Free Sunset Ridge by Carol Lynne

don’t want to hide. I don’t want to pretend I’m someone else. I just want to be in the one place I’ve always been free to be myself.”
    Gray turned a corner and headed for town. He’d known for a while that Ram was unhappy with his desire to hide their relationship, but never had it been thrown in his face so blatantly. They would need to discuss it, but Gray was smart enough to know it wasn’t the time. Ram’s emotions were too close to the surface, and Gray was already feeling defensive. Later, Gray promised himself.

    * * * *

    Two weeks later, Ram waited in the truck for Raleigh to get out of school. Although she’d been on her best behaviour around Gray, Ram doubted the little tigress had changed her stripes. Usually he would send one of the hands into town to pick her up, but a detention for talking had Raleigh at school after normal quitting time.
    With a customer in town to look over the pregnant Thoroughbreds, Gray was needed at the ranch. Of course that left Ram. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in time with the song on the radio.
    Despite having buried his mom two weeks earlier, Ram was in a surprisingly good mood. Things with Gray were slowly progressing. Lady had made it past the two hundred day mark without aborting her foals and Gray had successfully closed a deal that would bring a new Barb stallion to the Sunset Ridge. There were two more that Gray was dying to buy, but first he had to close a deal with a wealthy buyer from Kentucky.
    Ram grinned to himself. Gray may not be as good at the day-to-day running of the ranch, but the man had a head for business and a passion for Thoroughbreds.
    The passenger door opened, bringing Ram out of his thoughts. He put his seat belt on and started the truck.
    “Where’s Gray?” Raleigh asked.
    “Schmoozing, Andrew Carlson, that good ole boy from Lexington. He asked me to remind you to be on your best behaviour at dinner.”
    Raleigh remained unusually quiet until they left town. Ram glanced at the beautiful girl and noticed the sorrowful expression on her face. “You okay?” he asked.
    Raleigh shook her head. “Why does he always expect the worst of me?”
    “Who?”
    “Uncle Gray,” she whispered in a voice years younger than her actual age.
    Raleigh turned her body away from him. Despite her new position he saw her wipe tears from her eyes. Ram felt as though the world as he knew it had shifted. He wasn’t used to seeing Raleigh vulnerable. Worse, he didn’t know if he could trust his instincts. It was entirely possible that Raleigh’s display of emotion was a trick.
    “I don’t think Gray expects the worst, but you have to admit you’ve got a pretty good track record for causing trouble. This deal he’s working on is really important for the ranch. I think he just wants it to go smoothly.” Coddling someone wasn’t something Ram was comfortable with, but Raleigh’s tears were too much for him to handle. “I know he wants you there though. Although you may think differently at times, Gray loves you more than anything.”
    Raleigh shook her head. “If he wanted kids, he’d have had them by now. I was dumped on him.”
    Ram searched for something to say. “Your mom really screwed you up, huh?”
    Raleigh spun around. “Why would you say something like that to me?”
    “Because I think it’s the truth, and I believe you make it harder on Gray than you need to. I understand why you’re angry. Hell, if my mom had abandoned me I’d be mad, too. But I think the thing you fail to see is that Gray hasn’t gone anywhere. Sure he bitches from time to time and he punishes you when it needs to be done, but none of it takes away from the fact that he loves you and he’s the one who’s there when you need him.”
    “Do you know she didn’t even bother to call me on my birthday this year?”
    Ram pulled a clean bandana out of his back pocket and handed it to Raleigh. As she cleaned her nose, he tried to imagine what life