by MISSY HARPER
Rylee looked from Ethan to Rory and back. She couldn’t believe what her brother had said. She had fully expected him to at least make a threat, but nothing! Which surly would only serve to encourage the guy! She felt Ethan’s eyes on her and looked over at him before she could stop herself. He puckered up his lips and made a smacking sound, then grinned at her as he sipped from his glass.
“Rylee, your momma’s on the phone. She wants to know if you’ll be home for dinner since I-90’s closed.” Thor asked as he held his cell phone away from his face.
“No, I still have plans for tonight, but tell her I’ll be home to change into my skirt… the leather one. I like to match.” She said, looking directly at Ethan.
“Nope, but she’s coming home to change first. Okay…. hang on.” Thor said into the phone.
“She wants to know if your coming home tonight or stayin here in town?” Thor asked making sure to speak loud enough for Ethan to hear.
“What?” Ethan all but came out of his seat at the thought Thor would even ask such a thing! Rylee grinned at his reaction and then turned back to her father with a conspiring grin.
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll just play it by ear like I usually do. If the man has a need for me to stay… I’ll stay.” She told her father in a suggestive tone with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders.
“I’m just sweet like that.” She said with a cheeky grin at Ethan.
“See you guys later. I’ve got to get home and change.” Rylee said as she turned and headed for the door.
“Where the hell is she going?” Ethan asked the table at large.
“Rylee, get your ass back over here! I wanta know where you think your going, and why you think it’s alright for you to stay the night there!” Ethan demanded. Rylee stopped as she walked through the front doors and turned to face him.
“Now, Ethan, it wouldn’t be very nice of me to just walk out on the man… leaving him needy, now would it?” She offered him her sauciest smile and blew him a kiss. Everyone at the table knew where she was going and what she meant, except Ethan.
“Don’t you let me catch you in that skirt, Rylee!” Ethan threatened as the door closed behind her. “And… you get your ass home at a decent hour. I don’t give a shit about what some asshole might need!” Ethan jammed his fingers through his own hair before he sat down hard in his chair.
Chapter 7
The Difficulty With Being Forgotten
Ethan sat at the table, staring at the now closed door, watching Rylee walk through the parking lot to her jeep. He could not believe what had just happened! He shook his head and tried to swallow down the bile that was rising up from his stomach. The thought of Rylee in some man’s bed was about to make him puke up his lunch. He knew all the things he’d done with his bunnies and shuttered at the thought of any other man touching her that way. How could they all sit by so calmly, knowing what she was gonna be doing later that night?
“I don’t get it, Thor.” Ethan’s face had paled and he was shaking his head at Rylee’s father. “Don’t you care that some guy’s gonna have his hands all over your daughter? I mean nobody even bothered to ask her where she was going or who she was gonna be with… all damn night! But, ya asked her if she was planning to come home? Since when is it an option for your daughter not to come home?” He sat back hard in his chair and restlessly shuffled his feet under the table.
“As long as Ry’s okay with how she’s being treated by this fella, it’s really none of our business.” Tanner told him, trying to hide his smile. He wasn’t one for joking all that much. That was usually Ethan’s job, but this was rather enjoyable. They all knew where Rylee was going and knew Ethan had no reason to be worrying about her safety or her virtue. Wrong as it may be, it was fun to watch the man squirm for a change. Maybe it was just what the guy needed. “Besides, I ain’t never seen you give a damn if a man’s daughter made it home on time when she was ridin in your one horse rodeo.” Tanner openly grinned at him. He’d always warned Ethan that his lifestyle would come back to bite him in the butt someday. It was shaping up to look like that day had arrived.
“That’s right, Son.” Thor said to an angry Ethan. “You might want to remember that every woman is some man’s daughter, and mine just happens to be a grown woman. She works hard, and how she chooses to spend her free time is her own business.”
