33. Ryan

When I woke up, I was wrapped up in warmth. I was so comfortable, I didn't want to open my eyes. Snuggling in deeper, I nestled my head against Maddox's hard chest. My forehead fit perfectly between his pecs, and I let out a contented sigh.

His skin was warm and contrasted against the cold air blowing gently through the room from the vent on the ceiling. I burrowed deeper into the blankets and Maddox, and a rumbling laugh vibrated through his chest, making my forehead tickle. The sun had moved pretty far across the wall, and I had a strong feeling it wasn't morning anymore, and we'd moved into early afternoon.

I whined a little as he pulled away from me and sat up. He chuckled and ran his hand down my bare back, and his touch woke up every part of my body. I stretched languidly as I watched him slide out of bed, the sheet dropping away. My gaze raked over every inch of his rock hard body as he strode across the room to the bathroom.

Sighing, I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling waiting impatiently for him to come back to bed. Now that all the drama was over, Yates was in jail, and the ranch was safe, I wanted to spend the entire day in bed. I stretched, and my muscles were deliciously sore from yesterday, more from what happened in this bed last night than anything that happened at the ball.

Just as Maddox stepped out of the bathroom, a wicked grin flashing across his face, yelling from down the hall stopped him in his tracks. Maddox quickly grabbed a pair of joggers out of the closet and threw them on just as the door burst open.

"What the actual fuck is wrong with you?" Quinn yelled with an angry-looking Griffin on his heels.

Griffin shot Maddox an apologetic look. "I tried to stop him, but the dude's faster than he looks."

"I figured you were a lot of things, Quinny, but a cockblocker wasn't one of them," Maddox joked, looking only slightly irritated at his interruption. He probably expected this. We hadn't taken Quinn with us last night, and both of us knew he'd be pissed off about it.

"Shut the fuck up, Maddox. I can't believe you blindsided Yates without me. I was a part of this even before you were. What if something had gone wrong? Fuck, Ryan," he ranted, turning to me. "Why the fuck wouldn't you let me be there?"

I pulled the sheet around myself because Griffin still stood outside, and I didn't need the drama of him checking out my naked body. Confirming I'd made the right move, a taunting smile lifted the corner of his lips, and I looked away, instead focusing my attention on Quinn. Rising from the bed, I crossed the room until I stood in front of my best friend.

"My dad called me yesterday afternoon and told me a couple of the cattle were sick, and the vet was coming out. He wanted me to be there, but I couldn't. The only other person that could was you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but if I had, you'd have forced me to take you, and we could've lost the cattle. I hate that you couldn't be there, Quinny. I wanted you to be there. But you can always watch the video."

His eyes softened as he sighed and ruffled the top of my hair. "You're forgiven. But I swear to Christ if you ever leave me out of anything again, I'll dunk your hand in warm water when you sleep and make you pee the bed every night for a month."

I giggled, and Maddox chuckled as he moved behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Sorry, buddy. Won't happen again," Maddox promised.

"Want me to put the video on the big screen?" Griffin offered from over Quinn's shoulder, holding up his phone and giving it a shake.

"Fuck, yes." Quinn turned and followed Griffin down the hall. "And who exactly are you?" I heard him ask, and I giggled.

I dropped the sheet, and Maddox's heated gaze dropped right along with it. I pushed lightly on his chest. "I'm going to get dressed. We can continue this later."

He groaned, but let me go, lounging on the bed and watching every bend and shimmy I made as I pulled a pair of cutoffs and a tank top on. When I was done, he sat up. "I thought we could go over and talk to your parents this afternoon," Maddox suggested.

"Not that I don't want to spend time with my parents, but why?"

He ducked his head, looking uncharacteristically shy. "I thought maybe they could meet my mom and Griff. What do you think?"

I sat down on the bed next to him, the mattress dipping and moving him closer to me. I pulled his hand into mine and gave him a soft smile. "I think that sounds perfect."

He brightened. "Yeah?"

I nodded, and he continued. "I want to talk to everyone at once about the future of the ranch and what I want to happen."

"Aren't you going to at least give me a hint?" I questioned, batting my eyelashes up at him.

He chuckled darkly. "No, Freckles. But if you keep looking at me like that, I'm going to give you something else."

I let go of his hand and jumped up off the bed as it was on fire, jogging out of the room with him hot on my heels. I almost made it to the living room before he caught me, his arms snagging me around the waist and pulling me back against his hard chest. He pressed his lips to my neck, sending shivers down my spine. "Caught you," he pointed out smugly.

