Page 21 of The Vineyard Crush

A rumbled chuckle rolled through his chest, jostling Avery briefly before she settled back into slumber with a petulant whimper. “Hell of a week, your brother giving you a tough time, little flower? ” My cheeks flushed traitorously at the familiarity of the endearment, over the past few days he has adapted to calling me that.

Clearing my throat again, I aimed for a tone of nonchalance. “Okay, then, Ridge it is. So…how’re things in the land of cows and ploughs this week?”

One corner of his lips kicked up in an amused smirk as he turned to face me more fully, the amber depths of his eyes glinting with a teasing light. “First off, we don’t actually have any plows on the ranch, Emmy. That’s more your brother’s wheelhouse with the vineyards and all.”

I made a face, fighting a grin. “You know very well that’s not how you cowboys talk, but go on - enlighten me about the cowboy way. I’m all ears.”

The deep, rumbly rasp of his laughter was like a comforting salve, smoothing over the raw weariness of teaching a classroom of rowdy fourth graders all week. My body instinctively seemed to angle closer, drawn in by his easy charisma and relaxed presence.

“Fair enough,” he conceded, taking another pull from his bottle before setting it aside on the patio’s built-in beverage cooler. “Truth is, nothin’ too exciting to report lately. Few fencelines needed mendin’ after a particularly ornery herd of cattle got spooked by a coyote. Could’ve been a real rodeo if Josiah and the boys didn’t get ‘em settled down smartly.”

His free hand stroked idly over Avery’s downy curls, the tenderness in the simple gesture making my heart trip over itself. I found myself envying that innocent intimacy, yearning for even the smallest taste of the particular comfort that came from a father’s devoted affection.

Giving myself a mental shake, I pulled my wandering mind back to the conversation. “I’ll bet that was definitely a day of cowboy calamities! Although I have to admit, I can’t quite picture you in the thick of it all anymore.” I gestured vaguely at his torn, dusty jeans and well-worn boots as my voice took on a teasing lilt. “You’ve gone respectable on me, old man.”

The words were barely out of my mouth when Lily came barreling over, sweaty and breathless and giggling madly. “Daddy! Did you tell Emma about you being a bull rider?”

I arched an incredulous eyebrow as Ridge chuckled self-consciously, his cheeks flushing ever-so-slightly beneath the dusk-shadowed stubble. “Ah, I wouldn’t go that far, Lil’…”

“Nu-uh!” she insisted, turning her pleading hazel eyes up to me imploringly. “He was gonna be a professional cowboy! He has a whole buncha buckles and pictures and everything!”

“Oh really?” I smirked teasingly at Ridge as his blush deepened. He tugged the brim of his hat lower in a futile attempt to hide behind its tattered shieldas my gaze raked over him appraisingly. “I definitely have to see that.”

Before Ridge could respond, Cody came bounding over and launched himself onto the glider next to me. I grunted at the sudden impact, my shoulder colliding into Ridge’s solid bulk as the swing rocked precariously. He stiffened, quickly adjusting his hold on Avery as she fussed and whimpered groggily against his chest.

“Whoa there, little partner!” he admonished with no real heat as Cody grinned unrepentantly. “Y’all are gonna give an old cowboy like me a heart attack one of these days.”

Lily grabbed her brother’s wrist, tugging impatiently. “Come on, Cody! Let’s go bring Dad’s pictures!”

The two scampered off, leaving just the three of us in their whirlwind’s wake. After murmuring a few soothing words and planting a whiskery kiss to her fuzzy crown, Avery settled back into slumber with a contented sigh. Ridge’s tense shoulders slowly relaxed as his broad palm stroked over the downy wisps of hair.

“She’s really something, isn’t she?” His gruff tones rumbled so softly I barely caught the wistful words.

I found myself mesmerized by the tender tableau - this grizzled cowboy completely enchanted by his fragile infant daughter, all his harsh edges smoothed into gentle reverence. It stirred an aching yearning deep within me that I quickly tamped down, refocusing on his question.

“Avery? She’s absolutely precious.”

A flicker of sadness darkened his amber eyes as he nodded slowly in agreement. “Been a tough year for the poor little peanut, that’s for sure.”

My brow furrowed at the somberness suddenly weighing his words. “Oh? If you don’t mind me asking…”

I let the question linger, giving him an easy out, but Ridge just exhaled a heavy sigh and took a swig from his bottle.

“Melissa left when Avery was just a few months old,” he stated bluntly, then instantly seemed to regret the curtness as his jaw tightened. “My ex, I mean. Ran off with some big city lawyer she met through work.”

The pain laced through every syllable and pierced straight through me. I could only imagine how utterly devastating it must have been - a new baby, a fractured family, a profound betrayal. Yet underneath it all burned an unmistakable rage, molten and raw.

“Ridge, I’m so sorry,” I murmured, resting my palm over the weather-worn knuckles of the hand gripping his beer bottle. “That’s…that’s horrible. No one should have to go through that, especially with an infant.”

His free hand swiped dismissively, though he made no move to escape my sympathetic touch. “Ancient history at this point, I guess. Probably saw the escape hatch and took it while she could.”

Somehow I doubted the wounds were quite that aged and calloused over based on the vitriol still blistering his tone. I squeezed his hand again, holding his gaze steadily. “For what it’s worth, she’s a damn fool for throwing away her family. You’ve built an incredible life for your kids here, Ridge.”

Before I could properly gathering my thoughts, Lily and Cody came clattering back out onto the patio, both lugging overstuffed boxes and bickering over whose turn it was to carry them.

“Here, here! Let me take those before you drop Daddy’s memories all over the place,” I interjected, relieving them both of their burdens and depositing the distressingly heavy containers on the patio’s sandstone tiles with a huff of exertion.

Cody immediately flung back the flaps, causing mementoes and glossy photographs to spill out in scattered drifts. Lily shot me an apologetic grimace before flopping onto the ground and beginning to sort through the contents with a focused frown.

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