and they never let you forget it.”
Then again, his parents and Tess and Tripp’s seemed to be enjoying themselves on their cruise. Their calls had become far less frequent.
Who knows? Maybe both couples would decide it was finally time to retire, give up ranch life, and pass the torch to the next generation. Something he, Tessa and Tripp had been advocating for the past few years. They were ready to take on the responsibility.
When he’d been engaged to Sabrina, his parents had planned to retire to their beach house in Galveston and leave management of the ranch to him. Despite the fact that they hadn’t much liked his intended. Not because Sabrina was a bad person. But he and Sabrina were like fire and ice. The moments that were good could be really good. But the moments that weren’t had resulted in tense arguments and angry sex.
His mother, in particular, hadn’t been convinced Sabrina was the girl for him. She’d been right.
A few months before their wedding, Sabrina had called it off. She just couldn’t see herself as a ranch wife. Nor was she willing to sacrifice her well-earned figure to start “popping out babies” to carry on the Bateman name.
He appreciated that she’d had the decency to tell him to his face, well in advance, rather than abandoning him at the altar as Shelby Arthur had done when she’d decided she couldn’t marry Jared Goodman.
At least she’d spared him that humiliation.
Besides, there was a part of him that realized the truth of what she’d said. Maybe some part of him had always understood that he’d asked her to marry him because it felt like the right thing to do.
He’d been with Sabrina longer than he’d stayed in any relationship. For over a year. So when she’d hinted that she didn’t want to waste her time in a relationship that wasn’t going anywhere, he’d popped the question.
Neither he nor Sabrina were the type who bought into the fairy tale of romance. They understood that relationships were an exchange. A series of transactions, sustained over time. Which was why he believed they were a good fit. But they’d both ignored an essential point. They were just too different.
He loved everything about ranch life, and Sabrina was a city girl, through and through.
The truth was that he’d been relieved when Sabrina had canceled the wedding. As if he could breathe, nice, deep, easy breaths, for the first time in months. Still, his parents called off their plans to retire.
Maybe this trip would convince them that he and the Bateman Ranch would be just fine without them.
Ryan stretched and groaned. His muscles, taut from riding in the saddle a good portion of the day, protested as he made his way across the yard toward the house.
Helene Dennis, their longtime house manager, threw open the door and greeted him. “There you are. You look an unholy mess. Take off those boots and don’t get my kitchen floor all dirty. I just mopped.”
Sometimes he wondered if Helene worked for him or if he worked for her. Still, he loved the older woman. She was family.
“All right, all right.” He toed off his boots and kicked them in the corner, patting his arms and legs to dislodge any dust from his clothing before entering the house. “Just don’t shoot.”
Helene playfully punched his arm. “Were you able to round up all of the animals that got loose?”
“Every one of them.” Yawning, he kneaded a stubborn kink in his back. “Fence is fixed, too.”
“Good. Dinner will be ready in about a half an hour. Go ahead and hop in the shower. Oh, and call Tess when you get the chance.”
“Why?” His chest tightened. “Everything okay over at the Noble Spur?”
“Don’t worry.” She gave him a knowing smile that made his cheeks fill with heat. “She’s fine, but her brother is ill. Tess is pretty sure it’s food poisoning. She’s been trying to reach you all day.”
“I was in such a hurry to get out of here this morning, I forgot my phone.”
“I know.” She chuckled softly “I found it in the covers when I made your bed this morning. It’s on your nightstand.”
Managing a tired smile for the woman he loved almost as much as his own mother, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Helene. I’ll be down for dinner as soon as I can.”
Ryan dried his hair from the shower and wrapped the towel around his waist. The hot water had felt good sluicing over his tired, aching muscles. So he’d taken a longer shower than he’d intended. And though he was hungry, he was tempted to collapse into bed and forgo dinner.
Sighing wearily, he sat on the bed and picked up his phone to call Tess.
She answered in a couple of rings. “Hey, Rye. How’d it go? Were you able to find all the steer you lost?”
Helene had evidently told her where he was and why he hadn’t been answering his cell phone.
“Yes, we got them all back and the fence is fixed.” He groaned as he reached out to pick up his watch and put it back on. “How’s Tripp? Helene said he got food poisoning.”
“Wow, you sound like you’ve been ridden hard and put away wet.” She laughed. “And yes, my brother’s penchant for late night snacks from suspect eateries finally caught up with him. He looks and feels like hell, but otherwise he’s recovering.”
“Will he be okay for the auction tomorrow?”
“No.” She said the word a little too quickly, then paused a little too long. “He thinks he’ll be fine to go through with it, but I’m chalking that up to illness-induced delusion.”
“Did you tell Alexis she’s a man down?”
“I did.” There was another unusual pause. Like there was something she wanted to say but was hesitant.
Ryan thought for a moment as he rummaged through his drawers for something to put on.
“Ahh...” He dragged his fingers through his damp hair. “Of course. She wants to know if I’ll take Tripp’s place.”
Tessa didn’t respond right away. “Actually, that’s why I was trying so hard to reach you. I thought I might be able to convince you to take Tripp’s place...since it’s for such a good cause. But when I couldn’t reach you, I came up with another option.”
“Which is?” It was like pulling teeth to get Tess to just spit it out. He couldn’t imagine why that would be...unless he wasn’t going to like what she had to say. Uneasiness tightened his gut. “So this other option...are you going to tell me, or should I come over and you can act it out in charades?”
“Smart-ass.” She huffed. “No charades necessary. I’m the other option. I decided to take Tripp’s place in the auction.”
“You do know that it’s women who will be bidding in this auction, right?” Ryan switched to speakerphone, tossed his phone on the bed, then stepped into his briefs. “Anything you need to tell me, Tess?”
“I’m going to give you a pass because I know you’re tired,” she groused. “And we’ve already considered that. If you check your in-box, you’ll see that Alexis sent out an email informing all attendees and everyone else on the mailing list that there is going to be a surprise at the end of the auction, just for the gents.”
“Oh.”
It was the only thing that Ryan could think to say as the realization struck him in the gut like a bull running at full speed. A few days ago, he’d been discomfited by the idea of his friend bidding on one man. Now, there would be who knows how many guys angling for a night with her.
“You sure about this?” He stepped into a pair of well-worn jeans and zipped and buttoned them. “This just doesn’t seem much like you.”