Page 19 of Something Tangled Something True (Rosa Ranch #1)
TYING THE KNOT
My hands shake as we stand on the porch of the main house. Ryder grabs one of them, pulling my knuckles up to his mouth, but before his lips can make contact, he drops them, squeezing gently. “Sorry, boundaries,” he explains, as if he just remembered they exist at all.
Ryder and I have never been good with boundaries. We’ve always jumped headfirst into everything, and I’m terrified this will be no different. I’m basically about to be living out every childhood, middle grade, and high school fantasy I ever had with this man, and it’s all fake.
Eighteen-year-old Lola would be extremely disappointed at how our life has panned out so far, and she’d be screaming at me for putting any kind of distance between me and Ryder.
“Ready?” he asks.
I shake my head, wind tangling my curls around my face. He reaches out on instinct, brushing the errant curls away with a grimace.
“It’s going to take some getting used to that I can’t—” His words die on his tongue when the door is yanked open.
“There they are!” Harlan says, his rugged, tanned face greeting us with a wide smile. “Come in, come in.” He ushers us inside with a wave of his hand.
We follow behind him, bile churning in my gut. I chew the inside of my cheek, greeting everyone with kisses and hugs before taking a seat on the worn leather loveseat beside Ryder.
I wet my lips as all eyes land on us, tension climbing high in the room, both of our families seated or standing around us.
Ryder takes my hand in his, and even though it breaks one of our rules—no PDA unless surrounded by town gossips—I allow it, letting the gesture calm the war waging in my chest.
“ Suéltalo ya, ” Mami says, waving her hand through the air.
I work on a swallow, my mouth dry as I recite the words I’ve been planning to use to break the news to them all night, unable to sleep.
“We’re getting married,” Ryder says, and with his words, all of mine die on my tongue.
Everyone is silent, wide eyes and gaping mouths greeting us. Even Ezekiel, Ryder’s quiet and brooding brother, a man I’ve never quite figured out, has the good sense to raise his brows and bite his lip.
Ry rests a hand on my knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze, but it does nothing to soothe me.
Another couple of seconds stretch on, thick with tension, each one dragging on like an eternity.
Then the air shifts, lighter, almost electric, filling my lungs with something that makes my limbs feel weightless.
Our families explode in a flurry of movement, leaping to their feet, clapping and shouting, while our mothers’ tears spill over, glistening with joy.
Our fathers are embracing in the biggest man hug you’ll ever see. Mayte is clapping Isabela’s hands together, and Zeke is wearing a warm smirk.
“Thank God!” Bee shouts.
“ Por fin ,” Mami says with a wide smile.
“Only took them two decades to get their heads out of their asses,” Harlan agrees .
Before they can take their celebrations further, Ryder speaks up, clearing his throat. “There’s more, and you better sit down for this,” he says.
They all shoot sideways glances around, taking a tentative seat, and quieting down.
I address Ryder’s family first. “I’m sure my parents have told you about my diagnosis by now.
I have rheumatoid arthritis, and while it presents differently for everyone, I’ve been ignoring it as best as I can for too long.
My joints ache, and it’s becoming hard to do the most mundane tasks, let alone keep up with the things I love, like dancing and riding Penny. ”
“So, while our marriage will look real to everyone else, we need you all to know that it’s not.
Yet, ” Ryder adds, nudging my shoulder with a playful smirk.
“Lola’s health is our first priority, always.
We know it might be hard to sell to the townspeople that she up and left her fiancé for me, but if we want to evade insurance fraud claims and prison, we’d appreciate it if the truth of our marriage stays under wraps. ”
“Of course, Ry, your secret is safe with us,” José assures us. “And maybe Lemmon will let up once she knows about you two.”
Harlan’s lips quirk at the suggestion, and unease stirs in my gut.
“She still buggin’ you?” Bee asks, head tilted toward Ryder.
When we discussed our ground rules for this marriage, he told me that Lemmon had been pretty persistent in reaching out to him, but he had no interest in chatting with his former abuser, and I can’t say I blame him.
I feel the same about Russ, though he’s taken our breakup far better than it appears Lemmon had.
“It’s gotten better. Just a few calls and texts periodically.
I’ve blocked her number, but I think she’s using a burner phone because the syntax is always the same, but the number changes no matter how many times I block them.
It’s nothing egregious though. I dealt with her manipulation and belittling for years.
I can handle a few text messages,” Ryder explains, but it doesn’t escape me the way Zeke rolls his eyes, crosses his arms over his chest, and huffs.
I’m seeing more emotion out of him in the last few minutes than I have in all the years I’ve known him.
“We decided getting married would be good for the both of us. I’d get access to Ryder’s health insurance, and he will hopefully get Lemmon off his back.” I decide to leave out the fact that he feels guilty for ever marrying her; I’m sure they know this without me having to rub it in.
Harlan lets a laugh slip out, shaking his head.
“I’m in support of absolutely anything that helps you, sweet girl, but if either of you think for a second Lemmon is going to let up because y’all are married, you’ve got another thing comin’.
That girl has been jealous of you since the day you showed up on Rosa Ranch. ”
“I doubt that’s true, Pops,” Ryder interjects, but his mom stops him.
“It’s true. That woman is vindictive and conniving. I don’t think you’ll be doing yourself any favors by getting married if you think it’s going to make her go away, but I support the decision anyway.”
How come I didn’t consider that? I should have, knowing the way she acted at the fair. She’s still the same high school bully I knew and despised.
“Do you agree, Ry?” I ask, my voice a soft whisper as I turn to him.
His eyes hold my gaze, gripping me with their serene pools of blue.
“I’m not sure I care one way or the other, Lols.
I just want you to have adequate healthcare.
I can deal with the rest another way if I need to.
” My heart seizes in my chest, and my lungs threaten to give out as he leans into me, his warm lips grazing the shell of my ear as he whispers for only me to hear, “Let me do this for you, darlin’. It’s all I want.”
My fingers throb from how tightly I’m clutching them, a reminder of how badly I need treatment.
My eyes brim with tears as he pulls away, straightening in his seat. “I’m really sorry,” I say, my lip wobbling. “I don’t want to cause any more problems than I already have, but?—”
“Cut that out. You haven’t caused any problems, Lola.
This is your home just as much as it is any of ours, and if you and Ry want to get married for any reason, we’ll support it.
But if this isn’t what you both want, we’ll find another way,” Bee says, taking her turn to speak as the head of the family.
Power dynamics have never been a thing here, and that’s why I always felt comfortable speaking my mind. It wasn’t until Russ that I started to lose myself, falling into a pattern of forgetting my voice existed because it was easier not to say anything at all.
The safety and security Ryder and his entire family fill me with is what makes me speak the next words. “I want to marry Ryder Lockhart, and I want to do it just like we had when I was twelve,” I tell the room, my cheeks twitching with a smile as Ryder’s laughter bubbles over.
He squeezes my hand, and I can tell we’re both recalling the time Mayte declared she wanted to be a wedding planner and demanded Ryder and I let her practice with us.
The ceremony was small, and our parents pretended to cry, dabbing at the fake tears rolling down their cheeks.
The sun set behind us as we said our vows on the top of the hill on the farthest edge of the property.
It was small, adorable, and hysterical. My thoughts on my perfect wedding haven’t changed, despite Russ’s determination to bulldoze right over them.
“Consider it done, darlin’. We’re tying the knot,” he announces to the room.
We spend the rest of the morning making breakfast in the kitchen of the main house, eating with our families, and catching up.