by Sable Hunter
Ryder wished she’d brought water for herself. Her mouth was as dry as cotton wool. “Well, I have one younger sister and four older brothers.”
“Very protective, I’m sure.”
“Yes, they are.” She didn’t want this woman to get the wrong impression. “Believe me, they can be a pain, but when our world fell apart, my brothers stepped up and built a life for us.” At Leilani’s quizzical expression, Ryder went on to explain. “Our childhood home was a plantation in South Louisiana, one that my mother inherited. We had an idyllic childhood. I can remember my parents being head over heels in love.”
Leilani touched her hand. “What happened to destroy your world?”
“Hurricane Katrina stole our home and our mother. My father fell apart, he suffered a massive stroke, he’s only just now beginning to recover. Heath, my older brother, took the reins. Philip, Tennessee, and Jaxson were equally supportive and protective.” She shrugged. “I would be lost without them.”
“And in your own way, you’re very protective of them. Am I right?”
Ryder studied her own unpainted fingernails. “I don’t like to disappoint them.”
Leilani gazed around her. “As beautiful as your home is, could we walk outside? I need to stretch my legs.”
“Certainly.” Ryder rose and led the way. “I must tell you that your two sons have been very kind to me.”
Leilani laughed. “I’m surprised you brought them up. I guess they are the huge elephant in the room. You had to know this wasn’t just a neighborly visit, no matter what I told Gideon and Samson this morning.”
“They know you’re here?” Ryder was growing more confused by the minute.
“They know, but they don’t approve. Samson and Gideon did not want me to interfere.” She raised her hands imploringly. “But when you see that your children are hurting, what else is a mother to do?”
Ryder frowned, leading her guest near to the rose bed they’d planted in their mother’s memory. “I can’t believe they are hurting, Mrs. Duke. Your sons are men of the world and I’m…” What was she? A distraction? A challenge? Ryder immediately felt guilty. If Samson and Gideon had done nothing else, they’d proven they were good men. “I’m their friend.”
“I do not pretend to speak for my sons, Ryder, but I do know them well. The impact you have made on their lives has been momentous. They told me of you after your first meeting, when Samson killed the serpent about to strike you.”
“Yes, he saved my life.” She felt once more the unexpected connection she’d felt to Samson first, and then to Gideon.
“And in turn, you saved theirs. They told me you risked your life to stop them from crawling into that death trap of a car.”
“Of course I did, anyone would have.”
Leilani waved her hands. “You know how self-absorbed and selfish people can be. Most people don’t notice what goes around them, much less intervene when it means putting their own life on the line.” She paused to smell a rose. “Ah…fragrant. My sons have also told me that they haven’t stopped seeing you as you will allow, despite what your family thinks.”
Ryder matched her stride to Leilani, who was quite a bit shorter than she was. “Okay, I’ll admit our acquaintance has been rather spectacular and unorthodox. But your sons live in a different world than I do.” In more ways than one. “I’m nowhere near being in their league. I don’t travel in their circles. We have nothing in common.”
“Hmmm, I don’t know.” Leilani looked around. “You share a love of the land. Your properties share a common boundary.” She looked Ryder straight in the eye. “And I think you share other things as well.”
Ryder gulped. “Your sons are very charming, very handsome, and true gentleman. You raised them well.” She closed her eyes, then tripped over a rock and Leilani had to reach out and grasp Ryder’s arm to keep her from falling. “Forgive me, I’m clumsy.”
“Come, let’s sit.” Leilani picked up the mantle of her maternal instinct and guided Ryder to a covered arbor. “May I be frank? I think we’re skirting the issue.”
Ryder bowed her head. “Mrs. Duke, I don’t know if I feel comfortable speaking about these matters with you.”
Leilani paused, then began speaking softly. “My sons were raised in a household where love abounded. Yes, I have two husbands. Two wonderful husbands.” She laid her hand over Ryder’s, which trembled on the cool wood. “This is our way. I am descended from a line of Polynesian queens who have always been blessed to possess the protection of more than one man. This does not discount their devotion or our loyalty. Love is not a commodity that decreases the more it is given. Just as a woman can love a dozen children completely and equally, so can a woman love two men equally, sometimes differently, but always completely.”
