He smiled, turned, and walked toward the kitchen. “I need a quick beer before we leave for some fun Salsa dancing.”
Following him, Jay pulled me to a stop. “Are you sure we can’t ditch him on the way to the club?”
“Jay! I love him and if you can’t get used to that we’re going to have a serious problem on our hands.”
She let out a frustrated moan. “Fine! If you really love him, I’ll behave … kind of.”
My face softened. “I really love him.”
I knew she didn’t want to do it, but she smiled. “I am happy for you and I’d never admit this to Ryder, but I think he’s a great guy.”
“Who’s a great guy?” Ryder asked walking up to us with a beer in his hand. Jay took it from him and gulped it down in one drink. Ryder’s eyes opened wide in shock.
“The guy I was trying to set Ava up with, but she insists she loves you so there goes that plan for tonight.” She shrugged and handed him the empty beer bottle back.
Rolling my eyes, I reached up and kissed his lips. “Ignore her,” I whispered.
Ryder winked and said, “Oh, don’t worry. Ignoring Jay won’t take too much effort.”
Sighing, I turned and said, “I say we get the show on the road. Let me slip on my shoes and we are set.”
Jay stared at the black flats I had on. “You’re wearing … those?”
“Yes. I have to, Jay. I just got my cast off; I can’t walk around in heels. I can barely walk around now in my bare feet.”
She snarled her lip. Her eyes dropped back down to the flats. “You can’t salsa dance in flats. That’s not sexy.”
“I think she looks sexy as fuck.”
“You would,” Jay bit back.
Lacing my fingers with Ryder’s, I smiled. “Let’s go before you two start at it again.”
RYDER AND I danced to a few slow songs. It felt so good to be back in his arms. Everything felt so right when we were together. I knew I needed to tell him about what I had read in Kate’s journal. When to tell him was the question though.
The song ended so we made our way back to our table. Ryder guided us through the crowd with his hand on my back. It was such a simple gesture, but one that always made my heart drop and my stomach dance in delight.
Jay had been dancing with one guy practically all night. The way they were grinding on each other was a bit unsettling. Jay hadn’t mentioned how things were with her husband, Phil. Her almost jet-black hair was pulled up in a slobby bun on the top of her head, but it still pulled out her blue eyes. She was the only person I knew who could get away with the brightest shade of red on her lips no matter if she was going out or going to the gym. She rocked it every single time.
Ryder leaned over and asked if I wanted another drink. “Yes! One more and then I’m done.”
With that drop me over gorgeous smile of his, he winked and quickly kissed me on the lips before heading over to the bar. I watched him walk away and I couldn’t seem to pull my eyes off of him. The way his ass looked in those jeans was almost sinful.
“God … is it getting hot in here?” I said to myself as I waved my hand in front of my face in an attempt to cool off.
Ryder walked up to the bar and waited in line to order our drinks. Smiling, I shook my head. He came for me. And he brought diamonds with him. He was a keeper.
When I glanced to the right, my heart stopped. I sat up straighter and blinked my eyes a few times. When he lifted his hand in a wave, I looked over my shoulder before snapping my head back to him.
“Holy shit balls!”
Dr. Russell started to make his way toward me. I quickly looked back at Ryder. He was now at the bar ordering.
“Oh lord. Shit!”
Quickly getting up, I forced my way through the crowd to get to Jay. When I saw her rubbing up against her new friend, I pushed my way over to her.
“Jay!” I yelled out.
She was so focused on the guy she didn’t hear me. Grabbing her arm, I pulled her. Turning to look at me, she grinned wide. “Did you come to join us? I’ve always wanted to try a threesome.”
I pinched my eyebrows together and stared at her. “Okay, first off … please tell me you’re kidding because … gross! No thank you. Second, Dr. Russell is here!”
Her smiled dropped. “What? Are you sure?”
I turned around and looked directly at him as he stood by the table waiting for me to come back. Ryder was now walking up and looking for me.
