Chapter 42Ranger

Chapter 42

Ranger

I wake up outdoors naked as the day I was born, under the blue, blue sky and on top of a blanket, alone with Ash, who is also naked as the day he was born, but I'm not gonna dwell on that.

I catch a glimpse of my morning wood and feel a wolfish grin spread over my face, wondering where my love and her pretty little mouth have gone.

My love , I think, and I'm about to call out for her—but instead I close my eyes, try to will myself flaccid, and think oh, shit .

I know exactly where she is and what she's doing, because Luke is hollering close by and I hear her pretty little mouth giving it right back to him.

"Ash! Ranger!" they both yell at the same time, which would almost be comical if they didn't both sound pissed off. Luke probably got his boxers in a twist because we brought Goldie back here to the Secret Garden, which Pa started for Ma, but we've kept adding to over the years.

I can understand Luke's point of view, but I also understand why Ash chose this spot for their little rendezvous. I'd wandered back here and stumbled upon them rutting for the same reason—it's a peaceful place to get some privacy. Maybe the most peaceful place on the whole mountain. There's something magical about it.

"Oh, hell," I mutter, kicking Ash because sometimes it takes that to wake his ass up, as I get up to pull on my pants.

"What the—" he begins, but is immediately alert, sitting up and noticing Goldie and Luke raising a ruckus, fussing like a rabid dog and a hissing cat.

Ash scrambles into his jeans, and without waiting on him, I stride over to where Goldie and Luke are still going at it. Luke's arms are crossed tight over his chest, and Goldie's got that fire in her eyes I've come to love—stubborn, fierce, and not about to back down. Hell, she's a spitfire, and that's putting it lightly. I understand why Ash calls her firecracker.

"Luke," I call out, stepping between them and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. Let's head back to the cabin and talk this out."

I rub my hands over my face, smoothing out the scruff of my beard as I glance at Ash, who has joined us.

"Stay here with Goldie, Ash," I say, my voice low but firm. "I'll handle Luke."

"You'll handle me?" While Goldie is a spitfire, Luke looks like he's literally about to spit fire. "I don't need handling, Ranger. You know who needs handling?

He jabs a finger at Goldie. "That one!"

Ash opens his mouth and I know him well enough to know he's about to ask for a play-by-play as to what's going on, get both sides, and dissect the hell out of it. But he also knows how Luke can get when he's all wound up, and with Goldie's hackles raised too, we need to divide and conquer. There is a fuckton at stake here now.

"Stay here with Goldie," I tell Ash again, and he nods.

"But—" Goldie begins.

Luke's gray eyes flash, but I know him well enough to know he's more bark than bite. He's mad, sure, but he's not unreachable. Luke's always been the toughest nut to crack, but once he cools down, he listens. Always has, always will.

"This ain't the place for it," I continue, my voice calm but resolute. "Come on, Luke—you and me'll figure all this out on the way back at the cabin. Ash and Goldie can catch up in a bit."

Luke's jaw tightens, his nostrils flaring. "You two better be ready for one hell of a family meeting," he grits out, glaring past me at Ash and Goldie.

Goldie's about to say something—I can see it in the way her mouth opens, that fire ready to burst out again—but I shoot her a look, a silent plea to trust me. She clamps her lips shut, her hands balling into fists at her sides.

"Let's go," I say to Luke, nudging his shoulder.

"Fine," Luke growls, turning on his heel and heading toward the cabin. "But they better be ready for what's coming."

I glance over my shoulder at Ash, who I know will get to the bottom of what went down, from Goldie's point of view. Once I find out Luke's side of the story, we can piece this all together, sort it all out. We have to. I catch Goldie's eye, giving her a quick, reassuring nod, before jogging to catch up with Luke.

His long strides eat up the distance, but I keep pace, matching his every step. We walk in silence for a bit, the crunch of early fallen leaves and dirt underfoot the only sound between us.

Finally, after what feels like forever, I break the quiet. "Tell me what happened, Luke. I want to hear your side of it. I thought you and Goldie were getting along okay? Giving companionship a chance?"

He stops dead in his tracks and turns to face me, his expression hard, but there's something else there too—hurt, maybe. Luke isn't one to show his emotions easily, but I've known him long enough to know when he's feeling more than just anger.

