30. WYATT

30

WYATT

I've barely let Wren out of my sight since she got here a week ago—I've stuck to her like glue. The only time we've been apart is when Willow kidnapped her and took her into town. Otherwise, she's always within reach.

I still can't believe she's here some days. I wake up in the morning and think I'm still dreaming. But she's there in the flesh, sleeping away in my arms.

"Do you know what this is about?" Mason asks from his seat across from me at the kitchen table.

"No idea. Dad and Mama said they needed to talk to us about something and called a house meeting." I absentmindedly pull at the strings on Wren's shorts. There's something calming about it. To me at least, Wren is squirming in her seat, rubbing her thighs together. I snicker at her and she sends a glare back my way.

"We haven't had one of these since Colt accidentally drove Ford's truck into the barn. That was over ten years ago," Willow says.

"No. I remember having a house meeting when Willow was sixteen and was dating that little twerp Eric," Ford says, shaking his head. "He was terrible. I don't know what you saw in him."

"We all can't get it right the first time like Wyatt. You should know that better than anyone, Ford," she says, rolling her eyes. "And that meeting doesn't count because it was just the four of you. It was an ambush of the brotherly kind."

"Did Mama mention anything to you on one of your walks?" I ask Wren. The two of them have been very buddy buddy walking all over the property.

"No. She hasn't mentioned anything new."

I eye her suspiciously. She doesn't appear to be lying, but I'm not convinced she's telling me the whole truth. Wren knows something.

"Is everyone here?" Dad asks, walking into the kitchen. He hobbles around the table with his cane, giving everyone a kiss on the head. I'm waiting for him to shout ‘ goose ' and make a run for it.

"We're all here. You going to tell us what this is all about?" Colt asks before taking a bite of the sandwich in front of him.

Dad and Mama exchange glances. "We sold the farm," Mama says, clutching hard to the stack of papers in her arms.

"What?" Ford bellows. "Can you repeat that? I thought I heard you say you sold the farm, but that can't be without talking to us first. Dad, I'm supposed to be in charge here."

"Slow down, son." Dad holds up his hand stopping Ford from saying anything else. "Your mama and I owned the farm. It was in our names. We could sell if we wanted to."

"You said owned . How much did you give away in this deal?" Mason asks, leaning forward on the table. His hands clenched in front of him.

"We know you have questions, but let us explain." Everyone nods in agreement at Mama's request. "Good. It was a deal we couldn't refuse. An investor offered to take care of all of our debt and leave enough money to start a small reserve fund."

I clench my hand around Wren's thigh. An investor came in and paid for everything? Her dad wouldn't have done that, would he? Is this what she was taking care of? I glance in her direction. Her face is a mask. She's staring emotionlessly at her glass of sweet tea.

"The new owners will own one hundred percent of the farm. All the land, buildings, existing businesses, everything," Dad explains.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me?" Ford fumes.

"I'm not joking. The investor set a few stipulations. As long as the new owners agree, the property will transfer to them." Mama passes out the packets of papers she's been holding onto. She places one in front of everyone but Wren.

"Look over everything. If you agree, sign the documents. Mama and I will take care of filing the rest of the paperwork." Dad squeezes Mama's hand. She's about two seconds from crying.

"We're the owners?" Mason questions, his eyes scanning over the first page .

"If all five of you sign, then you will each own an equal share." Mama walks into the kitchen to fix her and Dad a cup of coffee.

"What about the investor? How much do they get?" Ford peers up from his paper.

Dad glances in my direction. "They didn't want any interest in the business. It's all in there. Keep reading."

I realize Dad wasn't looking at me. He was looking at Wren. "What did you do?" I ask her.

"Nothing you wouldn't have done," she says, without looking at me.

"God damnit, Wren." I stand from the table and walk outside. I can't believe she paid off everything.

"Birdie," she shouts from the front porch while I pace the gravel drive.

"What?"

She stomps down the stairs. "My name is birdie. I like it when you call me birdie."

"Oh now you like it do ya? I can't call you that when I'm mad at you. I didn't quit baseball for you to come in and pay off our debt."

"No you didn't. You stopped playing because this is where your soul feels alive. You quit because this is where you belong. I didn't do it to come in and play hero. I did it because I belong here too. I did it because that evil man was threatening to buy the farm. I wasn't going to let him hurt my family." She pounds a fist into her chest.

"Before you said he was coming after your family. That was why you wanted to take care of this on your own."

"You're right. I did say that. And he was threatening my family. Your family is my family too. I'm a fucking Rivers woman. I have been for quite some time now if you haven't noticed." She moves closer to me. "We don't stand by and let the men do all the work. We like to get our hands dirty too."

"You sure do." I sigh, dropping my head. "I don't like that you used your money to bail us out. I'm supposed to be taking care of you." I take her hands in mine and lace our fingers together.

"I'm glad you feel that way because I'm broke. I need a job, a place to live, and food to eat. If you would go read the fine print of the contract it's all there."

I chuckle at her. "I guess we should go back inside then."

"Probably. If I had to guess, everyone else has already signed."

All eyes are on us as we reenter the house and sit back down on the bench seat.

"You're the investor," Ford states. It isn't a question. He's staring Wren down under the brim of his baseball cap.

"Yes. I believe in each of you. I had the funds. It is a smart investment." She takes a quick sip of her tea.

"You didn't ask for anything in return," Colt says.

"No. I asked for all of those things. If you don't do them, then you have to pay back every penny. I've set it up where I'm guaranteed to get everything I want one way or the other," she tells my brother.

