A Wedding for Christmas

by Lori Wilde

Oh gosh, why was she even thinking like that? He was here to see his estranged father for the first time in thirteen years. She needed to clean up her mind, and be present for him.

  She linked her arm through his, was both amazed and pleased when he didn’t pull away.

  But at the reception desk, he uncoupled their arms, and asked what room his father was in.

  They were silent in the elevator. Standing side by side. Facing forward. Watching the numbers light up their way to the third floor. She noticed Ryder’s breathing quickened the closer they got to his father’s hospital room. She tried to imagine what he was feeling, but she couldn’t. She was lucky. She and her family were close.

  How she wished she could bottle her family’s love, and inject it into Ryder. A vaccine for the childhood that had left him ripped apart, and raw, but too stubborn to admit his vulnerability.

  At least he allowed her to come with him. That was something, right?

  Ryder rapped his knuckles lightly against the door of his father’s hospital room, which was slightly ajar, and toed it all the way open.

  Katie trailed behind him, realizing her heart was fluttering.

  “Hello, Dad,” Ryder said in a tension-filled voice.

  Katie heard a rustling sound, peered around Ryder’s side to see the older man cranked up in the bed, a copy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in his hands, glasses perched on the end of his nose. An IV snaked from a needle in his forearm to a bag of liquid hanging from a pump. His right foot was out from under the sheets, propped on a pillow and swaddled with bandages up to the ankle.

  Jax Southerland calmly turned the page as if the son he hadn’t seen in thirteen years hadn’t just walked into his room. “Pork bellies are up.”

  Huh? Katie shook her head, wondering if she’d heard wrong.

  Ryder sauntered over and plunked down in the chair next to the bed. “You don’t keep pigs anymore. Cattle or chickens either, for that matter.”

  Jax peered at him over the top of the newspaper. “How do you know?”

  “Been to the ranch.”

  “Permission was not granted.”

  “Tough shit. I went anyway.”

  Jax snorted. Thumped the newspaper with a thumbnail.

  Katie sank her top teeth into her bottom lip, hovered near the door, and wished she had not come.

  “Sit down, girl,” Jax commanded, and waved at the remaining chair. “You’re not a damn ghost.”

  Not knowing what else to do, Katie sat. She looked at Ryder, but his face was unreadable, his eyes murky and expressionless. He and his father had that stony stare in common.

  A long moment passed. The clock on the wall ticked. Jax studied the paper. Ryder didn’t move. Katie tried to breathe silently.

  “What’s wrong with the foot?” Ryder asked.

  “Ulcer on big toe. I went around with a rock in my boot for a whole day and never knew it. Damn diabetes.”

  “You should take better care of yourself.”

  “And you should go straight to hell.”

  Ryder flinched, but only for a second. “I suppose I deserved that.”

  “You did.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me Twyla died?” Ryder asked.

  “Well, let’s see. I had no idea where you were or how to contact you and I know you hated her guts and she pretty much hated yours and the two of you made me miserable for, oh, approximately half my life . . . and then you sashay in here like I owe you something, like you’re special.”

  Katie gulped, fisted her hands on her knees. She wanted to cry. For Ryder. For the boy he’d been. For the fact that his father couldn’t forgive, and maybe Ryder couldn’t either, and the wall between them was never going to come down without some kind of major earthquake, and she couldn’t do anything to fix it.

  Ryder rested his left ankle on his right knee. The gesture looked casual enough, but it put Katie in mind of a rattlesnake rearing up to strike.

  Oh dear, why had she come? Why was she trying to smooth things over between them? Make things tidy and right? It was none of her business. What was wrong with her?

  “You make it sound like you weren’t the one who threw me out, threw me away,” Ryder said evenly. “And I didn’t hate your wife, old man. I felt sorry for her. There’s a difference between pity and disdain. And how much are pork bellies up?”

  “Enough to make me wish I was in futures.” Jax flipped another page of the paper, did not glance up.

  Was it just her, Kate wondered, or did this conversation have a split personality?

  “Your timing was always for shit,” Ryder said.

