by Katie Lane
She flopped down in the chair. “Oh my God, I’m not Mama. I’ll never be Mama. Mama was kind and sweet and knew how to love. I’m Daddy. I’m our rotten, untrustworthy daddy who never could tell anyone he loved them. Just like I couldn’t tell Ryker.” Tears leaked from her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. “Even when he confessed his love to me. Even when he asked me to come live with him and share his life. I just panicked and pushed him away because I didn’t want to be trapped.”
Spring started to get to her feet, but Autumn held up a hand and shook her head. “She needs to get it out.”
A sob broke through Summer’s tight throat. “I hurt him. I hurt him so badly. You should’ve seen his face.” Another sob broke free. “And I just stood there. How could I do that to Ryker? How could I be as cruel as the coldhearted bastard who sired us?”
She covered her face with her hands and finally gave in to the tears. She cried like she’d wanted to each time her daddy left. She cried like she’d wanted to when her mother died. She cried like she’d wanted to when Ryker walked out of her life forever. As she was sobbing like the biggest crybaby ever, she felt her sisters’ arms enfold her from either side.
“You’re not Daddy, Summer,” Autumn said. “Daddy didn’t run from love. He ran from responsibility. And you are one of the most responsible people I know. You took the responsibility of caring for us after Mama died and never once made us feel unloved.”
“She’s right,” Spring said. “You could’ve run off, but you stayed and made sure Autumn and I finished college. Then after college, you worked us like slaves so we could be millionaires.”
Summer hiccupped. “That didn’t exactly work out.”
Her sisters released her as Spring laughed. “I don’t know about that. If you hadn’t worked me so hard at Seasons, I might not be the efficient sheriff’s assistant I am today. Not to mention if you and I had never gotten in that fight when I forgot to lock up the store, I wouldn’t have come to Bliss and found the love of my life.”
Summer started sobbing again. “I l-l-lost the love of my life. Ryker will never f-f-forgive me for what I did.”
Autumn sat back down. “Stop acting so dramatic. That’s Spring’s personality, not yours. Your personality is to never give up. Even when the odds are stacked against you.”
Spring scooped up Watson and cuddled the kitten. “And they are pretty stacked against you, sis. I ran into Ryker at the diner right after the family fight, and he wouldn’t even look at me.”
Summer lifted her head. “Ryker’s still here?”
“Not now. He went back to Dallas. But he was staying at the motor lodge with his father.” Spring sent Summer an annoyed look. “Why didn’t you mention that Cord Evans was Ryker’s father and here in Bliss? I had a fangirl moment when I saw him walking down the street and acted like a complete idiot.”
“Let’s not get sidetracked by Cord Evans,” Autumn said. “We need to concentrate on the problem at hand. And that’s how to get Ryker to forgive Summer. It shouldn’t be too hard. He told you that he wouldn’t help you with your business plan, but that didn’t stop you from getting his help. I figure if you wore him down once, you can wear him down again.”
“Of course she can,” Spring said. “Summer can wear anyone down. When she wants something, she’s unstoppable.”
It took a minute for her sisters’ words to sink in. When they did, Summer realized they were right. When she wanted something, she usually got it. And she wanted Ryker. She had wanted him from the first moment she saw him. This time it wasn’t just about a silly business plan. This time it was about getting her heart’s desire.
She got to her feet. “I can get him back.” She punched the air. “I will get him back. All I need is a foolproof plan.” She started to pace the porch. “If Cord is still here, then we might have a way to get Ryker back to Bliss. Especially since it sounds like the two of them have reconciled. Of course, I’ll need some help.” She paused. “But from people outside the family. After what I did, Ryker probably doesn’t trust any Hadley as far as he can throw them.”
Spring groaned. “Couldn’t you just call him and tell him that you love him and you’re sorry?”
