the solid, broad-shouldered man didn’t move an inch.

“First of all, she’s got a name, and you can start using it,” Ryder said as he stepped out of the way, pulled a chair out, and pointed for Lydia to sit. “Second, did the town gossips happen to tell you why she was back?” He stood towering over her and crossed his arms over his chest.

“They said she showed back up looking all cozy with you, and then I found out you were moved in here.” My sister slumped in her chair and glared at me.

“Ruby, Sawyer, can you please come into the kitchen?” Ryder’s voice was commanding; he had complete control of the situation. While I didn’t need him to fight my battles, it was nice not to be the one sparring with my sister this time.

With thunderous footsteps echoing down the stairs, Lydia turned her head to watch the kids land at the bottom. “Ruby, Sawyer, this is Lydia. She’s Lexie’s sister, and she’d really like to meet you.” The kids looked wide-eyed, from Ryder to Lydia.

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