CHAPTER 8 #2
A blush crept up Hunter’s cheeks, and he slid his hand behind his neck. I was desperate to know the story there, but I would find out from Maggie eventually.
“Yes, Ella’s Maggie. We’re friends.” He widened his eyes at me, but he started it.
Lou sighed, still as exasperated by her son as she was when he was a teen. “June, I’m not sure how you raised such a well-behaved granddaughter when she spent so much time with this crew growing up.”
Colt snorted, and my gaze snapped to him. His eyes met mine, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward in a way that made my stomach flutter traitorously. “I’m sorry,” he chuckled as he picked Ruby up into his arms and rested her on his hip. “We all know that’s bullshit, though.”
“Language,” Lou tsked, but her voice was warm as she swept past me, pressing a kiss to Ruby’s forehead. “We’re trying to raise another well-behaved girl over here.”
“And I’ll have you know I am perfectly well-behaved.” I crossed my arms and faced off with Colt.
“Sure.” He nodded, his lips pressed together in a tight line below that damn mustache, like he was trying not to smile. “I’m sure you’ve changed so much since you’ve been gone. That’s why The Dusty Spur is clear out of tequila?”
McCoy spat out his beer as a laugh tore from his throat. I felt heat crawl up my neck, unable to look away from the way Colt was watching me, but Mr. Calloway saved me.
“Leave the girl alone,” he cut in before turning to me. “Blaire Monroe, are you gonna stand over there and deal with my fool sons, or are you gonna give an old man a proper hello?”
He smiled, and I saw the man I remembered—broad-shouldered, calloused hands that had taught me to ride a horse, with a laugh that had boomed across these fields every summer of my childhood.
But time had worked him over in ways I hadn’t expected.
His shoulders were hunched now, his once-imposing frame diminished as if the weight of all those years on this ranch had finally settled into his bones.
I crossed the porch, my pulse thudding loud in my ears, and bent down to wrap Mr. Calloway in a hug. He still smelled of leather.
When I hesitated to pull him into me, he squeezed me against him, breathing me in and wrapping one hand around the back of my head. He was still Owen Calloway, but my heart twisted at how thin he felt in my arms.
When I pulled away, his fingers lingered on my arm. I tried not to stare, but I couldn’t help cataloging the new frailty in him. His knuckles were swollen, his skin pulled tight over the blue map of veins that hid beneath, and there was bruising along his forearms.
“Don’t look so glum.” His voice was still full of that gravel I’d always loved. “I can’t die off yet. Can you imagine these boys running this ranch on their own if I couldn’t at least be here for tech support.”
“Jesus, Dad,” Colt groaned, and I looked back at him, really looked at him for the first time since I’d been home. He adjusted Ruby on his hip with practiced ease, and his hand splayed protectively across her small back as his thumb soothed small circles against her.
When I thought about facing Colt again, I had braced myself for a stranger, but he was still the same as he’d always been, just a bit steadier, softer, and harder all at once.
When he glanced down at his daughter, I could see the subtle dark shadows that hung below those eyes. His jaw worked beneath his stubbled skin, and his shoulders were rigid and tense beneath his worn cotton shirt.
I wondered how long he’d been taking over for his father on the ranch. He’d always known that was what he wanted, that this ranch would always be his life, but neither of us thought it would happen this soon.
“What?” Mr. Calloway’s eyes narrowed as his gaze darted between me and Colt.
“She was looking at me like I’m already in the ground, but I’ll have you know, bad heart or not, I can still throw your mama around the bedroom whenever I need to.
” He punctuated this with a wink and a grin that pulled at the deep lines around his eyes.
All three Calloway boys let out groans of disgust, McCoy covering his ears with his palms, and I pressed my fingers against my lips as laughter bubbled up from my chest.
Lou swatted at Owen’s arm. “That’s enough out of you.”
She was reprimanding him, but his grin only spread wider as he wrapped his arm around her, his reach barely higher than her thighs from where he sat. He pulled her toward him with a gentle tug. “Oh, you love me.”
Lou rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth twitched upward, softening her entire face. Her gaze flicked over him with the practiced precision of a woman who had spent a lifetime anticipating another’s needs.
When I was young, I’d watch them from across the dinner table—the way his hand would find hers without looking, how she’d refill his tea before he realized it was empty.
My own parents had divorced when I was four, and I’d never seen parents who had such unguarded affection, and I used to lie in my bed at the end of the night and wish for a love like that to find me one day.
