Page 77 of The Wedding Ranch
On the way,Ryder texted back.
He turned Thunder and loped across the fields to Diane’s house. He could smell the bacon from down the hill. By the time he got there, his stomach was growling.
“Morning, Uncle Ryder,” Reece said. She was in sweats and last night’s makeup, with a messy bun on her head.
“You don’t look like the girl I saw last night,” he teased.
She stuck out her tongue. “Well, it’s me. The wedding planner extraordinaire!”
“And her partner,” Ross added.
“It looked picture perfect. Sounds like everyone was pleased,” Ryder said.
Diane’s grin showed how proud of them she was. She slid a plate of hot biscuits onto the table.
Ryder grabbed two and opened them up on his plate. Steam rose from the center. Diane grabbed his hand and the others took hold for the prayer.
“Amen,” they said together.
“They were so happy, and they weren’t upset about thesecurity leak. They were impressed with how we handled it,” Ross said, continuing the pre-grace conversation.
“Excellent.” He refrained from admitting he’d thought he’d been responsible for that leak. Boy, Lorri had been mad, but she’d forgiven quickly. Thank goodness.
He let them banter about every tiny detail of the week. They were proud of the accomplishment. He was proud of them.
Finally, with their stomachs full and exhaustion overtaking the euphoria of the success, things quieted.
“I have something I want to talk to y’all about,” Ryder said.
“Is this about the beautiful lady you were dancing with at the reception?” Reece gave him a wicked smile. “Oh, I noticed. Y’all looked good together. I’d forgotten you were a great dancer.”
He did get a little rush of excitement from the comment, but this was not about that. “No. It’s about my beautiful bride. Your aunt and cousin.”
Silence fell across the table.
“What is it, Ryder?” Diane’s voice held concern. She and Reece exchanged a glance.
“I was really touched by the foundation Cody and Kasey started. Making something positive out of something bad. I was thinking we should start a scholarship fund in Valerie and Ronnie Dwayne’s name.” He swallowed. “I think it would be good.”
Diane reached over and pressed her hand to Ryder’s arm. Tears welled in her eyes. “That’s beautiful.”
“Uncle Ryder. Why didn’t we think of that?” She bopped Ross on the shoulder. “We should definitely do this as a family. It’s something we can start now and carry on for generations.”
Ross said, “I don’t know the ins and outs of how to set thatup, but I can figure it out. We could have events to help raise additional money for the scholarship program, like a fund raiser so the whole town can get involved. Host events at The Wedding Ranch.”
“Wait a minute.” Reece rose in her seat. “We could even have a portion of our profits go back into the foundation. Mom! Wouldn’t that be perfect?”
Ryder hitched a breath.
“We’ve just found the focus for this farm again. No more hesitating, Uncle Ryder. We live life to its fullest in their honor and work to have others live better ones because of the loss our family experienced.” Reece sniffled. “My heart is pounding. I feel like everything is coming together.”
Ross said, “I’ll call Cody and get some tips on how to get started.”
Ryder shook his head. “I take it you think it’s a good idea. I didn’t expect this big of a reaction. Thank you.”
“Ryder, we all lost them. We all miss them every day, too. This is such a great thing to do. We’re definitely behind you on this.” Diane stood and took her dish to the sink. “It’ll take time to put it together. We need a plan. We’ll need a logo.”
“Lorri can do all the branding. She did ours and it’s amazing,” Reece said. “And you did dance with her all night.”
