Page 8 of Meant for Her

She rose. “Ready to go home?”

Ryan stepped toward her while Luke kept his distance. Ryan must have answered any questions Luke had since he wasn’t demanding to know how he ended up at her uncle’s house.

“We are. Ah, Luke and I would like to thank you for all that you did for us.”

Luke finally moved closer. “Can’t you see she’s tired? We’ll be sure to say thanks to her at a later time. We need to check on our stock.”

That was an odd sentiment, though he may have just lost his livelihood. “Sure. Follow me.”

On her way out, she grabbed her jacket and purse. Her aunt met them at the door.

“So, you’re Emory’s sons.” Her aunt’s tone wasn’t as cordial as it normally was.

“We are, but our father passed away a few years ago.”

Aunt Corrine’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” This time she sounded sincere.

With everything these men had been through, Malia almost wanted to hug them. Their father had passed and their mother had left years ago, which meant they were now completely on their own—or so she believed. “Do you have any other siblings?” Malia asked. While they said they ran the ranch by themselves, another sibling could work elsewhere.

“No, ma’am. Just us,” Ryan said. At least this time, one side of his mouth quirked up as if he knew he was goading her.

She turned to her aunt and hugged her. “Thanks for opening your home to them.”

“Of course.”

When Ryan stepped forward and held out his hand, Malia held her breath, waiting to see what Aunt Corrine would do. She shook his hand but only gave him a weak smile.

“We can never thank you enough,” he said.

“Of course.”

This was a bit awkward. “Ready,men?”

Ryan winked, but Luke barely even looked her way. What was his problem? If she weren’t attracted to the big lug, she might have told him he could walk home.

Without another word, she led them to her car. Ryan rushed to her side and opened the door while Luke slid into the back seat. So that was how it was going to be?Interesting.

“Thank you, Ryan. I’m glad one of you is a gentleman.”

“Ignore him. Luke is upset that we might lose our ranch.”

Luke grunted in the back seat. “Jeez, Ryan. Air our dirty laundry, will you? Look, I feel like shit that we let those guys get the drop on us, but to lose who knows how many cows is eating away at me. Unlike you, I’m not thinking with my dick at the moment.”

“Nice mouth you got. Way to impress a lady,” Ryan shot back.

The last thing she needed was to hear their bickering. “It’s okay. You both had a really stressful day. Tomorrow you can assess the damage and report the theft to Sheriff Hanson, assuming you’re in his district.”

“We are,” Ryan said. “We’ll definitely do that. Thanks.”

Malia started the car and then pulled out of the driveway. When she glanced in the mirror at Luke, his eyes were closed, and his arms were crossed over his chest. All he needed was a cowboy hat to pull low over his face, and she’d believe he was totally relaxed.

The trip to their ranch only took fifteen minutes, but it was a long drive in silence. She wanted to ask about what it was like growing up without a mom, but she suspected that conversation would not be welcome—at least by Luke.

“Turn here,” Ryan said.

The sign above the long drive was an L encased in a circle. Sadly, it was bent and rusted, but she said nothing since it was none of her business. However, the more she learned about these men, the more she wanted to make it her business.

As Malia drove down their driveway, rocks pummeled her undercarriage, and ruts jostled her right and left, but she didn’t complain.

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