  “Yeah, too bad I timed a diabetic coma to coincide with Twyla’s heart attack. Otherwise, I’d get up and kick your ass.”

  “You want some water?” Ryder asked, moving to pour a glass of water from the yellow plastic pitcher on the bedside table into a matching yellow plastic glass. “Your lips look dry.”

  “Changing the subject, huh?” Jax squinted at his son. “You know I could kick your ass if I wasn’t laid out flat in this bed.”

  Katie almost laughed at the notion of the withered man in the bed sparring with Ryder.

  “You comfortable enough?” Ryder’s voice was steady, loose, but his body was stiff. “Need an extra pillow?”

  “I need for you to get the hell out of my room. You’re not invited. Not welcome.”

  “So I guess this means it’s going to come as something of a shock that I’m moving in with you,” Ryder said.

  “The hell you say.” Jax’s face turned beet red and he sat straight up in bed, sputtering and gasping. “You can’t . . . no . . . no way. I . . .” He dissolved into a coughing fit, held out a hand.

  Ryder rushed to his father’s side. “Dad?”

  “I’ll take that water now.”

  Ryder slipped the glass of water into his father’s hand, waited for him to stop coughing, and settled back against the pillow, pale and winded. “Are you all right?”

  Jax glowered. “You’re not moving in.”

  “Yes, I am.” Ryder’s tone was mild. “You don’t have any say in the matter. You didn’t take care of your blood sugar. I’m staying until you get sorted out.” He gave his father a curt salute. “See you at the ranch on Monday.” He nodded to Katie. “Let’s go.”

  She jumped up and followed him into the corridor. “What in the hell was that?”

  “My relationship with my father.”

  “My God, you two are dysfunctional.”

  “That’s about the size of it.”

  “C’mere.” Katie opened her arms.

  “What?” His eyes widened in surprise, showing real emotion for the first time since they’d walked into the hospital.

  “Bring it in, Southerland.” She flapped her arms at him. “Like it or not, you’re getting a hug.”

  He raised his hands. “I’m good. I’m fine. I promise.”

  “Well, I’m not fine. After seeing that exchange, I need a hug.” Moving quickly before he could sidestep her, Katie enveloped him in her embrace, felt the heat of his hard muscles, the quickness of his breathing.

  “There,” she said, patting his shoulder. “There, there.”

  And to Katie’s happy shock, Ryder hugged her back.

  Chapter 12

  The impulse to stay wrapped in Katie’s arms was so overwhelming, Ryder didn’t know if he could force himself to step back.

  If a familiar voice hadn’t hollered, “Ryder Southerland, you son-of-a-dog!” he might very well have kissed her in the corridor of Twilight General Hospital.

  What a big mistake that would have been. The hug was bad enough. Especially when that familiar voice belonged to her brother Joe.

  Katie was the one who jumped free, hopping a yard away from him, planting a big smile on her face, whipping her hands behind her back as if they hadn’t just been wrapped around Ryder’s waist.

  “Joe,” Katie said, and rushed toward her brother. “What are you guys doing here?”

  A
n attractive, petite woman stood next to Joe, and she was watching everything with fascination.

  “Meredith had her new baby,” the woman said. “We just came from seeing her. Can you believe it? She had a girl this time. Lenora Elizabeth. Six pounds, seven ounces. Now she’s got two babies under the age of two.”

  “That’s on top of two six-year-olds,” Joe added.

  “Who’s Meredith?” Ryder asked.

  “Hutch Hutchinson’s wife. You remember Hutch,” Joe said.

  Brian “Hutch” Hutchinson had been a few years ahead of him and Joe in high school. “He was Delta Force, right?”

  “Until his team got ambushed. He was the sole survivor.” Joe shook his head, a woeful expression on his face. “Sad story.”

  “But he got his happily-ever-after with Meredith and the kids,” Joe’s woman said.

  “Hey big guy, get over here.” Joe yanked Ryder into a bear hug. What was with this huggy family? “Damn it’s good to see you.”

  Keeping one arm around Ryder’s shoulder, Joe latched his other arm around the cute woman at his side. “Ryder, this is my bride-to-be, Gabi Preston. Gabi, my best friend in the whole world, Ryder Southerland.”

