Читать книгу To Trust A Rancher - Debbi Rawlins, Debbi Rawlins - Страница 12
ОглавлениеRyder watched a flush creep across Becca’s cheeks as she briefly met his eyes. Guilt, no doubt. Which was fitting. If she hadn’t manipulated Amy into running off with her, his sister would have probably married Billy, whose folks owned the Circle K. She would’ve settled down right there in Blackfoot Falls and given their mom a couple of grandbabies by now.
Something Ryder had failed to do.
Damn, he couldn’t let that line of thinking sabotage him. He’d already wasted too much time steeped in regret, wondering how everything in his marriage had gone so wrong.
Becca hadn’t said a word. And now that she’d turned back to look at her son, Ryder couldn’t read her.
He’d never had a problem doing that when she was a kid. Back then, when she’d followed him around with big puppy dog eyes, her expression could tell a whole story. His mom had threatened to ground him for a year if he said one word to embarrass her.
At the time he’d been twenty-one, too old to be grounded, but he hadn’t done anything to make her feel awkward. He’d liked Becca. She’d had a healthy respect for horses and ranching in general. Except for that year after her mom had moved to Alaska with her new husband. Becca had practically transformed overnight.
When she stubbornly refused to look at him again, he asked, “Does the kid have a father?”
“He has a name. It’s Noah,” she said, turning back to Ryder with a fire in her eyes he hadn’t seen before. “I didn’t use a sperm donor, if that’s what you’re asking.”
He almost smiled. “Are you married?”
At first, she just stared at him. “How is that your business?”
“It’s not.”
She blinked. “How about you and Leanne? You must have kids by now.”
Ryder winced a little. “We’re divorced.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“It happens.”
“Any kids?”
He shook his head.
Becca sighed. “I’m not married. Never have been. It’s just Noah and me.”
Ryder turned to look at the boy snuggled under the covers. “He’s a cute kid.”
“He is.” Her lips lifted in a gentle smile, then all of a sudden her guard went up.
Ryder hadn’t said or done anything to provoke it. Yet the barrier between them was so obvious it was almost tangible.
“Frankly, I don’t understand why you’d want us around,” she said. “You certainly didn’t hide your feelings yesterday.”
“All right. While we’re being frank,” he said, and she blinked at his mocking tone, “I think you know something about Amy you aren’t telling us.”
“I don’t even know where she is. And that’s the truth.”
“What do you mean?”
Becca sighed. “I don’t know how to say it any plainer than that.”
“Noah said she gave him a toy.”
“Yes. When she came by my place last week, but I haven’t seen her since. I’ve tried calling her cell but she hasn’t answered.”
“You guys don’t share a place?”
“Not for a few years. She lives with her boyfriend.”
Ryder heard a trace of scorn in her voice, saw her tense. Clearly she didn’t like the guy, he thought, then noticed the tiny quiver at the corner of her mouth. No, it was more than dislike. She was afraid. “Tell me about this boyfriend of hers.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she hunched her shoulders. “I don’t know him, not really. I’m not a fan so Amy doesn’t bring him around.”
“You know enough to dislike him. What is it about him that you—?”
“Look, ask Amy, okay? It’s her business. I won’t discuss it with you.”
“I’d be more than happy to ask her if she’d ever bother calling. Or if she would give us her damn number. Did you know we haven’t heard from her in a year? And that she blocked her number?”
“Keep it down. You’re going to wake Noah.”
“Come on, Becca. Work with me here. You look worried, so naturally now I’m concerned.”
She briefly closed her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said, rubbing her right temple.
He waited for her to continue. And got nothing. “Guess I should’ve listened to my gut. Hell, I can still drive down there. How many hours did it take you?”
“No.” Eyes wide, she stared at him. “Don’t. Please.”
Ryder felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. “You want to tell me why I shouldn’t?” he said. “Because I gotta say, by the look on your face, I’m thinking I should’ve left a week ago.”
“Please, Ryder.” She reached across the table and clutched his hand. “Amy’s leaving him. She might’ve done it already.”
“The boyfriend?”
She nodded. “If you show up, it’ll make things worse.”
That made no sense at all. Something sure had rattled her. She hadn’t let go of his hand. In fact, she was squeezing tighter, though he doubted she was aware of it.
“Look, if you’d just tell me the truth,” he said, “maybe I can help.”
Becca blinked, then looked at her fingers curling over his hand, her fingernails digging into his palm. Her eyes widened a fraction. Oh, yeah, she was rattled. She hadn’t even figured out he’d been bluffing. How could he show up when he didn’t even know where Amy lived?
Straightening her spine, Becca slowly withdrew her hand. She clasped it with her other one. “I’ve told you the truth. I can’t help it if you choose not to believe me.”
