by Katie Lane
Summer Texas Bride
The Brides of Bliss Texas, Book 2
Katie Lane
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Sneak Peek!
Dear Reader
Also by Katie Lane
About the Author
Copyright © June 2018 by Katie Lane
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All Rights Reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the writer’s imagination. All rights reserved. Scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of this book without the permission of the author is unlawful piracy and theft.
To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at [email protected] Thank you for respecting this author’s hard work and livelihood.
To my youngest daughter and summer bride,
Tiffany Heather, your kind heart and serene nature
make you the touchstone of our family
Chapter One
She was out of his league.
Way out of his league.
And even if she hadn’t been, she was off-limits. Completely and totally off-limits.
But even knowing that, Ryker Evans couldn’t bring himself to look away. Probably because he’d always had trouble staying away from dangerous things. As a kid, he’d gotten his butt paddled by his mom on more than one occasion for playing with matches. As an adolescent, he’d ended up with a concussion when he’d tried to ride his grandfather’s bull. And as a teenager, he’d gotten his heart broken when he set his sights on the prettiest girl in school.
And Tara Jones had only been pretty. The woman across the room was stunningly beautiful.
Her jet-black hair reflected the twinkling lights strung in the barn rafters like a clear, star-filled night. Her unfathomable blue eyes sparkled in the candlelight like a deep mountain lake in full sunlight. And her plump, pink-tinted lips glistened from the sip of champagne she’d just taken like dew-drenched raspberries on the vine.
She glanced in his direction and, for a moment, he was back in high school feeling like the nerdy computer whiz who got caught ogling the homecoming queen. He had to remind himself that he was a self-made billionaire who’d dated plenty of beautiful women. Unfortunately, at the moment he couldn’t remember one of their names. The only name in his head was . . .
Summer. Sultry, sizzling-hot Summer.
He lifted his glass of champagne to her—the same one he’d toasted Waylon and Spring’s marriage with earlier. A slight smile tipped the corners of her full lips before she returned to the conversation she was having with an old woman in a big hat.
When she turned her back to him, it should’ve stopped his lusting. It didn’t. She was as tempting from the back as she was from the front. He’d thought all bridal attendants’ dresses were supposed to be ugly so they wouldn’t outshine the bride’s. But Summer’s maid-of-honor gown was a lavender confection that hugged her long, lithe body and floated around her legs in a fluff of light material. From the bow tied at her neck to the waistband, there was nothing but smooth, bare skin that begged a man to touch. And he wanted to touch. He wanted to touch in the worst way.
“You look way too intense, Rye. Let me guess, you’re planning on taking over Amazon.”
Ryker turned to find his best friend standing there juggling three chubby babies in his arms. The fact that Dirk Hadley happened to be the brother of the woman he had just been ogling had Ryker’s face heating with guilt. He tried to hide it behind a big smile.
“If you hadn’t left me high and dry for a pretty cowgirl, I have little doubt that you and I could’ve taken over Jeff Bezos’s empire. But without you, I’m just a computer nerd trying to keep his own business afloat.”
“That’s bull hockey and you know it.” Dirk handed off one of the babies to Ryker so expertly that he didn’t have time to object. “Take Lucinda while I wipe off Luana’s mouth. She’s cutting more teeth and drooling all over her dress . . . and my tux.”
Ryker stared at the blond-headed baby in his arms. “Da-da,” she said with a big smile that showed off four teeth and lots of pink gums. As his eyes widened in horror at being called anyone’s daddy, Dirk explained.
“It’s her new favorite word. She says it to everyone. I’m Da-da, sweetie,” he corrected his daughter as he shifted his other daughters to one arm and took a package of baby wipes from his tuxedo pants pocket. “This is Uncle Ryker. Can you say Ryker?”
Lucinda stared at him with big blue eyes before yelling so loudly it made the hairs on his neck stand up. “Wy-ka!”
Dirk laughed. “Genius.”
Ryker was hoping Dirk would take his kid back once he’d wiped the other one’s face. That didn’t happen. And he was forced to stand there and act like he was enjoying holding Lucinda, who had discovered his tie and was gnawing on it like a beaver building a home.
“Can you believe I have three beautiful daughters?” Dirk asked as he watched Lucinda slobber all over Ryker’s Dolce & Gabbana tie with an intense look of pride.
“It doesn’t make much sense,” Ryker said. “I know your sisters are triplets, but heredity shouldn’t have played a part on the paternal side. Triplets form when a fertilized zygote splits. Not because more than one sperm fertilizes the egg to begin with.”
“Fertilized zygote?” Dirk smiled and shook his head. “You are such a brainiac, Rye. You sound like the doctors at the hospital. They were shocked I had both sister and daughter triplets. They called it a medical phenomenon. But Granny Bon calls it divine intervention. She believes I was so ornery to my big sisters that God decided to pay me back in spades.”
Ryker glanced over at Summer. “I doubt that you got away with being ornery to all your sisters.”