  “It’s so great to meet you,” Gabi said warmly, and shook Ryder’s hand. “I’ve heard so much about you. We weren’t expecting you for another two weeks.”

  “Why are you here two weeks early?” Joe asked.

  “I read about Twyla on the Twilight Web site,” Ryder said. “Why didn’t you tell me she died?”

  Joe stuck his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, ducked his head, and looked chagrinned. “I didn’t think it was my place.”

  “Yeah. I get that.” Ryder forgave him. He would forgive Joe just about anything.

  “Did you guys come to see the baby too?” Gabi asked Katie.

  “We didn’t know about the baby,” Katie said. “We came to see Ryder’s dad.”

  “Your father is in the hospital?” Joe asked. “I didn’t know. Gabi and I have been caught up in this whirlwind of wedding planning . . .”

  “It’s okay,” Ryder said. “I don’t expect you to keep tabs on him. Lord knows I don’t.”

  An awkward silence fell over the group.

  Then they all started talking at once, chatting about Christmas and the wedding. A nurse came out of one of the patient rooms and glowered at them. “Shh, this is a hospital. People are sick. Take the lively conversation elsewhere.”

  “We’re sorry,” Katie apologized. Perky Gabi turned and led them to the elevators.

  “Hey,” Gabi said once the elevator doors closed behind them. “We were going to grab a burger at Kelsey’s. You guys want to come with?”

  Katie shot a glance at Ryder. Trying to gauge his receptivity?

  Part of him longed to go out to dinner with the group, but another part of him, the damaged part of him that had just brushed up against Jax, wanted to go somewhere and lick his wounds. He needed time alone to think, to process his interaction with his father, and decide his next move.

  But Katie was looking at him with hopeful eyes, and damn if he didn’t want to spend more time with her. He felt better whenever he was with her, and right now, he could use all the good feelings he could muster.

  Ryder nodded. “I am starving.”

  “Me too,” Katie gifted him with a huge smile that stretched his heart.

  “Yay!” Gabi clapped her hands. “I’m so glad you came into town early, Ryder. We all are going to have so much fun!”

  He cut his eyes at Katie and she cut hers back at him and an electric thrill ran through him, the likes of which he hadn’t experienced since last Christmas when she’d ended up in his bed.

  It scared him, that thrill, because he’d be gone in a few weeks, after he got things settled at the ranch, after the wedding was over, and then where would he be?

  He knew the answer—back in LA by himself, and lonelier than ever.

  “Okay,” Gabi said to Katie in the restroom at Kelsey’s Pub. “Why didn’t anyone tell me Ryder was drop-dead handsome? The two of you are going to make the most awesome maid of honor and best man photographs ever.”

  “Why are you drooling over Ryder?” Katie said, feeling a wee bit jealous. “You’ve got Joe.”

  “Not for me, silly.” Gabi bumped Katie with her hip. “For you.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Ryder is a family friend.”

  “That hug you were giving him at the hospital went way beyond friendly.” Gabi grinned.

  “I was comforting him. You should have seen how his father treated him after not having seen him for thirteen years. Shameful.”

  “Uh-huh. Sure you were comforting him.” Gabi winked. “I’ll make certain to toss you the bouquet.”

  “I’m being serious, Gabi. Ryder and I . . .”

  Gabi might be her best friend, but she hadn’t told her about hooking up with Ryder when she’d been in LA last year after they swapped places. She hadn’t told anyone. Gossip like that would have been all over Twilight in half an hour. Not that Gabi would have spilled her secrets, but in small towns, even the walls had ears.

  “Oh,” Gabi said, catching on, and motioning toward the bathroom stalls just in case someone was in there. “Gotcha. Mum’s the word. We’ll talk later.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about,” Katie murmured.

  “Really? I could have sworn you two were sparking.”

  “Nope. Not us. No sparks. Just old friends.”

  “Well pooh. That’s a shame.”

  “No shame. It’s all good.”

  “So Ryder is from LA, right?” Gabi asked.

  Katie could practically hear her mental gears turning. “He lives there, yes.”

