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IT WAS AFTER LUNCH the next afternoon, and Avery felt better. Her brain still hurt, but it was tolerable, and her balance had returned. Her head was sensitive to touch, and she sported a large knot where she had hit the table, but overall, she would survive. Putting on her comfortable sneakers, Avery decided to see if she could work on something in the office. She and Renee’s new project was a possibility that wouldn’t violate her marching orders from Stryker.
As she walked inside, she grabbed a cup of coffee that smelled good to her today. She added creamer and saw Renee’s door was shut. Stryker’s was partially open. He was talking on the phone, so she sat in the outer office to wait until he was done. Obviously, the person on the other line was someone he enjoyed speaking to, and his bursts of laughter drew her closer.
Stryker’s back was turned toward the door, and he watched the workings of the ranch from his office window while carrying on his conversation, adding bits about what he saw as he spoke. Horses were being brought out of the stable and matched to guest riders. Avery moved to sit on the sofa to the left as she walked in. She’d just wait on him to finish since Renee’s door was still closed.
Avery loved Stryker’s laugh. He didn’t do it often except when he was either with her or his family and sometimes with Carson. The rest of the world missed out on the deep melodic resonance. It gave her a rush of warmth to hear it.
Sipping her coffee, she listened as Stryker began to outline the situation between Ben, themselves, and Avery’s part in things. He highlighted the events last night, which reminded her she didn’t have her car back yet. As the deeply personal information was shared freely, Avery became irritated and then angry. She couldn’t imagine who he was talking to, but it was too intimate, too revealing. He was laying her soul bare and having no protective barrier between the events and the person on the other line. Who could be this close to him?
“Até, why would you ask that? More like wear out my hand.” He sobered. “It’s too early to be certain, but it’s like nothing else I have ever experienced. I have to take it slow, or it’ll overtake me. I don’t want to make the wrong move.”
Who was Ah-tay? Was it some kind of Sioux expletive? She had no clue, but she did notice that the Red Eagle Clan occasionally used what she was pretty sure was Gaelic, and what she was equally sure was Sioux. Their heritage was so mixed she wondered how his parents were able to make it work. Renee said it was love. Avery thought it had to be that and so much more.
After listening to him for a few more minutes, Avery needed to clear her head of the nasty thoughts she was having about Stryker at the moment. A drive would give her the space she needed. She stood. Right, no car. Who was supposed to get her car for her? One of the hands, or Stryker? That added to her frustration.
According to the doctor, she couldn’t drive anyway. She could if she needed to, Avery told herself. Returning to the conversation, she sat back down when she heard Stryker verbally dissect the events concerning Ben and put his interpretive spin on everything.
It wasn’t that he misrepresented anything, not really. It was that he was sharing their personal information without asking her permission, she told herself. She might not want the world to know. Well, she didn’t want local people to know any more than they likely already did. What was he doing, anyway? He normally carried his information close to the vest.
Now he was talking about their personal relationship with this person on the other line. Rude and inconsiderate. He was saying positive things, but he also just laughed. That could mean anything, and some things would be at her expense, she was sure. Her powers of logical reasoning were fast exiting. Avery knew she took everything he said and put a harder spin on it. She also knew it wasn’t right or fair to Stryker. And yet, she continued to do it, her face flushing hotly.
“Honestly, she’s giving me a run for my money, but it’s the best race I’ve ever entered.”
That was complimentary, right? Unless he meant she was running him ragged, and while it was fun for now, it was too much as normal fare.
“Yes, I think it is. Not yet. We haven’t been together long enough. The palm of my hand will have an extra layer of toughness before you come back. Avery is too independent by half.”
There was a pause as Stryker listened to the other person on the line. By this time in the conversation, Avery had heard enough. She stood and began walking out of the office, her anger boiling over. Too independent? She’d show him independence.
“Hey, darlin’, what are you doing here?” Avery kept walking and heard him end his call. In just a few seconds, he was right there, blocking her way out of the offices. He moved quickly for a man of his stature. “I asked you a question, darlin’, and if I don’t get a good answer, I’m going to think you are defying your doctor’s orders on purpose.”
“I can go for a walk.”
“If you are inside the house. You are not to leave the house for a few days. Your headache needs to be gone first.”
She shrugged as though it was inconsequential. But her head did hurt more now than it had when she left the house. His fault.
“I wanted some fresh air, so I walked over here. I came to see Renee, but her door has been closed, and I didn’t want to disturb her. Then I thought I’d say hello to you and see if you knew what she was doing. Instead, I find you joking and talking about my brother and me as though we were the daily entertainment. A joke!” Oh, that hurt. She’d have to tone things down. “Is that how you see this whole situation? How you see me?”
She shivered with the effects of the dark tones underlying his next words. “You had better check your words, little girl. Under no circumstances was I making a joke of our relationship or the situation your brother is in. I was talking to my father, not some layperson off the street.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Excuse me?”