"You brought her to the Secret Garden," he spits, the words coming out like a curse. "That place is sacred, Ranger. It's where Pa built something special for Ma. It ain't a place for…for whatever y'all were doing."

I nod, letting him get it out. "I get it. I do. But most everything on this mountain is something Pa built special for Ma, Luke. And I think more's bothering you than that. Am I right?"

He sighs, running a hand through his wild hair, making it stick out in all directions. He'd feel so much better if he'd let Goldie work her makeover magic on him, but I don't dare bring that up now.

"She was taking pictures. Of everything. The sculptures, the garden…she was snapping photos like she was some damn tourist, not someone who should know better. We've been over this with her, how much our privacy means to us."

That makes my heart sink a little. He's not wrong about that. But Goldie must've had her reasons. "Did she say why she was takin' pictures? I'm sure she had a reason. I know we can trust her."

"Well, I don't guess she wanted some mementos to remember us by after she goes, since she now seems to think she's not going anywhere." Luke's lips press into a thin line. I wonder just how much she told him. Did she tell him we're all in love? I sure wish she would've let one of us break it to him. I'm not sure he'll take that news well coming from anybody, but he definitely would take it better coming from me or Ash than her.

"Let's tackle one topic at a time, okay, bro?" I suggest. "So she didn't say why she was taking the pictures then?"

He shakes his head. "Nah, she said. She said she was impressed. Thought the sculptures were ‘amazing.' Then she started talkin' crazy about selling them on the internet, shipping them all over, making a business out of it. Then she started yammering about how we need a new roof and could afford a better place, how we could make all this money, like we need it. Can you believe that? What a busybody."

"She didn't mean harm, Luke. She probably thought she was helping. We do need a new roof."

Luke barks out a humorless laugh. "What we need is her to stop meddling in our affairs."

I hold up my hands, trying to keep things from escalating. "If that's what you want, I'll tell her to drop it and not bring it up again."

The problem is, this particular issue isn't just about her, and she's not the first one to have the idea. Some of us, myself included, have been itching to expand selling our work beyond Ma's quaint little gift shop. We've got dreams, dammit—dreams that involve more than peddling a statue here and there to scrape by.

I run a hand through my hair, feeling the familiar weight of responsibility settle on my shoulders. It's not easy being the one who always tells the truth when the truth is that half your family wants to stick to tradition and the other half is ready to bulldoze it. Maybe half ain't quite the right divide. All I know is that most of us welcome change and Luke does not. But we all owe Luke, so this is the one time I will shut my trap and keep some of my brutal honesty to myself.

So I shift the subject.

"Look," I say, sighing, "you know I'm not one to beat around the bush. There's something else you need to know, in case you don't already. But last night, Goldie told me…told us she loves us. Not just me or Ash. She said she loves all of us." I pause, watching Luke's reaction. He's not shocked. Yep, she told him already. "Well, she loves all of us except you, 'cause you haven't given her a chance."

Luke's eyes snap to mine, sharp and narrowed. "And you're just…fine with that?"

I take a deep breath, my heart racing. "Yeah, Luke. I am. Because the truth is, I love her too. And I think, deep down, you know the rest of the guys feel the same."

He stares at me like I've just slapped him. His lips twitch, his fists clenching at his sides. "You… love her?"

I nod, my voice steady. "I do. And I'm not the only one. I know we all agreed this would be about sex and fun and friendship, but it's more than that now. She's gotten under our skin and into our hearts, and maybe that scares you, but it's the truth. Maybe you're scared she's going to get under your skin too? Maybe she already has?"

Luke runs a hand through his hair again, pacing around me in tight circles, which is making it mighty darn hard to walk, so I stop in my tracks.

"You're out of your mind," he says. "She can't be in love with all of you. That's not how this works. That's not how anything works."

"It's not conventional, yeah, but since when have we ever been conventional? Who says it can't work?" I ask, keeping my voice calm but firm. "You're scared, and I get it. But it's happening, Luke. She's fallen for us, and we're falling for her. You can either fight it, or you can give her a chance, like we did."

Luke shakes his head, looking away. "I'm not fuckin' scared. This is just stupid. I don't see it working. I see Susie May, all over again."

