Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Ayden
The moment I walk into The Lodge, I spot Laney sitting at a table being harassed by Wilder.
Of-fucking-course.
That little shit is going to eat my fist for breakfast if he gets another inch closer.
“Mornin’,” I greet before I reach her, then lean down and brush my lips against her cheek. “He botherin’ you?” I whisper in her ear.
“I was just sayin’ hello,” Wilder argues.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I narrow my eyes at him. “And now ya did, so get on outta here.”
Laney grabs my arm. “He was just tellin’ me about the ranch and all the work he does ’round here.”
“Wilder?” I snort, glaring at him as he shoots me a mischievous grin. “He’s about as helpful as a pogo stick in quicksand.”
“Now you know that ain’t true. You’re just torn up that I got to her before you did.” He mimics my stance, knowing I won’t cause a scene in front of the guests eating.
“And now you’re leavin’. Goodbye.”
“It was nice meetin’ ya, Miss Laney. Hope to see ya again real soon.” Wilder tips his ball cap and flashes her a flirty smirk before meeting my glare. “Just remember, God don’t like ugly, Ayden.”
Then he flips me the bird before finally getting lost.
“You two have a beef or what?” Laney asks, standing from her chair.
I grunt, remembering the drama from a few months ago. “You could say that. How’d you sleep?”
“Not great, but I never do in hotel beds.” She shrugs it off.
“Sorry to hear that. I have a spare room you could’ve slept in, but I didn’t wanna interrupt your plans.”
“That’s alright. I’ll be home by supper and should be passed out by nine.”
“Let’s get you some food before your flight. Hope you’re hungry. They feed ya like it’s your last meal here.” I take her hand and lead her toward the buffet.
“I love the theme of this place. Everything looks so genuine and rustic.”
“Garrett and Dena love their horses.” I snicker. “Reminded me of home the first time I walked in. Probably why I liked it so much.”
“I can see that. Remember the time Brandi’s horse followed her all the way to school, and Mr. Williams had to give her a pass to walk it back to her ranch?”
I bellow out a laugh. “Shit, yeah, I do. Took her an hour to return.”
“At that point, I would’ve just stayed home.”
We each pile food on our plates filled with biscuits and gravy, grits, eggs, and sausage. Then I grab two mugs of hot coffee and bring them back to our table.
“Thank you,” she says, adding two little creamers.
“Still don’t drink it black, huh?” I taunt.
“No way.” She smirks, glancing at my plate.
“What? I’m a big boy now.” I pat my stomach.
Laney chuckles, and the sound goes right into my chest. “Just not used to seein’ you eat so much. Not used to thinkin’ of you as a cowboy.”
“Howie and I played plenty of cowboy games.”
“You mean the two of you wrestling and tryin’ to put each other in headlocks?”
I laugh as I shove a forkful of food in my mouth. She’s not wrong.
“I remember there being props,” I defend. “We just had more fun tryin’ to kill each other.”
Laney’s gaze lowers to her plate, and I worry I hit a sore spot. I’m not sure how close they were after I left, but his death obviously affected her.
“Lane,” I murmur, reaching over and squeezing her thigh.
When she looks up, tears form in her eyes. I hate the pain behind them and wish I could take it away.
“I’m okay. Just rememberin’ all the fun the three of us had as kids. Every memory through graduation had you and Howie in it.”
I nod, feeling the guilt slice up my spine at how I never kept in touch once I left. Though I was determined to have that clean slate, I should’ve thought more about what it’d do to the ones who loved me.
“He thought you’d come back,” she says as if she’s read my thoughts.
“The day after you left, he was convinced you’d turn around.
After a week, he said you probably got lost and would make your way back.
After three months, he said there was no way you’d last another three.
After a year, he stopped makin’ guesses.
A part of him—and me—thought you’d walk through the door again. ”
The pain laced in her voice eats me inside.
“I’d thought about it a million times, Laney. I really did. I almost called both of you a hundred times. I was so scared my dad would find me. I knew it was unlikely, but I couldn’t stand the thought of him somehow tracin’ your phones to get to me.”
He did it to mine, so there was no reason not to think he’d do it to them too.
After what I witnessed him do in high school, I wouldn’t put anything past him to make sure we stayed quiet.