Dirk followed his gaze and smiled. “You’re right. Summer isn’t the type to put up with little brother shenanigans. Once I put a garter snake in her bed. The following day I found it and two of its friends in my lunchbox. When I stuck chewing gum under the grip of her bicycle handlebars, I woke up with a wad of Double Bubble in my hair. And after I saw her kissing Matt Fields behind the football bleachers and tattled to Granny Bon, she told Debbie Seeber that I had a crush on her and the girl pestered me for months. I soon learned that Summer set a high bar for getting even, and it was best to leave her alone.”
Ryker studied the woman in question. Summer had finished talking to the older woman in the big hat and now had her cellphone out. She spent way too much time on her phone. Her sisters must’ve thought so too. They hooked her arms and dragged her out on the dance floor for a line dance.
The Hadley triplets were identical, from their deep blue eyes to their tall lithe bodies. The only traits that differentiated them from each other were the length of their raven black hair and their personalities. Spring had short hair and was vivacious. Autumn had shoulder-length hair and was quiet. And Summer had long hair and was a dynamo. She followed the line dance perfectly and, at the same time, tapped away on her phone with one hand.
A second later, Ryk
er’s cellphone pinged. He ignored it.
“So how’s business?” Dirk asked.
“You didn’t get the quarterly report?” Ryker tried to inconspicuously pull his tie from Lucinda’s mouth. But even though she only had four teeth, the kid had a bite like Jaws.
Dirk seemed completely unconcerned with his daughter’s tie-eating. “I got it, but between the ranch, the triplets’ first birthday, Spring getting married, and deciding whether or not I want to run for mayor in November, I haven’t had a chance to read it. Was this quarter as good as last?”
“Better. And I don’t know what you have to think about. You’d make a great mayor and you know it. You’re a leader who’s amazing with people. Something I struggle with.”
“You’d be better if you let down your guard a little and got away from your computer. Although without your technical skills, Headhunters wouldn’t have become one of the top ten job search companies in the world.”
“Top five.”
Dirk’s eyes widened. “No shit?” He glanced at his daughters. “I mean, no kidding?”
Now Ryker was the one who was proud. “The top dog has even made an offer to buy us out. I was going to discuss it with you tomorrow morning before I head back to Dallas.”
“There’s nothing to discuss. You’re the head honcho, Rye. I’ll go along with any decision you make. I just own a few shares.”
Dirk owned more than a few, but Ryker didn’t argue the point. After Dirk fell in love and moved to Bliss, Texas, Ryker had taken control of the company. He’d hated losing Dirk as a partner. Not only because they had started the company together straight out of college, but also because Dirk was his best friend. His only friend. From the start, Dirk had seen something in Ryker that no one else had. He had looked past the glasses and the geeky clothes and seen potential. It was because of him that Ryker wasn’t stuck in some think tank with a group of other nerds trying to come up with the next smartphone. Dirk had taken Ryker under his wing and taught him how to dress, how to meet women, and how to socialize. He’d pulled him away from his computer for trips to Vegas or a Mexican beach or just a drink at a local bar.
Unfortunately, without Dirk, Ryker had regressed back to his inner nerd. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone out for a drink or on a date. His life was completely centered on work. Or not centered so much as consumed. But that was the price you paid to be fifth in the world . . . with your eye on number one.
“I’m not going to sell,” he said.
“I didn’t think you would.” Dirk shifted the babies in his arms and gently bounced until both snuggled against his chest.
Thinking that bouncing might be the key to saving his tie, Ryker bounced. But his baby kept right on chewing. “You don’t sound too happy about me not selling,” he said. “I thought you’d want me to keep the company we built together.”
“That was before Gracie and the girls. Now I realize there’s more to life than money and power.” He stopped bouncing and studied Ryker. “You look tired, Rye. When was the last time you took some time off?” When Ryker didn’t answer right away, Dirk nodded. “That’s what I thought.”
Ryker shrugged. “I’m here, aren’t I? And I plan to visit Mom in Florida in August.”
“How’s your mom doing?”
“Enjoying the retired life with her husband in Tampa and spending all the money she makes off her shares of Headhunters.”
“She should enjoy it. It was her loan that got the business started.”
“Something she’ll never let me forget. But you’re right. Mom should get to enjoy life. The first part of her life wasn’t easy—being married to a bum rodeo star and having to raise a kid by herself.”
Dirk nodded. “At least your daddy isn’t in jail for running an illegal gambling hall.”
Ryker had never met Dirk’s father, but he’d heard about him. Not only was Holt Hadley a petty criminal who was willing to lie, cheat, and steal to get what he wanted, but he’d also run out on his wife and four children. Ryker’s dad wasn’t a petty criminal. He had just been a rodeo star who loved horses more than he did his wife and son. Ryker’s mother had finally gotten sick of it and left him. Maybe that’s why Dirk and Ryker were so close. They both knew what it was like to grow up without a father. Dirk had figured out how to deal with his pain—Ryker was still struggling.
Not wanting to think about his dad, Ryker changed the subject. “How’s Granny Bon? I saw her earlier, but didn’t get a chance to talk with her.” Granny Bon had raised Dirk and his sisters after their mother passed away from cancer. Just one more bad break Dirk had lived through. Ryker might feel suffocated by his overprotective mom at times, but he would be devastated if anything happened to her.