Turning back to Jay, I yelled in a panic sounding voice, “What do I do?”
“Um … well clearly he thought you were wanting him to meet you here so, I think you nip it in the bud.”
“What? That’s your advice?”
The guy Jay was dancing with yelled out. “I agree. If you try to ignore him it only makes it seem like you did something wrong.”
My eyes snapped over to him. “Who are you?”
“Jay’s massage therapist.”
I looked back at Jay. She wasn’t smiling and I knew by the look in her eyes I was going to have a conversation with her that I didn’t want to have.
Rolling my eyes, I turned back and walked straight up to Dr. Russell. He was standing practically next to Ryder.
“Hey!” he shouted as Ryder looked at him and then me confused. I smiled at Ryder and walked up to him.
Moving my lips to his ear I said, “That’s the doctor who took my cast off.”
Ryder pulled back and looked at Dr. Russell and then back to me. “What is he doing here? Did you invite him?”
“No!” I replied.
Turning to face Dr. Russell, I politely smiled. “What are you doing here?”
He tried to give a smile that probably worked on other girls, but did nothing for me. “Well, you mentioned this place and I thought I’d take a chance and see if you wanted to work out that leg.”
Oh dear lord. This guy knew he was good looking and I would guess he used it to his advantage a lot.
“Um … well … that was nice of you, Dr. Russell, but do you not remember me mentioning I have a fiancé?”
He smirked. “I thought he was in Montana?”
I could see Ryder getting pissed, but he never moved.
“Regardless, Dr. Russell, I think you somehow got the wrong idea. I’m not interested in you in any way. I love Ryder.”
Dr. Russell stared at me. “You’re saying no to me?”
My eyes widened in disbelief. Was this guy for real?
“I don’t even know how to respond to that? Are you really that stuck on yourself that you think any woman would just fall at your feet?”
“They usually do.”
Slowly shaking my head, I let out a gruff laugh. “You seriously need to be kicked in the balls. You have three seconds to turn and leave before my fiancé decides he’s had enough.”
His smile dropped as Ryder stood up and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I’m the fiancé.”
Dr. Russell lifted his hand up and took a step back. “Sorry. I’ll just be um …”
“Leaving?” Ryder said with anger laced in his voice.
With a nod of his head, the good doctor turned and left.
Turning in his arms, I looked up at Ryder. “I swear I didn’t invite him, and any flirting he thought I was doing was done unintentionally.”
Ryder’s lips crashed to mine. Our tongues danced in perfect harmony. My arms wrapped around his neck while I let myself get lost in the man I loved.
When we both needed air, we pulled away just enough for Ryder to rest his head against mine. “I’m ready to go home,” I said.
“Let’s get a taxi and head back to your place.”
Shaking my head, I gazed into his eyes. “No. I want to go home … to Montana.”
The way his eyes lit up had my heart skipping a beat. He pushed a piece of my hair behind my ear while he searched my face. “Ava Moore, do you have any idea how happy you make me?”
My stomach fluttered as butterflies swarmed ins
ide. “I think I do, because you make me just as happy.”
AVA AND I stayed in Austin for another two weeks while we got both of our places packed up and ready to move to Montana. We spent half our time in Austin, and the other half in Llano. I was glad though as it gave me a chance to get to know her family more. And I was pretty sure I was winning the approval of Reed.
“I wish you weren’t leaving,” Courtney said as she set two glasses of tea in front of us.
Ava tilted her head and smiled at her mother. “I know, Mom. But now that we’ve gotten everything settled, it’s time.”
She chewed on her lip. “But I thought you weren’t going to be moving back to Montana until a few months into the new year. Why are you both rushing up there?”
I cleared my throat and glanced over to Reed who smiled and replied, “It just makes sense to make the move now so we can get settled in.”
“And y’all will be living in Helena? Not on the ranch?”
