Chapter 9 Booty Call
Booty Call
BILLIE
RYDER Rivers
U up?
BILLIE
It’s seven a.m. Of course I’m up. But I’m not coming over for a booty call. You gotta buy me dinner first
RYDER Rivers
Ha
Long shot, but any chance you have time to swing by the ranch again today? Not for a booty call but for something better
BILLIE
My God YES but also, what’s better than a booty call?
Name the time and I’ll be there
Also, why?
RYDER Rivers
Cuz I got a surprise for you lol
BILLIE
I don’t know if I like it when guys use lol in texts
RYDER Rivers
That’s it, invitation rescinded
BILLIE
lol
RYDER Rivers
Every year Cash invites Ella’s preschool class to come visit the ranch. Thought you might get a kick out of seeing human babies hang with animal babies.
BILLIE
Well shit
You just made me cry into my keyboard
I’m so in
Taking a sick day
RYDER Rivers
Kids will be here at ten
BILLIE
I’ll be there at nine because I’m an overachiever. I also hate my job so…
RYDER Rivers
We need to work on that
I type something out. Delete it. Type it again.
BILLIE
We?
RYDER Rivers
Get your ass over here little lady
BILLIE
Fine, twist my arm
RYDER Rivers
But it’s broken
BILLIE
Wanna break my back too?
RYDER Rivers
lol
Oh God.
Oh God, oh my fucking God.
I can only stare, jaw on the ground, as I watch Ryder squat beside a chestnut foal and grab a little boy’s hand, gently guiding it to the foal’s nose. Together, they pet her, a big old smile breaking out on the little boy’s face.
“Aw, yeah, buddy,” Ryder is saying. “Look how much she likes that. You’re a natural. Should we give her a little treat?”
Ryder is wearing broken-in Levi’s and a blue bandana that matches his eyes. Barn boots. Stetson. His plaid button-up draws taut over his shoulder blades and back as he moves. When he turns his head, I glimpse his handsome profile.
Heaven above, the man is so gorgeous it hurts. It’s the chiseled edge of his jawline. The perfect slope of his nose. The way the October sunlight turns his thick scruff red and gold.
My pulse hiccups, though, when I see the purple smudges underneath his eyes. Did he not sleep? I hope our conversation the other week didn’t upset him. Surely he wouldn’t have reached out if he were annoyed or angry with me, right?
Or does he somehow know I can’t stop thinking about how much fun we’re having together?
How being with him feels like a breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed?
I can just be myself when we’re together.
No pretending to be sweet or easy or uncomplicated.
He laughs at my raunchy sense of humor. Doesn’t balk at my honesty.
That kind of acceptance is rare.
The little boy laughs shyly. “Yeah, sure. Her nose is so soft.”
I nearly jump at the nudge at my side. Ava stands there, holding out an apple slice. “Wanna get involved?”
“For as long as I’ve been alive,” I murmur, taking the apple. I’m still wearing my sling, so the motion is a little awkward. “Hi.”
“Hey.” She carefully wraps me in a side hug. “Ryder said you might make an appearance.”
“He randomly invited me.”
“Is it random? Rumor has it y’all rode each other. I mean, rode with each other. In a tractor or something?”
I laugh, lifting the shoulder of my good arm. The soreness in my bad elbow comes and goes. Today it’s more sore than usual. “I was bored. I miss racing. So I decided to take a drive after dinner and bring Ryder some dessert.”
“I know you miss racing. Are you scared?” Ava’s eyes are kind. “To get back in the saddle?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I can’t wait. Honestly. The thrill, the flow of it all…There’s nothing like it.”
Ava nudges me again. “Makes life worth living, right?”
“Totally. But my parents really want me to, you know, quit putting life and limb at stake in competitions that are essentially meaningless, so I can build a respectable, God-fearing life.”
Ava frowns. “Aw, sweetie, it’s not meaningless. Not to you, and that’s what counts.”
Ryder’s standing now, so I excuse myself and head his way, squatting beside the little guy on his right.
“I hear this sweetheart here might want a treat.” I hold out the apple slice to the boy. “What’s your name, little man?”
“George.” He’s blushing, and it’s so damn cute I can’t help but smile.
“Hello, George. I’m Billie. I’m glad you were able to come today. You’re a natural with the animals.”
“I like being around the horses,” George replies, hooking his thumbs in his belt loops. “It makes me happy. Can you help me give her the treat please?”
I grin, handing over the apple. “Such good manners.”
“That makes one of you who acts right.” Ryder is wiping his hands as he looks down at me. His blue eyes are piercing in the morning light. “Hi, Billie.”
My face flushes with heat. Looking away, I watch George feed the apple to the foal. “Hey, Ry.”
“Is she your girlfriend?” George looks up at Ryder. “She’s real pretty.”
Ryder chuckles. “Everyone keeps asking me that. And she is pretty, isn’t she?”
