Page 39 of Meant for Her

CHAPTERTWELVE

“This looks amazing,” Ryan said. “Luke’s a pretty good cook, but he doesn’t make anything this fancy.”

He wished Ryan hadn’t told her that. She’d think he was some kind of pansy. “I dabble a bit.”

Malia took a sip of her wine, and that one little gesture had his eyes glued to her lips. He remembered what they’d tasted like.

Stop it.

“When the sheriff stopped by the other day at the hospital, he made a comment about how your ranch used to be twenty-thousand acres. When did you guys sell some of it off?”

“We didn’t sell any of it. Our father did,” Luke said. He looked over at Ryan.“She doesn’t need to know everything,”he telepathed.

“She’s our mate. Malia should know how much work we’ve put into our land.”

Ryan was probably right, but it was humiliating.

“Ah, guys. I’m here, you know. I might not be able to read your thoughts, but you are discussing me. I can tell by the way Luke’s lips press together when he’s upset with you, Ryan. Personally, I think it’s kind of cute, but you don’t need to keep anything from me. I am your mate, remember.”

Luke figured if he told her the sordid details, she’d think her two mates were losers. In reality, it was their father who had been the loser.

“The sheriff is right,” Luke said. “My grandfather built the Circle L ranch. He had a huge piece of land and a lot of cattle. Most would say he was a wealthy man.”

“What happened? I can guess, but I’d like to hear it from you,” Malia said. She took another bite of her chicken.

Luke blew out a breath. “I never met the man, mind you, but my mom said that my grandfather was rather special. I’m guessing here, but maybe because my dad inherited all that land and didn’t have to work hard for it, he didn’t appreciate it.”

“I can see how that could have happened.”

“My mom said that she and my dad were happy for a while, but when we were born, it put an added stress on the family,” Luke said.

“Yeah, Luke was a handful,” Ryan said.

“You’re not helping.”

“Sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood,”Ryan telepathed. “Actually, Mom never said we caused issues between her and Dad,” Ryan explained. “Considering how much trouble we got into all the time, I bet they had different opinions on how to raise us.”

“To add to what Ryan said, while I think we were fairly aware there was a problem in the house, our mother never really confided in us. She left when we were eight.”

“Was your dad ever abusive toward her?” Malia asked.

Luke shrugged. “I saw bruises on her arms, but she always said she was clumsy and ran into things.”

Malia nodded. “Sad to say, I’ve seen that kind of thing far too often in the ER. Do you have any idea where she went after she left?”

“No.” Luke stuffed a bunch of vegetables into his mouth. The taste exploded in his mouth, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten this well.

“Why didn’t she take you two with her?”

Luke blew out a breath. “Next time I see her, I’ll ask her. I’d like to know.”

Malia looked over at Ryan, but he shook his head. Her sympathy for them rose.

“Me too. No one talked about it, but it wasn’t like we had a lot of family get-togethers either,” Ryan said. “Mom had a brother and a sister, but to be honest, I don’t remember meeting them.”

“I see. When did your dad start selling off the ranch?”

“It’s hard to say. I think he sold quite a lot when we were really young,” Ryan explained.

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