Ryder (Rope 'n Ride Series Book 2) (17 page)

Ryder smoothed his hand over Joy’s spine, feeling her slight tremors. She was so empathetic and giving to everyone she crossed paths with. From Wynonna to the littlest Franklin girl and big burley rodeo guys, she was always there. From what Ryder saw, she didn’t often search for her own goals. Her driving force was sharing her happiness and good spirits with those around her.

And he adored that about her.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he murmured against her hair.

She clutched him tighter. “Thank you for doing it.”

A rumble of a laugh bubbled up his throat. “Did you just thank me for breaking a man’s nose?”

Her own laugh-sob came out. “I guess I did. Daddy’s getting medical care right now, but we need to get you into those sexy chaps of yours. The bull riding’s coming up.”

He stared into her gray eyes fringed with heavy black lashes and hoped like hell they had a little girl who looked just like her. “Okay, but Joy?”

“Yes?”

“I can’t go to the PBR. I need to stay here with my family. It’s where I belong.”

“I know.” She rested her head over his heart. “I don’t care about that, and neither will my father. He’s happy that I’ll have the support of your family when we travel to these events.”

Ryder froze. Pulled back enough to see her face. “You mean—?”

She nodded a little shyly. “I told him about us. The timing was right.”

“Since you’re smiling, I take it everything was well-received?” Inside, he was flying high.

“Perfect.” She grinned and went on tiptoe to kiss him.

And boy did he kiss her back.

Epilogue

The Calhouns gathered with heads bowed, but this time not in their circle. They were seated at the long table in their home with a huge meal between them. Cooked with love by their mother and Channing.

A camera loomed over Joy’s shoulder, and she realized it was zeroed in on her ring finger and the big fat stone Ryder had put there and was crazy to buy. She wasn’t a bling kind of girl, but she had to admit that the diamond engagement ring was beautiful and she was proud as hell to wear it. Especially since he’d admitted to being so commitment-shy before meeting her.

He noticed the nearby camera too and squeezed her hand, playing it up.

“I’m so happy to have my family around me once again,” Mrs. Calhoun said with glistening eyes after the blessing Buck had said.

He had his hand protectively over Channing’s baby bump and Joy couldn’t be happier for them. The outlook for their baby was very good, but they were getting daily prayers from the entire family and everybody who knew.

Next to them, Ridge already had a buttery roll devoured and was reaching for another. Something about the hollow, distracted look he wore made Joy wonder if he was all right, but she didn’t feel close enough to ask him. Maybe she’d mention it to Ryder later.

Cameras buzzed around the table, but nobody seemed to care. They were all growing accustomed to the attention, even Joy. Although she did worry when the new season aired because of what her father would see.
Probably Ryder and I tangled up in countless ways.

“I challenge y’all to a game of baseball following the meal,” Ryder drawled.

“Don’t we even get to let our food settle?” Wynonna wouldn’t have trouble with that—she had barely filled her plate. Like Ridge, Joy had some worries about the youngest Calhoun. Maybe she really wasn’t as great as she’d made out after the mess with the production manager.

From what she could see, Wynonna wasn’t being pressured by him, but she’d need to talk to her just to be sure. Ryder could handle the rest—he was damn good at throwing a punch, after all.

“Have some of this,” Ryder said, placing a spoonful of corn casserole on Joy’s plate. “You’ve never had it like Ma makes it.”

She looked up at Mrs. Calhoun. “Thank you for having me.”

In a flurry, their mother got up and bustled around the corner to give Joy a head-lock of a hug. She smelled good, of spiced cookies and a faint hint of leather like her children. Joy’s chest swelled with emotion.

“You’re part of us now, Joy. Welcome to the family!” She patted her and Ryder’s still-joined hands and returned to her seat.

Ryder glanced at her, brow arched and his eyes twinkling with a should-we-tell-them light.

“Timing,” she mouthed, but he released her hand and settled it on her lower belly where nobody would likely notice.

Joy had been shocked—but very happy—to learn that during one of their wild rendezvous that the condom had failed and another little Calhoun was growing inside her. When she’d told Ryder, he’d dropped to his knees, buried his face against her belly and whooped with delight for their baby. He was so loud that it was a good thing their baby couldn’t hear yet or he’d be deafened.

She didn’t protest when he added a second scoop of corn casserole to her plate. She’d been in a ravenous state for the past two weeks. So much so that she’d even swiped the Franklin girls’ potato chips once they’d finally passed out asleep back in Houston.

