Broken Love (Broken #4)(12)
“Ryder,” was all I could say as he glared at his brother quickly before replacing his expression with a blank one.
“Mom was looking for you. She didn’t want the two of you being late for dinner.”
Nate smiled as he began walking toward Ryder. “We were just on our way up.”
I pushed off the wall and called out for Ryder as he turned and headed back out of the barn.
“Ryder! Wait!” I took off running, but by the time I rounded the corner, he had taken off on a four-wheeler and was headed back to the main house. Spinning around, I looked at Nate. “He thinks something happened between us.”
Nate laughed and shrugged. “He’ll get over it.”
I reached out and grabbed his arm. “No, you’ll tell him nothing happened.”
Nate’s smile turned wicked. “Sure I will. Let’s get to the house before my mother sends out another search party.”
My stomach felt sick as I followed Nate back up to the house. The entire time all I saw was the look on Ryder’s face as he stood at the end of the barn.
I STOOD IN the mirror and looked at myself as I took in my appearance. Dressed in black jeans, my trusty old cowboy boots, and a white buttoned-down shirt, I looked every bit the part. The good son who still did what his parents asked him to do. Instead of me being the one to show Ava the ranch, I showed Layton and Reed, even though Nate should have been there right alongside me.
He knew I wouldn’t let my father down and he took full advantage of the situation.
Bastard.
I pushed my hand through my somewhat still wet hair, and headed down to the living room where everyone was meeting. My father should be making his grand appearance right about now.
With a frustrated sigh, I headed to the bedroom door and threw it open. The more I thought about Nate and Ava and what I walked in on, the more pissed off I got. I should have known she didn’t have any interest in me.
As I walked down the main stairwell, I glanced up and blue eyes caught mine. Ava looked beautiful dressed in tan pants and a white blouse. My eyes traveled her body and back up to her lips that I’d dreamt of kissing a hundred times.
It didn’t long for me to catch a glimpse of Nate standing next to Ava. I looked away as I continued to make my way down the stairs. My father was standing next to my mother with his arm wrapped around her waist as they talked to Layton and Whitley. With a smile, I gave him a quick wave as he smiled back. He had been out of town for the last week, so this was the first time I’d seen him.
“There is the man who is going to be running this ranch someday.”
Nate huffed as I shot him a go to hell look. It wasn’t my fault he didn’t want anything to do with running the ranch. He enjoyed the traveling and consulting. I didn’t. I wanted to be on the back of a horse checking property lines, not sitting in some rancher’s living room dressed in a suit.
Layton and Reed both turned and gave me a grin. “Dad, it’s good to see you,” I said as I shook his hand. “You weren’t all waiting for me, were you?”
My mother smiled and gave me a wink. “Yes, but that’s okay; I have a surprise for you.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Really? What do you have up your sleeve?”
“Me.”
The voice sounded familiar as I looked over my mother’s shoulder to see my sister, Jennifer, standing there. I smiled from ear to ear.
“Well, if it isn’t my beautiful sister!”
Moving toward them, Dani popped out. “Surprise!”
“Oh my God. It’s both of them!” I said as I wrapped my sisters up in my arms. Each of them got a kiss on the cheek. “Dani, you’ve gotten so much bigger.”
Her lower lip jetted out as she nodded her head and rested her hands on her stomach. “I know. Just a few more months.”
“Hey there, Ryder.”
Turning to look over my shoulder, I saw Destiny. She was my sister Jennifer’s best friend, and my ex-girlfriend who cheated on me with my best friend, Roy.
With a quick nod, I gave her a halfhearted smile. “Destiny, how are you?”
Her mouth twitched as she gave me a smile. “I’m doing good. It’s good to see you.”
Trying to get out of this awkward moment, I caught a glimpse of Ava as she walked by. One quick look showed she was staring at Destiny.
With a bigger smile, I turned to my two sisters and slapped my hands. “Who is going to sandwich me?”
Nate walked up and pushed me to the side. “They want to sandwich me, not you.”
“Boys, stop fighting,” my mother said as she pointed her finger at me and then Nate.
Before I had a chance to react, Nate made a beeline and sat in between Jennifer and Dani. Destiny was on the other side of Jennifer, so I made my way to the opposite side of the table. Sitting down next to my father, who was at the end, and Jase, who was on my left.
“Jase, how are you liking Montana?” I asked.
“Love it. I was just telling Ava if I didn’t love Texas so much, I’d be packing my bags and moving here.”
With a laugh, I looked up to see Ava sitting across from Jase. “What about you, Ava? You seemed to be enjoying your afternoon with Nate from the looks of things.”
Her mouth opened slightly as her eyes darted down the table to Nate. She flashed him a dirty look and narrowed her eyes at him. Nate chuckled and then leaned over and began talking to Destiny.