Ryder was shocked. “I thought their proclivity for sharing was rooted more in a sexual preference, not a…”
Leilani laughed. “I’m their mother. Despite my beliefs, I don’t want to go there. What I’m telling you is that they meant you no insult.”
“I didn’t take it as an insult, Mrs. Duke. If I were to be honest, I was frightened by my own desires.”
Leilani rose gracefully to her feet. “I will not keep you. My visit has been fruitful.”
“How so?” Ryder rose to her feet also, amazed at how beautiful this woman was, with her smooth tanned skin, her clear dark eyes and the gracefulness of her lithe, still youthful body.
Leilani placed a warm hand on Ryder’s arm. “I needed to see for myself what type of woman you are. You may be the one who claims the hearts of my sons.” She folded her hands in front of her. “I needed to also make sure if you were the type who could accept and understand our lifestyle.”
Lifestyle. Ryder’s head spun. “I still think you’re overestimating your sons’ fascination with me. What they feel is probably merely friendship and gratitude.” Shutting her eyes, she recalled the words they’d whispered to her only last night.
Ryder, we will wait for you.
Give us a chance, Ryder.
And singly.
I dream of no other. Samson told her.
And Gideon’s plea. Allow me to make you happy, Ryder.
As they began their stroll back to her car, Leilani dismissed Ryder’s assumption. “Samson and Gideon may be grateful you prevented their climbing in the booby-trapped car, but they know their own mind. This tradition is deeply rooted in our past. The men from whom they are descended offered their lives and their love to protect their woman.”
“I think I can understand, but that doesn’t mean my family would ever be able to accept it. And even…if I were to want be a part of something like this…how could I turn my back on my family?”
Leilani nodded. “We will have to trust the gods to work this out.” When they reached her car, Leilani took Ryder’s hands. “As I take my leave, remember this, Ryder McCoy. To be loved by one good man is to be blessed, to be loved by two – is paradise.” To Ryder’s shock, Leilani went on tiptoe and kissed Ryder’s cheek. “Don’t close your mind and heart to something that might very well be your destiny. The next time we meet, I trust you’ll be wearing white.”
As Samson and Gideon’s mother drove away, Ryder stood still, with the uncanny feeling she’d just been hit by a very small, very elegant, tropical steamroller.
* * *
“Pepper, what’s wrong?” Cato, Heath’s wife, asked from the bottom of the stairs.
Holding her phone in her hand, Pepper raised her head to look at her sister-in-law. There was no hiding the fact that she was crying. Knowing Cato read lips and wouldn’t be able to understand her if she didn’t speak clearly, she swallowed back a sob and took a deep breath. “I just talked to Judah’s manager. He’s going to be filming tonight at Austin City Limits. This might be my only chance to talk to him before he marries that woman.”
“Oh, honey.” Cato went to her, sitting down on the step beside Pepper. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“Whe
re are you two going?” Molly spoke up from behind them.
Cato, not seeing Molly, continued to comfort Pepper. “I bet Molly and Ryder would go with us. You shouldn’t have to do this alone.”
Molly squeezed by and came to squat down in front of the sad pair. “Wherever this field trip is taking us, count me in.”
Pepper looked at her very pregnant sister-in-law. “Do you feel like driving down to Austin in your condition?”
The beautiful Hispanic girl patted her swollen middle. “Are you kidding? I’m craving some Mexican food from Chuy’s. If you’ll promise me a taco, I’ll follow you to the border and back.”
“I can spring for tacos,” Pepper promised with a wan smile, then bowed her head. “I know I’m being stupid. Judah has made it crystal clear how he feels about me. He says what we shared that night wasn’t real. He says those lyrics he wrote don’t refer to me, but I know they do.” She grabbed Molly and Cato’s hand. “Why is he doing this? Why is he marrying that woman? He can’t love her, he just can’t.”
Cato hugged her and Molly gave her a pep talk. “Don’t cry. You are such a wonderful person, Pepper. Any man who can’t see that is blind.”
