Page 19 of Rancher’s Strength (Flying Diamond 5, #4)

Chapter Sixteen

RYDER

T he house was quiet, too quiet, in fact. I’d gotten used to the kids being kids and Lexie puttering around the house, and I missed it. Two weeks— that’s how long we’d been living like this, and for the first time in years, I’d been truly happy.

My phone buzzed on the table, and I picked it up to see a text from Griff. We hadn’t said much to each other, so I quickly opened the message.

Griff: You might want to get to the bar. Your wife is getting manhandled.

A photo pops up on my screen of Lexie sitting on the lap of some local scum. She was leaning away from him as he puckered his lips.

Me: On my way.

My headlights illuminated the road ahead of me as I slammed my foot on the accelerator.

Taking the turn into the bar parking lot faster than I intended, gravel sprayed and tinged in the wheel wells as I slid to a stop.

With a quick flick of my wrist, I turned the truck off, got out, and marched into the bar.

People were milling about, laughing and talking to one another, and then I saw it. Some guy had his hand on my wife’s ass. She tried moving away, but he grabbed her arm, pulling her so she sat on his lap. Lexie squirmed, and he laughed as he held on to her tighter.

“Hey asshole, take your hands off my wife,” I hollered as I pushed through the sea of people that had parted when they saw me barreling toward the table.

“She ain’t got no ring on. Looks like she’s fair game.

” He looked at his friends, and that was his mistake.

He took his eyes off me. Pulling my arm back, I watched Lexie lean ahead, and I punched the man square in the jaw.

He instantly let go of Lexie, and she jumped off his lap as he tumbled to the floor.

The other men at the table with him stood up and peered over him as he groaned and rolled around on the floor.

When their gazes returned to me, they were all staring murderously at me.

In one instant, they all blanched and held up their hands.

I didn’t have to look, I knew the four people who were closest to me now stood behind me, ready to fight if they needed to.

Even if we weren’t really on speaking terms currently, they had my back.

“I don’t take kindly to people man-handling things that belong to me.” I saw red and was going to hit him again, but Lexie grabbed my arm as I cocked it back.

“Get him out of here and never come back,” Lydia said to the group of men.

“Come on, Lydia. This is the only place in town where you can get a good drink.” the man whined as he bent down to pick up his friend from the floor.

“Guess your buddy should have thought of that before he put his hands on my sister.” She slammed her hands on her hips and glared at the fool.

“Awe fuck,” the man on the floor groaned. Once he stood up, he looked at me and shook his head, then smartly walked away rubbing his jaw.

“Back to your evening, everyone. The show is over,” Lydia said as she stared at me. “Lexie, deal with your husband.” She clenched her jaw and went back to her place behind the bar. As if on cue, my friends backed away, leaving an angry Lexie staring at me.

“Belongs to you?” She arched her brow and glared.

“Did I lie?” I shrugged. Lexie snarled at me, and all I could do was laugh.

“You can’t go around hitting people.” Lexie sighed, exasperated.

“He was touching you, and you obviously didn’t like it. You instantly relaxed when you saw me coming for him. Can you explain that?”

“I knew the guys would have my back. It wasn’t like I was in danger.

How did you even know I was being harassed?

Wait, where are the kids?” She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her tits up so they almost spilled out of her shirt.

I wanted to pluck out the eyes of every man who might be staring at her.

“Griff’s dad picked them up on his way home from getting Parker.

Said they needed some grandkid time.” Lexie’s eyes immediately softened, and I wondered if she was going to cry.

She wouldn’t want to cry in this sea of people, so it was time to piss her off again.

“And Griff texted me saying that some guy was feeling you up, and you are my wife. We filled out the paperwork, remember?” Arching my brow, I waited.

Her dark eyes flashed almost black, and she grabbed my belt buckle as she walked past me and pulled me behind her.

Getting closer to the table that was always ready for us, she pushed me into a chair and leaned over, whispering in my ear.

“Listen, I don’t need you fighting my battles.

On paper, we’re married, that’s it, and if you even dare to think of ordering anything stronger than a soda tonight, I’ll be your worst nightmare.

Sit with your friends and behave yourself.

Now, what can I get you?” It was deliberate on her part; it looked intimate enough to make people talk, and others would believe it was a wife whispering sweet nothing into her husband’s ear, thanking him for saving her.

“We used to be your friends too,” Kipp said flatly, challenging Lexie, and she immediately looked at him.

“Used to be.” She nodded but didn’t finish her thought.

The look they gave one another made me take a second glance at them.

She still hadn’t forgiven him for what he did on our wedding day, and I’m not sure she ever would.

If there was one thing about Lexie that would never change, it’s that she’s stubborn. “Drink?”

“Cola, please, Lex.” I grinned, and she rolled her eyes before spinning on her heel and walking away.

I watched her ass sway and marveled at the sight of the short skirt swishing back and forth.

It had always been a toss-up which part of her I liked watching more—the subtle sway of her perfect ass or the jiggle of her tits.

Even with a bra on, she could still render me speechless.

“She’s going to kill you when you get home,” Griff said as he slid a beer down to me. Reaching for it, I brought it to my lips and took a pull.

“Yeah, she probably will, but at least I’ll go out looking at her gorgeous face.” I smiled widely as Griff laughed, and Elle shook her head but kept her thoughts to herself.

The crowd thinned out, but we all stayed at the table, and Lexie brought another round of drinks. “That’s the last one. I’ll be ready to take some of you home as soon as I get this place cleaned up.” She looked at everyone around the table but didn’t make eye contact with me.

“Yep, you really made her mad. I’d place bets on the ‘belonging to you’ comment rather than the fight you almost got into,” Kipp said as he reached for his last beer.

