Ryder (Rope 'n Ride Series Book 2) (12 page)

“Don’t say anything to anybody.”

She drew her brows together. “Surely you don’t think I said that about Wynonna.”

“No,” he said at once. “Deep down my family doesn’t think so either.”

“What was going on earlier, after your ride? You seemed…tense.”

He threw her a look and then waved at a squealing Maddie as she circled by.

“Is there something going on between you and Gonzales?”

Ah, she’d known that moment would get under his skin. She shook her head. “No. I have no idea what possessed him to hug me after his ride. Daddy didn’t like it at all.”

Ryder’s mouth had brackets around each corner. “I didn’t either,” he said quietly.

“Ryder—”

The ride slowed. Kids got off but the girls remained on, Maddie bucking on her horse like a mad child.

He turned suddenly and trapped Joy’s hands in his. “Do you care what my family thinks about you?”

Staring into his dark eyes, she thought hard. “I do care. I like your family and respect them a lot. I don’t want them to dislike me.”

“Same goes for your father. But we can’t live for either of them. Only for ourselves. Joy, I haven’t known you long but damn, you drive me crazy. I think about you while we’re apart, and I’ve never looked forward to the next rodeo so much.”

Something sweet and small broke open inside her, flooding her with so much want that she could barely restrain herself. She inched closer, squeezing his fingers. “We have one more night here.”

He shook his head. “That’s just it—I have the girls tonight. Buck asked me to give Channing a break. And they don’t behave at all for Asher. They stay up till all hours and he’s too exhausted to give his all at the next event.”

Joy pushed out a breath. “They’ll be staying in your room?”

“Yes. I wish it were you.”

Uncaring of the camera guy that swooped in from the side and zoomed in on her, she lifted her hand to Ryder’s square jaw. The rasp of hair under her knuckles turned her inside out.

“If I come by and help out, will it torment you more?”

“Hell yes. But I want you to.” Some of the worry around his mouth and eyes trickled away, leaving a gleam in his stare. He leaned into her stroking fingers.

“Then I’ll be there. We’ll get the girls off this ride, give them a minute to stop being dizzy and then take them for dinner,” she suggested.

“Or a nice dose of Benadryl.”

She burst out laughing and waved at Montana as she went past on her seal.

“You think I’m joking.”

She pinched his jaw between her thumb and forefinger, leaning on tiptoe to brush her lips over his, uncaring who saw. When a smile formed under her mouth, Joy couldn’t stop the happiness from flooding each corner of her heart. She loved that she could do that to him.

“The worst will be keeping my hands off you,” he told her.

“They have to sleep sometime, right? Maybe we can steal a kiss or two.”

* * * * *

“Turns out Asher Franklin’s kids don’t need sleep. Ever. They’re weapons of mass destruction. If the government clones them, they could create a child army that could destroy everything in their path, living solely on Doritos.”

Joy doubled over laughing at Ryder’s words, but he wasn’t kidding. When were they going to sleep? It was past midnight. At one point Montana had nearly fallen asleep on his lap and he’d tucked her into bed, heavy with fatigue, where she’d lain for all of two minutes before bouncing up.

“What do you think about the outcome of the bull ridin’?” Yeah, he was fishing for compliments. He wanted everything he could get from her.

She smiled, her teeth flashing white in the golden tan of her face. “You did great and you know it.”

He brushed his knuckles on his shirt front. “Yeah, I did.”

“I’m glad I got to see it.”

“I’m glad you’re glad, Princess. I’ve never done so well here in Cheyenne.”

“Are you suggesting it’s due to my presence?” Her eyes danced.

But he was dead serious when he nodded. “I’m a better man all around with you here, Joy.”

Their gazes locked, and warmth wove through his system. That look she was giving him—it was all he needed for the rest of his days.

“What happens once your father has Gonzales and that Tucker kid ready for the big-time?” Ryder hardly wanted to hear it, but he had to know what to expect.

She glanced down, picking at a thread on the cheap hotel comforter. “I’ll be going on with them.”

He pushed out a breath. “Don’t you do anything for yourself?”

Her gaze flashed to his. “I’m doing it right now.”

A squeal sounded, and they both looked toward the corner of the room. Joy had both girls settled at the table with their coloring books. The pair chattered about silly things—the color of a real unicorn’s hair and who could burp louder. But when Maddie mentioned her mother, Joy’s gaze flew to his.

“Where is she?” she asked him softly.

Ryder was settled on the bed, legs crossed, leaning against the headboard with Joy stretched at the bottom, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders. He wanted to bring her up and get things started.

He maneuvered to lie at the bottom of the bed next to her. Her body heat lured him like nothing else. If the girls would at least fall asleep, he could have Joy in the bathroom with the door closed, balls-deep in her.

