Page 50 of Rancher's Strength

“Look, we’ve all been walking on eggshells since your wedding, and none of us are real happy about it. This isn’t how we operate, so let’s do this right now,” Kipp said as he bounded over to the top of the stairs, blocking anyone from leaving.

“I thought she was your mortal enemy? And now you’ve up and re-married her out of the blue. Ryder, something isn’t adding up here. Dad saw your interaction only months ago, and he said if she’d been in the middle of the street, you probably wouldn’t have stopped,” Nash spoke first, crossing his arms and waiting for my answer.

“She was never my enemy,” I grumbled as I grabbed another jacket in my size. “Look, things are different, okay.” I grabbed the sheet and slung it back over the rack. “This time’s different. We have a family now.”

“We’re happy for you, don’t get me wrong, but you went through a year of hell after she left, man. We just really got you back,” Kipp said, the pain in his eyes cutting me to my core.

“I get that you’re worried about me, but I’ve got this,” I said as I tried to push past the wall they’d built in front of me, butnone of them moved. “Fine, have it your way. I never stopped loving her, I shouldn’t have to tell any of you that. So, when we were forced back together for the sake of the kids, I took it as a sign. And you know I hate that bullshit, so it must have been meant to be. I don’t know what this life will bring, but I do know I never dreamed that she’d be back, and we’d have kids to raise.”

The guys all knew that Lexie couldn’t have kids. It wasn’t something she’d brought up right away, but there was teasing about ranch babies one night, and she blurted it out to shut the guys up. They all felt absolutely awful, but that was the end of the discussion about kids. My four best friends were also fiercely protective of her, and when some well-meaning woman or nosy man would ask, they’d change the subject or flat-out tell people they were rude for asking.

I waited for someone to speak, but nobody did, they just cleared a path to the stairs. However, I did see a little more understanding in all their eyes.

“Ryder, we can see how happy you are with her and the kids, but you can’t blame us for checking in. And we are all really glad you’re both there for Ruby and Sawyer.” Kipp slapped me on the back, and I looked at the others.

A lump formed in my throat, but I wasn’t about to let any of these fuckers see me emotional, so I headed for the stairs. None of them moved to follow me, and I didn’t care. If they wanted to say more, I didn’t need to hear it, because if they thought I didn’t have the same worries about her leaving a million times a day, they were dumber than I thought.

“Ruby,” I called as I walked out the front door. The little girl came running, her blonde hair flying wildly around her. Falling to my knees, I held up the scarf, and her eyes went wide as she saw her name on it. “This is where you belong, no matter how you ended up here, I’m so proud you’re here, and you’re ours now. “I tied it around her neck, and she wrapped me in a hug.

“Thanks, Uncle Ryder,” she whispered.

“You need to thank Fallon; she got the ball rolling before I even thought of it.” Ruby kissed my cheek before running over and wrapping Fallon in a hug. As I watched them, I caught Fallon’s eye and could have sworn she had a tear in it.

Sawyer stood in front of me next, and I repeated the process. I’d barely even tied his tie, and he was on his way to Fallon. Standing, I brushed my knees off and held Lexie’s out to her. “Can I get mine back?” I smirked, not letting on that I had another one tucked into my jacket pocket.

“No, I think I like yours more than mine.” She smirked, and I tied the one with her name around my neck.

“Now I belong to you.” I leaned over and quickly kissed her before she spun away from me.

“I have to go thank Fallon too.” She winked and walked away. Lexie held open her arms, and without hesitation, Fallon embraced her. They’d been cool to one another since the night Lexie drove her home from the bar, but I was hoping maybe the ice around this ranch was about to break apart.

The guys walked up beside me, and Griff shook his head. “Didn’t think it was possible for you to be more gone for her than you were the first time, but I guess I was wrong.” He slung his arm around me and grinned. “It’s good man.” All the others nodded in agreement.

“Took you fuckers long enough to come around,” I said as I pushed Griff off me. “But thank you. As much as I hate to admit it, I needed you all to be the ones to keep things in check these last few weeks.” I didn’t look at them and just waited for a response.

“Yeah, like any of us could have done that.” Nash laughed as he slapped me on the back and headed toward his wife.

Chapter Twenty-Five

LEXIE

“All right, let’s head out,” Kipp yelled as he turned in his saddle to look back at everyone.

“Auntie Lexie, how often does this happen?” Ruby asked, leaning back against me. Sawyer wanted to start the round-up with Ryder, while Ruby hoped to ride alongside Josie and Jake and Tayla’s daughters, Libby and Sky, on the ATV. But riding on horseback held more appeal for her. I promised Ruby she could ride with Josie anytime she wanted.

“Round-up only happens in the fall, when we bring the cows closer to feed through the winter. But we’ll have to trail some to spring pastures, so there’s always something happening,” I explained.

“Good, this is going to be fun.” I tightened my arm around her, hoping she was right. These days were long and often tense, but usually fun.

The Five rode side-by-side, nudging their horses as they made their way up the road. This round-up was officially underway.

Ruby chatted about everything we passed. “Auntie Lex, did someone plant all these trees? Is that a lake? Can we goswimming there sometime? Wait, where’s Josie? Oh, there she is.” Ruby waved to her friend. “I want to ride with her now. Is that okay?” she asked. I nodded, pulled on the reins to stop my horse, and dismounted before helping her down. Wes stopped, and Ruby climbed in beside Josie after giving Gwen a hug.

Griff’s parents had tagged along for the day. They’d head back in the early afternoon, but we figured it would be easier on the kids to have somewhere for them to be other than the back of a horse. “Be good.”

“I will,” she giggled, and I headed back to Doc, who was patiently waiting to keep going. Settling myself in the saddle, I softly nudged his sides, and we were on our way again.

“Seriously, is there anything hotter than the Five leading the way?” Nora said as she rode up beside me, grinning like a lovestruck schoolgirl.

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