Chapter Fourteen
Marina
The party is winding down.
Garrett Tuttle put on one hell of a show.
It felt more like an intimate concert than a wedding reception at one point, but now the music has softened to something slow and mellow, the dance floor is mostly empty, and the string lights overhead cast a warm glow across the event barn.
One by one, guests say their goodbyes and disappear down the path toward the academy’s parking lot, leaving the Storm family gathered around the fire outside.
I make my way outside and sit in one of the wooden chairs, tucking my feet beneath me, and watch sparks drift into the dark Wyoming sky.
Bryce and Charli step out of the barn together, fingers intertwined. They’re heading to a mountainside hotel to spend their wedding night.
Bryce stops in front of me. “I hope you enjoyed the wedding.”
I smile. “I did. Everything was beautiful.”
His smile widens, and Charli leans against his side.
Before either of them can say anything else, a small body barrels across the grass.
“Mommy!”
I look up just as Ryder skids to a stop beside me.
“Can I have a sleepover with Ruby?”
“Um, I think you’ve had a big enough night, don’t you?”
He shakes his head.
Bryce lowers himself onto one knee in front of Ryder. “You like it here at the ranch?”
Ryder’s eyes go huge. “Yes, sir.”
The answer comes with so much enthusiasm that everyone around the fire laughs.
Bryce glances at me. “We’ve got a flight booked for you tomorrow afternoon to head back to Dallas.”
“Unless you want to stay?” Charli adds.
My gaze moves between them.
Then I look toward the fire.
Ryder has already skipped back over to Caison, who he has somehow recruited to roast marshmallows. Ruby is beside him, and AJ—Matty and Caison’s two-year-old—is perched happily in Matty’s lap, who’s in a chair near the fire.
Caison threads marshmallows onto a long stick before handing it to Ryder. He crouches beside him and helps him hold it over the flames.
Ryder watches, fascinated as the marshmallow puffs almost immediately, its edges turning golden brown.
“Pull it back,” Caison tells him.
Ryder does, and Caison helps him blow on the molten confection until it’s cool enough.
Then Ryder shoves the entire thing into his mouth.
I laugh when he turns toward Ruby and opens wide, proudly displaying his sticky prize.
She giggles, and the sight and sound of the two of them enjoying the simple pleasure of roasting marshmallows causes something inside me to ache.
This …
The laughter. The people. The way Ryder has already settled into this place like he belongs here.
I turn back to Bryce and Charli. “I’d really like to stay.”
Charli’s face lights up.
“But,” I add, holding up a finger, “I need to go back to Dallas and handle a few things with the condo. And I need to make arrangements for Rowdy.”
“Not a problem,” Bryce says immediately. “The summer sessions don’t start for another two weeks.”
“It shouldn’t take more than a week,” I say.
“Perfect. While you’re gone. We can get ourselves relocated so you and Ryder can move straight into the cabin,” Charli says.
Shelby, sitting across the fire beside Waylon, leans forward. “We’ll look after Ryder while you’re in Texas.”
I blink. “You will?”
“Of course.” Shelby smiles. “You can go take care of everything in Dallas without worrying about him.”
“I don’t know.” I glance toward Ryder.
I’ve never been away from him. Not for more than a few hours.
Shelby seems to read the hesitation on my face. “He’ll be in good hands,” she assures me. “Between me, Grandma Evelyn, and Waylon’s mom, he’ll be spoiled rotten.”
“Ain’t that the truth?” Waylon says.
I look back at Ryder.
He’s now trying to help Ruby with her marshmallow while Caison calmly prepares one for AJ.
He looks so happy.
I exhale.
“Okay,” I say, looking back to Shelby. “I can get things settled a lot faster. If you’re sure you don’t mind looking after him.”
Shelby smiles. “Not at all.”
“Great,” Bryce says.
I glance at Shelby. “Could you take me to Jackson Hole tomorrow so I can catch a flight?”
“I have a trick rider lesson at seven, but I can—”
“I’ll take her.” The deep voice comes from behind me.
I turn, and Royce is standing a few feet away, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans, his gaze fixed on me.
“I have an appointment that way,” he says. “I’ll be happy to give you a ride.”
“Oh.” For some reason, my pulse gives a little kick. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Bryce looks between us. “Good. I’ll forward the ticket information to your phone.”
“You don’t have to pay for my flight,” I say.
“Already have.” He shrugs. “It’s a business expense.”
I raise a brow.
“You didn’t know I was going to accept until this moment,” I point out.
He grins. “I knew we had you the minute you laid eyes on that arena yesterday,” he says.
Charli hiccups, drawing his attention back to her, and he appears to decide that the evening has gone on long enough. Before she can react, he sweeps her off her feet.
Literally.
She lets out a startled giggle as he catches her against his chest.
“Bryce!”
“Now that everything is settled, I need to get my wife to the hotel.”
A chorus of groans erupts from the boys around the fire.
The girls cheer.
Charli sighs, then wraps her arms around his neck and leans in to kiss him.
“Get a room!” Micah calls.
Bryce laughs against Charli’s mouth before carrying her toward the path leading back to the main house. Charli waves and blows kisses to everyone as they disappear into the dark.
I shake my head, smiling.
A few seconds later, Royce steps forward, and I look up at him.
“Where should I pick you up in the morning?” he asks.
“I’m staying in Charli’s old room.”
He nods once. “I’ll be out front at eight.”
“Eight?” I glance toward the path. “Bryce said the flight wasn’t until the afternoon.”
His mouth curves into a slow grin. “Good.”
I narrow my eyes.
“That gives me time to take you to breakfast first.”
Before I can come up with a response, he turns and walks away.
I watch him go.
The easy confidence in his stride. The broad shoulders. The way his jeans fit entirely too well.
Sexy cowboy.
I sigh and turn back toward the fire.
I have to stay away from Royce Trust this summer.
Because something tells me that man is going to be nothing but trouble.