“We can’t rewrite the past, Ayden. I understand why you thought you had to do it.” She squeezes my hand that’s still resting on her leg. “I FaceTimed with Serena and my mom last night. Told them I found ya.”
I swallow hard, going back to my food. “Yeah? What’d they say?”
“Serena was so excited she nearly jumped through the screen. She can’t wait to meet you. It makes my heart so happy to know she will soon.”
“I still can’t wrap my head around us havin’ a kid, Lane. But God, I’m glad I get to make up for it in some small way.”
“She’ll steal your heart the moment you meet. I can promise ya that.” She smirks, and I have no doubt. The same way Laney always has.
As we continue eating, we talk about the people I once knew back home and the new ones I met when I moved here.
“So we only have a couple hours until you have to go. Can I give you a tour of the retreat part of the ranch? Then maybe I can show you the main house if there's time. I’m sure Dena would love to meet you.”
I’m surprised she hasn’t bombarded me already.
“I’d love that! It looked beautiful on the website,” she admits. “Serena was beggin’ me to take her so she could sleep in one of the cabins.”
I chuckle, taking our empty dishes and putting them in the bin. “I’m sure I can arrange that sometime. They have tons of activities for kids here.”
Like a couple who’s done it a million times, our hands gravitate toward one another, and our fingers interlock as we walk to my truck.
“Who makes the food here?” she asks as I drive us down one of the gravel roads.
“Garrett’s aunts. They’ve been cooks here since they opened the retreat nearly twenty years ago.
Dena has some family who does various jobs around the ranch, too.
Some of the cousins work at the saloon, some do housekeeping, and then some are in charge of the family activities at the retreat. It’s a whole family affair.”
“Wow, that’s cool. What are the parents in charge of?”
“Dena’s at home mostly. She cooks for the ranch hands and staff so they don’t have to worry about comin’ up to The Lodge and eatin’ during guest hours. Her mom lives there too, so between the two of them in the kitchen, their house smells like a Southern café and bakery all hours of the day.”
“Is that where you normally go eat?”
“Not every day, but three or four times a week. Otherwise, I make a sandwich at home. Just depends on how busy I am. Sometimes I wait it out until supper.”
“What does her husband do?”
“Garrett manages most of the paperwork and financials. They have a business manager, but everything goes through him. Noah wanted to expand the training quarters and pleaded with him for five months, plus gave a presentation on how it’d benefit the ranch.”
“Goodness.”
“Don’t worry, Noah gave it her all and even outdid her projected earnings. Now he lets her do whatever she wants since she’s earned it. Her four brothers, however, not so much.”
She chuckles. “They don’t seem so bad. Typical rowdy cowboys with hearts of gold.”
“Don’t tell me you’re buying that fake charm shit they’ve been layin’ on ya?”
“Don’t tell me you’re jealous?”
I give her a pointed look. “You’re dodgin’ my question.”
“You’re dodgin’ mine,” she retorts, and I scoff. “I think you never grew up with brothers and have spent the past decade experiencing what it was like. Sounds like typical sibling rivalry to me.”
Shrugging, I keep my eyes on the road as we get closer to the retreat’s entrance. “Maybe.”
It’s not that I don’t consider them my family, but I haven’t been able to let them in as close as I want, given my own parents.
The two people who were supposed to protect and love me unconditionally were the ones I feared the most. The ones who made me run in the first place and leave the love of my life and a child I never knew about.
“Okay, here we are...” I nod toward her window and drive slower. “On the right is the pool and lounge area, and next to it is the huge bonfire. They light it every Friday night and have a s’mores party for everyone.”
“That sounds delicious. I haven’t had one of those in years.”
“Probably since we made them in high school, huh?”
“Yep. Serena would love them, though.”
“The barn and pasture for the trail horses are down that way.” I point. “The trail rides are behind the cabins up the hill to the left. Wilder and Waylon do them twice a day.”
“I bet they’re a hoot to have as guides,” she says with a knowing grin. “In a non-charming way.”
“Mm-Hmm.” I roll my eyes.
“They were in one of those bridal party videos too. I recognized their faces but didn’t wanna say anything in front of them. They were rippin’ off their shirts and givin’ lap dances like a cowboy straight outta Magic Mike.”