“How’s that new horse training up, West?” Ridge asked.

In his sport of tie-down roping, having a reliable and fast horse was key. West had won a lot of loot with his old horse, and the whole family had seemed upset when he’d recently sent it out to pasture, saying it was getting tired and deserved to munch sweet grasses for the rest of its life.

“Doing fine. He’s no Mighty Mouse,” he said about his old horse, “but he’ll do just fine.”

They tucked into their meal of roasted chicken and scalloped potatoes. The best was the dessert, though.

“Oh my God,” she said around a mouthful of what seemed to be ambrosia sent from the heavens, “this is so good.”

Several chuckles rippled down the table. “Our ma’s known for her desserts,” Wynonna said around her own bite. It was chocolatey and light but with a crunch in the crust of nuts and graham crackers.

“Didn’t you have dessert on your ranch, Joy?” Lane teased.

She shook her head. “Actually, not often. My father’s a meat and potatoes man. He doesn’t have a sweet tooth, and if I wanted something, I had to go into town for ice cream or the local restaurant for a slice of pie.”

When she’d polished off her last bite, Ryder quirked a brow at her, the pie server raised in question. She shook her head. She was going to weigh as much as a sow if he kept trying to feed her this way.

She rested against her seat back to “let it settle” as Wynonna had put it, when several chairs slid out. The guys got up and started clearing the table. Joy started to move too, but Channing waved her back down. “We cook, they clear up. That’s the way here.”

“Oh I could get used to that.” She didn’t say she wouldn’t be much help because she couldn’t cook. At their ranch, her father had always employed one and she’d had no chance to learn. But she figured she’d learn off the other Calhoun women. She was too sleepy to worry about it.

But she’d barely sat there for five minutes before the Calhoun boys had the table cleared, the dishwasher loaded and the kitchen counters wiped down.

“Wow, they work fast, don’t they?” she remarked when she found his mother staring at her.

“Had a lot of practice.” Ryder came to take her by the hand and draw her out of her seat. “Time for some fresh air.”

“More likely kissin’,” one of the brothers put in.

Ryder wagged his brows at Joy. “And kissin’.”

He led her out to the wide porch. The breeze washed over her, carrying the fresh tang of hay that had just been put up and the distant cattle.

Ryder turned her into his arms. She leaned close, loving the feel of him. And wanting so much more. That was another thing about her pregnancy—she was insatiable. Or maybe that was just Ryder. Either way, she wanted him morning, noon and night as well as afternoon and midnight snacks.

Judging by the bulge in his jeans, he was more than happy to oblige.

“We haven’t tried out the tool shed yet,” he rumbled against her ear.

They were having a hard time finding alone time, but so far they’d been pretty creative. The house was normally packed with people in the evenings, and Joy didn’t fancy screaming Ryder’s name for everyone to hear. And during the day, they were guaranteed to be sneaked up on. Every inch of the ranch would find Ridge, West, Buck or Lane working the cattle or fixing fence. Not to mention the ranch hands and a good amount of the production team.

They’d checked out the possibilities of a clean haystack, a copse of trees and he’d even bent her over an ATV after a long ride. “The tool shed sounds pretty good right now.”

“Mmm. C’mon.” He grabbed her hand and began towing her down the steps and across the yard.

A baseball struck the dirt in front of them, and Joy turned to see Ridge grinning. “Thought you wanted to play ball, Ryder?”

Ryder shot her a look of regret before saying, “Thought you had to let your chicken dinner settle.”

“We’re settled. Let’s play ball.” Ridge and the whole family stood on the porch. They descended into the yard and Wynonna started dropping empty feed sacks to use as bases.

“Don’t worry, Princess. I’ll catch up to you later.” Ryder brushed his lips over the crest of her ear, raising a shiver. Then he moved away to organize the game he’d called in the first place.

She watched his backside move away from her, thinking of clutching those tight buns and yanking him into her.

Jeez, I need to get a grip.
All she wanted was a big bed with Ryder, though. They’d discussed at length their desire for a house of their own, and she knew her father would lend her the money for a down-payment, but Ryder would never go along with such a suggestion.

“You know you’re going to be asked to sign a contract soon,” Wynonna said as she strolled by Joy.

She tore her gaze from her husband-to-be’s butt and blinked at Wynonna. “Really?”