“I have to say, you do make a nice couple,” Nora said as she took Kipp’s drink from him, taking a sip herself. “You’re both in that big house, alone after you put the kids to bed. I bet you two are using that time constructively after all the years apart.” She wiggled her eyebrows and smiled.

“After the kids go to bed, Lexie grabs a book, and I head to the cabin to check on the cameras. By the time I get back to the farm, she’s in bed, and I’m exhausted.

” It had been more than I’d intended to say, but my filter around my friends had been worn away years ago, and I found it exhausting keeping them outside of all of this.

“Sounds like you need to move the monitors to where you’re living now, so you don’t have to spend so much time away from your wife.

I bet she’s pissed that she has to go to bed alone.

” Fallon said without looking at me. A drunk Fallon had loose lips and no filter, so I was surprised she didn’t say anything more.

With a quick look at Griff, he shrugged, and I knew he was saying, “why not?” Over the years, we didn’t need to talk; hand motions and grunts sufficed for us most of the time. We’d worked so closely on the security team that we’d almost developed our own language.

After the stragglers walked out, the lights came up to full brightness. While the bar looked decent when fully lit, you could tell there were some things that needed work. “Lydia, got a hammer?” I asked when I wandered to the bar.

“Yeah, back storage room, why?”

“You’ve got some fence that needs to be fixed.” I nodded to one of the decorative posts on the wall that was leaning to the left. “I’ll take care of it.” Without waiting to hear if the woman would complain, I walked to the storage room like I’d done daily for my entire life.

I pushed on the door, but it wouldn’t move, so I gave it a quick nudge with my hip and it popped open.

I flicked on the light, and to my surprise, was met with a pair of eyes I knew intimately well.

“Trying to get out of clean-up?” I asked as I wandered over to the workbench along the back wall.

The hammer was easy enough to find, but the nails were a little more difficult.

“Why are you back here?” Lexie asked, still rubbing her toes.

“A few things need some attention out there, so I’m going to get started until you’re ready to go.

Of course, sitting here won’t get that done any faster.

” Finally, I found the bag of nails and turned to head back out to the bar.

“Has the big city lawyer forgotten what being a waitress was like?” I crouched in front of her and set my tools on the floor.

My large hands wrapped around her feet, and I pressed my thumb into the pad of her foot.

The moan she let out made my cock spring to life.

“I’d forgotten how good you were at this.” She closed her eyes and leaned back against the shelf behind her. She sighed again, and my cock was painfully pressed against the zipper of my jeans.

“I’m still good at other things, too,” I mumbled. Lexie shifted, and I could tell she was sitting up again, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

“That doesn’t surprise me. I’ve heard you rarely leave the bar alone when you come here.” She crossed her arms and hunched over.

“Keeping tabs on me, wife?”

“No, god no. But people who’ve been drinking like to talk. And they all had loose lips tonight.”

“You found that out tonight?”

“Of course, I’m an anomaly being back in town, so everyone wanted to catch up and update me on what’s been happening. And what’s happening is you getting busy, apparently.” Her brown eyes flashed almost green, and I wanted to make it happen again.

“Are you jealous, sweetheart?”

“Nope. I’ve got nothing to be jealous about.”

“Really? Because I know exactly what you look like when you’re jealous, and sweetheart, you’re there.”

“Let go of my foot.” She shook my hand off her foot and stood up.

Lexie slipped her foot back into her shoe and pushed me over as she walked past, causing me to crash into the shelf as bags of something pelted me from above.

Her laughter reverberated through the hallway.

Standing, I grabbed the hammer and nails before tossing the supplies back onto the shelf and leaving the storage room.

My friends laughed at their table, their buzz evident in the decibels of their chatter.

Nobody paid me any attention, and I was more than okay with that.

Fixing things in the bar I now not so secretly owned wasn’t unusual.

Having Lexie here while I did it was different tonight.

I watched her as she methodically went through closing routines and visited with Lydia.

I couldn’t help but feel like an unwanted observer.

Lexie and Lydia had a strained relationship when it came to this place.

Lexie had focused on law, getting her degree and making partner, while everyone expected Lydia to remain here and take over the bar.

I often wondered if she had a dream that didn’t revolve around this place, but after the divorce and Lexie leaving Weston Gap for Bozeman full time, it became none of my business.

“All right, everyone get out of my bar,” Lydia shouted, and Lexie turned to her and raised her eyebrow. “Have something to say, sister?” Lydia crossed her arms and waited.

“Nope.” Lexie smiled, but I’d seen that smile before. It was her ‘I won’t engage in this behavior smile.

“See you at home,” I said quietly as I walked up behind her and set down the hammer and leftover nails.

She turned abruptly and frowned at me. Lexie was nothing if not predictable; she was pretending to be mad at me. “I’m going to drop Griff and Elle off, then I’m going to Lydia’s for the night since the kids aren’t home.” Her smirk, as if she had one-upped me, was cute.

Lydia yelled as she wandered into the kitchen, “Like fuck you are. I have a date.”

“A date? With who?”

“None of your business,” she said as she walked through the swinging doors.

“It’s almost two in the morning. Who would wait for a date this long?” Lexie scoffed.

“Someone who wants to spend time with me, and that time will not include my sister in the room down the hall.” Lydia pulled the towel off her shoulder and flicked it toward Lexie.

The humph that escaped Lexie made me step back from her. “I’m your sister. We tell each other everything.” She slammed her hands on her hips and stared Lydia down.

“We used to, but now I hardly know you. So when I want to tell you, I will. Until then, it’s on a need-to-know basis.” Lexie’s brow furrowed, and sadness washed over her.

Gently, I placed my hand on her back and whispered in her ear, “Like I said, meet you at home. I’ll take Griff and Elle; it will save you a stop.” Without thinking, I kissed the side of her head and gathered my friends.