Free Roping Ryan (The West Series Book 6) by Jill Sanders Page B

went to find you, you were off the radar.”
    Reece nodded. “I hate the old man even more, now.”
    Ryan nodded his head in agreement. “You know, he always played it up in front of you that I was his favorite, but behind your back, he would cuss at me and tell me I should be more like you. He was always pitting us against each other.”
    “It never worked.” Reece turned to him and smiled. “No matter what he did, in the end, he could never put that wedge between us.”
    “Never.” Ryan smiled.

Chapter Ten
    N ikki watched the two brothers return from their walk and smiled when she saw that they were laughing and smiling at each other. She was thankful that neither one of them looked like they had taken a direct hit by the other.
    She’d been worried when she’d seen them head off across the yard together. Lauren, Alex, and Haley had all stopped talking and watched the pair disappear as well. The sisters had looked at one another and smiled a little, which had reassured her that everything was going to be fine. But she still hadn’t been able to pay attention to the conversation she was having with the group.
    She had basically held her breath, straining to hear anything from them across the fields. When they stepped onto the deck, she looked into Ryan’s eyes to see if she could guess what had transpired, but all she could see was happiness.
    When he walked over and stood next to her, he took her hand in hers.
    “Well, I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m beat. I haven’t had a full day on the back of a horse in years. I think we’re going to call it a night.” He looked to her and she nodded.
    “Thank you for dinner. It was very much appreciated.” She smiled at Lauren.
    “You’re welcome. I’m happy you enjoyed it.” Lauren walked over and kissed her on the cheek.
    After saying their goodbyes, he took her hand again and walked slowly towards the truck. It was killing her to know what had happened between him and his brother. When he opened her door, she put her hand on his arm to stop him from walking around the truck.
    “Is everything okay between you and Reece?”
    He smiled and nodded. “Yeah.” He shook his head and looked back towards the house. She could still hear laughter and voices coming from the back of the large place. “It amazes me.”
    “What?” She stepped closer to him as he looked back towards her.
    “They do.” He nodded towards the house. “How they are all so forgiving. Do you know that so far no one has demanded an explanation from me. They haven’t been rude or even shown me that they were upset.” He chuckled. “Except Lauren punching me.” He rubbed the arm that his cousin had hit the day they had arrived. She knew that there hadn’t been any power behind it, and that it probably hadn’t even fazed him.
    “They love you.” She smiled and reached up to wrap her arms around his shoulders. She watched his eyes soften.
    “Yeah. Our whole lives we dreamed of having love like that.” He shook his head and she watched as a small crease formed between his eyebrows. “It’s kind of overwhelming to have it now.”
    She smiled. “You’re lucky.”
    He nodded and smiled down at her. When he leaned down and placed his lips on hers, she felt herself start to melt.
    When he pulled back, she could see the heat in his eyes and her heart skipped a beat.
    “Nikki,” he said before crushing his lips to hers again. This time the softness was replaced with an urgency that she felt pour from his lips. His hands wrapped around her hips, pulling her closer to him. Every inch of him was hard and felt like heaven against her soft, waiting body.
    When they heard a cough, they pulled apart.
    Haley and Wes stood a few feet away, each holding a sleepy boy in their arms.
    “Sorry.” Haley chuckled. “We weren’t expecting dinner and a show.”
    Nikki watched Ryan glare at his cousin, then without a word, he helped her into the truck as she tried not to