“She’s an addict and she took off.” Spilling all the family—and non-family—secrets only made his heart that much closer to hers. He brushed the hair off her temple. She rested her head on the crook of her arm, staring at him through half-lidded eyes. Chances were they’d both fall asleep long before the girls did. He’d dead-bolted and chained the hotel door, though. They weren’t going anywhere.

“Such a sad story. Sort of like my own, except my mother just took off with a cowboy.”

“And that’s why you aren’t supposed to be with one.”

She gave a small nod and curled closer to him. He wrapped an arm around her middle, loving the feel of her body. “I kind of made that call on my own too. Daddy wasn’t completely responsible.”

“What do you mean?” He couldn’t stop touching her. Hair, waist, running the pad of his thumb across her lower lip.

“I had a fling with a rodeo guy once. I swore them off.”

“Not all of them.” Their gazes connected, held.

“Not all.” She inched forward until her forehead rested against his. The intimacy of the moment struck him. This could be their room and their kids keeping them up till all hours. And dammit, tomorrow she’d be gone, driving off with her father and Cody Fucking Gonzales while Ryder headed home with the film crew and his insane family.

“Stay with me an extra day in Cheyenne. We’ll let them all go home and steal a day for just us.”

She moved back to search his gaze. “You’re serious?”

“Dead.”

“I don’t know, Ryder. How will I get home?”

“I’ll drive you.”

At that, she laughed. Montana raised her head from her coloring and looked their way before resuming with a bright orange crayon.

“I’m not joking, Joy. I want you all to myself. And I want to take you home to see how you live.”

Her eyes fluttered shut and then she opened them again. “I don’t know, Ryder.”

He kneaded her waist, obsessed with the dip. He wanted to kiss and lick it for hours before moving on to her sweet pussy. Tongue-fucking her until she couldn’t support her own body weight and then lying her down and sinking into her tight body.

“Stop giving me that look,” she said.

“What look?” He arched a brow.

“That I’m-going-to-eat-you-and-spank-you look.”

His lips twisted upward. “You know me pretty well.”

“I’m starting to.”

She flicked her eyes upward, almost rolling them, indicating the girls were still a roadblock.

“At least think about staying another day with me, Princess.” He pulled her tighter in his hold.

“I won’t make any promises.”

“It’s all I can ask for. Besides, there’s always Bryce Canyon.” The next venue was too far off. He couldn’t last a minute let alone a week.

She snuggled closer with her head on his chest, right over his heart.

When he woke his arms were empty but both little girls were smashed against him, dead to the world.

Dammit, she left me. Guess I’ve got my answer about that extra day.

Chapter Six

Dealing with the fallout of a night spent in Ryder’s arms doing nothing more than sleeping and cuddling was worse than being kicked by a mule. Joy’s whole body felt bruised and sensitive.

She ached for him in ways she didn’t know possible. And he wouldn’t leave her head. If she was eating breakfast, she wondered if he liked eggs. When she saddled her horse for a long ride, she thought about his preferences in saddles and tack.

She knew a lot about Ryder but not nearly enough.

“Joy.” Her father’s call drew her out of the seventh episode of the
Rope ‘n Ride
series. She hurriedly switched off the TV and looked up.

“Did you need me?”

“I was going to have you help me with Cody’s grip. No matter what I do, he won’t keep his pinky next to the bull’s backbone.”

She shifted to her feet and pulled her tank top down over her middle. It had ridden up while lounging on the sofa. She’d also imagined what the gorgeous bull rider on TV would have done with that exposed skin.

“I’ll gladly help. I’ve been lazy long enough.”

Her father gave her a sharp look. “You seem distracted lately. Everything okay?”

She stepped up to her father with a smile and a hug. “Everything’s great.”
Except I want Ryder with everything in my being and you would never accept him as anything but an apprentice.

As if hearing her thoughts, Daddy shot a glance at the black TV screen. “Were you watching that show of the Calhouns?”

“Yes. They’re funny.” In this episode, Wynonna and Ridge had been making a cake from scratch for their mother’s birthday. Which had ended in a mess in the kitchen and a flat cake. But Ryder had saved the day with a big tub of ice cream, bought from their local shop.

He seemed to do that a lot—save the day. With Buck by giving up his time and money to help him and his family. And with Asher Franklin’s girls.

“Damn good stock, they are too. The Calhouns,” Daddy added when she gave him a puzzled look.

“You think so?” She didn’t want to get her hopes up, because there was no point. Her father wouldn’t change his mind. He was hell-bent on her marrying anybody
but
someone in a hat and boots. He always said she could love a business tycoon just as easily as a man with callused hands.

