Page 19 of A Lot Like Love
Chapter 5
Ryder banged on the front door as he walked in, kicking off his boots and heading down the hall.
“In here!” Nate called out.
He saw both his brothers sitting at the big old oak table that’d been in the kitchen since he was a boy. They were both nursing beers, Chase leaning back and looking every inch the rancher in his worn Wranglers, and Nate with a suit jacket slung over his chair. His two older brothers might look the same, but there was nothing similar about what they did for a living. One wrangled deals and the other cattle. Nate managed the commercial property the family owned here, and in New York and LA, and Chase ran their main ranch and oversaw the managers on their other Texan landholdings.
“You get back last night?” Ryder asked, pulling out a chair.
“Early this morning,” Nate said. “A day in New York and I’m done. Hate the place.”
Ryder raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, such a hard life jetting around and going to meetings.”
“Screw you,” Nate said, although he was grinning. “I have to take clients out to dinner, too, you know. Keep all our tenants on good terms and try to acquire more property.”
“Give me a bucking animal any day of the week.”
Nate’s smile faded and was replaced by a scowl.Damn it.He hadn’t meant to piss Nate off, not today anyway.
“Settle down you two,” Chase said, leaning forward and clinking his beer bottle to Ryder’s. “How’s Chloe?”
Ryder sipped his beer, calmed his nerves. He half expected them both to know what he’d done, although he knew he wouldn’t be sitting here now if they did.
Nate’s smile returned, one of his eyebrows shooting up. “Granddad said you’re taking the jet tomorrow. You’re whisking the blonde away for a dirty getaway, aren’t you?”
“I can’t believe I didn’t recognize her from Joe’s. She’s seriously gorgeous,” Chase said.
Ryder clenched his fists, angry for no good reason. Hearing his brothers talk about Chloe like that… It was stupid, because that’s how they always talked about women, but everything about her made him go all over-protective. Maybe he’d gone too long trying not to care too much about anyone, and now he’d met someone who seriously pushed his buttons, which was driving him a little crazy.
“We’re going to Vegas and her name is Chloe.”
Nate slammed his elbow into Chase’s side and they burst out laughing.
“Hername,” Nate imitated, “isChloe.”
“Fuck off,” Ryder swore.
“Settle down bro,” Nate said, leaning across the table and sliding him another beer. “We’re just not, hell, I don’t know. It’s weird seeing you all jumpy over a girl.”
“Enough,” Ryder snapped, grabbing the beer and finishing half of it in one long swig. “I don’t want to talk about her with you two. Not now, not ever.”
“Geez, he’s got it bad,” Chase said with a chuckle. “Have you whispered those three little words in her ear yet?”
“Enough,” Ryder muttered.
“What, you suddenly can’t take a good ribbing about a girl?”
Ryder growled and lunged for Chase across the table, needing to take his frustration out on someone.
“Ryder!” Nate grabbed his arm at the last minute, just as he was about to connect with Chase’s face, hauling him off the table so they both went tumbling.
Ryder hit the ground with a thump, Nate landing half on top of him and Chase falling sideways off his chair.Goddamn it!He raised a hand to his head, waiting for the blast of pain that he knew was about to hit.
“Lucky we’ve all had a few beers, huh?” Chase said with a grin from a few feet away.
“What, no thanks for stopping you from getting your teeth knocked out?” asked Nate, extracting himself from Ryder and standing, flexing the arm he’d landed on.
“He deserved it.” Ryder stayed lying on the floor, the wood cool against his skin. He was still nursing last night’s hangover and now his head was thumping.
