She nodded her helmeted head. “Lucky you.”
Despite the warring pit in my stomach, I found myself laughing. “Get on the bike, bella. Time to get on the road.”
The ride to Sugar Brush, Wyoming, was exactly the kind I liked, outside the city where I could really open up and let loose. Of course, with Saoirse behind me, I didn’t let loose as much as I normally would have, but from the laughter ringing in my ear, she enjoyed every bit of it.
I’d thought we’d have to stop a time or two to give her a break, but she never signaled for it, so we stayed on the road straight through.
As we drew closer to her family’s ranch, the terrain became rolling hills and wide-open spaces. Soon, I spotted cattle roaming every-fucking-where, behind low wire fences. Every once in a while, I saw someone riding through the fields on a horse, moving the cattle where he wanted them to be.
Slowing to a crawl, I passed through the entry of Sugar Brush River Ranch and veered off in the direction Saoirse pointed down the road to her family’s home.
Since we’d left early, it was just past noon when I rolled the bike to a stop in front of a two-story, sprawling log home. There were rocking chairs and toys on the porch stretching the entire span of the house. Flowers in the beds and a miniature ATV parked on the lawn.
I climbed off first, helping Saoirse off next, holding her hips while she regained her balance. She let herself lean against me, her hands on my chest. I tugged off my helmet, then hers, revealing her grinning face.
“I’m learning to ride,” she announced.
“You didn’t like riding with me?”
She bounced on her toes. “I loved it. But I want to be able to go whenever I want. Can I? Please.”
Pushing her hair back from her face, I shook my head. Not in denial, but because she had her bottom lip pushed out in a pout and it was fucking adorable.
“I told you I’d buy you one, Saoirse. No need to bring out the big guns.” I curled my arm around her waist. “Now, are you done delaying? Or are you ready to face the firing squad?”
Before she could answer, the front door swung open, and a massive man filled the doorway.
Looked like it was now or never.
Firing squad it is.
Chapter Nineteen
Luca
At first glance, anyone would assume Saoirse and her brother’s wife, Elena, were the ones who were related. Both were on the tall side, though Saoirse beat Elena by several inches, blonde and beautiful.
But where Saoirse was honey, Elena was ice.
Saoirse wore leather and denim. Elena’s clothing looked designer.
Saoirse was down to earth, but Elena was…not.
Saoirse’s brother Lachlan “Lock” Kelly, on the other hand, bore no obvious resemblance to his sister. Until we were shaking hands and he looked me square in the eye. The same chocolate brown stared back at me. The three-year-old girl he held in his tree-trunk arm had them too.
“Good drive?” Lock asked.
“Great drive. We came on the bike. Saoirse was a fan.”
He grunted. “She’s always been an adrenaline junkie. There was a time she would have run away with a circus if she could have found one.”
“Still would.” Saoirse plucked the little girl from her brother’s arms, poking her belly. “Hannah Kelly, have you grown all the way up since the last time I saw you?”
“Yeah. I’m bigger than you.” Hannah threw her arms in the air to demonstrate this fact.
“Wow.” Saoirse’s eyes rounded. “Soon, you’re going to be bigger than Daddy.”
“I’m gonna be bigger than Daddy.”
A miniature Lock sidled over, wearing Wranglers and a flannel. I knew from Saoirse this kid was five years old, but he had a valid point. He wasn’t as big as Lock, but he was well on his way to being massive. He probably dwarfed the average ten-year-old.
Elena ruffled her son’s dirty-blond hair. “Oh, joy. You already eat me out of house and home. How will I manage if you get as big as Daddy?”
The kid shrugged then eyed me up and down. “Are you big?”
I chuckled. “Uh, not as big as your dad.”
He crossed his arms and jutted out his chin. “I know.”
Elena sighed. “Caleb is somewhat distraught that his favorite aunt got married without running it by him first.”
Lock grunted again. “Runs in the family.”
Never taking his eyes off me, Caleb walked right over to Saoirse and threw his arms around her middle. “My Aunt Sershie.”
Saoirse hugged him back, laughing. “Don’t worry, Cay. No one’s taking me away from you.”
“He can’t. He’s not big,” Caleb declared.
I held up my hands. “I know when I’m defeated.”
Elena pointed to the back of the house. “Since you’re giving up your wife, come help me with lunch. We’ll chat.”
It was then I understood that although Lock was the one who could pummel me into tomorrow, Elena was who I needed to impress. I got the sense she didn’t stand for bullshit.
I was put to work taking down plates and getting out silverware while Elena made sandwiches and talked.
“Let me give you the down-low on the Kelly fam. Connell is the salt of the earth. If you treat Saoirse right, he’s your guy. The day I met him back in college, he basically tucked me in his pocket and told Lachlan he’d be stupid if he lost me.” She waved a peanut butter-covered knife in my direction. “Lachlan isn’t as easy to please. Saoirse went through some heavy shit when her parents divorced. She got stuck in the middle of their bomb throwing, so naturally, my husband is more protective of her than he might have otherwise been.”
“I’m not going to hurt her.” That was a promise I felt comfortable making. I’d be good to Saoirse while we were in this arrangement, and when it was over, I’d ensure she was well taken care of.
“Good.” Elena turned her back on the sandwiches to face me, crossing her arms over her chest. “Lily’s a tough nut. She has certain ideas of what her children’s lives should look like. Lachlan was always going to work the ranch, so she goes easy on him—on us. But Saoirse’s lifestyle is a sticking point for her. Lily will either view your marriage as another impetuous, poorly thought-out decision, or she’ll see it as a sign of stability. That’s down to you.”
I chuckled. I was bewildered by this blunt woman. “Down to me?”
“Yes. Are you going to be a lighthouse for my sister-in-law or an anchor?”
“Explain my choices, and I’ll answer.”
“A lighthouse is a beacon to follow home, to keep ships safe from crashing, a focal point. On the other hand, an anchor locks a ship in one place and weighs it down.”
“Interesting. I always considered anchors a good thing.”
She tapped her chin, a brow raised. “Not to someone like Saoirse. Lily was her anchor until Saoirse cut herself free. She doesn’t need another one. A lighthouse, on the other hand…”
“I have no intention of changing her. I wouldn’t have married her if I didn’t appreciate exactly who she is.”
That was as true as my promise. I couldn’t think of a single other woman I would have entered into this marriage with besides Saoirse. We didn’t know each other as well as we should have, but I knew in my bones Saoirse was exactly as honest and forthcoming as she presented herself to be. She didn’t abide by artifice. There weren’t many people like her. The idea of squashing parts of her to fit her into a box made me uncomfortable, to say the least. It wasn’t something I would ever be interested in doing.