  “Joe said he’s a bodyguard.”

  “Personal security.”

  “For celebrities?”

  “I suppose.”

  “Hmm. You didn’t happen to run into him while you were in LA, did you?”

  Katie put a finger to her lips. Shh.

  “OMG!” Gabi let out a squeal, then silently mouthed, You did run into him.

  Um, more precisely, he’d run into her, tackled her, to be exact. Katie’s face heated. In fact, her whole body flushed. She wet a paper towel and pressed it to the back of her neck.

  “Getting hot and bothered?” Gabi whispered.

  “Shh.” Katie sighed. She needed a lot more than a damp paper towel to cool off the fire Ryder stirred in her. “Later.”

  “I’m coming over tonight, with a bottle of wine.”

  “What’s Joe going to say about that?”

  “I’ll tell him we have wedding stuff to discuss. Which we do.”

  “Tonight’s not good.”

  “Why? Are you going to hook up with—”

  Katie plastered her palm over Gabi’s mouth.

  “Sorry,” Gabi mumbled around her palm.

  “Come by the house later,” Katie hissed, and lowered her hand. “But this is for your ears only.”

  “I knew it!” Gabi said. “I knew there was something—” This time she slapped her own palm over her mouth. “Maybe I’ll bring vodka, instead of wine, and we’ll make salty dogs. It sounds like it could be that kind of night.”

  “So are we going to talk about what’s going on between you and my sister?” Joe asked Ryder as they went to the bar to get a round of drinks for the table.

  “Huh?” Ryder played dumb, keeping his tone mild, belying the hard squeeze of his gut. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “What’s going on with you and Katie?”

  “Why would you even ask that?” Ryder went on the offensive. Best defense, in his estimation.

  “I saw that hug she gave you in the hallway. It was—”

  “You know your sister. She’s a hugger.”

  “It looked unnatural to me.”

  “No, not at all,” Ryder lied smoothly, but felt bad about it. Technically there was nothing going on between them. Not now anyway. “She
saw my reunion with my father, and she was feeling sorry for me.”

  “Ouch,” Joe said. “Seeing your father again was that bad?”

  “Not as bad as when he called me a worthless thieving bastard, punched me in the face, and threw me out of the house when I was sixteen.” Ryder motioned to the bartender that he wanted a pitcher of draft beer and four glasses. “I suppose we’re making progress.”

  “But then there’s the way Katie looks at you.” Joe paused. “Or rather, doesn’t look at you. It’s not kosher.”

  “You’re saying that because she doesn’t look at me that means something?”

  “You’re weird around each other.” Joe rapped his knuckles against the bar.

  “Hell, Joe, when have I had time to be around your sister? I just got into town. You saw us at the hospital, in the car, and when we walked in here.”

  “I don’t know when you came into town. You might have been here for days. You weren’t supposed to be here for two more weeks. Why are you here two weeks early?”

  Ryder straightened, felt a surge of panic. Had Katie told Gabi what had happened in LA? Had Gabi then leaked it to Joe? Was that where this was coming from? “I told you. I found out Twyla had died and came home early.”

  “You rushed home because the stepmother who hated you died.”

  “She was a human being, Joe. I’m not happy she died too young. She wasn’t even sixty. I came to pay my respects, and to see my father.”

  Joe frowned. “Something fishy is going on between you and Katie. I don’t know what it is, but it’s something.”

  “You’re imagining things.”

  “So you two haven’t gotten crossways with each other? You’re not mad at each other for some reason?”

  Oh, was that what Joe was hammering at? He thought Ryder and Katie had a falling out. Ryder tried not to look as relieved as he felt. “No.”

  “Look.” Joe punched Ryder lightly on the shoulder. If his buddy had known what Ryder had done with his little sister last Christmas, Joe would punch him.

  Hard.

  And he would deserve it. Ryder had violated one of the most cardinal guy rules: never mess with your best friend’s sister. He had that punch coming.

  “I want this wedding to be perfect. Gabi deserves perfect. Whatever is going on between you and Katie, fix it.” Joe poked Ryder’s shoulder with the knuckle of his index finger. “Got it?”