River from the City: A Small Town Contemporary Romance (Rydell River Ranch Series Book 6)

by Leanne Davis

  He sighed, yelling after her, “You’re avoiding the subject and faking.”

  She called back with a wave. “I am. Since my boyfriend doesn’t push for answers, neither should you.”

  “Asher’s an idiot, but whatever,” he retorted. “And I will figure out the great mystery.”

  She merely lifted a hand over her head, waved and kept walking.

  But no matter the ribbing, she didn’t spill anymore about herself. The next few days went by in a haze of aching muscles and chafed hands.

  Hunter helped her take down three old outbuildings that were once used as sheds. Piling the good lumber, which could be reused, and separating it from the decayed, broken planks took several weeks. Hunter also helped Kyomi repair all the fencing and broken corrals so the entire land could be enclosed. Many acres had to remain unused due to the broken fence lines and rotten wood on the corrals. Hunter hauled the water and feed for the horses and cattle. Kyomi spent an entire half day doing chores that she started in the morning, every morning, every day of the year. He didn’t help with that stuff as she had it under control. Her daily chores did not require an extra set of hands or pure physical brawn. There were several old, weathered trees that took out some of the fencing on the south line of the property. They were a kind of willow that grew very bushy and gnarly in the only swampy area of their land. When they toppled over during a strong wind, they fell and took out hundreds of feet of fencing. Hunter spent several days using a chain-saw to clear out all the debris.

  He sweated through his shirts and came home caked in dust, mud, sawdust and even cow dung at times. Every organic particle of nature seemed to be lodged under his fingernails or caught in his hair. Every day. The first week, his muscles ached and burned no matter which way he moved. From sitting to standing or standing to sitting, every muscle cried out in terrible agony.

  It made the time pass so quickly, leaving not a minute to think about his personal life anymore. The work was new, taxing and hard, requiring all of his focus, so any stewing over Francine had to be postponed. By the time he got home, his exhaustion preoccupied him, not Francine. Showering before throwing together the simplest meal, he’d eat anything edible before flopping onto his bed, and sleeping like a baby.

  Kyomi’s strenuous work days turned out to be the best therapy he could have hoped for.

  To his surprise, Hunter didn’t mind it at all. It forced him to forget about his own life and Francine. The chores he was doing filled his days and completing them before moving on gave him a new sense of accomplishment and purpose. It was so simple, yet so profound. The smiles of appreciation he got from Kyomi were his greatest reward. Time became irrelevant and he didn’t worry about what his next move should be or even how he got to this point. There was no time for stewing in the quagmire. He was living in the here and now for the first time he liked living that way.

  One day, Hunter found Asher sitting catatonically in his kitchen when he walked in at four thirty. Hunter was filthy, dressed in Asher’s spare clothes and hand-me-down coat, gloves and boots. He knew instantly something was seriously wrong. Asher never noticed or at least, never commented on the unheard-of apparel Hunter had to wear. He didn’t notice his dirty hands since Hunter washed immediately; or his messed-up hair from the hat he wore all day.

  “What happened?” Hunter inquired.

  “Your mom hasn’t gotten hold of you?” Asher’s voice was dull and his gaze remained down.

  “No.” Hunter glanced down at his phone, wincing, since it was often turned off. He liked the peace so he kept it totally powered down rather than readily available for Francine or someone from the city to get hold of him. “She left many messages. What happened?”

  “My mom. She… she has cancer.”

  The words struck his heart. Mom. Cancer. Asher looked like he was dying.

  “Oh, fuck. I hadn’t heard that. I would have come straight home.”

  Asher didn’t even have the brain power to lift his gaze and ask Hunter where the hell he could be “coming home” from.

  “Did you tell Kyomi?” He did not. Hunter already knew that. Hunter just left her not more than twenty minutes ago. She flipped him off after he teased her about her handling of the tractor. She was an expert on it but he ribbed her just for fun.

  Kyomi didn’t know it yet. Or she’d be there.

  “No. Not yet. Daisy showed up.”

  His ears all but perked up. “Daisy? Here? From… Chicago? How did she find out?”