There was that tummy turning tone again. This time she was a little worried she had gone too far. Everything about this man, at this moment, said warrior on the warpath.
“You never once referred to him as your father.”
She might have gone too far, but who talked about all that with their father? Especially his relationship with her. She chanced a hooded glance upward and saw that storm cloud face.
“Oh, my little one, I would rephrase my reply if I were you. Daddy is not happy.”
And out came that ill-advised flippant response she knew was flying out of her mouth without the slightest ability to slow it down.
“I’m not a little girl. I’ve told you that. I’m a full-grown woman. I was going to talk to my boyfriend, but I lost that desire when I heard him sharing intimate details with someone I didn’t agree should know.”
She looked at him defiantly, her righteous indignation giving her the bravado she needed to stare him down amid her pounding heart and head.
“To my father, I was speaking to my father, and you heard one side of it. I guarantee my dad had plenty to say and advised me so that I don’t blow it with your brother and thereby make it harder in what we are trying to build here. I would take out anyone who teased you maliciously. Anyone.” His frustration was leaking through his adamant words, and he ran his hand through his hair.
Renee came out of the office and stared at the standoff in front of her. “Um, are you feeling better, Avery?”
“Yes,” she answered, still staring at Stryker, now with her arms folded across her generous bosom. “Sort of.”
“Good. Well, I’m sure you aren’t up for smoke and loud music like we planned tonight, but we can go for a drive and eat barbecue at the lake.”
“She isn’t going anywhere. It’s too early to be far from the house.” His return stare with Avery never wavered.
“I’d love to go. I’m ready now.”
Renee looked at Stryker, and he turned to glare at her. It amazed Avery how this family could do so much nonverbal communication. What happened to the Irish reputation for the gift of the gab? It must have been overrun by the tall, dark, and silent Nakota side.
“We can drive back to the house, and after I do a quick change, I’ll be ready to go. Let me grab my purse.”
“Sounds great,” said Avery with what was left of her ever-fading bravado.
“Avery,” his voice losing some of its demanding elements, “you don’t want to make things worse. I’m glad you’re feeling better but don’t risk it. It hasn’t even been a full forty-eight hours yet.”
“I’m going. Blame it on my independent nature. Renee will help me work through things, and besides, I have a craving for barbecue.”
Stryker was silent. He wasn’t happy, but neither was she. He’d hurt her with his words on the phone to whomever, and she wasn’t sure what to do with that feeling. It was like a break in trust, and right after her brother had done it in public, Stryker had done it with a person on the phone. Was she so expendable, so unremarkable that he felt no loyalty to her, them, that he could just blab their whole situation to someone else? Obviously.
Renee came back out. “Take very good care of her, Saoirse Renee, or there is going to be hell to pay, little sister. Same thing for you, Avery Rose. You behave, or when you are over this mess and recovered, I will leather your bouncy bottom so well, tic-tac-toe is going to be easily played on your ass. And that is only the start of the consequences.”
“I’ll take care of her,” Renee assured her brother. Avery turned to respond, but Renee pushed her out of the door, ensuring Avery left without saying anything else.
***
BY THE TIME THE TWO were pulling into the lot at the lake, they had spoken about all manner of things. Renee parked and looked at her phone. She read for almost a minute while Avery enjoyed the tranquility of the water and absorbed the serenity of the lake. The peaceful forest scene covering the mountain range that lay behind seemed far removed from the life she was now living.
Renee lifted her head when Avery said, “You get long text messages.”
“Sometimes, when someone wants to send me things to talk about later or something, I get a few long texts. Anyway, it’s Friday, so they have to wait ‘til Monday for a response. I guess they didn’t want to forget to tell me.” She opened her door and climbed out, putting her phone away in her back pocket, then grabbed the drinks and bag of dinner.
“I can carry something,” protested Avery.
“I know, but I’ve already got it, so grab my purse.”
“Fine. But I’m not an invalid.”
“Of course, you aren’t, but you did have a head trauma, so you’d better tap ‘er lite for a bit. Just go easy and be careful for a few days. It’s not a bad thing that we want to take care of you, Avery. It is not a statement of your strength or abilities. It’s a testimony to how much we care about you and how we think of you. I’m sure Stryker has told you that you are part of the family, but in case you don’t believe him, you are.”
Avery spoke quietly. “That was Stryker that sent you that long text, wasn’t it?”
Renee hesitated and then nodded. She put her food back in the container. “It was. He’s concerned about you. Truly worried. Don’t you believe it would be a sad comment to your relationship if Stryker didn’t show any concern about your health? My big brother is falling in love with you, Avery, and I can see it’s making him crazy. I don’t know if he has ever been in love, but I know a frustrated sibling when I see him. It’s kind of funny, really, and sweet.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes before Avery blurted out, “Who is Ah-tay?”