"So you did." I spun in his arms and lifted up to kiss his lips before moving away. I stepped into the living room where Quinn and Griffin were both intently staring at the giant TV mounted to the wall watching last night's events unfold in all their glory.

I pulled on my cowboy boots while I waited for them to finish their video. It was too fresh for me. I didn't care to watch it yet. Maybe someday I would, but my memories were vivid enough, and I was ready to move forward from the nightmare.

"Quinny, did you make breakfast this morning?" I asked, my stomach growling so loudly I wondered if everyone could hear it. I hadn't eaten anything since lunch yesterday.

He nodded. "Biscuits and gravy. There's plenty of leftovers."

"Griff, can you text mom and ask her to meet us next door?" Maddox asked his brother, and I was struck by how relaxed and comfortable he sounded. He accepted his family back into his life a lot more quickly than I expected.

"Yup," his brother agreed, pulling out his phone.

"I'm out the door. You guys can take your time, but I need food," I declared, moving quickly through the house and flinging open the door. The hot sun beat down on me, but it didn't matter. I had one singular focus: food.

Quinn jogged to catch up with me, slowing down so we could walk at the same pace. "I need to talk to you about something, Ry."

I stopped, glancing over my shoulder at the guys still a long way behind us before locking eyes with my best friend. "What's up?"

He sighed, running his fingers through his tousled hair. "I'm not really sure where to start."

"That's easy. Start at the beginning," I teased, flashing him a smile.

When he didn't laugh, my heart sped up a little. I could count the times I saw Quinn be nervous about anything on one hand and have fingers left over. "You remember when I came out in high school?"

Nodding, I turned and started slowly walking again. The guys behind us were starting to gain ground, and I could tell Quinn wanted to talk just the two of us.

"I didn't know back then that things aren't always so black and white," he said cryptically.

"I'm not really sure what that means, Quinny."

"It means that I don't just love you, Ryan. I'm in love with you," he rushed out, the words stumbling over each other as my breath caught.

I stopped in my tracks, turning to face him. "Quinn-"

His eyes were soft and full of regret. "I should have told you sooner, but I wanted to be sure it wasn't just some phase. You're my best friend, and you're beautiful and incredible. We'll never lose what we have, Lancelot. That's a fucking promise. But you're with Maddox, and really, even when it was just the two of us, he was there in the middle in spirit. I know that, and I'm not telling you this because I'm asking for anything. I don't want you to change your mind or be with me. I'm telling you because I needed to admit it out loud to myself. I needed my best friend, even if you are the one I love. I want to broaden my horizons, and this is how I begin."

I pulled him into my arms, tears stinging my eyes at how incredibly brave Quinn was to confide this in me. "I love you so much, Quinny. And truth?"

He pulled away, grinning down at me. "Always."

"If you'd told me this a year ago, I'd have totally had my way with you."

He laughed, the tension dissipating. "Seriously?"

"You have no idea how many times I wished you weren't gay," I confirmed, and he groaned.

"Well, shit."

"Sorry," I shrugged, patting him on the back as he slung his arm across my shoulders. "Thank you for telling me. I'm really proud of you."

"I'm just relieved you don't hate me," he admitted, twisting one of my curls around his finger as we walked.

"I could never hate you, Quinn. You're my other half. Where you go, I go. That's for life right there."

The boys trudged along slowly behind us, laughing and joking around about the video and last night with Yates. We hurried ahead, though. I had needs, and Quinn's biscuits and gravy were nothing short of heavenly.

Jogging up the front steps, I pulled open the screen and then the front door, the familiar creak of the hinges welcoming. I let it slam after Quinn stepped inside. My mom would kill me if I let all the cool air out. That shit was expensive, and I'd been trained well.

I didn't stop to look for my mom or dad, just beelined for the kitchen, pulling open the fridge as the front door opened again, and the three men moved inside. My dad rolled into the kitchen as I stuck my breakfast in the microwave. "Hey, kiddo," he greeted with a warm smile.

"Hi, dad. Maddox, Quinn, and Maddox's brother Griffin are here, too," I announced just as they walked into the room.

My dad's gaze lifted to the three men, flickering between them before landing on Griffin. "You're Griffin?"

"That's me," he confirmed, a little of his cockiness shining through.

"And he's your brother?" my dad asked again, turning to Maddox.

"He is. Pretty freaky, right?" Maddox grinned at my dad, whose eyes were currently darting between the brothers, no doubt looking for similarities.

The microwave beeped, and I turned to pull my scalding bowl out, grabbing a fork and moving to the kitchen table. I blew on the steaming bite sitting on my fork before eating it, moaning at how the biscuit melted on my tongue.

