Page 32 of Rancher's Strength

Me: On my way.

My headlights illuminated the road ahead of me as I slammed my foot on the accelerator. Taking the turn into the bar parking lot faster than I intended, gravel sprayed and tinged inthe wheel wells as I slid to a stop. With a quick flick of my wrist, I turned the truck off, got out, and marched into the bar.

People were milling about, laughing and talking to one another, and then I saw it. Some guy had his hand on my wife’s ass. She tried moving away, but he grabbed her arm, pulling her so she sat on his lap. Lexie squirmed, and he laughed as he held on to her tighter.

“Hey asshole, take your hands off my wife,” I hollered as I pushed through the sea of people that had parted when they saw me barreling toward the table.

“She ain’t got no ring on. Looks like she’s fair game.” He looked at his friends, and that was his mistake. He took his eyes off me. Pulling my arm back, I watched Lexie lean ahead, and I punched the man square in the jaw. He instantly let go of Lexie, and she jumped off his lap as he tumbled to the floor.

The other men at the table with him stood up and peered over him as he groaned and rolled around on the floor. When their gazes returned to me, they were all staring murderously at me. In one instant, they all blanched and held up their hands. I didn’t have to look, I knew the four people who were closest to me now stood behind me, ready to fight if they needed to. Even if we weren’t really on speaking terms currently, they had my back.

“I don’t take kindly to people man-handling things that belong to me.” I saw red and was going to hit him again, but Lexie grabbed my arm as I cocked it back.

“Get him out of here and never come back,” Lydia said to the group of men.

“Come on, Lydia. This is the only place in town where you can get a good drink.” the man whined as he bent down to pick up his friend from the floor.

“Guess your buddy should have thought of that before he put his hands on my sister.” She slammed her hands on her hips and glared at the fool.

“Awe fuck,” the man on the floor groaned. Once he stood up, he looked at me and shook his head, then smartly walked away rubbing his jaw.

“Back to your evening, everyone. The show is over,” Lydia said as she stared at me. “Lexie, deal with your husband.” She clenched her jaw and went back to her place behind the bar. As if on cue, my friends backed away, leaving an angry Lexie staring at me.

“Belongs to you?” She arched her brow and glared.

“Did I lie?” I shrugged. Lexie snarled at me, and all I could do was laugh.

“You can’t go around hitting people.” Lexie sighed, exasperated.

“He was touching you, and you obviously didn’t like it. You instantly relaxed when you saw me coming for him. Can you explain that?”

“I knew the guys would have my back. It wasn’t like I was in danger. How did you even know I was being harassed? Wait, where are the kids?” She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her tits up so they almost spilled out of her shirt. I wanted to pluck out the eyes of every man who might be staring at her.

“Griff’s dad picked them up on his way home from getting Parker. Said they needed some grandkid time.” Lexie’s eyes immediately softened, and I wondered if she was going to cry. She wouldn’t want to cry in this sea of people, so it was time to piss her off again. “And Griff texted me saying that some guy was feeling you up, and you are my wife. We filled out the paperwork, remember?” Arching my brow, I waited. Her dark eyes flashed almost black, and she grabbed my belt buckle as she walked past me and pulled me behind her.

Getting closer to the table that was always ready for us, she pushed me into a chair and leaned over, whispering in my ear.“Listen, I don’t need you fighting my battles. On paper, we’re married, that’s it, and if you even dare to think of ordering anything stronger than a soda tonight, I’ll be your worst nightmare. Sit with your friends and behave yourself. Now, what can I get you?” It was deliberate on her part; it looked intimate enough to make people talk, and others would believe it was a wife whispering sweet nothing into her husband’s ear, thanking him for saving her.

“We used to be your friends too,” Kipp said flatly, challenging Lexie, and she immediately looked at him.

“Used to be.” She nodded but didn’t finish her thought. The look they gave one another made me take a second glance at them. She still hadn’t forgiven him for what he did on our wedding day, and I’m not sure she ever would. If there was one thing about Lexie that would never change, it’s that she’s stubborn. “Drink?”

“Cola, please, Lex.” I grinned, and she rolled her eyes before spinning on her heel and walking away. I watched her ass sway and marveled at the sight of the short skirt swishing back and forth. It had always been a toss-up which part of her I liked watching more—the subtle sway of her perfect ass or the jiggle of her tits. Even with a bra on, she could still render me speechless.

“She’s going to kill you when you get home,” Griff said as he slid a beer down to me. Reaching for it, I brought it to my lips and took a pull.

“Yeah, she probably will, but at least I’ll go out looking at her gorgeous face.” I smiled widely as Griff laughed, and Elle shook her head but kept her thoughts to herself.

The crowd thinned out, but we all stayed at the table, and Lexie brought another round of drinks. “That’s the last one. I’ll be ready to take some of you home as soon as I get this place cleaned up.” She looked at everyone around the table but didn’t make eye contact with me.

“Yep, you really made her mad. I’d place bets on the ‘belonging to you’ comment rather than the fight you almost got into,” Kipp said as he reached for his last beer.

“I have to say, you do make a nice couple,” Nora said as she took Kipp’s drink from him, taking a sip herself. “You’re both in that big house, alone after you put the kids to bed. I bet you two are using that time constructively after all the years apart.” She wiggled her eyebrows and smiled.

“After the kids go to bed, Lexie grabs a book, and I head to the cabin to check on the cameras. By the time I get back to the farm, she’s in bed, and I’m exhausted.” It had been more than I’d intended to say, but my filter around my friends had been worn away years ago, and I found it exhausting keeping them outside of all of this.

“Sounds like you need to move the monitors to where you’re living now, so you don’t have to spend so much time away from your wife. I bet she’s pissed that she has to go to bed alone.” Fallon said without looking at me. A drunk Fallon had loose lips and no filter, so I was surprised she didn’t say anything more.

With a quick look at Griff, he shrugged, and I knew he was saying, “why not?” Over the years, we didn’t need to talk; hand motions and grunts sufficed for us most of the time. We’d worked so closely on the security team that we’d almost developed our own language.

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