Page 42 of Ranch's Resolve

I smile sheepishly. “Ranch and I kind of offered your services,” I tell her, feeling a little guilty that we didn’t discuss it with her first.

“Oh, that’s great! I’m trying to build my private practice. Maybe he’ll hire me. If not, I can still give him some pointers.”

“We should get going,” Reaper says, wrapping his arm around Ashlyn.

“Okay, I’ll follow you over. I’m taking Santiago over there. Adele said she would watch him while his dad works the ranch here.”

Carlos is buckling Santiago into a car seat when I approach the SUV.

“Are you staying at the ranch with us?” Brooke asks.

“No, I’m headed to Crossroads. Ranch wants me to talk to Angelica, the woman whom I helped through childbirth?” I remind them. “He has some questions, and he thinks she’ll be more willing to tell me.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: RANCH

Carver pulls me aside as the women greet Athena. I can’t ignore the thrill of seeing them together, knowing she’s joining them as an Old Lady. My Old Lady. I can’t take my eyes off her, even though I know Carver is talking to me. It’s only when he mentions Dante that I draw my attention away from my goddess.

“What?” I ask.

Carver rolls his eyes. “I knew you weren’t listening. You’re fucking hooked, aren’t you?” He grins at me as he glances toward Athena. “I’m fucking happy for you, man, but you need to fucking pay attention.”

“I’m paying attention.”

He scoffs but repeats his words. “I was telling you that Dante is on his way here. Smoke uncovered some information about the asshole who’s been calling you. But he isn’t the only one to hit pay dirt. Maestro spoke with his dad, and he provided us with some insight on who could be financing the purchases and why. Maestro’s dad, who is technically his stepdad, is a real estate mogul with his fingers in all the big deals, not only in San Diego but also in most of California. If anyone would know about aplan to acquire large parcels of land along the border, it would be him.

“That’s good. I hope they know something that will help us stop these attacks. I’m grateful you and the others have come to help. I spoke with Roger yesterday. He’s chagrined that he needs help, but he knows he needs it. He knows he can’t protect his daughter in his current condition.”

“We’ll watch over everything. No one will get to them,” Carver assures me, clapping me on my back. “We’ll head over there and introduce ourselves.”

I spot Carlos helping his son into the backseat of the SUV as Athena heads in our direction. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her. I open the door of the SUV and help her slide into the driver's seat. Reaching into the vehicle, I buckle her in and give her another kiss. Before I close the door, Max joins us.

“I forgot to tell you that the fire marshal stopped by and wrote up his report on the fire. He will send his findings to you via email later today. He agreed that arson was involved. Not sure how that will play with the insurance company.”

“I’ll deal with them,” I say. “Did the fire marshal release the scene?”

Max nods and gestures toward where the barn once stood. “He did. I have already instructed the men to clear the debris. We can order materials and rebuild once we’ve cleared the land.”

“Good.” Max nods at us before walking away to join the cleanup crew.

I palm Athena’s face before leaning over to plant a soft kiss on her lips. I stroke her cheek with my thumb and fight the urge to take her back upstairs and strip off her clothes. Only the knowledge that Dante will arrive soon and that Athena and I both have work to do keeps me from following through with my desires.

“Drive safe. You’ll come back here when you finish?” I ask her.

She smiles. “Of course. Do you want me to bring you anything? I can stop and pick up dinner if you’d rather not bother with cooking.”

I shake my head. “Nope, I have everything we’ll need. I’m grilling us steaks.” I see her flinch and raise a questioning eyebrow. “You don’t like steak?”

She shakes her head. “I used to. I’m having a hard time eating meat after spending so much time with the pigs and cows. I keep picturing their little faces.”

I chuckle. “I’ll fix you something else for dinner. You know what you need to ask Angelica?”

She nods. “I do. Don’t worry. I have my cell phone if you think of anything else you'd like me to ask. I want to spend some time with Selena and Santina before I return. Deion and Killian called me and asked about her. They wanted to visit them, but they accepted that men can’t get into Crossroads.”

Santiago makes a noise from the backseat. I lean over to see his bright expression as he smacks the car window while saying, ‘na na na.’ Athena and I laugh at his excitement.

“Looks like that’s my queue to leave.”

I kiss her until we’re both breathless before shutting the car door and watching her drive away. I feel a sense of loss when she disappears from view, but I console myself with the knowledge she’ll be back later tonight.

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