I groan at the imagery. “Of course they were.”
“I thought you joined a ranch strip club.” She fails at holding back a laugh when I shoot her a murderous glare. “There’s five cabins, right?”
“Yeah. The two larger ones sleep up to twelve people and the other three sleep up to six.”
“That’s a good number.”
“Yeah, not too many at once, and even at the bare minimum, enough to keep the staff busy. Wanna stop and look around or go to the main house?”
“I’d love to meet the Hollises if you don’t mind going there?”
“Not at all. When you come back with Serena, we’ll go ridin’ as a family.” I glance over and notice a red tint over her cheeks.
“I’d love that,” she says.
Me too.
Once I park in front of the two-story sage-colored house, we get out and meet in front of my truck.
“This is the perfect country house.” Laney admires the immaculate landscaping and wraparound porch filled with rocking chairs and hanging plants. “I wonder if they sit out here a lot.”
“Gramma Grace and Dena do after supper. They like to read and enjoy the peace and quiet after the kitchen’s cleaned up and everyone’s left to do their evening chores,” I tell her. “That’s been their mother-daughter tradition ever since she moved in three years ago after her father passed away.”
“Oh, how sad. How many live here?”
I start counting on my fingers. “Gramma Grace, Garrett and Dena, Landen, and Tripp. Also Mallory, who took over Noah’s bedroom when she moved in last year. You haven’t met her yet, but she’s their little cousin.”
“The twins live in the ranch hand cabins by you. Where’s Noah stayin’?”
“She has a cottage about half a mile away. Noah likes having her privacy and being away from her brothers.”
She laughs. “Understandable.”
Grabbing her hand, I lead her up the porch stairs and open the door. “Knock, knock. Comin’ in,” I call out.
“Is that my favorite Texas cowboy?” Dena asks.
Chuckling, I shake my head. “Always tryin’ to butter me up, ain’t ya?”
“Well, I gotta.” She turns around from the sink and smiles at me, then notices Laney and her eyes widen. “I was wonderin’ when you were gonna let me meet your guest.”
“Laney, this is Dena Hollis. Dena, this is Laney Bennett.”
“The high school girlfriend, right?” Dena wipes her hands off on a towel and unties her apron.
Laney snickers. “That’s my reputation ’round here now, ain’t it?”
“Accordin’ to my sources, yes.”
I snort. “You mean Wilder.”
“Please sit. I’ll serve sweet tea. Want anything to eat?”
“We ate already, but thank you,” I tell her.
For the next hour, Dena talks our ears off while asking Laney twenty questions. She nearly spits out her sweet tea when she learns about Serena and demands Laney and her move here. I want to ask her to do the same thing, but I have no right to do that.
When it gets close to Laney’s time to leave, we thank Dena again, and Laney promises she’ll see her again soon.
“Oh, Ayden. I’m fixin’ to go to the store this afternoon. It’s your turn to pick this Sunday’s menu.”
“You spoil me. I’ll text you in an hour,” I tell her so I don’t lose any more alone time with Laney.
She shoots me a wink, and I lead Laney out to my truck.
“She’s really sweet, Ayden,” she says once we head back to The Lodge.
“Like the mother I never had.”
Laney reaches out and squeezes my thigh. “Good. You deserve that.”
“When you’re here next, I’ll make sure you meet Garrett. You’ll like him. Looks like one of those beefed-up cowboys from the show Yellowstone. Guests are always tellin’ him how much he looks like that one guy...”
“Rip Wheeler!” she squeals.
I crack up laughing. “Of course you’re a fan.”
“Mama and I binged it. She kept tellin’ me we needed some cowboys in our lives.”
“Got plenty of those here.” I shoot her a wink.
Her lips arch. “I’ve noticed.”
“Never seen an episode in my life, yet I know way too much about that damn show thanks to Noah and her best friend, Magnolia, talkin’ about it nonstop.”
Laney smirks. “Trust me, it’s worth the hype.”
“I don’t need to watch a show about ranch life when I live it each day.”
She smirks, shaking her head. “Still stubborn as I remember, too.”
Grabbing her hand from my thigh, I embrace it in mine and then brush my lips across her knuckles. “And you’re just as beautiful as I remember.”