A door opening behind them, caused Pepper and Molly to turn and find Ryder approaching them. Cato, seeing where their attention was directed, stood up and smiled. “Pack your bags, sister. We’re going on an all-girl field trip.”
Ryder, who hadn’t talked to any of her family since she spoke to Leilani Duke, was more than curious. “What’s going on? And when did you all get back?”
Pepper and Cato scooted to one side, so Ryder could come down the stairs and sit by Molly. “If you wouldn’t sleep all day, you’d know what’s going on,” Pepper teased tearfully.
Ryder twisted a lock of her hair around one finger. “I didn’t sleep well last night.” She couldn’t get all the things Samson’s and Gideon’s mother had said out of her mind.
“Tennessee and I had a good time in Marathon. His wind turbine farm is coming right along. He thinks Thunder-Hawk will be producing electricity by the end of the year.” Molly’s pride in her husband’s accomplishment was obvious.
Cato laughed. “Well, Heath and I went on a wild goose chase. He was supposed to meet this Russian guy named Boris Anatoly, who seemed to be interested in implementing some of Heath’s conservation ideas in his country.”
“I’m sure Heath is excited about that,” Ryder mused.
“Well, Anatoly was supposed to meet us in Dallas, but he didn’t show.” Cato sighed dramatically. “To say Heath was pissed is putting it mildly.”
“So, will you go with us?” Pepper asked, refocusing their conversation.
“I still don’t know where we’re going.” She surveyed her female relatives with curiosity.
“Austin,” Pepper stated. “I’m going to see Judah and I need all the support I can get.”
“What are you going to tell our brothers?” Ryder knew this was a sore topic, it was certainly one with her. Still, this was the way they were raised and neither of them would be changing anytime soon.
Pepper fidgeted. “Well, I thought we could stay with Racy Monahan. She has that big house in Westlake and we have a standing invitation. After we stood up for her that day in the quad, when that guy was bullying her, the girl thinks we hung the moon.”
“So, what I hear you saying is that we’re going to visit a friend,” Cato interpreted.
“Exactly.” Molly grinned. “The guys will barely notice we’re gone anyway.”
“Speak for yourself, Molly.” Cato giggled. “My husband will definitely notice if I’m not in his bed.”
Pepper covered her ears. “TMI, Cato.”
Molly just shook her head. “Tennessee will notice I’m gone too, but they will be distracted when the organizers for that cattle drive come to visit.” She poked Ryder. “Remember? There’s a plan to celebrate the one hundred fifty-year anniversary of the Chisholm Trail by driving four hundred Longhorns eight hundred miles from San Antonio to Abilene, Kansas. Our Tebow McCoy cousins are coming too; the whole family is helping sponsor the event. After all, it was our family’s ancestor, the first Joseph McCoy, who made the dream of transporting cattle from Texas to the Eastern United States possible.”
“Wow, I’m impressed,” Ryder said, with all sincerity. “Not only do you know your stuff; this is a damn good plan. You’re right, the guys will never even notice we’re gone.”
Pepper sighed. “Remember, this isn’t going to be all fun and games. My heart is on the line, here. If I don’t stop Judah from marrying this Hollywood bimbo, my hope to win the love of my life is over.”
“Oh, sweetie, don’t look at it that way. Things just have a way of working out like they’re supposed to.” Cato gathered her sisters-in-law into a huddled embrace.
As they hugged, Pepper plotted. She knew Cato and the others meant well, but she didn’t plan on just hoping things worked themselves out. It was time to take the bull by the horns. There were two things she planned on doing. One – she was going into the ‘divine intervention’ business and call her handsome neighbors to tell them where they could find Ryder in Austin, if they chose to do so. And second – she planned on confronting Judah James and asking him to his face whether he ever cared anything for her or not.
CHAPTER FIVE
The drive from Lake Buchanan to Austin was fraught with emotion and laughter. At the first of their journey, as they passed Falconhead Manor, Ryder nearly broke her neck staring back toward the big house.
“Do you want to stop and check on them?” Molly asked as she browsed through the Sirius stations on Pepper’s radio.