Summer turned to her sister. “That’s a pathetic plan. What if he hangs up? Or refuses to take my call? No, it needs to be here in Bliss and I need to trick him into being with me alone—preferably somewhere romantic.” She picked up her knitting. “Come on, we have a lot to do if I want to get Ryker back. And I’m going to get him back. No matter what it takes.”
As she headed down the steps of the porch with determination in her heart and Sherlock on her heels, she heard Spring release a long sigh. “I thought the plan was to make her realize she was in love with Ryker. I didn’t think it was to bring back Control Freak Summer. Now we’re all in for it.”
Autumn laughed. “Especially poor Ryker.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ryker hadn’t wanted to come back to Bliss. But Joanna Daily was as tenacious as . . . someone he refused to think about. She had been calling and pestering him about the parade for the last two weeks. It seemed that Cord had been given the prestigious honor of being the parade’s grand marshal, and Joanna thought it would be so sweet if Ryker rode on horseback next to his father.
So there Ryker was, fighting with a fidgety mare right next to Cord, who sat his big white stallion like the rodeo star he was.
“How come I didn’t get a stallion?” Ryker asked. It was strange, but when he talked to his dad he always managed to sound like a spoiled kid.
Cord patted the withers of his mount. “Because you told me you hadn’t ridden in a while and I didn’t want you falling off like you did when you were five. I was lucky you didn’t break anything, or my ass would’ve been grass. It still will be if you get hurt.”
Ryker tightened his hands on the reins, which made the mare fidget even more. “I’m not going to fall off. I know how to ride a horse.”
Cord shot him a skeptical look. “Let’s just hope that you know how to ride better than you know how to fight. That shiner you have still looks pretty nasty.”
Ryker touched his eye and winced at the soreness. “I told you it wasn’t a fight. I deserved to get punched. I never should’ve messed around with Dirk’s sister.” Not only had he lost his best friend, but he’d also lost his heart. All because he couldn’t resist Summer. But he would get over her. He was determined to get over her. And his father must’ve understood because he changed the subject.
“So what do you think of the boots I sent you?”
Ryker glanced down at the cowboy boots he was wearing. “They’re okay,” he said, even though they were more than okay. They were the most comfortable boots he’d ever worn. He’d gotten numerous compliments on them when he wore them to the office. But since he still felt a little competitive with his father, he kept that information to himself.
Although Cord seemed to read him like a book. “They’re more than okay. They’re the best damned boots on the market.”
“Your sales and website don’t reflect that.”
Cord’s eyes widened, and Ryker winced. He hadn’t wanted his dad to know he’d been checking out his business. But it was too late now. Cord went from looking surprised to looking like he’d just won the lottery. But he didn’t gloat. He just smiled and nodded his head.
“Well, I’d certainly like to hear your thoughts on how I can improve that.” He glanced over Ryker’s shoulder. “But right now I think there’s someone else you need to talk to.”
Ryker turned his horse to see Dirk sitting a few feet away on a tan stallion. His gray eyes weren’t smiling, but they weren’t as angry as they’d been the morning he’d hit Ryker either.
“I’ll be back,” Ryker said, then he walked his horse to Dirk.
“Looks like you made up with your father,” Dirk said.
“I don’t know if I’d say we made up. There are still times I’m pretty resentful, but we’re getting there.”
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Dirk nodded. “He came out to the ranch a few days ago to ask me about a piece of land he’s thinking about buying.” He paused. “He also warned me about hitting his son again.”
Ryker rolled his eyes. “Well, that’s embarrassing.”
Dirk stared out at the open field behind the church parking lot where all the parade participates had gathered. “He’s right. I shouldn’t have hit you. At least not until I knew the facts.” He glanced at Ryker. “Spring and Autumn seem to think that you love her. Is that true?”
He could’ve denied it, but what was the use? “I wouldn’t have risked our friendship over lust, Dirk. You should know that.”
“It’s hard to think clearly when you catch your sister in bed with your best friend and you just heard that he’d impregnated the other one.”
“That was only gossip.”
“I know. It seems Summer played a little triplet switch on Winnie Crawley when Winnie caught her coming out of your room.”