But she
liked
those callused hands.

She started out the door. “Let’s see what we can do about Cody’s grip.”

“I was thinking I’d try one last time to get Ryder to train with me.” Her father’s words stopped her in her tracks. She tossed a look over her shoulder.

“Really? He seems set on staying where he is.”

“Yeah, but he has so much potential. I haven’t seen talent like his in a decade.”

She smiled at that. When Ryder heard, she imagined he’d puff out his chest and preen like a peacock.

Her father leveled his stare at her. The smile fell from her face. She didn’t like that look. It was the old where-have-you-been-why-are-you-late-who-were-you-with look.

Exactly why she couldn’t have stayed in Cheyenne with Ryder. She wasn’t ready for the inquisition—or the aftermath it would cause for her. She’d be worse off after spending a whole day and night in his arms.

“I thought you’d spoken to him about training with me,” her father said, halting her thoughts.

“Uhh, no.”

“But you
have
been speaking to him.”

Damn, did the man ever stop being as sharp as a tack? Surely at his age, he should start slipping a bit.

“A little but not about apprenticing.”

“What about then?”

She wished for some distraction. Where was Cody when she needed him? Or one of the ranch hands needing Daddy’s advice on some problem? Anything to get his attention off her.

She was old enough to make her own decisions, so why was she so worried about his opinion anyway?
Ryder’s smart, witty and a great lover. I’m falling in love with him.

If the words in her mind hadn’t snapped her attention back, nothing could. She gave a light shake of her head. “Ryder asked my help and advice with Asher Franklin’s kids.”

Her father’s eyebrows went up. “Franklin’s?”

“Yeah, he’s raising them alone and the Calhouns take turns helping out with them. So we took them into the fair for rides and food until we wore them out.”

Which had been halfway through the night. She’d awakened to find both little ones flattened next to Ryder or draped on top of him. Joy’s heart had nearly burst with affection for all of them. To keep from letting those feelings run rampant, she’d made her escape.

“I see.” Her father didn’t sound as though he really did, but he didn’t ask why Ryder would ask
her
for advice on handling children.

Thankfully, at that moment Cody did come to her rescue. He appeared at the screen door, smiling widely. And she and her father walked out of the house and down to the paddock where Cody worked on a bucking bronco instead of a bull, trying to get his grip down.

He wasn’t good with his hands, but she’d seen Ryder’s grip while on that bull back in Cheyenne, and his was perfection.

Damn, she had it bad.

* * * * *

Ryder cursed as his shovel handle busted. He’d broken plenty in his lifetime, but today he’d hit his snapping point. He raised the handle over his head, swung it like a samurai and hurled it.

It flipped end-over-end and stuck in the ground twenty feet away. A chicken squawked, even though it was nowhere near the object, and skittered away.

Ryder stared down at the blade still stuck deep in the manure. Damn it all, he wasn’t in the mood.

Reaching into the thick crap, he yanked the blade free and threw it too.

Of course all of this was caught on film. Adrianna made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, and he leveled his glare at her, silencing her.

Ridge came out of the barn, a bag of feed over his shoulder.  As Ryder looked on, the bag split and feed poured over his shoulder and down his chest.

“Son of a bitch,” he drawled, dropping the whole mess on the ground a few feet from Ryder’s shovel.

“What the hell happened here?” Ridge pointed at the shovel blade.

“New lawn ornament.” Ryder jumped off the manure pile and whacked his gloved hands together to loosen any crud there.

“Maybe Ma won’t mind adding this to the display. Why don’t we plant a posy or two and call it good?” Ridge sounded chipper but Ryder knew him, and that crease between his brows meant he was barely holding onto his temper. He was likely performing for the cameras.

Which was a load of horseshit bigger than that pile Ryder had been shoveling. They weren’t even acting like themselves anymore. Over the past few months, Ridge had suppressed his true self the most. It was only a matter of time before he snapped.

“What the hell’s this?” Buck asked as he came out of the barn. He paused in his stride and looked at the feed everywhere and the broken shovel. Before they replied, he shook his head. “Never mind. I’ve got five sick cows on the ridge. C’mon.”

Adrianna jogged with her camera to keep up with them. When they jumped into the truck, they automatically made room for her. As they bumped across the field, nobody spoke.

“There’s Lane,” she said from the back seat.

“What’s he doing out here? I sent him to town for a tractor part,” Buck almost snarled.

“That old rust-bucket’s broken down again?” Ridge sounded just as irritated, since he was the grease monkey of the family. He often lay under farm equipment late into the night trying to get it running for the morning work.

Buck gave a nod, his gaze fixed on Lane galloping toward them. He stopped the truck and Lane reined up, his horse flipping its head. Throwing a glance into the back seat, he offered Adrianna a nod.