"Slow down, Freckles, or you'll choke," Maddox warned as he moved the chair next to me closer and sat down, draping his arm across the back of my chair seat and watching me intently as I shoveled food in my mouth.

"It's your fault I'm so hungry," I complained, and he laughed, reaching over to wipe a little bit of gravy off of my lip with his thumb and sticking it in his own mouth to lick off. It was hot, and my eyes locked on his mouth before my dad rolled up across from me and broke me out of the trance he'd caught me in.

Quinn and Griffin joined us a few minutes later, and Quinn slid a plate in front of Maddox. "Thanks, Quinny. Looks great." Maddox looked across the table to his brother, who was attacking his food hungrily. "When's mom going to be here?"

"Any minute," Griffin answered around a mouthful of food.

My dad's eyebrows lifted. "Your mom's coming here? Monica Everleigh?"

"It's Spencer now," Griffin corrected after swallowing his bite.

"Who's coming here?" my mom asked as she breezed into the room. "Hi, boys. Hi, sweetheart," she said, bending to kiss me on the top of my head like I was five years old. I didn't mind, though. It made me feel safe in a cozy sort of way.

"My mom," Maddox answered, taking a sip of the coffee my mom slid in front of him. She stepped further into the kitchen and returned with mugs for Quinn and Griffin, too, pouring them their own steaming cups. That was just who my mom was, always the caretaker. She wasn't much for ranch work, but she'd always been a helluva mom. She didn't even know who Griffin was other than a strange tattooed man sitting at her table. But it didn't matter to her. He was with Maddox, so he was family.

"Monica's back?" my mom asked with a gasp, a look of disbelief on her face. "When did that happen?"

"A couple of days ago. There's a lot to explain, but Maddox wanted you guys to meet his family. It's all really new," I explained, scraping my almost clean plate to get every last crumb.

There was a soft knock on the door, and we all looked at each other. Griffin ultimately jumped up and walked to the door, pulling it open for Monica. She stepped inside and looked around nervously, twisting the strap of her purse between her fingers.

As Maddox's mom stepped into the kitchen, all eyes turned to her. A soft smile crossed her face but didn't quite mask the nervousness in her eyes. I slid my chair back and crossed the room, pulling her into a hug. "I'm glad you came," I whispered before stepping back, and the relief in her eyes told me my instinct to welcome her was the right one.

"I can't believe you're here," my mom gushed before she enveloped Monica in a hug. Once upon a time, they were either friends, or my mom wished they had been. I doubted Russell let Monica have many friends back in those days, but my mom was persistent.

Both of the women's eyes shone with unshed tears. "It's so good to see you again, Shannon. Thank you for treating my son like one of your own. I can never repay the kindness you've shown him."

With one last squeeze of Monica's hand, my mom let her go, waving her off. "He's the son I never had. He and Quinn both."

Maddox sat up straighter at my mom's admission, gratitude swirling in his eyes. It just felt right having him here, and it was made even sweeter with Monica and Griffin joining us.

"And you remember Alexander?" my mom gestured to my dad, who held his hand up for Monica to squeeze.

"I do. It's really nice to see you again," Monica beamed. She looked genuinely happy, and I could see the shackles of her past falling off of her with every bridge she rebuilt from what was probably the worst time in her life. I couldn't imagine what she'd suffered at the hands of her husband.

Women like her were the reason I wanted to be a cop. Not everyone was strong enough to stand up to their bullies. And when they weren't? I'd be there to step in.

"Can we go sit in the living room?" Maddox asked, grabbing his plate and mine and standing up, putting them in the sink and then coming back for me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned against him as we made our way to the couch. Griffin sat next to his brother, and Quinn sat on my other side. Mom and Monica took the chairs, and my dad wheeled himself between them.

Maddox clasped our hands together before he looked around the room. "I wanted everyone to meet and catch up because there's a lot we need to talk about. I don't know what information everyone has at this point. But I managed to buy this place back from Yates at the last second. I have my attorney drawing up the paperwork to transfer it to you, and as soon as I get it, we'll sign, and you'll own the land free and clear."

My mom gasped, and my dad looked tearful before gruffly clearing his throat. "I… Thank you. I won't ever be able to repay what you've done for my family."

Maddox kissed my forehead. Before staring down at me reverently. "You've done more for me than I could ever do for you. You gave me this amazing woman. You took me in when I didn't have a safe place to escape to. You stepped in, and for a few important years, you became the parents I didn't have."

Monica flinched a little, but Maddox gave her a soft smile. I never thought I'd see the day he forgave his mom. "This family is as much mine as it is Ryan's. I'm just sorry I stayed away so long. But that's never happening again," he promised.

