Page 43 of Holden: Bucked By Love (Crawford Ridge Ranch #1)

Holden

Country music blasts through the speakers that Walker hung from two trees in the backyard of the homestead, and a blast of meat-scented smoke hits me right in the eyes as I look up to see Leni scoot past me with a tray full of condiments.

She looks amazing in cut off shorts and a tank with a belt around her waist. She's wearing the white cowboy hat I like best, because it makes her coffee eyes pop, and has put a paper birthday party hat on top of it. It's a look that makes me laugh.

I laugh a lot lately—sometimes even out loud.

Seriously. In the past three days since I moved back home it's like I can't wipe the smile off my face. A fact my brothers can't stop mentioning. Jealous idiots.

I flip the burgers and check the hot dogs on the grill below me, and keep on smiling. I smile even bigger when two slim, tanned and toned arms wrap around my waist and Leni's voice hits my ears a second before I smell coconuts and strawberries.

"Did you hear about the bread who started a band?" she asks, going onto her toes and pecking a light kiss on the back of my neck .

"He really wanted to jam." Walker joins us, carrying a fresh pan of hand-pressed burger patties, and answers before I can, slapping me on the back, making me hunch dangerously close to the grill for a moment. "It's a classic."

I can almost feel Leni roll her eyes. "Ugh, Walker. Did your mom not teach you that stealing the punchline of a joke is rude?"

"It's hard to understand the nuances of punchlines when you are one," a woman's voice responds, and I turn my head to see a waterfall of red hair walk behind me and down the porch steps to the wide lawn at the same time that Walker makes a strange disgruntled sort of sound.

I fight a laugh, and feel Leni shaking with mirth against my back.

"Welcome, Birdie," she calls.

"Happy you're here," I add in and Leni's laughter bubbles up again.

"Why is she here?" Walker grumbles with a frown.

"She works here now," Leni supplies, still sounding happy.

I love that she's still hugging me close, her head turned to Walker so that her cheek presses against my spine.

"She's going to start next week. I invited her tonight because she's new in town and could use some friends, and so that she can meet the people she'll be working with. "

Walker hands me the burgers and stuffs his hands in his pockets. "Can't say I'm surprised that she's friendless."

At this Leni releases me and I hear her slap Walker lightly on the arm. "Be a good host, Walker. You don't know her story."

I look to see my brother watching Birdie make her way around the lawn, talking animatedly with Steph and our mama.

She looks too sweet to be a verbal warrior, and it's not lost on me that Walker would be stumped by her reaction to him.

Women have always loved Walker, and he's always loved them back .

"It better be a good story if I'm supposed to overlook her attitude," Walker states.

Leni sniffs. "We shouldn't only be nice to people who pass your pity test."

Walker crosses his arms. "Don't parent me, Leni."

"Then don't be a child," my wife states.

"What did I ever do to her?" my brother asks, clearly annoyed.

"Not everyone wants to be hit on," I supply and earn a pat on my bottom and a kiss on the shoulder from my wife. Rewards I happily accept.

Walker scoffs. "I've never tried to hit on the Ice Princess."

Leni lets go of me and puts a small hand on Walker's forearm. "Yes, you did. But flirting is your baseline so you didn't realize it." She pats his arm as he looks thoughtfully down at her. "Chew on that. Anyhow," she pats me once more, "everything is ready when the burgers and dogs are."

Leni strides away to mingle with our family and friends and it feels so normal that it's surreal.

I take none of it for granted. Having Leni fully back in my life is paradise.

The changes at the ranch have been going into effect and I've been home for family dinner often enough that Josi commented on it the other night.

Snuggling Leni in bed, getting grumped at in the mornings, and working together to throw Mason this thirteenth birthday party have gone a long way to me believing that it's all real.

I'm a lucky jerk.

Walker is still standing beside me and I look away from the cooking meat to give him a perusal. "Why are you still standing here?" I ask.

His green eyes meet mine. Walker's coloring is lighter than mine and Landry's, and it makes it easier to see when he's bothered, considering his face turns pink under the brim of his hat. Right now he's bothered, and he's still watching Birdie.

"I can't hang with my big bro at the grill?" he asks.

I roll my eyes. "You're usually talking, dancing, making balloon animals for Josi and generally being a social nightmare. So, yeah, I'm confused."