“Fair enough. But now I’ve got another problem. Going by what you just told me, I have to believe you know exactly where Amy is, you know what kind of trouble she’s in, and yet you left her behind to fend for herself.”
Becca’s faint smile was tinged with bitterness. “You obviously don’t know your sister very well.”
“How could I? She was still a kid when you dragged her to LA.”
The smile vanished. Her eyes filled with disbelief as her lips parted. He could see her mind working. She’d probably tell him to go to hell, which wouldn’t be entirely undeserved—Amy had always been headstrong. But he knew Amy hadn’t been keen on going to LA because she’d told him so. She’d gone for Becca’s sake.
After several moments of charged silence, Becca pushed back in her chair and stood. “Well, I believe we’ve said all there is to say, so if you’ll excuse me...we have a full day planned.”
“You haven’t answered me.”
“Oh, was there a question in there?” She hadn’t bothered to keep her voice down. Apparently she’d rather wake her son than have to finish their conversation. “It sounded more like an accusation.”
Her expression startled him.
She wasn’t just angry. Becca looked hurt. Hell, what did she expect? She had a lot of nerve to show up and pretend she didn’t have news of Amy. Then to admit she’d deserted his sister. He saw her hand tremble slightly. No. No way. He wouldn’t feel sorry for her.
He thought back to yesterday at the Food Mart. The way his mom had fawned over her had pissed him off. The memory put him to rights. If Becca was upset, it was her own doing.
“Look,” he said, “how about we call a truce?”
“I have no quarrel with you. Anyway, I doubt we’ll run into each other again.”
He bit back a curse. “You promised to call my mom.”
“And I will.” She walked past him, waving a hand as if she were dismissing him.
Ryder caught her wrist. “Don’t wake the boy yet. We need to settle this first.” He moved his thumb against her inner wrist. So soft.
She glared at him. “Let me go.”
He released her and cleared his throat. “Look, I’m asking you on behalf of my mother.”
“Did she send you?”
“She doesn’t know I’m here, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.”
“I won’t say anything.” Becca absently rubbed her wrist.
His grip hadn’t been tight enough to hurt her. Was she trying to play him? Good luck. He’d run low on sympathy long before today. Unfortunately, he could tell she wasn’t going to accept his mom’s invitation.
“Come on, be smart. Staying at the Sundowner means you’d save some money.” Unlike Becca, he continued to keep his voice low. “And Noah would have lots of space and plenty to occupy him. Don’t let how we feel about each other influence your decision. You’d hardly see me.”
Her brows rose. “How we feel about each other? I hadn’t given you a single thought before yesterday.”
“If I recall, neither of us were exactly overjoyed.”
“Oh.” She blushed and looked away. “Right. Anyway, moot point.”
Ryder wondered about the sudden awkwardness, then remembered Amy teasing him about Becca having a crush on him. But that had been kid stuff, at least ten years ago. Something else was bothering her.
She stood beside the bed where Noah was curled up, gazing down at her son with so much heart it stopped him in his tracks. Whatever her faults, she certainly loved that child. With no husband in the picture and living in an expensive city like LA? Maybe the kid’s father helped out some, but Ryder had the feeling that wasn’t the case. Either way, he gave her credit.
“Wait,” he said when she was about to wake the boy. She was a mother. He knew how to appeal to her. “I doubt Amy told you. She might not even know since her calls had dropped off, but my mom had a stroke.”
“Oh, no. When?”
“A couple years ago.”
“I wondered about the cane. I’m really sorry. Despite...everything, I’ve always liked your mom. A lot. Your father, too. They were both nice to me.” She winced. “Even after my mom left and I wasn’t at my best.”
Ryder laughed. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“Hey, I could’ve been worse.”
Noah stirred.
Ryder hurried on. “After seeing you and Noah yesterday, she was the happiest I’ve seen her in years. As soon as we got home, she started freshening up the guest rooms and writing out meal plans...”
Becca briefly nibbled at her lower lip, eyeing him suspiciously. “Playing dirty, are we?”
“Just telling it like it is.”
She hesitated, then turned back to her son. “Noah? Time to wake up, sleepyhead.”
Ryder sighed. So she was willing to use the kid to avoid answering? Fine.
Noah jerked his head up with a start. He blinked, looked around, but didn’t see Becca behind him. He rubbed both eyes with small fists and immediately started to cry.
“Hey, Mr. Cranky Pants...” Placing a hand on his shoulder, she sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m right here.”
Those weren’t crocodile tears. He looked genuinely afraid until he turned and buried his face against his mom’s chest. She held him close and stroked his back. “It’s okay, sweetie. We’re in the motel with the elevator you like to ride, remember?”