"You don't have to see it right now," I say softly. "But you need to think about it. Really think about it. She's not here to hurt us, Luke. She's here because, against all odds, we're what she's been looking for. We're that home she's never felt like she's had. And I think…no, I know—we need her as much as she needs us."

Luke's silent for a long time, his eyes focused on the trees ahead, lost in thought. I let the silence hang between us, knowing he needs time to process this. Finally, he sighs, rubbing the back of his neck.

"If she loves you all and you all love her, I'm not gonna take that away from you. But don't expect me to be the tenth Mr. Goldilocks. And you need to tell her to drop this business about selling our sculptures. And to stay the hell out of the Secret Garden."

My body practically sags with relief. It's hard to not point it out, but he can't be mad at her about going to the Secret Garden because it would've stayed, well, a secret if Ash hadn't taken her back that way. It's not like she was poking around, being nosy.

"I can do all that," I say, clapping him on the shoulder. "Let's get back to the cabin. We'll have a family meeting, like you want, and air everything out."

We make it back to the cabin, and Luke marches inside. As I follow, I spot Clay in the living area, dusting off the cluttered shelves, muttering to himself.

"Why the hell do grown-ass men not much shorter than a damned grizzly bear standing on its hind legs, and weighing about as much, need so many damn dainty knickknacks?" he says under his breath.

"Grizzly bears weigh about nine hundred pounds, Clayton," Luke says. "Where's everyone else?"

"Literally not my brothers' keepers. And I don't give a shit what a grizzly bear weighs. My point is, this hand is massive." He holds up his hand and waves it at us. "And these itty-bitty things are impossible to handle. Already dropped two, and I swear if I have to sweep up anymore shattered porcelain or whatever the fuck…"

His voice trails off as he reaches for something else, this time a small snail figurine. He picks it up carefully, but as luck would have it, his grip slips, and the thing tumbles from his hands. It hits the floor with a dull crack.

"Dammit," Clay mutters, bending to pick it up. "Well, so much for that." He squints at it, turning it over in his hands. "Wait a second…what the hell is this?"

Ash, who's just walked in, raises an eyebrow. "What the hell is what? The hell are you doing?"

"I'm cleaning, Sherlock," Clay says. "What can I say, Goldie has inspired me to be a better man."

We all roll our eyes, because it's hard to take Clay serious when he's literally never serious. But it's pretty wild to see him taking initiative and actually tidying up a mess he didn't even make himself without it being on his chore list.

"Where's everyone?" Ash asks. "Goldie's waiting outside. I told her to give me two minutes to make sure it's safe before she comes in."

Clay frowns, holding the cracked figurine up. "I've never seen this little guy before."

I squint. He's holding what looks like a pretty damned realistic snail. I've never seen it before either.

"And looky here—there's something hidden in it. Doesn't look like any knickknack Ma would've had," Clay says.

Ash steps closer, his analytical gaze locking onto the broken snail. "Give it here," he says, taking it from Clay's hands. He examines it for a moment, turning it over, his brow furrowing. "This isn't a figurine," he mutters.

He holds it out to me, and I indeed see something black and metallic glinting inside it.

Luke, who's been silently stewing by the window, turns sharply at Ash's words. "What do you mean it's not a figurine?"

Ash holds up the broken snail. "Well, it's not just a figurine. I think this is a camera of some sort."

There's a stunned silence that follows, the weight of what Ash said sinking in. My jaw drops and Clay's looking like someone just smacked him upside the head with a shovel.

Luke's eyes flash and he stomps over to Ash, snatching the snail from him.

Recognition dawns on Luke's face, his expression turning from confusion to anger. "I know exactly what this is," he says grimly. "This thing's high-tech, probably meant for wildlife surveillance—camouflaged for the outdoors. Picks up sound and video. I saw them in a catalog Ma had."

Clay, still looking dazed, stumbles over his words. "But…who the hell would put it here? What are they trying to see?"

Luke's lips curl into a snarl, his eyes blazing. "Oh, I think we know exactly who's behind this."

His gaze falls on me and Ash. "She loves you all, huh? Yeah, she loves you all right. She loves how easily you're played for fools. Please tell me again how we can trust her, Ranger."

I open my mouth, but not a damn thing comes out, because it's always my first instinct to tell the truth, but I don't know what the blasted hell the truth is anymore.