"Why don't you read ‘em out loud?" Dad suggests.

"Alright, the investor is allocated an unlimited budget for sticky notes and office supplies." Ford grins.

"Of course that would be your first request," I grumble.

"I felt it was important," she replies.

"Can I continue?" Ford asks. We both nod. "The Rivers Family Farm must be renamed to…Songland Farms. All current businesses and any new endeavors will be considered an entity of Songland Farms." Ford coughs, clearing his throat.

"After hearing Jack talk about the land and how it sang to the soul, I thought it was appropriate," Wren says.

"Songland Farms," Willow whispers as her eyes fill with tears. "It's perfect." She glances at Wren.

"I thought so too." Mama squeezes Wren's shoulder.

"Each owner is allocated a parcel of land of their choosing to build a first or secondary residence. If the owner chooses not to live in said dwelling full time, they are required to come home to Songland Farms for all major holidays and birthday celebrations," Colt reads.

"That is a very specific requirement," Mason says to Wren.

Wren blushes as she wipes at the condensation on her glass of tea. "I've never been a part of a big family. It's only been me, my mom, and Dad. Having everyone home together for Christmas sounds kind of nice."

"You say that until you have to fight someone for the last dinner roll," Colt jokes.

"Each owner," Willow starts, "if they choose, is allocated at minimum ten acres of land to construct and open a business of their wildest dreams." Willow looks up at Wren. "Will you help me with it?"

"That's one of the stipulations. I need a job. I would like to help all of you with your business plans and take over the paperwork side of managing the farm."

"Thank God. It's all yours," Ford says.

"I thought you would say that. It will give you more time to work on the farm and be with Lennon. At some point we may want to hire a financial adviser and a marketing manager. I can handle those things for now."

"You thought of everything," I say, kissing her cheek.

"She sure did. Keep reading Wyatt." Mason rolls his lips to keep from smiling.

I scan the document. Wren's listed everything from Lenny Land being the first business to be constructed to requiring Mama to plant new wildflowers every year.

"Wyatt Rivers is not allowed to alter his facial hair without the consent of the investor." I laugh.

"I told you it was growing on me."

"I know exactly why you like my mustache," I say.

"Because it makes you look more handsome."

"Sure, we can go with that." I level her with a look. "Wyatt Rivers also agrees…" I close my eyes and inhale a breath. "To take Wren Marie Ellington as his partner in all of his business plans and in life. He agrees to love her always, even when she's mean. He agrees to talk to her every day and hold her close at night." I can barely get the words out as the love I have for this woman bubbles to the surface .

"Mama, is there anything else you need from me or birdie?" I ask, scribbling my signature on the document. It's the easiest contract I've ever signed. I would lay down my life for this woman. She didn't barter for enough if you ask me. I would have given her a hell of a lot more.

"No. I think we're good here," she says, smirking at us.

"Great. Come on, birdie. We're going to have a little talk." I hold out my hand and pull her up from the bench. "We'll be back for dinner."

We walk to the front door and stop to put our boots on.

"Wish I had a girl who enjoyed talking as much as Wren," I hear Colt say.

Wren shrugs a shoulder not embarrassed at all that my whole family knows I'm about to remind my girl how much she likes my mustache between her thighs and how much I love her.

I drive the four wheeler out to my spot, our spot now. I have to force myself to keep my eyes on the road ahead and not on Wren. Her hair whips freely in the wind. Her face is pointed toward the sky, letting the sun soak into her skin.

I'm a lucky bastard. I don't know what I did to become God's favorite but I'm fucking grateful to him for bringing Wren into my life.

Wren and I walk hand in hand around the land that we'll build our home on one day.

I've always been someone who knew what they wanted. I come across as the jokester of the group, but I'm well rooted. It would take a lot to blow me away, but Wren manages to do it every time.

I lead her into the old rickety barn. I'm not sure if it is worth salvaging, but I would like to. We've been making a lot of good memories in here.

Wren stretches out on the bed of blankets we made the first night she came home. I lay down beside her and tangle my legs with hers.

"The first time I heard you sing, it was from behind the closed door of your dorm. You were singing about finding whatever makes a person happy. My first thought was that those things weren't going to be found at Newhouse. I thought I needed to be here to be happy. But I was miserable while you were gone." I position myself over her body. Her hands immediately go under my shirt.

"I always felt stuck at school. I couldn't wait to get out of there and chase after the things I thought were going to make me happy. Turns out my happiness was behind that door the whole time. I heard you singing, but Charlie opened the door. I thought it was her."

She lets out a full belly laugh. "You didn't ask Charlie to sing for you, did you?"

"No. She told me the truth on our little date."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" she asks, her fingers tickle up the side of my chest.

"It didn't matter. I already knew it was you. Whether you were the one singing or not, it was always going to be you and me. I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to thank you for everything you've done for my family." I glide my hand up and down her side. I need to feel her. Have my hands on her.

" Our family and you don't need to say thank you. I did it for me. I'm pretty selfish that way. Now you're all mine. You've got to put up with my smart mouth for the rest of your life." Her eyes sparkle with mirth.

"I love your smart mouth." I lean down and kiss her lips. "We've been throwing strikes at each other for months. Every barb, every insult, you hit the mark every time. We learned each other's weaknesses and exploited them with efficiency. You know what it takes to bring me to my knees. Baby, you do it by breathing.

"I want you selfish." I kiss down her neck to her chest. "I like you greedy." I move down her body and unbutton her shorts. "I fucking love you mean." I strip her of her clothes. "And I love that you're mine."