“My dad. Why?”
“His name is Ah-tay?”
“Well, it's what us kids usually call him. That means “father” in my dad’s language. His real name is Richard Hotah Red Eagle. Hotah means strong.”
“So, he was telling the truth.”
“Who? Stryker?”
“Yes. I told him I didn’t believe him.”
Renee chuckled. “I bet he didn’t take that too well. He doesn’t lie and rarely avoids the truth. Stryker doesn’t sugar coat things.” When Avery didn’t answer, Renee reached over to pat her hand. “He really is falling in love with you. Probably has already fallen. Hard.”
“It’s too early for that. And after what I said today and what my brother has done, I doubt he is going to want me around.”
“Good thing you signed a contract, isn’t it? Two, if I understand right.”
“You know about the second one?”
“Yep, and at first, I told him it was not a good move to make you try a relationship with him, but he thought you wouldn’t even attempt it if he didn’t make you do it.”
“He’s right. I wouldn’t have. Not that I didn’t like him, or he didn’t make me swoon in true Victorian style, but I was too afraid I wouldn’t be enough. I mean, he is bigger than life sometimes.”
“And now?”
“Now, I’ve probably put the kibosh on it all with my distrust and accusations.” A tear slid down her cheek.
“I know Stryker, and he doesn’t threaten to swat us both if he didn’t care. He’d say it wasn’t working, and you would be at your dad’s house, in your old room, tonight. He doesn’t play around with important things like relationships.”
“You think? The night is still young, remember.”
“I wouldn’t worry.”
“But I’m still confused as to why he would tell your father everything about us.”
“Because, if you want advice, call my father. Now, if you are looking for sympathy, motherly comfort, a good recipe, or help at the next bazaar, call mother. Oh, she is good with insight about brothers, from a woman’s perspective, too. If you want logic, you go to father. If you want emotion, go to mother.”
“My dad advises about most things, but I don’t think I could tell him about Stryker and me the way Stryker was talking to your dad. My mother left a long time ago. I know where she is, but well, the intimate conversations are long over.”
“I’m sorry. Here, if you need a cohort, Seamus will stand with you, help you if asked, or give you solidarity while you do it. He’s a lot like my mom. Stryker, however, is like my father. He will do whatever it is all by himself because he wants control, and when it comes to you, he wants to take care of you. If he had questions, he would have gone to our father for another view. Until he figures things out, he can be a bit of a bear while he continues doing what needs doing. Stryker is not an easy man to be around sometimes.”
“I’ve gathered that. Stryker said on the phone that I was too independent. What should I do? I think I’ve awoken the bear.”
“First, I think your independence is great. It keeps Stryker in line and prevents him from taking over everything, which he typically does. However, today, because you’re still not well, we need to get back soon, so we aren’t gone long, and you need to apologize nicely. Call him sir or whatever you do to stroke his ego. Tonight is for playing into him to mellow him. Don’t be too obvious but get him talking so you can hash out what happened this afternoon. Don’t be afraid to say what you feel but give him a chance to respond, too.”
“And when I feel better?”
“Accept the consequences. I don’t even want to know the personal dynamics of your relationship. Honestly, I don’t, but I know Stryker enough to have a little idea. Besides, he threatened to bring out the leather. No reading between the lines needed on that.”
“Which reminds me, does he spank you? I’d think you were exempt from his caveman behavior.”
“Wrong. I mean, he has. Age has something to do with it because I’m twenty-five. He’s thirty-five. And he is opinionated, but he wasn’t the last one to do it. It’s usually Seamus. Stryker does other consequences like leaving me with the stuffy accountant once a quarter, but Seamus, well, be glad you don’t have him for a boyfriend.”
“But he’s such a teddy bear.”
“Let’s just leave it at that, shall we? I love all my brothers, and I’m glad they are finding women to love.”
“Are you? So, if we continue, you would be okay with that?”
“Yep. In fact, I’m counting on it.”
“You are? Why, because he laughs more?”
“And other things. Now, shall we get back and start operation, ‘Clear the Air?’”
Avery laughed softly. “Yes, I think we’d better. And Renee? Thanks for talking to me.”
“Anytime. Who knows, someday in the future, you may be my sister.”
“That would be nice, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
The women laughed and chatted on their way home, but the gaiety ceased as they drove onto the ranch. They stopped in front of the house. Facing Stryker, who was sitting on the wraparound porch when they arrived, was no laughing matter. He stood as they pulled in and walked across the porch. His long legs carried him down the steps to open Avery’s door. He was so damn good looking, she squirmed in the seat. When he reached for the door, her first inclination was to say she could open it herself, but that would not send them in the direction she wanted to go.
“Thank you,” she said in a subdued tone.
“You girls were gone a while. Everything okay?” Avery nodded. Stryker made an odd noise and led the women inside, his hand hot and steady against Avery’s back. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Here we go.