“Granny will be ornery until the day she dies,” Dirk said. “Or maybe more opinionated than ornery. She’s pleased as punch that Spring has found a good man like Waylon to marry, and she’s hoping that my other two sisters will be as lucky. I can see Autumn finding someone and settling down, but Summer isn’t the settling down type. Look at her, she isn’t even aware when a man is trying to get her attention.”
Ryker followed Dirk’s gaze to the dance floor. A cowboy had positioned himself next to Summer in the line dance and was working hard to catch her eye with fancy footwork and dips of his cowboy hat. Summer didn’t even glance in his direction. She was too busy texting.
Ryker’s phone pinged again, and he couldn’t help smiling. “She does seem to like her phone.”
“As much as you like yours.” Dirk glanced down at his suit pocket. “Do you need to check that?”
“It can wait.” He slipped his hand in his pocket and silenced his phone. “So Summer doesn’t date?”
“Oh, she dates. She’ll get with some poor guy and just when he’s head over heels in love, she dumps him. Although she hasn’t been dating recently. She’s too busy trying to save her business from bankruptcy.” Dirk paused and shot Ryker a look. “You won’t mention what we talked about, will you?”
Ryker shook his head. “But I feel like a real jerk for denying her help.”
“I’ll come clean tomorrow. I just don’t want Summer throwing a tantrum and ruining Spring’s wedding.” He paused. “And speaking of help, how would you like to help me out? I know you’re looking for a place to build a call center for Headhunters. What about right here in Bliss?”
Ryker laughed. “I thought you were still considering running for mayor. It sounds like you’ve made up your mind.”
Dirk smiled sheepishly. “The town needs a mayor. So why don’t you stay in Bliss a couple days, look around, and see what you think about—” He cut off, and his eyes narrowed on something over Ryker’s shoulder. “I’m not liking that.”
Ryker looked back at the dance floor, thinking that the cowboy had gotten a little too aggressive with Summer. Dirk was extremely protective of his sisters. Which was why Summer was off-limits. Ryker wanted to keep Dirk as a friend. But Summer was no longer on the dance floor, and the high-stepping cowboy had redirected his attention to Dirk’s wife, Gracie.
Before Ryker could blink, he had three babies in his arms. “I’ll be right back,” Dirk said as he headed for the dance floor.
Ryker looked at the babies. The tie-biter was perfectly content, but the other two not so much. They stared up at him with crinkled brows and confused eyes.
He cleared his throat. “Hey, girls. I’m Uncle Ryker. Can you say Ryker?”
The tie-biter stopped chewing long enough to yell. “Wy-ka!” The other two either didn’t like their sister yelling or they didn’t like his looks because their faces got even more scrunched before they opened their mouths in unison and released screams that were more hair-raising than their sister’s.
Ryker frantically bounced. “Shhh, shhh, shhh. It’s okay. It’s okay.” But it wasn’t okay. Even the tie-biter knew it. Her bottom lip trembled before she joined her sisters’ loud wails.
Fortunately, one of the babies’ aunts arrived to resc
ue him.
Unfortunately, it was the hottest season.
Chapter Two
Summer Lynn Hadley had never been the type of woman to get all weak-kneed over babies . . . or men, for that matter. But she had to admit that her knees felt slightly wobbly as she took in the picture of Ryker Evans bouncing her three screaming nieces.
He wasn’t wearing a cowboy hat like most of the men at the reception, probably because he didn’t want to mess his perfect hair. And it was pretty perfect. Precisely cut on the sides and long and styled back on the top. Even with the bouncing, not one strand of rich chestnut brown was out of place. He’d grown a beard since the last time she’d seen him. Not a thick beard, but a close-trimmed one that framed his angular jaw and highlighted the curves of his lips. Those lips were tipped down at the corners as he glared at her.
“Don’t just stand there,” he said above the din of baby wails. “Do something.”
She glanced at her nieces. She was good at a lot of things, but babies weren’t one of them. “Like what?”
His deep brown eyes widened as if she were an idiot. “Make them stop.”
“Umm . . . okay.” She leaned down like she’d seen her sisters do. “Hey, Sweet Peas.” The crying stopped immediately. Maybe she was better with kids than she thought. She smiled brightly. “Yes, it’s your Auntie Summer.”
The crying resumed. Louder than before.
Ryker glanced between her and the babies as if he was trying to figure out what had just happened. Fortunately, about then, her granny and sisters converged. Granny Bon took Lucinda. Autumn took Luana. And Spring took Luella. All the babies stopped crying immediately. But instead of Granny Bon getting after Ryker for making them cry in the first place, she turned on Summer.
“What in the world were you doing, Summer Lynn?”
“What was I doing? I wasn’t doing anything. It was Ryker who scared the bejesus out of them.”
Granny’s eyebrows lowered. “Don’t you dare take the Lord’s name in vain, young lady. And that’s my point. You weren’t doing anything to help him settle the babies.” Granny looked at Ryker. “I apologize for my granddaughter. Sometimes I think she has applesauce for brains.”