  “Family gossip. We share so much family, huh? She came right home. Found me in the barn. I couldn’t face my mother. She went with me. She stayed over last night and now I’m trying to figure out what to do with myself.”

  Daisy. Fuck. Did they have sex?

  “Did you and Daisy… get back together?”

  “What?” Finally, Asher’s gaze cleared up enough to meet his. “No. Nothing like that. She just… gets it. This. She loves my mom. She came back to be here for me. And herself. But mostly for my mom.”

  “Right. Sorry. We all love Kate.” He felt like punching his own nose. The news was not fully filtering into his head. Cancer. Kate? She was indomitable. Incredible. She was so fierce. The last victim of terminal illness that Hunter could ever imagine. Fear finally stabbed his heart. “Asher? Is it serious?”

  “It’s cancer, Hunter.”

  “Right, but it’s Kate. Are you implying there’s a chance she can’t beat this? No. Not Kate. That can’t be…”

  “No. It can’t be,” he agreed. He was staring down at his hands in a bleak way that made Hunter shudder with dread.

  Swallowing the lump in his throat, Hunter said, “You need to tell Kyomi.”

  “Right. Yes.” He shook his head.

  “Good. You really need her now. I imagine she’d be more than helpful and good at dealing with something as serious as this. You’re lucky that she’s better in a tough situation than most people. That’s kind of a rare and beautiful attribute.”

  “I guess so. Sure.” But Asher wasn’t listening to him. He was just staring down at his hands, lost in thought. Morbid, scary thoughts.

  Getting to his feet, Asher left Hunter alone and tromped up to shower and change. Later, he heard the car drive up and he glanced out. Daisy. Daisy came there. Huh. Okay. But Asher would not be so callous as to have sex with Daisy when Kyomi was still in the picture. And she was still or she’d have told Hunter. He was confident about their closeness and was sure she would have told him.

  Hunter called his mom finally. “How bad is it?” he asked the moment she answered. He sat on his bed, but jumped to his feet and started pacing as soon as his mother started to speak.

  “Bad. Oh, God, Hunter, it’s so bad…” Then she described the details that socked him in the gut. Kate had ovarian cancer, diagnosed too late; somehow, it slipped under the radar. Kate never suspected the mild symptoms she experienced were really an advancing, notoriously aggressive, stage-four cancer. His mom’s lingering words haunted him as he hung up. “Hunter, it’s not good at all. Be there for Asher.”

  “Of course. I’m not going anywhere.” Not that he planned to anyway. But now? Home was his anchor. Being a Rydell mattered. Kate was his Uncle Jack’s half-sister from the first marriage of Henry Rydell. Henry later remarried and had Jack, Ian, Shane and Joey. Jack didn’t even know about Kate until he was thirty-nine years old. She fell in love with the foreman of the Rydell River Ranch, AJ Reed. Eventually, she decided to stay in River’s End, marry AJ and raise his daughter, Cami. And later, much later, they adopted a foster child, Asher Newhouse and added him to their family.

  About the same year that Hunter turned thirteen, he met Asher. They both lived across the single lane dirt road from the main ranch gate. Asher and Hunter were instantly inseparable until Hunter left for school. They always acted like brothers again at all the reunions the moment they were in the same room. Hunter’s head and heart ached for his best friend, his brother, his cousin. The labels didn’t matter
. He loved Asher and his family. They were an integral part of the fabric of the Rydell family. The Rydells and the Reeds were family and that was all there was to it.

  Hunter temporarily lost track of that. Chasing dollar signs and power, he forgot that his Rydell connections were the entire backbone of his life, and the roots of the man he was. He could never get so lost in his quest for power and money that he forgot the entire point to his whole life started right here with his family.

  The next day, he walked up to Kyomi while she was working in the cattle barn. The old building had low ceilings and decades of mud and manure. The smell was overwhelming. He wore a handkerchief over his nose and mouth to avoid breathing it. He intended to help her fully muck it out sometime and refill it with clean sand or dirt to allow some freshness to linger.

  Lifting her face up when she heard him, he saw visible relief in her expression when she recognized him. Her eyes were red and her face seemed tense. “He told you?” Hunter started the conversation without any need for preamble.

