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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.