My heart gallops. I bite back a big, goofy grin.
“We’re friends. Do you have friends?” I ask George.
He nods. “My best friend is my brother. But he has very big feelings and gets very afraid sometimes. He’s over there with my mom.” George points to a woman holding the hand of a boy in Toy Story cowboy boots. The boy smiles as he carefully pets a goat who is busy munching on some clover.
My chest pings. “He seems to like the animals too.”
“They make him feel better. That’s what my mom says. She was so happy she could bring him today.”
There’s a catch in my center as I meet eyes with Ryder. “That’s pretty cool.”
“Very cool,” Ryder says. “I feel better when I’m around the horses too. It’s very calming. Therapeutic, even.”
George wrinkles his nose. “What does that mean?”
“It means…” I think on that for a minute before putting my hand on my chest. “You know where your heart is? Right here? It means your heart beats steady and strong. No part of you is afraid.”
George puts a hand over his heart. “Mine feels pretty strong.”
“That’s great news, buddy.” Now Ryder’s feeling his heartbeat too. “Mine was calm. Then Billie got here…”
Extreme cuteness overload. “Sorry not sorry.”
“I’d be upset if you were sorry.”
“How about we take some deep breaths?” I ask. “That helps me calm down sometimes.”
“Okay! I am very, very good at deep breaths.” George takes one, then another, and Ryder and I follow him. The October air is deliciously crisp, and when it hits the bottom of my lungs, a sense of irrepressible joy blossoms inside me.
“Wow.” I gently nudge George. “I feel so much better. Do you?”
“Yeah.”
“And you?” I glance up at Ryder.
In reply, he pops into a squat beside us, his elbows on his knees. His scent fills my head, the woodsy pine and citrus, and I wonder how a cowboy who works in the dirt all day can smell so good.
Does he take multiple showers every day?
Would he like company for any and all of them?
“I feel better’n I have in an age.” Ryder’s eyes twinkle. “I mean that.”
I roll my eyes, grinning like an idiot. “Such a cheeseball.”
Ryder chuckles, a deep, happy sound. “I knew you’d call me out.”
“How?”
“’Cause I know you. And now I’m starting to know myself a little better too.”
Deep breaths. There are many things that make Ryder sexy. His confidence. His eyes. But this sudden burst of self-awareness just might be the sexiest thing about him.
“Ew, are you guys gonna kiss?” George is making a face. “Because my parents kiss after they talk, and it’s gross.”
My heart does a neat little backflip. “Kissing is totally gross.”
“Totally.” Ryder looks away. “How about we go see this baby’s mama over there?”
The two hours I get to spend with the kids and the cowboys is truly the highlight of my week. Month. Year. Well, other than that tractor ride. And this morning when Ryder texted me out of the blue.
After the kids are loaded up into a caravan of waiting cars, Ryder touches my arm. “Can you stay a little longer?”
Please, for the love of God, ask me to stay forever. “Sure.”
“I have a little surprise for you. A token of my thanks.”
“Thanks?” I furrow my brow. “For what?”
But Ryder doesn’t say anything as he leads me up the hill that connects the barn and corral to the New House’s backyard.
Just when I start to worry that something is wrong, he says, “I went looking for my guitar last night.”
I slow. Then I stop, grabbing his arm. My eyes feel like they’re liable to pop right out of my head. “You found it.”
His gaze slides to meet mine. The sun slants across his face, his hat casting a shadow over his eyes. “I played it too.”
My heart throbs inside my ears. “And?”
“And what?”
“Well, why didn’t you call me? Surely you remember what an excellent vocalist I am. Christ, Ry, we could’ve covered half of Taylor’s catalogue if you’d invited me over.”
His lips twitch. “Why do you think I invited you today?”
Who is this man? Why does it feel like he’s drawing me closer, when for so long, he’s pushed me away?
Hell, Ryder keeps everyone at arm’s length. But today he’s doing the opposite, and it doesn’t compute.
“You’re looking at me funny,” he says.
“Yeah, ’cause you’re acting funny. You’re really gonna play your guitar for me today?”
“Actually.” His Adam’s apple bobs. “It was a lot. Playing. I only got through two songs.”
The sun’s warmth pours down my shoulders and back. I blink back the sudden sting in my eyes. “Yeah?”
“Felt like an excavator was demoing my insides. Like all my electrical wiring and insulation was exposed after being hidden away inside my walls.”
My heart does another flip. “That’s…a vivid image.”
“It was excruciating. Made me miss my mom. It made me miss a lot of things.”
“Aw, Ry.” I curl my fingers around his arm and give his shockingly solid bicep a squeeze, my heart squeezing too at the way he’s opening up. This is a big deal. “But today you feel better.”
His eyes light up with surprise. “I do. I went to bed…not feeling great, but less weighed down, I guess.”
“Less scared, maybe?”