Ryker couldn’t help but laugh. It was something Summer would do. She was audacious to say the least. “So that’s where the confusion started.”
Dirk grinned. It was a relief to see his smile again. “It’s a game they’ve played ever since they were kids. Although it’s not so funny if you bear the brunt of it.” The smile faded. “Why didn’t you tell me you were interested in Summer, Ryker?”
He heaved a sigh. “I guess I worried that it would ruin our friendship. And you’re not just my friend, Dirk. I think of you as a brother.”
“The same goes for me. Which is why I wouldn’t have cared if you wanted to date Summer.” Dirk playful punched Ryker on the arm. “If I trust you with my friendship and my money, why wouldn’t I trust you with my sister?”
Ryker started to ask about Summer when Emmett and Joanna Daily came up in a horse-drawn buckboard that Emmett was driving. It was the same buckboard that had been outside the museum. Joanna wore an old-fashioned gingham dress and bonnet and carried a battery-operated megaphone that she yelled through.
“The parade is about to start! Everyone get in your positions!”
Dirk tugged his cowboy hat lower. “I better get back to Gracie and the girls. I’ll talk to you at Zane’s.” He hesitated. “Don’t give up on Summer, Rye. She might be a little controlling, but she’s a good woman.”
“I wasn’t the one who gave up on her. She gave up on me.”
Dirk didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. He only nodded before he rode off.
The parade lasted all of ten minutes. That’s as much time as it took to slowly ride down the length of Main Street. Since Cord was the grand marshal, he and Ryker were at the front of the parade. Ryker knew people would wave enthusiastically at a rodeo champion. He did not think people would smile and wave at him.
But they did. They called out his name and waved as if they were his best friends. He didn’t know all their names, but he recognized them by their faces and their jobs. The clerk who worked at the post office. The older woman who handed out pamphlets at the museum. The afternoon waitress from the diner. The young kid who filled up his car at Emmett’s gas station. And all the other people who had opened their arms to a complete stranger and made him feel welcome.
As if reading his thoughts, his father glanced over and smiled. “Nothing like a small town to make you feel like you belong.”
It was true. As he rode down the street with people cheering and waving their hands and American flags, he did have an overwhelming feeling of belonging. He got it now. He understood why Dirk had left the big city and a billion-dollar business to move to a small town. It was this feeling of fitting in. Of being loved for who you were rather than how much money you made.
When they reached the end of the parade route, Ryker and Cord walked their horses over to the side and watched the parade from the sidelines.
There were floats decorated with crepe-paper flowers carrying prom queens and Chili Festival queens. There were all kinds of bands, from senior citizens bell-ringing to preschool kids kazoo-playing. Waylon drove his patrol SUV with lights flashing while Spring held Watson and waved and threw candy out the side window. In the back seat, Sherlock peeked his head out the window and barked when he saw Ryker. Dirk rode behind Waylon’s car. Next to him Gracie drove a little pony-pulled cart filled with three blond-headed babies in car seats. When they passed Ryker and Cord, Lucinda spotted him immediately. If she hadn’t been strapped in, she would’ve dived right out of her chair.
“Wy-ka!” She waved her little hands in the air, and surprisingly, had her two sisters echoing her.
“Wy-ka!”
“Wy-ka!”
Ryker smiled and waved until the cart pulled down the street. Behind the cart was a float decorated with a big papier-mâché muffin. He expected to see Ms. Marble sitting on the float, handing out her cinnamon-swirl muffins to the people who ran up to the float for a goodie. He did not expect to see Summer sitting on the opposite side.
His side.
She was dressed in the lavender gown she’d worn to Spring’s wedding and a wide-brimmed straw bonnet with a purple ribbon. She was smiling as she handed muffins to two little barefoot boys who were running beside the slow-moving float.
