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“Fuck!” Ranger cursed again, this time letting the rage burn away the panic, the memories.
How could he go to his Mate like this? How could he expect her to understand his weakness? His fear? His inability to heal the fucking scar that was a constant reminder of his failure?
"You march your happy ass over there and tell her the truth," Barbara MacAllen, the matriarch of the MacAllen Clan of Dragons, mother to Ranger's best friends, and pretty much the only mom he'd ever known, snarled. "What the hell is it with you boys? You think just because women have breasts, we don't understand heartache or pain or having shit happen that you just can't wrap your head around?"
Swatting at his shoulder, she kept right on going, “Y’all do know that we’re the ones who go through childbirth, right? We’re the ones who have to watch y’all grow up, stand by while you skin your knees after we told you not to do whatever, watch shift for the first time knowing it’s gonna hurt like hell, stand there waving while you go off to fight, all the shit that tears our hearts out of our chests, right?Pfft!Buck up, Buttercup. Ellie MacLeish is one damned fine woman. She’s known her own share of heartache and loss. There is no way in Hell she would ever look down on you for being human.”
Poking him in the chest, making him look her in the eye, Barbara insisted, “You do remember your human half, right? You do know that having weaknesses and using them to your advantage only serves to makeyoua better person, a better man, a better Mate? I did teach you that right along with my boys, didn’t I? I’m sure I remember saying all these things about a million times over the years.”
"Yes, ma'am," Ranger mumbled, finally able to draw a breath and speak without sounding like a wounded pup. "You did, and you are right."
Cupping her hand over her ear, Barbara leaned closer, a telltale twinkle in her eye. "What was that again?" He knew she was working hard to keep the chuckle out of her voice and loved that she couldn't as she kept right on picking at him. "Can you say that a little louder, so I can commit it to memory, please? It does a momma good to hear that she's right every once in a while."
“You. Are. Right. Momma Barbara,” Ranger snickered, just as Zach, the fourth in the line of MacAllen brothers, and the one he felt the closest to most of the time, walked into the room.
"Oh, shit, now you've gone and done it," he pretended to be upset. "She'll be high on her own ego for a damned week." Slapping Ranger on the back, he added, "I was sure I taught you better. Never give momma ammo to hold over us. How many times have I said those exact words?"
Shrugging and pretending to hang his head in shame, Ranger took one step forward, lifted his head again, spun to the side, and wrapped his arm around Mrs. MacAllen's shoulder. Planting a kiss on her cheek, he snickered, "I know who does the cookin', son, and I wanna eat."
"Well, damn," Zach made a show out of pouting, complete with a kick of the toe of his boot against the hardwood floor as he shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "Beaten by fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and biscuits, again. That shit's just not fair."
"What's not fair?" Called Colton, the youngest of the MacAllen brothers and one of the infamous twins, as he joined them in the room that was Ranger's when they were all growing up and the one he'd been staying in since he was released from the hospital.
“Dumbass here,” Zach grumbled, motioning with a nod of his head towards Ranger. “Told mom that she was right and when I called him on it, he sided with her. Even gave her a kiss on the cheek.”
“Holy shit!” Colton bellowed, a gleam of mischief in his eye. “There will be no living with her.”
Swinging her dishtowel like it was a whip, Barbara stepped out from under Ranger's arm before snapping both Zach and Colton with the fringe. "Y'all better watch it," she teased. "Don't make me get your daddy after you."
"Did I hear my name being spoken in vain?" Owen, the patriarch of the MacAllen Clan and the Bronze Dragon who had not only saved Ranger from a pack of hunters when he was only five years old but went back to get the bodies of his parents and made sure they received a proper send-off into the afterlife.
“You did,” Barbara sassed, marching right up to her much taller, much broader husband and poking him in the chest. “Those children of yours…” Glancing over her shoulder and giving each one of them a very pointed glare, she turned right back around and went on without missing a beat, “…are in here giving Ranger a rash of shit as big as the day is long for taking up for me. Can you believe that?”
Throwing back his head and laughing out loud, Owen choked out between chuckles, "I can not only believe it, but I'm also surprised it's just now happening. The boy's been here for damn near a month without so much as an arm-wrestling match for the last piece of rhubarb pie or a coin toss for the last biscuit. It was bound to happen. He always did have the silver tongue and knew what to say to get in your good graces, my love.”
“He damned sure did,” Heath, the second to the last in line and the other twin, hollered in from the hallway. “You’d think he was the youngest instead of Colton. Damned sure always was mom’s favorite.”
“I have no favorites,” Barbara denied, giving Ranger a wink over her shoulder. “I love you all just the same – with all my heart. That means every danged one of you can get washed up for dinner. I think Ranger’s got an announcement to make.”
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than a deafening silence filled the usually uproarious MacAllen household. Looking from face to face, Ranger felt nothing but love and acceptance. He'd missed every single one of them. Was so sorry he'd missed three of his adopted brothers finding their Mates and sworn it would never happen again. No, these people weren't his blood relations, but they were family, no doubt about it.
Opening his mouth to tell them all that he was going to leave right after dinner, the sound of the front door opening and a shouted, "Hey, anybody home?" broke the silence and gave him a moment's reprieve.
“We’re in here,” Owen yelled. “Ranger’s about to give us some big news.”
“Hold up. Don’t start without us. We’re coming.”
Two seconds later, the second of the MacAllen brothers, J.D. and his Mate, Dax, walked into the room. Stopping at the end of Ranger's bed, it was the redheaded Fire Horse who prompted with a nod, "Alright, Bud, we've arrived. What's going on?"
"Well, umm…. It's just that I…" For the first time in his life, Ranger was at a loss for words. He hadn't been back on the ranch for years. His work with the DIA kept him on the road or in the field office in San Antonio. After his accident, coming back had indeed been the homecoming he needed, but it was time to go. He had to get past this last hurdle. Had to be a hundred percent. Had to make things right with Ellie.
All he had to do was find the words to say goodbye…again.
However, before he got the chance, Colton chimed in, “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t wait, Bro. I read your mind.”
“Colton Andrew,” Barbara scolded. “You know better. How many times have your father and I lectured you about invading people’s privacy?”
Ranger couldn't help but laugh. It warmed his heart that no matter how old any of them got to be, Barbara still treated each of them like they were teenagers.