  “Yes, called me last night. I’ll go there tonight.”

  “Me too. I mean, I’ll be there too. He’s so distant right now, having a really hard time even processing it.”

  “As he would be. He almost acts like it isn’t happening?”

  “Yeah, I noticed that too.” Hunter’s heart twisted strangely. What was that sharp jab? Jealousy? Seriously? Because Kyomi could predict her boyfriend’s reaction? Or because she understands him? Because she knew how he would act and what his attitude would be when he found out his mother had a scary case of cancer? No, he was not surprised or jealous.

  Maybe just a little. He didn’t want Kyomi like that. He had no fantasy about throwing her against the barn doors and having his way with her. No, it wasn’t sexual at all. But he did feel a possessive urge to completely monopolize her friendships. He wanted to be the one who knew her reactions best, and have her know his. So maybe he wanted to claim her as his best friend, and no one else’s. Hunter was never so possessive with anyone before, not even Francine.

  Kyomi calmly reached out and touched his arm. “How are you?” Her tone lacked the usual kidding and fun. No bossiness either, which Hunter honestly, in the past couple of months, grew to love. He adored it actually. He liked to have fun and jest with her. It was so easy to forget the hard, crappy work he was doing and just enjoy the pleasure of her company. She always made the day pass swiftly and constructively.

  Right then? It was impossible not to hear the concern in her tone. Words of caring that were genuine and true. He stared into her little face that seemed so small and sweet. How did he ever consider her plain? How could he fail to realize how beautiful she was? Even at first? Those long, curly-cued ringlets that fell over her shoulders and trailed down her back. Sometimes she half-flattened them with her hat or the low ponytails she liked to pull her hair into. How could he fail to see the spots of natural color that brightened her freckled cheeks? They were far cuter than all those useless brands of face makeup Francine wore. She doused herself in cosmetics. She all but repainted her whole face. And Kyomi? She burned so brightly with just her natural color and glow shining like a beacon. And he once thought she was plain?

  But now? All of that changed. Her ceaseless kindness towards him and sense of caring were so deep and real. “I’m honestly shocked and heartbroken. Kate… she’s everything I consider vital, strong, and kickass. I mean, I guess she’s at the age when it tends to happen more often, but she never seemed sick. My mom and her are so close. Like sisters. She’s a mess now too. As is everyone who hears about it. It made me sick and I don’t know exactly how I feel now.”

  “Probably not the best day to be here.”

  He shrugged. “I have nowhere else I’d rather be. Mom is with my Aunt Erin and Allison and Hailey; they’re going to Kate’s. I planned to go there this evening to check on her. But I have nowhere else to be but here with you. If that’s okay. I feel like I’m lousy company but I wouldn’t mind tackling one of your hard, degrading jobs to make my muscles ache and shut off my brain.” He added “hard, degrading jobs” just to see the little smile on her face as his teasing and warmth shone in her eyes. See? They always found some humor to share because it always helped.

  Kyomi wiped her face. Tears? Yes, a few tears glistened in her eyes. “I’m really sorry for the entire family. Of course, I can find some new chore to take your mind off it. Only if you’re sure. If it becomes too much, you have to promise to tell me?”

  “I promise. You’re the easiest person I can be honest with.”

  “I’m glad. So you can continue to be. As long as this goes on.” She set a hand on his arm. “I’ll be going there mostly for Asher, but also for you too.”

  “Thank you. I needed that. Also, I wanted to tell you that Daisy came back.”

  Kyomi smiled with open understanding. “Of course, she did. Kate’s practically her aunt just like she is yours. And Daisy still loves Asher so I wouldn’t expect anything less than that for both of them, herself and him. Asher told me she came back.”

  Hunter shook his head. “You and Asher have the strangest understanding. I just wanted you to be aware that she was and tell you to be careful. Please understand something: in their grief and high emotions, things might happen… I don’t think Asher would ever intentionally hurt you, but this might be too much for him to resist. You know the extent of his feelings for her.”

