I meet him in the entryway, and he slides my raincoat over my arms, spinning me to face him so he can zip me up before tugging his boots and jacket on. “I already called Mayte to let her know we’re heading over,” he says, opening the door wide for me before he scoops Nugget into his arms and locks the door behind us.
We sprint through the rain to his truck, and despite the torrential downpour, he still runs ahead of me, tugging my door open and helping me inside.
He turns the heat on, angling the vents toward the mushy pile of fluff in my lap. Nugget peers up at me with an unbothered smile, his tongue hanging out as he pants.
Ryder takes his time, driving carefully down the dirt path to the main house, both hands remaining on the wheel the whole way. My fingertips itch to reach out and squeeze his thigh, but I hold back, knowing I shouldn’t poke the beast.
When we get to the main house, it’s all lit up. We park along the back, where all the ranch hands are gathered with our family, dancing and playing games under the warmly lit, glass-domed back patio.
“Ready to make a run for it?” Ryder asks me, his smile wide with a boyish charm I love to see, especially in light of all the creepy shit going on lately.
“As I’ll ever be,” I tell him. He reaches across my lap, his fingers lingering on my waist a beat too long after he unbuckles me. His lips and warm breath hover just above my bounding pulse point, but when he leans forward, further invading my space, it’s to grab Nugget, tucking him safely beneath his jacket before righting himself and jumping out of the truck.
I push the door open and sprint out before he can get absolutely drenched being a gentleman. Meanwhile, I’malreadydrenched for him, no door holding necessary.
We run inside, shaking ourselves out like wet dogs. Ryder sets Nugget on the ground, and he goes straight to the white plastic banquet table set up at the far end of the space, the biker gang seated in their tie-dye leather jackets around a plate of pastries.Mamiis seated with Papi next to the oldest in the group, Uno cards clutched tightly in her grip as she leans in, explaining the rules.
Nugget catapults himself into the redheaded man’s lap like he’s done it a hundred times before, and the man doesn’t even flinch. He just picks him up, nuzzling against his head and placing a kiss between his eyes.
“Looks like your mom has found a new group of people to fool into playing Uno with her,” Ryder says with a light laugh. He hangs our jackets up, wrapping a warm arm around my waist and steering us toward Mayte. She’s bouncing Isabela in her arms, her head thrown back in laughter as she talks to Troy and Ben, two of the ranch hands who work most closely with the horses.
Her eyes land on me with a wide smile. “¿Aseré, que bola?” she asks.
“Not a whole lot has changed since I saw you at lunch,” I tell her, chuckling. I pluck Isabela from her arms, holding her to my chest as I kiss Mayte’s cheeks. With a smile, I turn to greet Troy and Ben, who slip away after saying hello to find their wives in the small crowd dancing in the center of the room.
“I’m glad you decided to come after all,” she says.
Ryder slips past me, and my eyes follow him. “I’ll just be a second, darlin’,” he assures me.
“You up for games, or are you too busy eye fucking your husband?” she asks with a sly smirk.
I roll my eyes.
“Games sound good,” I grumble, following her. She parks us in front of the massive wall of bookshelves leaning against the house, most containing games we’ve been playing since we were kids.
I take a seat, Isa nestled against my chest, staring out at the room full of people dancing. I wish I could be with them right now. This is what I get for pushing myself too far, and it terrifies me to think I might have to cancel classes at the whims of my body, even after the barn is open for business.
Ryder strides over to us, some metal-and-plastic contraption in his arms. He plunks it down on the floor, pushing it open until each leg snaps in place. He reaches for Isabela, settling her into the pink pack n’ play covered in white bunnies between me and Mayte.
“All set,” he announces.
“You and Lola having a kid I don’t know about? Why do your parents have a pack n’ play?”
“I figured if Isabela was going to come over more often, we better have a good place for her to nap and hang out with us, so I got one for each of our houses. I don’t want herdunking Nugget’s toys in his water bowl for entertainment anymore,” Ryder explains.
Mayte’s eyes snap to his, and she tilts her head. “You let my kid play in your dog’s water bowl?” she asks, her voice indignant, but she breaks into a laugh that settles Ryder’s tense shoulders. “That kid, I swear. She’s on something. I’m gonna need to get her anazabachebracelet to ward off the bad energy. Haven’t been able to find one.”
“That’s no surprise considering we’re inOklahoma.Not exactly a lot of Latine-owned businesses around.” Just another reason I’m worried my classes won’t fill up. “We should see if Joanna can ship us someagua de Floridathough.”
“For sure. I’ve got some you can use in the meantime; you could use a good cleansing,” she agrees, pursing her lips. She reaches beside her to grab the wooden box of Dominoes from the shelf, setting it on the table and cracking her knuckles before sliding the panel off the top.
“You remember how to playDomino, right?” she asks Ry, and he sighs heavily.
“Yes, and I also remember that you two are ruthless and have kicked my ass since we were kids. After this, we’re playing something else.Mypick,” he says, but the words sound almost pleading.
I pat his shoulder. “Okay, Ry. Whatever you need, but we’re playing to one hundred,” I tease, and he slumps into the chair beside me. His bouncing thigh rubs against mine, and I place a steadying hand on his. His eyes flicker to me, and the anxious movement stops.
The game leads to tons of trash talk from Mayte, and, for once, Ryder is kicking her ass.
