Page 48 of Something Tangled Something True (Rosa Ranch #1)

The game leads to tons of trash talk from Mayte, and, for once, Ryder is kicking her ass.

Ryder’s proud grin sends fireworks shooting off in my chest. He’s adorable when he finally wins at something. “Oh, was that your last play? Too bad.”

I swoon dramatically, grabbing his forearm and leaning my weight against him. “Ry, I never thought I’d say this, but you’re my hero.”

Mayte throws a chip at me. “Traitor.”

Ryder leans back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “Alright, enough whining. It’s Lola’s turn. Let’s see what my wife can do with the mess I made.”

I straighten in my seat, looking down at the last of my tiles as I chew on my lip. I’ve got nothing good, that’s for sure. I place a tile, one I know won’t help me win a damn thing.

Mayte’s eyes glitter under the warm kitchen lighting. She slow claps. “Truly an inspiration.”

She sets her next tile down.

“Yeah, an inspiration for me. Both of you are, really,” Ryder says, winking at me and effectively soothing some of the sting from my impending loss.

He slaps down his final tile and whisper-shouts, “ Domino , baby!” He tosses his hands up and smacks his lips together, shooting a kiss across the table at Mayte, who’s fuming.

“What?!” she asks, infuriated.

“That’s right, ladies. I’m the new champion,” Ry says, slinging an arm over my shoulder and leaning in to whisper in my ear. “What’s my prize, darlin’?”

I swat at his chest, rolling my eyes.“Your pick, Ry. What are we playing next?”

He grabs a small black box from the top of the bookshelf, setting it on the table as Mayte finishes putting the game away.

“The voting game. I’m not sure there’s actually a winner with this because I’ve never played it, but I picked it up a while back and figure we can all learn together.”

He unwraps the clear plastic from the box and tosses it in the trash by the back door, lingering by Ezekiel where he’s leaning over the small bar, thick-framed glasses sliding down the straight bridge of his nose, a book in hand.

“Hey, Zeke. You wanna join?” Ryder asks. He peers up from the book, glancing over to us, but he quickly returns his gaze to Ryder, shaking his head before refocusing on the book.

“Okay, so it sounds like we have a stack of cards with questions that sit in the middle. We each have numbered cards. Lola is number one, Mayte is two, and I’ll be three.

We pick a card from the center, read it aloud, and everyone turns in a card with the corresponding person's number. We’re voting for who is most likely to do whatever’s on the card. Does that make sense?”

Mayte’s shoulders shake with a chuckle. “Leave it to Ryder to pick a get-to-know-you game where no one wins.”

I can’t argue with that. It certainly is a very Ryder thing to do.

“Also true,” he says. “How about we also assign card numbers to people who aren’t playing so we can include them in the vote?”

“Hmm, sounds interesting, but why don’t we just invite other people to play?” Mayte asks, pushing out of her seat, not waiting for a reply. She saunters over to the table where Mami , Bee, and the biker guys are all seated, returning with them in tow a moment later.

“I don’t know anything about those guys. How am I supposed to guess?” I whisper to Ryder.

“Levi is the oldest of the group. He’s the leader and stand-in father, and Teddy’s the youngest, really easy going. Just go with your gut,” he tells me.

“Nice to see you again, Miss Lola,” Levi says, smiling warmly at me as he takes the seat across from me.

Everyone drags chairs over, and Ryder starts scribbling names on a sheet with the corresponding numbers so we don’t get lost.

1. Lola

2. Mayt e

3. Ryder

4. Ezekiel

5. Bee

6. Bexaida

7. Levi

8. Teddy

“Why’d you include Zeke?” I ask.

Ryder chuckles. “He never joins us for anything, so I figure this is the only way we might get the chance to change that.”

I roll my eyes at him, and Mayte explains the rules to everyone based on what she’s read on the back of the box. She picks up the first card and reads it for us. “Who gives the most awkward hugs?”

My shoulders shake as I put down a four. We flip them over, revealing seven fours. “It’s not his fault,” Mayte whines. “He’s an awkward man. Very cute, but so awkward and grumpy.”

Bee snorts at this assessment but makes no move to come to her youngest son’s aid.

“As his brother, I agree. The man is adorable, like an angry grizzly bear squeezing a cute plushy version of himself. His attitude only got worse when he returned from his last deployment.”

“I wish he’d join us for once. It always feels like we unintentionally leave him out of things,” I say, my shoulders deflating.

“I invite him to everything, Lols. He keeps to himself, is all. Maybe another time. I keep trying because he’s my little brother, but it’s hard when it feels like he doesn’t put any effort in himself.”

“I’m sorry, Ry. It’s just hard to believe things are still so tense between you two.”