“The hell it is! And she ain’t no woman, Thor! I can tell ya that for certain. You saw how she reacted when I touched her.” Ethan sat up, hands clinched into fists as if he was ready to fight. “She’s gonna get herself into trouble messin with the lot of rough cowboys around here. They’re used to having women that know what the hell the damn score is, Thor! Rylee doesn’t have a fuckin clue!” Ethan yelled as he pointed his finger back toward the door she’d just exited.
“Rylee’s tougher than she looks, Ethan. Besides, if this guy gets out a line with her, she’ll call somebody. You’re forgetting that Rylee grew up here. She knows the ropes.” Thor stood up and placed his hat on top of his head.
“Come on, Tanner, let’s get on back to the ranch. If you don’t have the work finished when Rylee decides to come home, she’ll have all our butts for it.” Tanner rolled his eyes and snorted at his father as he got up. The man thought he was quite the comedian!
“Rory, don’t be too long. You’re momma wants to put her eyes on ya.” Thor clapped his youngest son on the shoulder as he walked away from the table.
“Ethan, come on over for supper if you like. Regina said she’s cooking spaghetti tonight.” Ethan mumbled his thanks for the invitation and scrubed his hand over his face.
“I know you’ve still got work to do, too. Let’s get on out there, and I’ll help ya get it done. It might be your ranch, but it’s been Ry’s baby for the past two years, so don’t think for a second you’re any safer from her temper than any man on the Yellowbrook.” Rory said to Ethan as he placed his own hat back on his head.
“So you knew about this, too, and didn’t tell me either.” Rory offered a simple shrug in excuse.
“My momma didn’t raise a fool. I’m not ever gonna willingly face my sister’s wrath.” Rory gave Ethan a look that told him he was out of luck and there just wasn’t anything he could do about it. “We’ll come back into town after I let my momma put her eyes on me and see if we can find out what that little wild eyed runt is up to. I don’t like this anymore than you do.” Rory told his old traveling partner.
“Well, at least somebody in the family hasn’t completely lost their damn mind!” Ethan mumbled as he stood up.
“You know, Ethan, if the thought of Rylee being with another man bothers you so much, you could just step out there and stake a claim so you’re the only man she’s spending time with.” Cindy teased her brother-in-law. “You’d have to be blind not to know she’s still got it bad for you.”
“Cindy, you know I ain’t the marrying kind, so you can just drop it! But, I’ll tell ya one damn thing, and I hope you pass it on to that little hell cat friend of yours.” Ethan pointed his finger at her.
“I may not be willin to marry her myself, but if all she’s lookin for is to play wife for a night to some cowboy, I’m the only damn one she’s gonna be playin it with! She wants to be treated like a buckle bunny? I’ll be more than happy to educate her.” With that being said, he grabbed his hat and stormed out the door.
How everybody could sit by while she made the worst mistake of her life he really didn’t understand. He knew what was out there, and he also knew Rylee didn’t have a clue what she was getting herself into, no matter what her daddy might think! They might be willing to sit by and hope she didn’t get hurt, but he damn sure wasn’t!
Ethan walked through the night entrance of the Yesteryears Nursing home at about nine o’clock that night. He’d meant to stop in and check on his dad before he left town that afternoon, but he’d been so mad at Rylee and Company he’d forgotten all about it.
This was the nursing home Rylee had chosen
for his father. A decision he had no actual say in because of her. Even here he couldn’t escape the girl… damn it, woman. She had control over everything in his life! His career was over. He had a ranch full of hands that couldn’t follow an order unless they were assured Rylee would approve. His father was in this damn home and barely remembered who he was half the time. And now there was the problem with everybody’s willingness to allow Rylee to whore around. As if he didn’t have enough on his plate! Now he had to worry about all the problems in his life, and he had to worry about where she was and whose bed she was in. His life had been perfect a few weeks ago. Now everything had gone to shit, and Rylee seemed to be the center of it all!
