Page 50 of The Wedding Ranch
“She’ll love that.”
Ryder’s heart squeezed.No thanks to you, old man.
“I’m glad you were able to salvage that stuff.”
“Could have been a lot easier if you’d told me what you were thinking about doing.” Ryder regretted saying it as soon as the words left his mouth.
“We’re not going to start this again, are we?” his dad said.
“No. I’m sorry, but this is something I can’t seem to let go of, Dad.” He let out a long breath. “Believe me, I’ve tried, and I know it’s not good to hold a grudge.”
“Son, that land was mine to do as I saw fit. I hope you won’t find yourself one day having to answer for the way you decide to handle your own things.”
“I hope so too.”
“In retrospect, yes, now I wish we’d had a conversation, but you and your sister couldn’t have matched the offer that developer presented me without going broke, and I wasn’t going to have that either. Please forgive me and be happy for us.”
“Thank you for saying you wish you had talked to us. I appreciate that. You’re right, Dad. I’d have gone for broke to hang on to that land.”
“I know. I couldn’t let you do that.”
Maybe some of his letting-go problem had to do with being forced to let go of Ronnie Dwayne. After all, he was the reason Ryder had always wanted the land in the first place—to have a legacy to leave to him. “I’m trying, Dad. I am. What’s done is done.”
“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “I was calling because we shipped something to your house for Diane’s birthday. It should be there today.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for it.”
“You’ll call us during the party? There’s a two-hour time difference here,” Dad said.
“Of course we will. How are y’all doing?”
“We’re both doing really good. We’re in Utah. Prettiest place I’ve seen in a long time. We found a great place to camp and we’ve made some friends. Your mom wants to stay here for awhile. She even went horseback riding yesterday. It was really good to see her riding again.”
“I bet. Should’ve taken a picture,” Ryder said. “I’d love to see that.”
“I’ll send one to you.”
“Thanks. I’ll be sure the present makes it over to Diane’s for the party. Tell Mom I love her.”
“I will. Thanks.”
They hung up without an “I love you” between them. Dad had never been one to dole them out. You had to go on blind faith that there was love in his heart.
Ryder put down the phone and ran the steel wool one last time over the piece, making sure there wasn’t a single blemish. He was proud of how the breakfront had come out. He’d built it to fit the spot in Diane’s dining room perfectly.
The finish shone with a rich hue that had taken a custom mix of colors to get. Satisfied that it was complete he ran a soft cloth across it one more time, then took a permanent marker to the back and wrote,
Sis,
They say when you’ve gained the trust of a horse, you’ve won a friend for life. I love you more than all of my horses, and I will our whole lives.
With love, Ryder
He pulled his phone from his pocket and called Reece. “Hey, Reece, it’s your favorite uncle.”
“You’d be my favorite if I had twenty.”
The conversation always started the same way, but he never tired of it.