"We're glad to hear it, son." My dad gave Maddox a warm smile, one that my boyfriend returned.

"So, that brings me to my next point. Neither Ryan nor Quinn want to be working this ranch," he began, and both Quinn and I started to protest, but Maddox squeezed my hand. "I talked to Joel, and he's willing to oversee both ranches. I think the smart move would be to combine our operations into one, and Joel agrees. If you allow it, Joel will hire all the staff we'll need. And I'll upgrade whatever we need equipment-wise so everything's running like it should."

My dad looked like he was at a loss for words. It was unsettling. My shoulders were tense as I watched him, my breath caught in my throat, waiting for him to decide. I hadn't known Maddox was going to do this, but if my dad agreed, I'd be free. Free to chase my dream, free to follow Maddox to LA. And even better? Quinn would be able to live the life he deserved, too. I quickly turned my head, meeting Quinn's wide, stunned eyes for a second before looking back at my dad.

"I can't ask you to do that. You've already done so much," my dad tried to refuse.

"It's a smart business decision, Alex. If we want to be profitable, and I don't invest to lose money, this is the best move. I've gone over all the numbers myself and had my accountant take a look, too," Maddox argued.

My dad blew out a breath. "Sounds like I can't refuse then, can I?"

"Plus, with the new study, you're going to need all your time for healing," my mom pointed out.

"You got in?" I squeaked, moving to the edge of the couch. This study had the potential to help my dad regain some use of his legs, and I was beyond excited.

"I did," he confirmed, his eyes filled with a hope I hadn't seen in years. It seemed like happiness was free-flowing this morning.

The smile that lit up Maddox's face was nearly blinding. "Congrats, Alex." He loved my dad like his own, and I'd never seen him look happier. He turned to me. "As for you," he said, running his palm along the side of my neck and rubbing his thumb along my jaw. "Come to LA with me."

I was nodding before he finished the sentence. "I'd love to. When do we leave?" My body was humming with excitement. I couldn't wait to go back. I missed LA from college, and the little taste I got a couple of weeks ago wasn't nearly enough.

He chuckled. "I have a couple of other people to ask first, Freckles." He turned to Quinn. "I want you to come with us. Grayson texted me about you, and he wants to get you into his kitchen. There's a spot waiting for you if you want it."

"Fuck, seriously?" Quinn breathed, his elbows resting on his knees. His head fell into his hands as he took deep breaths.

I turned and rubbed his back. "Come on, Quinny. I don't want to go to LA without you."

"I don't know what to say." He lifted his head and grinned at Maddox. "Except, fuck, yes. I'm so in."

"To answer your question, Freckles, now that Quinn's in, we're flying home tomorrow," Maddox answered. Home. I couldn't wait.

He finally turned to his brother. "What about you? What are your plans?"

Griffin shrugged. "I've been lifeguarding for the summer, but that's almost done."

"Feel like coming with us?" Maddox offered, eyeing his brother.

"I'm with Quinn. Fuck, yes. Not to sound like a fangirl, but will I get to meet the band?" he enthused. At that moment, despite all the piercings and the tattoos and his overflowing confidence, he looked like a little boy.

"Considering we're recording a new album, and we're fucking glued at the hip whenever we're in the studio, I'm going to say that's a yes."

Griffin tried to play it cool, but I could see the excitement in his eyes. I think there was some part of him deep down that really, truly worshiped his big brother. He hadn't been anything but open, happy, and enthusiastic since he'd stepped into Maddox's life.

"So we're all agreed?" Maddox asked finally, looking around the room. "Joel's going to handle day-to-day ranch operations for both properties, and Quinn, Ryan, and Griffin are coming back with me to LA?"

We all nodded our agreement. "What about you, mom?" he asked Monica.

"I'm going to head home tomorrow morning. I've got a life there, Griffin's dad and I have been wanting to take a cruise, so maybe we'll do that," she mused. "And hopefully it won't be too long before we get the chance to visit you all. I'd love to see what your life in California's like."

"Sure, mom. Just say the word, and I'll have you on the next flight," he assured her.

"Well, I don't know about you all, but I need a nap before I start packing for tomorrow. It was good to see you again," I said, turning to Monica before pulling Maddox up with me and stalking off for my room. I'd had one overarching fantasy in all the years I'd known him: Maddox Everleigh naked in my bed. And this afternoon was the last chance I'd get for a long time to make my wish come true. Quinn's knowing laugh followed us down the hall, but I didn't care.

Maddox had swooped in again, the beautiful man before me delivering every daydream I'd ever had on a silver platter. I couldn't wait to start my new life, but right now, I wanted to live in the past just a little longer.