It was easy to be angry with her for all his problems, but most of them really weren’t her fault. He felt justified in his anger with her because she was well and deep under his skin. A place no woman had ever managed to get before now. His stomach threatened at the thought of her under some cowboy that didn’t give a damn about her, didn’t know or care how wonderful and precious she was… when she wasn’t spitting nails that is… Some cowboy, just like him, that only cared about how sexy she looked and how good she felt. He ought to know. How many daughters or sisters had he had in his own bed under the same circumstances? It was a fact he was becoming less and less proud of now that he’d had a little time to think about it… now that it had been put into prespective. It was quickly becoming a wrong he’d like to make right… if something like that were even possible.
His father had always told him he was gonna reap what he sowed, but he’d always figured he meant when he had a daughter of his own someday. That was an easy one to avoid, he’d never planned to marry and have children, so there would be no reaping. It never occurred to him he might get what he deserved from another woman… hell, he never expected to care about a woman enough for her to matter that much. But he’d never been a man to lie to himself, and there was no reason to start now. That wild eyed little hell cat mattered to him more than he cared to admit, and a hell of a lot more than he knew what to do with.
“Oh, Libby. You’re just as pretty as a picture, baby.” Ethan heard his father’s voice as he rounded the corner into his room. He stopped in the doorway when he saw an aide sitting on the foot of his father’s bed.
“I missed you so much, Libby. I’m so glad ya came back tonight.” His father chuckled. “I been thinkin about ya all day, baby.” Ethan’s eyes followed the voice to the bathroom where he saw Rylee helping his aroused father out of the bathtub. She wrapped a towel around him as his father stroked his fingers tenderly down her cheek, and did everything he could to get closer to her as she expertly out maneuvered him.
“Oh, now none of that. You remember what the doctor said?” Rylee used the towel as both a means of drying his father and a shield against his determined hands. “We’ve got to get you dressed before you get too chilly. He doesn’t want you catchin a cold.” She reminded him as she finished drying him off and started helping him into his pajamas.
“Oh, Baby. The last thing I am right now is chilly.” Ethan watched as his father forked his fingers into Rylee’s beautiful hair and tried to pull her head forward in an attempt to kiss her. Jealousy stabbed him hard again and the voice in his head roared Mine!
For a shameful second, there was a part of him that wanted to strangle his father for even considering to touch her. Part of him was jealous because she was here with his father, doing what should be his job. A bigger part of him was furious because she was with his father in such an intimate situation instead of with him. But the largest part of him was terrified by his own thoughts. He’d never considered any woman his and never thought he would.
“You behave now, Mr. Hawkins, or I’m gonna make her leave.” The aide warned from the foot of the bed.
“You stay out of this woman! You got no business sticking your nose in between a man and his wife!” Ethan heard his father’s stern warning.
“Settle down, Papa J. You’re all dressed now, lets go eat.” He heard Rylee gently tell his father.
Ethan quickly turned and slammed his back flat against the wall outside his father’s room. He leaned his head back and tried not to breathe in too much oxygen at once. His father’s words hadn’t registered until he referred to Rylee as his wife. Libby was Ethan’s mother, and she’d been dead since he was twelve years old. His father thought Rylee was his mother! Damn It! Was there any problem in his life that she wasn’t the exact center of? He stilled his rising anger by taking a few deep breaths before he entered the room, unsure if he was ready to face what awaited him.
“That’s the doctor that gave ya all them instructions on how to take such good care of me, ain’t it?” James asked Rylee as she fed him another bite of his dinner. Rylee turned toward the door and discovered an angry, injured looking Ethan standing there. Her heart immediately broke for him, and it obviously ticked him off to see the compassion in her eyes.
“Well, come on in, Doc.” James said, still not recognizing his own son. Ethan looked to Rylee for answers, and swallowed against the growing lump in his throat. His anger simmered while the pain of not being recognized moved to the forefront of his emotions.
‘Play along’ Rylee mouthed to Ethan as he stepped into the room and approached his father’s bed. He was suddenly reminded of the time Ball Buster, the rankest bull in any stockyard, threw him and then stomped him into the dirt. He distinctly remembered each and every painful time the bull’s hooves made contact with his abdomen. All things considered, that had been a pleasant experience compared to this.