It had been weeks since Ryker had seen her, and his heart felt like it would beat right out of his chest. He wanted to wheel his horse around and leave. But before he could, she spotted him. Her smile faltered for a moment, then grew even brighter as she lifted her arm and threw a muffin at him. He didn’t react in time and it clocked him right in the mouth. And for a muffin, it hurt like hell.
Cord laughed as he grabbed the muffin before it fell to the ground. “That gal of yours has a good arm.”
Ryker touched his swelling lip and scowled at the muffin float as it moved down the street. He could no longer see Summer. Which was probably a good thing. The next one she threw might’ve knocked him out.
“Don’t look so upset, son. If she didn’t feel something, she wouldn’t have wasted a good muffin.” Cord took a big bite. “And these are damned good muffins.”
Ryker had planned to leave after the parade and head back to Dallas. But the muffin incident pissed him off. Summer had no right to be angry that he was at the parade. Bliss wasn’t her town. If he wanted to come to Bliss and hang out, he’d come to Bliss and hang out. And there was nothing she could do about it.
After he and his father helped Cole Arrington trailer the horses they’d borrowed, they headed over to Zane Arrington’s ranch for the rest of the Fourth of July activities. There was a small rodeo that Cord judged, a pie eating contest, and a picnic basket auction that Ms. Marble insisted that Ryker participate in.
“The money is going to the county hospital, and since they took such good care of you after your accident, I’m sure you’ll want to help with a bid,” Ms. Marble said as she led him to the table in the barn. It was filled with decorated picnic baskets. “Now we don’t want you winning one that belongs to a married woman. That just wouldn’t be right.” She studied the baskets and tapped her bottom lip. “Let’s see here. Which basket?” Her eyes lit up under her straw hat, which was very similar to the one Summer had been wearing. “There’s the perfect one.” She pointed to a basket that looked like it was made out of an ugly knitted sweater.
Ryker picked up the pencil by the bid sheet and wrote down an amount. He straightened to find Ms. Marble frowning.
“I’m sure you can do better than that,” she said. “You do own a billion-dollar company and this is for charity.”
He tripled the amount. “Will that do?”
She smiled and patted his arm. “Nicely.”
He forgot all about the picnic basket auction until much later in the day. He was holding Lucinda and letting her pet a horse in Zane’s paddock when he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned around to see Summer standing there holding the ugly sweater basket.
She held it up and smiled. “You won.”
Obviously, fate was cruel. Or Ms. Marb
le was sly. He turned away and went back to showing Lucinda the horse. Although the baby now seemed more interested in her aunt.
“Sum-Sum!”
Summer set down the sweater basket and took Lucinda from him. “Hi, Precious. How’s my girl?” She gave the baby a kiss on the cheek before she looked at Ryker’s mouth. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to hit you with the muffin. I thought you would catch it.”
He probably would have if he hadn’t been so distracted by how beautiful Summer looked. With the straw bonnet and flirty dress, she looked like a breathtaking southern belle. The cute baby only added to the picture. A deep yearning settled in his chest.
He ignored it.
“If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ve had enough celebrating.”
She placed a hand on his arm and stopped him. “Oh, you can’t leave. We have to share the picnic lunch. That’s part of the auction. And we couldn’t disappoint Ms. Marble since she went to all the trouble to help me fry the chicken.”
“And to trick me,” he said dryly.
Summer smiled. “We tricked you.” She picked up the basket and handed it to him, then hooked an arm through his and tugged him along. He was so surprised that he’d been set up that he followed. They had only gone a few steps when Autumn appeared and took Lucinda from Summer.
“Have fun,” she said with a soft smile.
Ryker allowed Summer to pull him around the barn and halfway across a pasture before he tugged her to a stop. “What are you doing, Summer? What is this all about?”
“Please,” she said. “Just come with me.”
He shouldn’t go along with this craziness. Going along with Summer’s craziness was what had put a major hole in his heart. But damned if he could ignore the pleading look in her eyes. He let her lead him across the pasture and through a copse of trees. When they reached the open meadow on the other side of the trees, he knew exactly where she had brought him.