Page 38 of Rancher's Strength

“You’re thinking about when we showed back up at home, aren’t you?” she asked.

“No,” I scoffed.

“Liar.” She tried to pull her hand from mine, but I held on tighter.

“It was a good memory, Lex. From start to finish.”

She nodded against me, and I tried not to think of that night because if I did, I’d be right back in her.

Chapter Nineteen

LEXIE

“Okay, it’s Grandma Julie night, all kids get in the van.” Julie’s clear, strong voice cut through the noise of the house, and all the kids headed for the door.

Ruby turned to look at me, her eyes full of concern. Other than when she was at school, we’d been with her and Sawyer constantly over the last two weeks. “Hey, it’s okay. I can go home with you if you want.” I whispered as I crouched down in front of her.

“You and Uncle Ryder will come back, right?” Her small voice ripped my heart out.

“Oh, my girl, of course we will.” I wrapped my arms around her, and she clung to me. The room went quiet as I watched everyone usher their kids out of the room. “I know this is hard, and like I said, we can just go home.”

“I want to go with everyone, but I just got worried for a minute.”

“It’s completely fine to have those feelings, honey,” Ryder said as he gently placed his large hand on Ruby’s back. “We have to talk about them, so I’m happy you said something.” We’d beengoing to therapy since we’d gotten back to Weston Gap. The kids had their own time, and then we had time as a family. Most of the appointments were spent encouraging the kids to share what they were feeling and to open up to us no matter what they needed to say.

“Can I text you?”

“Of course, you can,” I said as I smiled up at her.

“Okay, I want to go with Julie.” Ruby’s smile was cautious, but the fear had faded from her features.

“How about I text Julie when we get to the restaurant?” Ryder said as he took Ruby’s hand and headed out of the room.

“That would be good.” She nodded and then looked up at him. Shifting, I sat on the couch; the worry subsided slightly.

“Ryder’s a good father figure,” Elle said as she took a seat beside me. Griff and Ryder were best friends, so I wanted to get to know Elle better. She was lovely and easy to talk to, and I was sure that in time we’d be best friends too.

“It’s the reason I divorced him the first time,” I said quietly. Turning, I saw the confusion on her face that she was trying to hide. “I can’t have kids. I’ve known it all my life, and I came to terms with it when I was younger. Then I met Ryder, and he assured me it didn’t matter, but I saw him with kids, and I knew it wasn’t fair to keep him tied to me when being a dad and having a family was all he’d ever wanted.” My voice trailed off. It wasn’t easy talking about this to anyone.

“So, I drew up divorce papers and pretended to move on. I’d hoped Ryder had found someone he could be happy with and have the family I know he’d always wanted.”

“And I told you, the only person I’ve ever needed was you.”

His husky voice filtered through the living room, and I turned to look at him.

“So, do you think we can move on from this now?”

I smiled tightly at him and looked at Elle, who was grinning from ear to ear.

“Let’s go to the bar. Crazy things happen there.” Elle said, with a huge grin on her face.

“Yeah, like your husband starting fights.” Ryder scoffed.

“Griff got into a fight at this bar? That couldn’t have gone over well with Lydia.” I laughed at the thought.

Elle laughed and shook her head. “It didn’t. She kicked Griff out, and I thought Ryder was going to hit on Lydia.”

“Yeah, he’s not really my sister’s type.” I looked at Ryder, and he shook his head. My sister came out to me years ago, and I became fiercely protective of her. For a long time, she tried to ignore her feelings, and she’d had a few boyfriends over the years, but they were just to stop rumors. When she finally admitted it to everyone, nobody was overly surprised, and anyone who mattered in her life was supportive. The rest we all cut out of our lives, which was for the better.

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