A nod that was far too familiar. Ryder threw a look at her over his shoulder but she’d turned her head away—the action more telling than anything. Damn, had Lane learned nothing from Wynonna’s indiscretion with the production manager?

Hands. The hell. Off.

Ryder issued a groan under his breath, but Buck heard and threw him an I-know look.

Leaning to speak over Buck, Ryder said to Lane, “What’s the trouble? We thought you were going to town.”

“Haven’t made it yet. West’s holding off an oil rig on the top field.”

“Oil r—?” Ryder’s words never made it out of his mouth because his teeth met on his tongue as Buck slammed on the gas. The truck barreled across the field.

“Hold on, Adrianna,” Ridge said. “Might want to set down your camera for this.”

“Are you kidding? I can totally see this footage making it into an episode.” She was obviously the happiest person in the truck, and no wonder.

“What’s the episode called—the Crappy Attitudes episode?” Ryder said. Nobody laughed at Ryder’s words.

Separately all the mishaps of the day so far were equivalent to a mosquito bite, but added together it made for a big headache that two pain pills couldn’t touch.

On horseback, Lane streaked by, gaining a few feet of lead on the truck. Most likely showing off for Adrianna. What sort of crap would they be dealing with between those two? Accidental pregnancy or another huge blowout over a case of jealousy?

Ryder was leaning toward the pregnancy—he’d seen how Lane looked at Adrianna.

“Oil rig?” Ridge said from the back. “I thought we got Ennis off our backs months ago.”

“Apparently we missed something,” Ryder said through his clenched jaw. “Knowing Ennis, he’s found some loophole in the will and is coming in through that window.”

“Slimy fucker. We could end him under the wheels of a tractor and use the digging attachment to bury him.” Buck’s words shocked them all.

Ryder wanted to laugh but all the tension inside him prevented it.

“Wow, remind me not to get on your bad side,” Ridge said.

“Sorry—make sure you erase that, Adrianna. I’m just edgier than normal.”

Ryder exchanged a look with Buck. He didn’t know much about the trouble with his and Channing’s baby, but his guess was an appointment was upcoming and Buck was freaking out. Who wouldn’t be?

If it were Ryder, he’d go to the ends of the earth to ensure his family was safe and whole.

Joy popped into his head—not that she’d ever left. He’d been burning with a need to blister her ass for leaving him in that hotel room.
And
leaving him with the Franklin hellions. He’d awakened with a numb arm, a face caked with lip gloss and his hair sticking up at all angles and held by various rainbow clips.

At least he’d finally found out what a unicorn’s hair really looked like.

But Joy… He’d felt a true connection to her and thought she had too. They’d shared a lot of hopes and dreams while sitting in that hotel room managing the kids. And he’d believed she’d stopped caring about her father’s say in her life.

Yet here he sat without her. Hell, he didn’t even have her cell number to text her.

When Buck guided the truck to the crest of the ridge, Ryder not only spotted the five sick cows dotting the landscape, left behind by the roaming herd, but the tall, intrusive oil-drilling equipment.

The metallic gleam against the natural beauty of the land sickened him.

Buck floored it. They hit a hole and the truck dragged.

“There goes your exhaust.” Ridge twisted to look behind them. In the side mirror, Ryder saw a pipe laying in the grass.

“I hardly care about the truck, Ridge.” Buck’s tone held a note of deadly calm that worried Ryder more than anything. He’d seen Buck flip out, and nobody wanted that. Besides, today Ryder didn’t know if he was capable of holding back either. Two Calhouns unleashing their fury on the world?

They’d end up in jail.

But it’ll make a good episode.

The truck stopped several feet away from the rig. West stood there with arms crossed and legs braced wide. Nobody was getting through him.

All the truck doors slammed and Lane made it a second later, leaping off his horse and letting it walk itself to cool down. It started a slow trot away from the group.

“Who the hell are you?” Buck demanded of the rig driver.

The slim man rubbed a knuckle under his nose, looking a little alarmed to see the posse who’d come for him. Ryder and his brothers closed the circle around him.

“I’m a friend of Ennis Calhoun.”

The brothers exchanged a look. “This land doesn’t belong to Ennis. He’s signed papers to verify it,” Buck said.

“He sent me up to check on something.”

Ryder took a step closer to the guy. “We don’t want any trouble. So you’d better be on your way.”

“If you know what’s good for you.” Ridge moved forward too.

“You can’t lay down threats,” the driver retorted.

“We can if you’re trespassing, which you are.” Lane stepped forward, and Adrianna revolved around him like a satellite, probably catching the chiseled lines of his jaw as he threatened the rigger.