“No, we’ll be at the ranch for a few months. Ryder and I haven’t really decided on where we’ll live. The focus is on the wedding.”
Reed pushed a breath out. “And you’re sure you both want to do this? You don’t think it’s too soon?”
Ava reached for my hand and laced her fingers with mine. “Dad, when you first realized Mom was the one, didn’t you want to start your life right then and there? If I remember correctly, your wedding was kind of last minute.”
“We had our reasons,” Reed said.
“And we have ours.”
“I know, but why not make it for next year?” Reed said with a hopeful expression.
“Ugh, Daddy! Are we really going to argue about this when I’m fixin’ to leave for the airport?”
He pushed off the counter and held his hand out for her. “No. You’re right. This is your wedding and you do it how you want.”
Ava threw her arms around her father and hugged him. “I love you so much.”
Courtney smiled sweetly as she watched the scene play out along with me. “Will the dress be ready in time?”
“Yes! Lucy has a seamstress in Helena who promised she can have the dress done by Valentine’s Day.”
“My baby is getting married!” Courtney cried out as both her and Ava hugged for what seemed like forever.
We spent the entire drive to Austin talking about everything from our wedding to cattle ranching.
Ava and I had decided we wanted the wedding to be simple. It would just be the two of us in a simple ceremony on a beach in the Bahama’s. The only real thing we had planned was her dress and the honeymoon.
“Call me the moment you land,” Courtney said as she kissed Ava goodbye on the cheek.
With tears in her eyes, Ava nodded. “I promise I will.”
Reed reached out and shook my hand. “Tell your parents I said hi. We’re looking forward to coming and visiting when y’all get settled.”
“Will do, sir. And thank you for giving us your blessings.”
He smiled, and for the first time since Reed found out about Ava and I, I saw something in his eyes. Happiness. “The only thing I ask you to do is love her and take care of her, Ryder.”
“That will be easy to do, Reed. She is the only reason my heart beats.”
He rolled his eyes. “Save that shit for her, not me.”
With a laugh, I nodded. “Will do.”
Ava and Courtney hugged one last time at security. Ava started crying, so I wrapped my arm around her waist and led her to the line. Resting her head on my shoulder, she sniffled.
“I’m sad and I’m happy. Please don’t mistake my tears for sadness,” she softly said.
My finger went to her chin as I brought her eyes to mine. “It’s okay to be sad. You’re leaving your family and moving to a new state. I don’t blame you for feeling sad, Ava. I was sad when I moved to Texas.”
She nodded. “Ryder, when we get back to Montana, can we spend tonight in the stone house?”
“Of course, I figured we would.”
She wiped her nose and looked into my eyes. Those baby blues looked lost. “Is everything okay, baby?”
Swallowing hard. “I read something in Kate’s diary that I need to talk to you about.”
My heart leapt to my throat. “O-okay. I promised my parents we’d have dinner with them, but then we can say we’re tired and head to the house right after.”
She chewed on her lip and I couldn’t ignore the sick feeling that was settling into my stomach. I had no idea what it was she wanted to talk to me about. I knew it had something to do with Kate and she was clearly worried about it. It had me wondering if I really wanted to know.
Sometimes it was best to leave things left unknown.
“DINNER WAS AMAZING,” Ava said with a huge smile. I knew she was happy to be back in Montana. I could almost see the change in her when we walked out of the airport. It warmed my heart knowing she loved it here as much as I did.
“I’m glad to have you back and to see you walking without that dreadful cast,” my mother said as she and Ava cleared the table.
“We’ve got this if you two would like to talk business,” my mother said. She motioned to my father and he gave her a knowing look.
Once they were both in the kitchen he stood.
“So, I heard from my lawyer. Once your marriage with Ava is final, the house in Helena gets put into both your names.”
I stood and walked over to him and gave him a light slap on the arm. With a wide grin, I said, “Thanks, Dad, for getting all of that taken care of.”