Ryder, who was sitting in the back with Cato, denied everything. “I wasn’t thinking about them at all. I was watching an eagle sail over the trees. She has a nest nearby.”
“What did Molly say?” Cato asked, hitting Ryder on the knee. “I couldn’t see.”
“She wanted to know if I needed to stop and see the Dukes, she thinks I was gazing toward their house with longing,” Ryder explained patiently.
Molly turned and looked at Cato between the seats. “Sorry, Cato.”
“No problem, Molly. And she was thinking about the Dukes, I could tell.”
Cato’s remark made Ryder giggle and pull her sister-in-law’s hair. “You’re a toot. No wonder Heath is going gray.”
“Oh, he looks distinguished. He’s going to be my silver fox one of these days,” Cato said dreamily.
“They’re not home, anyway.” Pepper piped up.
“Who?” Molly asked.
“The Dukes,” Pepper said, then pressed her lips together. Oops.
“How do you know?” Ryder asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.
“Oh, uh,” Pepper hemmed and hawed. “I saw a report on one of those gossip shows this morning. They’re in France.”
Ryder sighed, but said no more. They hadn’t told her they were going to France. She tapped her toe in agitation. Of course, she hadn’t told them she was going to Austin, either. At least she didn’t have those private goons following her anymore. After nine months of no threats, the Dukes had finally relented on the security detail which had been her constant, yet unseen, companion. Of course, with all the trouble they’d been through, the family had stuck pretty close to home, or at least close together. This was the first outing the girls had taken without one of their husbands or brothers along as chaperones.
Pepper just stayed focused on the road. If she said too much, she’d end up confessing how she’d talked to Samson Duke for a good half hour before they left home. The big man had thanked her and told her they would fly in immediately, that nothing was more important to them than another chance to be with Ryder. She smiled sadly to herself. She’d give anything in the world for Judah James to feel about her the way the Duke brothers felt about her sister.
“What’s up with Jaxson these days?” Molly asked out of the blue.
“Why? What have you heard? Anyone want something t
o drink?” Ryder faced Cato, offering her a bottle of water from the bag at her feet.
“Thanks.” Cato accepted it, as did Molly and Pepper. Ryder handed their waters to them, reaching between the two front seats.
Molly began to speak again. “All I know is that he came home last night and threw a plate against the kitchen wall. He broke the dish and knocked the chalkboard down.”
“Wow, I hope nothing’s wrong.” Ryder worried aloud. “He’s been doing so much better, completing rehab and volunteering to help out at the hospital.”
Pepper pulled down her visor and opened the makeup mirror so she could see into the backseat. “What could get him so upset? Did you ask him?”
“I did,” Molly admitted. “Ten was with me, but he wouldn’t talk to either one of us.”
“Dang.” Ryder breathed out a sigh. “I wish we could all be happy at the same time for once.”
“Yea, I agree.” Cato took a swig of water. “At least, Philip seems much better. I think he went to visit a woman yesterday.”
“What woman?” Ryder asked at the same time Pepper spoke up.
“Oh, really?” Pepper asked, glad to have something to think about other than her upcoming confrontation with Judah. “Do you know who?”
“No, I don’t. All I know is that he had lipstick on his collar when he came home last night,” Cato murmured, all smiles.
“Wow. I thought he’d gone to do a guest lecture at A&M,” Pepper mused, keeping her eyes on the road. She was nearing the intersection where she needed to hit the interstate.
“Oh, he did,” Molly injected. “Ten spoke with him before he left Bryan-College Station. He wanted Philip to go by the Blue Bell factory store and buy a case of that new flavor they have…get this – Camouflage.”
“Seriously?” Ryder laughed. “What’s in it? Deer meat and bullets?”
“No.” Molly turned around. “Actually, it’s good. I tasted it. The flavors are pistachio, milk chocolate, and cream cheese. And get this, it’s green, brown, and white. The container is even camo colored.”
“Good grief, every hunter’s dream,” Cato said, shaking her head. “We should have carried some on that hunting trip we went on with Libby and Aron.”