“How are ya doing this evening?” Ethan managed to choke out after he cleared his throat. The pain in his voice was unmistakeable.
“Oh, I’m doin great! Rylee here brought me something decent to eat.” He said around a bite of his dinner.
It bothered Ethan that his father knew who she was, even if he hadn’t a few seconds before, but thought he was some doctor he’d met only a time or two. His anger began to sizzle beneath his skin. He’d idolized the man his whole life. His father was the reason he’d gotten on his first bull. He’d always wanted to be just like his dad, and now the man didn’t even know who he was anymore.
“That was sweet of her.” The words sounded as if he were forcing them around a lump in his throat. Rylee knew his last statement was for her and not for his father, even though he still seemed to be mad at her.
“Yeah, she is a sweetheart, but don’t cha go gettin any ideas, Doc. I know she’s real pretty, and that’s askin a lot of a man, but she’s the one I told ya about.” He shook his finger at Ethan. “Someday that son of mine is gonna wise up and see her for what she really is.”
“Really, which son was it again?” Ethan asked as he watched Rylee blush and spoon his father’s dinner into his mouth with a shaking hand. Her hand shook just from the mention of her being with a man… and everybody thought she could handle herself alone, all night, with some rowdy cowboy!
“My middle boy, Ethan. Someday he’s gonna realize he loves her and stop chasin all them blasted buckle bunnies.” Rylee cut off his words with another spoonful.
Ethan sighed to himself, because there was no reason for his father to worry. He already knew how wonderful she was. He might be about ready to kill her, but he knew how great she was. It was one of the reasons his brain was so messed up lately.
“He’s a professional bull rider you know?” His father continued after swallowing his food, the pride was evident in his voice.
“Really? Is he any good?” Ethan asked his father, hoping he was proud of him and not angry the sport had taken him away from his family for entirely too many years.
“Hell… I mean heck yeah.” His father corrected himself and offered Rylee a sheepish look in apology for using such a word in the presence of a lady. “Four time world champion! I’d say that’s pretty darn good.”
Six-time, Pop. Six-time world champion.
Rylee knew this conversation had to be hard on Ethan. This
was the first time Papa J had been this bad since Ethan had come home. It had to be tearing him apart to stand there and have an in depth conversation with his father, about his own self, and it not trigger a memory of the man standing before him. The heartbreak on Ethan’s face was more than she could handle and a single tear slid down her cheek.
“Sounds like he’s doing well.” Ethan whispered, looking off to the side.
James never answered his son. He had already begun to stare off into the nothing that his mind was becoming. Seeing this, Rylee began to pack away the food she’d been feeding him. When James turned his face back to his son there was no recognition there.
“Can I help ya with something, Son?” James asked Ethan as if he’d never laid eyes on him before. Ethan visibly winced and Rylee wrapped her arms around her own middle, feeling his pain as if it were her own.
“I was just comin by to check on you.” Ethan attempted to smile.
“Really? It’s mighty nice of ya since I don’t think I know ya.” James scratched his head trying to place the man standing in his doorway.
“Libby, do you recognize this fella?” He asked Rylee.
“This is Ethan, Papa J.” Rylee’s voice cracked as she responded. The doctors had told them to simply go along with his delusions because it would cause him less stress, but she just couldn’t do it right now. She wanted Ethan to have his father remember him, if only for a few minutes.
“Oh? Well I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. James Hawkins.” Ethan’s father leaned forward and extended his hand to introduce himself to his own son. Ethan’s face paled and he swallowed hard before extending a trembling hand to shake his father’s hand.
“Ethan. Ethan Hawkins.” He whispered as the tears filled his voice, his throat rapidly working to contain them.
“Hawkins, huh?” James yawned. “I wonder if we’re related? Who’s your daddy, son?” James mumbled as his eyes drifted closed and he began to snore.
