Page 73 of Broken Player

Turning down the long dirt drive, Ryan sucked in a breath. Even Quinn's quiet reassurances and my touch weren't enough to keep her from breathing hard and tensing every muscle in her body. Finally, I parked the truck and turned toward her. "Everything's going to be fine, Freckles. I promise. Okay?"

She nodded, but her eyes were still wild, and her body was still stiff as fuck. The front door opened, and her mom stepped out onto the porch, shielding her eyes with her hand against the sun and watching us. She didn't move closer, and despite us not having called and my truck being unfamiliar, I had no doubt she knew exactly who just drove up.

"Go be the confident fighter I know you are and stand up for what you know is right. They'll understand," I nudged, grabbing the door handle and swinging my door open. Quinn followed my lead, and I rounded the front of the truck and pulled open her door. She straightened her spine and flashed me a small smile, the confidence seeping back into her eyes.

Quinn and I hung back and let Ryan take the lead. She marched up the stairs like she had a spine made of steel, not an ounce of the nerves I knew she was feeling showing on the outside. I didn't know if she was fooling anyone, but I appreciated the effort. My girl was fierce and brave, and I was the lucky bastard that got to stand at her side.

"Hey, mom," she greeted Shannon with a hug which her mom returned, and I let out the breath I'd been holding. My experience with parents wasn't typical or positive in any way, so I had no idea how this was going to go down. If I based what wascoming on my own experiences, there'd be a lot of yelling, a lot of insults, and probably some violence on the horizon.

But Ryan's parents weren't like that, and her mom welcomed us into the house with a watery smile. When I stepped through the door, followed by Quinn at my back, I sniffed at the air and smelled cinnamon. I wondered if Shannon had expected us to come by.

We stepped into the living room where Alexander sat in his wheelchair, staring out the window at the green rolling fields behind the house with an unreadable expression on his face. Ryan sank down onto the sofa while her mom left the room, probably to grab snacks. I sat down beside her, and Quinn took the other side. We flanked her like sentries, both of us ready to go to battle on her behalf.

Shannon came back into the room, carrying a tray of cinnamon rolls and set the tray down on the coffee table in front of us, but nobody reached for them. The air was thick with tension, and I could see Quinn squirming out of the corner of my eye. I was used to being put in all sorts of uncomfortable as fuck situations. I'd been training for that shit my entire life. But he clearly wanted to do something to break the tension.

I hoped he wouldn't step in and would let Ryan handle this. She needed to.

Shannon sat in the armchair across from me. "Alex? Come join us," she softly insisted.

He sighed and wheeled himself over to take his place next to her.

"Dad-" Ryan started, and he held up his hand, stopping her.

"No. I'm sorry," he apologized.

I glanced down at Ryan, and she looked like she'd been slapped. "You're sorry? For what?" she asked incredulously.

"For not telling you about the foreclosure sooner. For making you come back home in the first place. For not being able tohandle this myself. And most of all, for making you think you had to marry an asshole like Yates to solve my problems," he clarified. "For so many things."

He looked tired, like he'd aged ten years overnight. All of this shit was looked like it weighed heavily on him.

Ryan stood up and crossed the room, kneeling down in front of her dad and pulling his hand into hers. "Please don't apologize. I was happy to come home and help if it meant you could recover and keep the ranch. And yeah, I wish you would've told me about the foreclosure sooner, but what's done is done. I never should have agreed to marry Yates. The price was too heavy. Quinn tried to tell me, but I didn't want to listen."

Alex's eyes shot over to Quinn and narrowed for a second, but Quinn didn't even flinch. He was fucking loyal, I'd give him that. Ryan drew her dad's attention back to her. "But now that I didn't go through with the wedding, Yates isn't going to help save this place. We only have a few days left, and I'm not sure what we're going to do."

Shannon's eyebrows furrowed. "He emailed a couple of weeks ago and asked for the bank paperwork, so I sent it over. We've gone back and forth a bit, signing forms and granting access and everything, so I don't know what's happening with the foreclosure. You know paperwork has never been something I'm very good at," she mumbled.

Something about her explanation didn't sit well with me. If she didn't remember what she'd signed or given Yates access to, I had no idea what we'd be dealing with when it came to him. I had a sinking feeling he'd done more damage than I'd thought when we came here today. I made a mental note to text Connor and ask him to look into it when we were done.

"Honey, we aren't upset. We'reproud. Proud as hell, actually," Shannon said with a grin that lit up her whole face, and Alexander nodded in agreement. "Your mother's right. Youwere willing to go so far to help us, and then you realized how wrong it was and walked away."

A shadow passed over Shannon's face as her smile fell. "I'm so relieved we're not going to be related to those people. That woman is a monster, and her son is just as bad. Maybe worse. We want so much better for you."

Turning toward me, she smiled, and I got her message loud and clear. They approved of our relationship, but I better treat their daughter like the goddamn gift she was. Ryan stood halfway and hugged her dad before moving to her mom and wrapping her arms around her.

"Thank you," she told them before moving across the room to where Quinn and I sat on the couch. "Now, I think we have some chores to get done."

I stood up and pulled her against me, the relief in the room palpable. The energy felt good, hopeful even despite all the unknowns surrounding all of us. And yes, I included myself in that. I had no idea what would be coming, but I hoped we'd have enough time to gather information and make a plan.

Ryan pulled out of my arms, and I tried to tug her back, but she just chuckled and turned around instead, letting me pull her back against my chest and wrap my arms around her while she addressed her parents.

"What about Charlie and Justice? Are they mad?" she wondered.

"At first they were. When they found out you left, Yates and his friends tried to surround them and get them to tell them where you were. But Charlie threatened to call the cops, and Justice kicked one in the balls. Dropped him like a sack of potatoes," Alex recounted, pride shining in his eyes as he chuckled. "But now they're just relieved we're not going to have any connection to that horrible family."

Ryan relaxed against my body as stress flowed out of her. "We'll be moving the herd from the east pasture to the west," I informed them before glancing down to Ryan, who nodded at me. It was easy to slip right into the old habits I formed when I was a kid working way too hard as a ranch hand for my dad.

"I need a shower and a bottle of Tylenol," Quinn stated, lifting himself shakily off the couch. By the look of him, his hangover was still kicking his ass.

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