“Yeah, you’re going to be getting a lot of air-time. Besides, it seems the ladies of the family are gathering their own following. The cooking network has Channing and Ma doing video clips of some of their recipes. Have you seen the number of views they’re getting on YouTube?” Wynonna shook her head. “Makes me wish I was a proper girl who likes that stuff, but I like horses too much.”

Joy wrapped an arm around Wynonna and squeezed. “I don’t think the kitchen needs another cook. You’re perfect where you are.”

“And what about you? Going to try your hand with a soufflé?” Wynonna teased.

They pulled apart and watched the guys divide into two teams. Ryder waved her direction, and she knew he’d just recruited her to join his team along with Ridge and West.

“Actually…” Joy bit her lip, wondering how much to say about a hair-brained idea she hadn’t even mentioned to Ryder yet.

Wynonna picked up on the secret immediately. Her eyes tipped at the corners in a mischievous way that echoed her smile. “Tell me what you’re up to, Joy Calhoun.”

A thrill spiked through her system at the name. “I’m not a Calhoun yet.”

“Close ‘nough. C’mon, spill it. I’m your favorite sister-in-law.”

They both looked to Channing, installed in a lounge chair in the shade by Buck, with a cold glass of water at hand. Joy had to admit she was closer to Wynonna, but she had a feeling once her pregnancy started progressing she’d be seeking advice from her other sister-in-law-to-be.

“Okay, I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to say anything yet. I haven’t run this idea past Ryder.”

Wynonna practically bounced, and her excitement was infectious. Suddenly, Joy could see the promise of her idea and how the extra income would help her and Ryder pack away a little nest egg.

“I’ve been thinking of running a youth program this summer. Of course, I’d never assume it would be here on the Calhoun ranch—that’s asking too much. But I know my father would go along with the idea because he loves to teach so much.”

Wynonna shook her by the arm. “Tell me!”

The guys were all staring at them now, and Joy turned away from the group a little after catching Ryder’s what-are-you-up-to look.

The freckles on Wynonna’s nose and cheeks stood out, making Joy lose her train of thought as she envisioned a freckled little girl in her arms.

Wynonna shook her again, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Ryder take a step toward them. At once the other woman released her arm. “Your fiancé’s getting his chaps in a bunch. I’d better stop trying to shake the information from you. Just tell me the rest.”

“To invite young people to train with horses and learn the skills you use in rodeo events—roping, tie-down, speed. Teach them how to care for the cattle and their equipment.”

As she talked, Wynonna’s grin spread, alerting Joy that her idea wasn’t so farfetched as it had sounded in her own mind. She felt her own smile widen and her ideas started flowing. Of course, she couldn’t share them all right now, and especially not since she hadn’t spoken to Ryder about it. She didn’t feel he’d mind her bouncing the idea off his sister first, though. She was a trusted friend to Joy, and more and more she was feeling as if she’d finally gotten that sister she’d always wanted.

She glanced at Channing. And now she’d have two sisters by marriage.

“Let’s play ball!” Ryder shouted. They all stretched across the yard. Wynonna was on the team with Buck, Lane and the camera girl, Adrianna.

When she and Lane started razzing each other about who was better, Joy noticed Ridge stalking farther away from them.
Ah, so that’s what’s going on.
Some sibling rivalry over a woman neither of them technically could have, at least not according to their contracts.

Ryder patted Joy’s ass as she took her spot in the batting lineup. “You’re going to tell me what you and Wynonna were whispering about.”

She nodded at once. “Of course. I’d never keep anything from you.”

“You didn’t tell her…?”

She shook her head. “No, that’s our secret.”

He gave her a wink and handed the bat to Ridge. He widened his stance and gripped it as if he was ready to knock somebody’s head off with it. She could guess whose—Lane was laughing and carrying on with Adrianna now.

“Buck’s pitching. Number one of the Calhoun family,” Joy automatically began commentating.

Everyone stopped to stare at her. She shrugged. “I grew up with boys and men as my best friends. I picked up a few things. Number three is up to bat, Ridge Calhoun.”

Laughter carried over the yard. She got a little more confidence, narrating Ridge’s moves as well as the fast or slow pitches Buck was throwing. “Ridge hits it big. It’s in the air!”

Ridge was blasting through the bases while Lane scampered after the ball.

“Safe on third!” Joy called.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Ryder said with a slow wink.