“You know it’s going to be a pain in the ass if you two decide you want to live there. That forty-minute drive will get old really fast.”
Lifting my eyebrows in agreement, I followed him into his office. He sighed and sat down behind his giant mahogany desk. “But, I know what we will do to make the woman we love happy, so I can’t fault you on if you do move into the house.”
I sat down in the leather chair and chuckled. “I do love her, Dad. It’s crazy.”
He lifted his eyes. “What is?”
With a shake of my head, I looked out the giant window that overlooked the snow-covered mountains. “This feeling. I’ve never before felt it with any other woman.” Turning my attention back to him, he was grinning from ear to ear.
“It’s like the moment she walks into the room I sense her. I can actually feel her there before I even see her. She looks my way and I literally have to catch my breath.”
He leaned back in his chair and seemed to get lost for a moment before he laughed. “I remember the first time I asked your mother out.”
You could see the love on my father’s face and it warmed my heart. I knew my love with Ava was just as strong.
“She turn you down?” I asked laughing.
“Yes!” he said. “She turned me down flat. Told me there was no way she would get mixed up with a cowboy.”
“Wow. I never knew that.”
“Oh, she made me work for that first date. I can’t tell you how many times I went into the little bank in Helena she worked at part time. Your grandmother was so angry with me. She told me I was wasting my time chasing after a city girl. That even if I did manage to make her marry me, she’d get bored of living on the ranch and leave me.”
My smile faded. The same thought had crossed my mind a few times with Ava. Even though she grew up on a ranch, she loved her place in Austin. It was one of the main reasons I wanted to move into the house in Helena. Granted it wasn’t Austin, but it was still the city.
“Did Mom ever feel that way?” I asked.
He shrugged. “If she did, she never told me and never gave me any indication she felt that way. The first time I brought her to the ranch I remember her eyes lighting up as we brought in some new cattle. The whole time she sat on the fence and took it all in. When we were finished and I walked up to her and I’ll never forget the smile on her face. Then she said, ‘I could watch you do that every single day for the rest of my life.’
It was right at that moment I knew this was the girl. The one I would spend the rest of my life with.”
“I only hope that Ava and I are as blessed as you and Mom.”
“You are. I see it in the way that girl looks at you. Hell, the very first time the two of you were together in a room I’m positive everyone saw it.”
The light knock on the door caused us both to turn and look. Ava grinned and said, “Hey, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I’m feeling rather tired and was going to excuse myself.”
I jumped up. “Thanks again, Dad. I’ll see you in the morning?”
“Sounds good. I’ve got that meeting in town I’d like for you to be there for.”
With a nod, I replied, “Sure. I’ll be there.”
“Good,” was all he said as he glanced over to Ava. “Rest up, sweetheart. Glad to have you home.”
“It’s good to be home,” Ava said with bright eyes.
By the time we got to the stone house, Ava was a basket of nerves. I was tempted to tell her I didn’t want to know anything that came out of Kate’s journal, but my curiosity was getting the better of me.
She sat down on the sofa and wringed her hands together.
“Jesus, Ava. You’re kind of starting to freak me out. Did my sister do something illegal?”
Her eyes snapped up to mine. “What?” Frowning, she said, “No. God no, it’s nothing like that.”
I pulled a seat from the dining room table over and sat down facing her. “Then tell me what it is.”
“Okay well, I wasn’t sure if I should keep this to myself but I can’t. I need to tell you and the only way I know how to do it is to just say it.”
My heart was pounding so hard in my chest it felt like it was going to jump out. “All right.”
“Kate was pregnant when she died.”
I sat there for a few seconds letting her words sink in.
“What did you say?”
She sighed, “Oh gesh, don’t make me say it again, Ryder.”
Staring at her, I felt my chest squeezing tighter, like someone had a damn vise grip on it.
The only thing I could do was stare at her. My sister was pregnant. Oh God. We not only lost her, but we lost her child as well.
Broken Love Page 16
