Her mouth fell open. “Are you threatening to hit me?”
“I’m just telling you that if you think you can fuck around with me, I’m here to tell you you cannot. I love Ryder and he loves me. I’m wearing his ring on my finger and if we’re going to be neighbors someday I suggest you get it through your damn head now that you will never get your greedy little paws on this house or my fiancé. Am I making myself clear?”
Vanessa took a step back. “I’ve never.”
“And you never will.” Lifting my hand, I waved my fingers and said, “Bye, neighbor.”
Spinning on my heels, I couldn’t help but do an internal jump and fist pump. I’ve always wanted to tell someone off. Damn, it felt good; she was the first one I tried it out on.
Glancing back to where she had been standing, I smiled when I saw her walking away. Looking forward, I made a mental note to tell Walker his baby sister was a bad ass!
I STARED AT the middle of the table as my father spoke about the use of vaccines on the cattle being raised on organic farms.
My head was going off in a million different directions as I tried to focus on what my father was saying. It’s not like I could afford to be daydreaming. If I planned on running the ranch someday, I needed to stay focused.
The next thing I knew, Dad was standing and thanking everyone for taking the time out of their busy day.
When the last person left, he turned and looked at me. “Where in the hell where you during that?”
I pulled my head back and looked at him like I had no clue what he was talking about. “Don’t pull that look with me Ryder. I’m not your mother. You were a million miles away.”
Pushing my fingers through my hair, I blew out a breath. “Dad, if I tell you something, will you swear not to share it with Mom?”
He lifted a brow. “It depends. If I deem it something she doesn’t need to know, then yes.”
“Well, how do I know if you will deem it something she needs to know or not before I tell you?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know. Guess you’ll have to tell me to find out.”
Letting out a frustrated sigh, I shook my head. “Never mind. I’ll deal with it.”
The papers he had been looking at dropped to the desk. “Would it make you feel better if I promised not to tell her?”
“Yes. It really would. I’m not even sure I should be telling you.”
He leaned back in the chair and rested his chin on his fingers like he always does when he is intrigued. “Well hell, now I want to know.”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure you do, but I feel like I need to tell you.”
He dropped his hands. “Ryder, is everything okay? You look a bit lost.”
Swallowing hard, I took in a deep breath. Was this right of me to be telling my father Kate was pregnant when she died? I’d hardly slept a wink last night thinking about it. If it would have been my daughter, I think I would have wanted to know. My mother on the other hand, I didn’t think she should know. It would only make the loss that much more.
“I am, Dad. I’m so conflicted on if I should say anything or keep this to myself.”
“Only you can decide.”
I nodded. “Ava found a diary hidden in a secret compartment of the desk in the old stone house.”
“Who’s diary was it?”
Swallowing hard, I barely spoke the word, “Kate’s.”
He sat forward. “Kate’s? She found a diary that was Kate’s?”
I nodded.
“When?”
“The same day she found the family Bible.”
He constricted his face. “Why didn’t she tell anyone?”
“She did. She told me and Jennifer and we both agreed because of the very private things written in the diary, and the fact that Kate hid it so well, that she would not want Mom of all people reading it.”
He looked out the window for a moment before agreeing. “I agree. I don’t think your mother should know about it. Has Ava read it?”
“Yes. It’s weird that she even found it, Dad. Ever since the first day we stayed in that cabin, Ava’s been saying she feels a presence there and she swears it’s Kate.”
My father smiled warmly. “They are so much alike. Even down to the designing. It’s as if fate brought her into your life.”
“I know. But Ava told me something last night that she herself has been debating about.”
His eyes filled with worry. “Ryder, is this something Kate would want me to know?”
My heart ached. It would have been something she would have wanted all of us to know … but on her terms.
“I think so … eventually. She’d want us to know in her own little way. Her terms.”
With a chuckle, he closed his eyes. “I miss her. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of her. Sometimes I think I see her in a crowd and I have to catch my breath.”