Now, I wished it would hit me like a Mack truck instead of the type of love I had been attracting.
I’d always dreamed of finding a man with steady hands and unwavering devotion like Owen Calloway, but when a diamond had been placed on my left hand, it came from a man who was so much more like my own father.
I’d given up that easy love I’d always dreamed of the moment I said yes to Grant.
“Now.” Owen’s voice dropped into a whisper only meant for her. “Give me a kiss.”
Lou leaned down and pressed her lips to Owen’s, then ran her hand over his cheek, her thumb lingering at the corner of his mouth before she straightened. “I’d better finish up dinner before my sons starve to death.”
“Thank God.” McCoy huffed, patting his flat stomach. “I’ve only been thinking about your cooking since last Sunday.”
“You can come over when it’s not Sunday and eat. You know that, right?” Lou cocked an eyebrow at McCoy, and he simply pointed to Colt.
“Tell that to your precious baby boy over there who can do no wrong. He doesn’t let me rest!”
“Shit is getting deep out here.” Colt groaned as he set Ruby back on her feet. His eyes met mine over her head, and I wanted to look away from him but couldn’t. I hated how my body still responded to him, even while my mind screamed at me to remember all the reasons I’d left.
“Can I help?” The words tumbled out of me, too quick, too eager.
“Of course you can. Come on.” Lou waved me in after her, and relief swept through me at the excuse to move, to step away from the porch and the weight of Colt’s stare.
Ruby darted toward me and grabbed my hand, her palm warm against mine. “I’ll help too!”
We walked inside hand in hand before Ruby hopped onto a wooden stool at the island, her feet thumping against the rungs as she swung her legs back and forth. I rolled up my sleeves and washed my hands as I tried to take a deep breath.
“Where do you want me?” I asked Lou, and she set a large ceramic bowl of steaming potatoes in front of me and Ruby.
“Will you mash those and add in the milk and butter for me? Ruby’s great at it.” Lou smiled at her granddaughter, and Ruby grabbed the wooden spoon, her face scrunching in concentration.
Together we stirred the bowl of potatoes, watching the yellow butter melt and splash over the rim. Ruby laughed so hard she snorted when a bit of potato landed on my shirt, and we argued over who was better.
“Better stirrer?” I raised a brow, nudging her side with my elbow as I wiped at my shirt. “Tell that to the mashed potatoes you got all over the counter and—” I pointed to the dark mark on my T-shirt. “—my clothes.”
Ruby’s eyes went big and mischievous. “That wasn’t my fault! I have nothing on me.” She smirked, her dimpled cheeks creasing, and her expression looked so much like Colt that my breath caught.
“Oh really.” I dipped my finger into the potatoes, and I lifted a dollop that slowly dripped down my knuckle, hovering it inches from Ruby’s face. “Say I’m the best!”
Ruby squealed and tried to back away from me, her body twisting toward Lou, but it was no use. There was nowhere for her to escape between me and the island, so she held up her hands, fingers splayed wide, as her laugh rang out around us.
“Never!” she laughed harder, her chest heaving with it as I moved my potato-covered finger forward with exaggerated menace.
“This is your last chance, Ruby Louise, or it’s going right on that pretty little nose of yours.”
Ruby stuck her tongue out at me, and I was smiling so hard my cheeks ached as I swiped my finger over her button nose, smearing the buttery potatoes over her little freckles.
“Blaire!” she shrieked with laughter, the sound so bright and full that all I could do was join in with her. She reached for the bowl of potatoes to get me back, her small fingers grasping the ceramic rim, but Lou pulled it out of our reach with a swift, practiced motion.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Lou shook her head as she moved the bowl to the far side of the counter. “You two aren’t making a mess in my kitchen.”
Lou’s eyes sparkled as she watched us, her hands never still as she swept a dish towel along the countertop, cleaning up the mess we’d made. “You better go wash those potatoes off your face before your uncle Coy comes in and tries to have a bite of you.”
Ruby giggled and hopped down from the stool. She ran from the kitchen but stopped before she made it to the hall. “I’ll be right back, Blaire.” Her eyes met mine, needing reassurance that I wouldn’t leave, so I gave it to her.
“I’ll be right here.” I smiled as she scrunched up her little potato-covered nose. “Thinking about how much better of a stirrer I am.”
Her returning smile made my grip tighten on the counter, and she started running again, her footsteps pounding through the house.