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“Don’t be annoying,” Riley scolds, giving her a pointed look as we walk hand in hand into the house.
“Hey, Zoey, have fun at church this morning?” she asks.
“Yeah, it was fine. Kinda embarrassing, though,” I admit. I’m not used to so much attention, and it seems I’ve had a plethora of it since I arrived.
“You’ll get used to being called out. Privacy isn’t something any of us have around here. Considering the town is so small, everyone is in everyone’s business,” she explains with a groan. “Makes it pretty hard to do anything I shouldn’t because they all talk.”
“I can only imagine,” I say as Riley watches me intently. Damn, the man leaves me breathless with just one look. He sets my body on fire as he leads me into the dining room where his mother’s setting the table.
“Hey, Ma,” he says with a lazy grin.
“Oh, you kids made it.” She looks down at her watch. “And you’re actually on time. See, you’re already affecting him in a good way, Zoey,” she quips, and all I can do is smile.
Mr. Bishop walks in and gives River a sweet kiss on the cheek. I can’t get over how much Riley resembles his dad. They’re both so handsome, I’m tempted to ask if there’s something in the Texas water.
Rowan plops down at the table. “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse. But not Checkers. He’s a sweetie,” she says with a giggle.
I sit down next to her as Riley helps his mother bring out the food. My stomach growls as I look at the fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and green beans. Homemade dinner rolls that smell incredible are set right in front of me with a slab of butter. Riley shoots me a wink and asks me what I’d like to drink. Before we eat, Rowan says the blessing, and then we dig in.
“Oh, honey, you need to put more on your plate than that,” Mrs. Bishop orders.
“I’m going to gain twenty pounds being here.” I snicker but grab another chicken leg.
River smiles and nods. “I know what you mean. When I first moved here, the big dinners were an adjustment for me, especially since I didn’t come from a large family. However, we celebrate everything with a meal,” Riley’s mom explains.
“Mrs. Bishop,” I say, and she interrupts me before I can continue.
“There’s only room for one Mama Bishop on this ranch.” She chuckles. “But you can call me Ma just like everyone else.”
I grin. “Ma.” I try it out, and it feels surprisingly natural. “Where are you from?”
“Milwaukee, Wisconsin,” she answers and then talks about how she met Riley’s dad in Key West and how they fell madly in love. She left everything behind to move to Texas to be with him and start her new life here.
She grabs Alex’s hand. “It was the best decision I ever made.”
Riley places his hand on my lap, and I thread my fingers through his. It’s at that moment I recognize how similar our stories are, minus the being pregnant part.
“Mama Bishop was ready to kill Alex.” River chuckles.
“Yeah, Mama can be really scary. You should be glad this one’s your mom,” Alex tells Riley.
“Oh trust me, I am. Grandma doesn’t take no shit from anybody,” Riley replies.
“Language,” River warns.
“So you’re not pregnant…” Rowan says it as more of a statement than a question.
I chuckle, my cheeks heating. “No, I’m not.”
“You didn’t deny that you couldn’t be, so that means you two totally did it!” By the smirk on her face, I know she’s trying to get under Riley’s skin in front of their parents.
He picks up a dinner roll, then chucks it at her. “Shut the hell up!”
“Rowan, that’s enough,” River snaps, but Rowan’s more than amused with herself. The whole dynamic of their family is amazing. There are rules and a lot of work to be done, but just by spending this short amount of time with them, it’s easy to see how much they love each other. There are zero doubts about how close they are.
My family is on the other spectrum. First of all, I can name all of my cousins on one hand, and we don’t talk so freely around each other. The boundaries are high, but with the Bishops, they say what they mean and mean what they say. And damn, I already love them so much.
After I’m so full that I’m ready to burst, River brings out a homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream. I don’t think I can take another bite, but after she hands me a plate, I shove down a spoonful. As soon as it hits my mouth, I release a moan because I’ve never tasted anything so good.
“Wow,” I say when it’s half gone.
“I know, right?” Riley smirks. “You’ll never go hungry ’round here.”