He shrugs. "Guess I'm tired today."

I look back to the grill and start taking off cooked meat. "Sure, okay. Has nothing to do with a new staff member from Texas?"

He scoffs. "Why would it?"

I hand him the plate of hot meat and reload the grill with the fresh burgers he brought out, waiting to see if he'll give up more when I don't supply some conversation. He does. He's so predictable.

"Why did they have to hire her of all people?" he grumbles.

I hide a grin. "There aren't many professional event planners that make their way to Pinehaven," I state.

Walker huffs. "Whatever, man. How hard can it be to throw a wedding? Buy a dress, order some flowers, get a cake, boom, done. Your wedding didn't take months and some professional woman to pull it off."

"To be fair, I never actually proposed to Leni, so I don't think we did it the normal way."

I can feel his eyes drilling into the side of my face. "You serious?" I nod. "Okay, remind me never to take advice from you."

I toss him a raised eyebrow. "And yet, who is the one married to the best woman around?"

Walker grins, some of his good humor seeping back in. "That's true. You lucked out. "

"I did. Now, take those cooked burgers to the table and get people started.

" But he simply stands there. I turn again, waving the flipper under his eyes.

"Walker, hello? Get moving." He blinks once and gets the message, his bulk making the porch stairs creak as he stomps down them.

"And lay off the steroids, man," I call after him. "There's such a thing as too big."

He tosses his wavy blond hair in response, and I'm glad to see the signs of life returning.

Before long all the meat is finished and I join everyone at the long tables that my dad and Landry set up this morning.

Leni and Mama decorated them with Josi's help, and Mason is busy playing DJ with the huge speakers that I can barely hear over.

Everyone is wearing a party hat, including the newcomers: Birdie and Landry's friends Beau and Kit.

I'm not sure Mason has met any of them before, but he welcomed them all to his birthday party regardless.

Birdie was invited, but no one was expecting Beau and Kit, so when Landry waltzed in with them in tow, Leni slapped hats on them, and Steph told them they better have brought a gift.

I'm pretty sure I saw some cash being shoved into an old bank envelope and Mason's name being scrawled across the back.

My son doesn't need it, but I found it amusing so I didn't put a stop to it.

I have mixed feelings about Beau and Kit being here, though.

I've known Beau for years. Him and Landry have been tight since grade school, but the past few times he's been around, he and his girlfriend have caused some waves.

Well, Beau has. And Landry has reacted poorly.

It's the kind of thing that Steph tells me is worth gossiping about, because it's hot news but doesn't personally affect me.

I don't have much interest in hot gossip, but I do want my brother to stay out of the way of whatever's going on there.

And I especially don't need my son having it spill into his party.

Thankfully, when I sit down and tune in, everyone is talking about the first wedding taking place in two weeks.

Birdie starts officially on Monday, and she has Mama and Leni on pins and needles as she gives them a few ideas to incorporate.

She's already made some contacts in town, and it's obvious that she's knowledgeable about the event world. I can see the relief on both Mama’s and Leni's faces, and I'm happy for them.

Both of them can now chase their dreams and not have to worry about the other. My family being happy is all I need.

A little commotion to my right has me looking to the other end of the table.

Walker, I'm surprised to see, is sitting in the very end seat, playing with the food on his plate.

I have no idea what's gotten into him. He's typically the center of all family time, and eats double what the rest of us do, but tonight he's subdued.

Not surprisingly, the commotion is coming from his left, where Landry's friends, Kit and Beau, seem to be having some sort of disagreement. Again.

I frown as Beau slams his drink on the table and leans close to Kit to whisper-yell something in her face.

Landry, sitting across the table from them, is instantly on his feet and throws his hand down between the two of them, slapping his open palms against the table, effectively pushing Beau back into his own space.

It calls the attention of the whole party, and all eyes shift that way as conversation dies off.

Kit, who I've now seen a few times but don't really know, stands up.

She's small and her body is held stiffly as she pushes thin-framed glasses closer to her face.

She's blushing as she shoves away from the table and starts into an easy jog that takes her around the house and out of sight .

This is a pattern I don't feel good about. They show up, Beau's a jerk, Kit runs off. Someone needs to get off that ride.