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Tillie
I’m feeling a little overwhelmed as I look over the Lucas family farm. It’s really quite beautiful and massive. There’s a mixture of shiny red barns trimmed in white. Shiny, white wooden fences, corralling in the prettiest horses I’ve ever seen, and considering Wyoming is horse country—not to mention Ryder’s family has some of the finest ever seen—that’s saying something. There’s a beautiful old white farmhouse with the gingerbread trim and a shiny red tin roof to match the red barns. The yard is full of people, and it looks like something out of a painting—or those old jigsaw puzzles that my mom always works in the winter.
It's beautiful and definitely intimidating. Ryder said this place was the home of his Coach’s mother. Ida Sue. He also told me to prepare myself for the woman herself. That more than scared me, I can’t lie. I think he could see I was getting worked up because he also cautioned me saying that she was one of the best people he’s ever met, but she can be a lot.
“Um…Ryder?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“When you say Ida Sue can be a lot, what exactly does that mean?”
“Quit worrying you’ll love her. She’s just a little…overwhelming, but she means well.”
“Can you give me something like… a for instance?” I ask, trying to hold my nerves down so I don’t drown in them.
He laughs. “Okay. So, Coach was hung up on some woman who wasn’t worth the effort it took to tie a damn shoe.”
His response makes me giggle. “Okay…”
“Ida Sue decided he needed a good woman to pull him away from her, so she ran a private ad to get Green a wife.”
“She did not. Without his permission?”
“Sweetheart, he had no idea. Still, it worked out. He found Kage out of the mess.”
“Kage answered the ad?” I ask, shocked. She’s so gorgeous, I can’t see that she would even have to look for a man, let alone answer an ad.
“Not exactly, but she met Ida Sue and that was all it took.”
“I’m not sure what to think about that,” I whisper, as we near the house.
“You take with it the fact that Ida Sue is the kind of mother who would do whatever she feels the need to do so that her kids are happy. Hell, she pretty much played matchmaker to all of her kids for that very reason.”
That makes me smile. “I don’t care if the woman is accused of murder. I think I love her already.”
Ryder laughs. “She wasn’t accused of that. She was arrested for physically assaulting an officer.”
“Yikes! Why did she do that?”
Before Ryder can answer me, Mary appears behind me and links her arm in mine. “Hey Ryder, I’m borrowing your girlfriend so I can introduce her to the fam.”
“Uh, can’t I take her around to do that?”
“Nah. You need to help Slater and the other men grill dinner.”
“How many of us does it take to grill? There seems to be quite a few standing over there already.”
Mary laughs. “Well, most of them are standing around drinking beers and shooting the shit while Dad does the grilling.”
Ryder winks at me. “Well, if I must, I can force myself to drink beer.”
“I thought you could,” Mary laughs.
I watch their interaction and something warm slides through me. I see why Ryder is happy here. He may not see it, but I do. He’s made a home here.
“Are you okay if I leave, Buttons?”
He’s worried about me. Even around people he likes and trusts, he’s worried about me.Those thoughts fill me with warmth, and I nod. “Yeah, honey, I’m good.”