  “I’ll be okay. Thank you for looking out for me, but right now? It’s Asher who needs looking out for. I’m fine as always and I will be fine.”

  How could she be fine? Hunter wondered. He never grasped their ease in not committing to each other. If they weren’t committed, why even bother to date? He sometimes forgot that she had sex with his cousin. He also forgot that Asher called Kyomi his girlfriend and vice versa.

  He could not forget that. Or the feelings Asher still had for Daisy. They could not change the fact that Kyomi was with Asher. For whatever reason, the wrong people tended to stay together despite the obvious obstacles. The blatant facts. Daisy and Asher were in love with each other and Kyomi and Asher were super good friends.

  But the thing was: Hunter believed Kyomi was best friends with him now. She had only him to look out for her now. Sure, he was also Asher’s best friend, and he needed to look out for him too. How confusing. Strange. Ass-backwards. No matter how they all denied it. He didn’t see how such an odd triangle could end well. His worst prediction was that Kyomi would be the one to lose out.

  Hunter felt obligated to control and stomp out the rising flames of anger that flickered at Asher for refusing to let Kyomi go. He would be the one to hurt Kyomi. And all while, Hunter would have to just stand there and watch it happen.

  Chapter 12

  THE WEEKS PASSED MORE slowly for both of them. Kyomi went to the ranch each evening to make dinner. More often than not, Asher was gone but when he did come home, suffering from exhaustion and stress, he had to smile with appreciation and pleasure to see her and the meal she always brought with her. Kyomi knew Daisy traveled back and forth from her job and home in Chicago and spent much of her time with Asher. She also knew Daisy visited Reed Ranch quite frequently, although their visiting hours were staggered so she never ran into Daisy. Asher always told Kyomi whenever Daisy was expected to drop by.

  Kyomi never met Asher’s parents or had dinner with them and Asher never met hers. Simply not part of their interaction. They had their own lives, responsibilities, jobs, families and full schedules. They both understood and happily accepted that. They were totally in sync and comfortable knowing that they only came together at Reed Ranch, when it worked out for both of them.

  However, of late, since his mother was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, Asher was working himself to death. It was how he had to deal with it, like a kind of therapy, but there wasn’t a lot of time.

  Most days, Kyomi saw Hunter at her place. As the spring flowers blossomed, her old farm started to look almost respecta
ble. Hunter helped her tear down several old outbuildings along with the insect/rat/mice and bat infestations they supported. She expanded the usable land by fixing the fences, and putting up new fences where there were none. They cleaned and reworked all the water troughs, plumbing them closer to the house so next spring and summer she no longer had to fill them by hand. When Hunter observed her way of dealing with the watering issue, he cursed her father in a litany of obscene words. Then he assigned the culpability to Asher; but mostly he blamed Kyomi for not speaking up sooner and fixing the problem before it ended up breaking her back.

  Kyomi started to feel grateful she had Hunter there to help her. To her pleasant surprise, he was wearing Asher’s clothes once again, and turning out to be an efficient, effective and hard-working employee. He did whatever she asked, and spoke up clearly if he thought he had a better way but without any ego. Hunter’s work showed integrity and durability, making any repairs good enough to last in the long term.

  Unfortunately, things didn’t get any better for Kate Reed. After some surgeries and several treatments, the doctors determined the cancer was far too advanced and nothing more could be done. It was a long six months, but it seemed to fly by in a nanosecond. They tried to squeeze in a lifetime of memories with Kate as the end swiftly drew near.

  Well, everyone but Asher sadly bore the knowledge of Kate’s imminent death. However, Asher pretended his mother wasn’t dying because she could not die, no way, no how. He remained in denial and refused to believe that could ever be the outcome.

  Daisy commuted to her job in Chicago. Kyomi even had the chance to meet her, although she never said a word about it to Asher. In all honesty? She and Asher were long past being friends. She had become another type of support. Someone who made sure he ate regular, nourishing meals and rested, especially now, since he was nearly killing himself by working so hard on the ranches. She was another ear that listened to him deny the truth, which was so obvious to everyone but him. She was a caring force that gently nudged him back towards the reality that was rapidly manifesting.