He shrugs. “They’re not. He’s been like this since high school. I think he never grew out of the brooding teenager phase,” he says with a chuckle, attempting to lighten the mood.

Levi and Teddy keep their gazes cast downward, not wanting to get in the middle of this conversation.

“Orrr maybe it’s because you married his childhood crush?” Mayte interjects, making our heads snap to her.

“Excuse me, what?” I ask in shock.

Mami and Bee ask the same, our voices melting together.

“When Ezekiel was a freshman in high school, there were more than a few times I caught him and Lemmon getting frisky on the ranch, but as soon as she got her sights set on Ryder, she dropped that boy like a hot potato.” She says it like it isn’t news to anyone, nonchalant and totally relaxed as she leans back in her chair.

“How on Earth have you never thought to share that with anyone?” Ryder asks, dumbfounded. His jaw is practically hanging on the floor.

“It wasn’t my business to share.” She shrugs.

Mami smacks Mayte over the back of the head, shouting, “ ?No mames! ”

Mayte rubs her hand over the spot while she pouts. “That wasn’t very nice, Tia ,” she grumbles.

“I don’t know if you’ve met you, but you didn’t get the nickname ‘ lengua suelta ’ for no reason,” I chide.

She rolls her eyes dramatically. “When I drop the good chisme , it’s usually by accident. How am I supposed to know what everyone already knows and doesn’t around here?”

“Well, that would certainly explain why he’s so closed off,” Ryder groans beside me.

Mayte waves a hand around. “No. Your brother is the broody type. He wouldn’t have been happy with Lemmon anyway. It was probably just the thrill of an older woman. Anyway, moving on. ”

How can she be serious right now? She dropped a massive bomb on us and acts like it’s nothing, but for Ryder’s sake, I let it go and read the next card.

Who’s most likely to marry someone who isn’t born yet?

I scrunch my brows, unsure of what to do with this one since Isabela isn’t an option. I decide to put Mayte down, and when we flip them over, there are several for Mayte.

“You voted for yourself on this one, didn’t you?” Bee asks with a knowing smirk.

“Hey now, it never specified which marriage this would be. I could get a divorce from the husband I don’t currently have and then wind up a cougar and marry someone thirty-four years younger than me. I’m already a MILF; what’s stopping me from being a GILF too?”

“What the hell is a GILF?” Ryder asks, scrubbing a hand over his jaw.

“Grandma I’d like to fuck, obviously. Dios mio , how old are you?” Mami asks.

“You know what? I like the confidence,” he says, nodding his approval as he picks up the next card.

Who has the most awkward middle school yearbook picture?

My eyes widen. I push out of the chair and run to the bookshelves, standing on my tiptoes to reach for the highest shelf housing our old yearbooks.

I find the year I’m looking for and pluck it down, taking a seat and searching through the list of L s.

Ryder’s picture is right next to mine, just like it was every year until he graduated.

The school system here is small, so we didn’t have a ton of students.

Everyone knew everyone, and the yearbook was in alphabetical order, not split between grades.

I pick up a card and set it in the middle of the table with theirs. “I’ve brought proof in case anyone tries to disagree with me.”

Mayte rolls her eyes, flipping the cards over. Four for me and only one for Ryder.

“I feel like I’m at a severe disadvantage here,” Teddy says, running a hand over the back of his neck.

“Then it’s a good thing Ryder picked a game where no one wins,” Mayte says, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s time for me to defend my honor,” I announce.

“I knew neither of you would remember this picture; you’ve spent entirely too much time ragging on me for my sixth-grade photo, but this is truly the stuff of nightmares.

” I lay the book down in the center of the table, and Mayte leans over it, studying the pictures.

“Oh, Ry,” she clucks, shaking her head slowly. She takes one of the ones off the table and replaces it with a three. “It’s a good thing you’ve grown out of this,” she whispers to him, sitting up.

“Jesus, Ry. You had a bowl cut?” Levi asks in feigned horror.

I absolutely lose it, a cackle ripping through my chest. “It was so bad, Ry,” I whine, tears pooling in my eyes.

“Oh, god, it was,” he says. “I’m sorry for every time I made fun of you the year it rained before photos and your hair was three times bigger than your head.”

“Apology accepted,” I say, and he kisses my cheek, sparks tickling my skin.

His eyes roam the page and land on Lemmon. His shoulders start to shake, and he bites that full bottom lip. “The devil horns and red eyes were a good touch, Lols,” he chuckles, squeezing me to his side.

The first several questions are easy enough. They’re funny and lighthearted, but the further we get into the stack, the more I think Ryder is starting to realize what a bad idea this game might have been.