Rugged Hearts (30 page)

“It sounds lovely and your pastor? Who will that be?” her mother pressed.

“We plan on having Pastor Tony from the Trinity Lutheran Church in town. I know you always wanted a church wedding, Mom, but I promise it will be legit.”

Her mother patted her arm. “Oh, heavens, I’m not worried at all.” She glanced at Aimee. “Okay, maybe a little, but there are so many other things I feel are much more important.”

They came around the last curve and there was the ranch sprawled below, a welcome sight to Aimee. Already she thought of it as home.

Her mother leaned forward and looked through the window. “Oh, Ward, would you look at that?”

From their vantage point above, you could make out the cabins and the framework of others awaiting completion. The small creek that ran across the backyard sparkled in the waning sunlight. “Isn’t it gorgeous?” Aimee preened at the sight of her parents’ awe-inspired expressions.

“Seems the boy is doing well for himself,” her father commented.

“He’s not exactly a boy, Dad. Wyatt’s thirty-two,” Aimee responded as she turned down the mile-long lane to the house.

Her mom cleared her throat again. “About that.”

“June-bug, I thought we agreed we weren’t going to interfere.” Aimee glanced at her father.

“Interfere with what? You don’t have an issue with his age, do you? He’s only four years older.” Aimee stated maneuvering down the gravel road.

“Well, they’ve been together now, what—” Her mother lifted her hand and counted off her fingers. “Five months?”

“Mom, could you get to the point? We’re almost there, and I don’t want to create an uncomfortable scene for Wyatt.”

“Oh, honey, it’s nothing like that. We just wondered if you’d slept with him yet.”

Aimee nearly drove off the road. “Mom?” She tossed her a surprised look. “Isn’t that a bit personal?”

“Well, certainly that’s important when one is thinking of grandchildren.”

“Mom, we’re not even married yet. And I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t think of my fiancé like he’s a prize bull.”

Her mother waved a hand at the cattle they passed. “Well, if anyone would understand, I think Wyatt would be the first.”

Aimee shook her head. She couldn’t believe this conversation. “You two have certainly changed since your little trip to Vegas. How was that, by the way?” Aimee asked, hoping to change the subject.

Her mother glanced at her father. “You know what they say. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

“Good Lord. Yes, please.” Aimee pulled into the circle drive, her mind awash with images of her parents and they were not pretty.

There was an odd smell of smoke as they walked up the front-porch steps, not quite the same woodsy scent of the fireplace, but pleasant nonetheless. “The fireplace is made of beautiful fieldstone. It’s absolutely gorgeous,” she gushed as she waited at the front door. Any other time, she’d have let herself in or gone through the kitchen. But this was a special night. Aimee smiled and raised her hand to knock again when the door was yanked open and a stricken Wyatt appeared with tongs in one hand, an oven mitt on the other.

“Do I smell something burning, dear?” her mother addressed Wyatt with a smile.

“Hi.” Wyatt leaned over and planted a quick kiss on Aimee’s cheek. “It’s so good to see you. We need to talk…later.” He straightened, stuck out his hand, and fumbled with the oven mitt to shake her father’s hand “Welcome to the Last Hope Ranch, Mr. and Mrs. Worth. You’ll have to excuse me. Aimee, would you mind making your folks at home? I’ve got a bit of a situation to attend to.” With another lightning-fast kiss, he dashed off.

“That was my Wyatt.” She smiled, then ushered her parents into the great room. She held Betty’s pie in one hand. “See? What did I tell you?” Sadie bounded toward her, tail wagging, and her enthusiasm jostled Aimee’s grip on the pie.

Her mother reached out and caught it before it toppled to the floor.

“And this is Sadie. She’s really very friendly.”

A loud snore followed by a string of curses interrupted her and Aimee leaned over the back of the couch to find Dalton sprawled on the couch, his clothes filthy with dust and mud. There was the faint stench of beer on his clothes. He woke fully, lumbered to his feet, and offered a friendly smile. “Aimee, you’re back. That’s great, because I think Wyatt is single-handedly destroying dinner.”

“Mom, Dad, this is Dalton, Wyatt’s younger brother. These are my parents, June and Ward Worth.”

He tossed a grin at Aimee. “You’re joking, right? June and Ward? Really?” He shook their hands and studied them with a strange smile. “It’s just such a weird coincidence, right?”

Aimee shrugged and attempted to bypass the reference to the popular television parents. Heaven knows she must have lived with the jokes most of her life. “Dalton has quite a sense of humor. Where’s Rein?”

“He’ll be along. He had some things to finish up at the cabin.”

Her mother patted Dalton’s arm. “It’s okay. Ward and I are nothing at all like ‘the Beav’s’ parents.” She gave him a wink.

“Aimee.” Wyatt came around the corner of the living room with a tight smile. “If you have a minute, I could maybe use your help out here.”

“Let me, Wyatt. I don’t sit well, anyway.” Her father volunteered and followed Wyatt back to the kitchen. From the living room, she saw her fiancé lead her father to the grill, where he lifted the lid and a large black cloud billowed up into the twilight sky.

“It’s his back,” her mother commented, checking the pie. “He’s had a problem sitting ever since we got back from Vegas. I don’t know what has happened.”

“I think I’ll go shower,” Dalton interjected.

“Good idea.” Aimee nodded. “Mom, let’s go see if we can give Dad and Wyatt a hand.”

They started through the dining area and June let out a small scream when she nearly ran into Rein’s twelve-inch drill bit. “Jesus, sorry about that.” He lowered the drill and fumbled with the goggles as though he’d just remembered they were still strapped to his head. He resembled something between Tim the Tool Man and a strange comic-book hero. His leather belt, filled with every tool possible, tugged at his jeans, causing them to ride low on his lean hips. Never mind his T-shirt. With a rip in one shoulder and a black streak emblazoned across his chest, there was little hope left for it.

“Aimee, I’m glad you’re home.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Wyatt’s making one major mess of things.”

“So I’ve heard.” Aimee sighed but held her smile.

Rein turned his gaze to her mother. “You must be related, because Aimee has your beautiful eyes.”

Charmed by his comment, her mother smiled and blushed. Rein pulled off his suede work glove and shook her hand. “Please forgive my appearance, Mrs. Worth. I’ve been working all day on a project. I’m afraid it’s part of why dinner is running a bit late. We were all pretty busy today.”

Taken by Rein’s polite manner, her mother waved her hand in dismissal. “All in a day’s work on a ranch, I suspect.”

He nodded and smiled at Aimee. “I’ll go get cleaned up. See you in a few minutes.”

He sauntered past them and Aimee’s gaze followed her mother’s as she watched Rein’s swagger. “What a nice boy. It’s so nice to have a man around who knows his way with tools.

“Mother,” Aimee reprimanded. “You’re staring at his butt,” she whispered sternly.

“What? He reminds me of your father at that age. So strong and handsome. Oh your dad is very good with his tools.”

“Okie dokie.” Aimee took a deep breath. “Let’s go see what we can do to be helpful, shall we?”

Two hours and another round of thawed steaks later, Aimee sensed a tension at the table between Wyatt and his brothers, one that had nothing to do with dinner. In fact, they’d been so busy wolfing down their food there’d barely been any conversation.

“You have an exquisite home, Mr. Kinnison,” her mom stated. “And this was a delicious meal.”

“Thank you, and please call me Wyatt.” He reached over and took Aimee’s hand. It was the first time Aimee felt Wyatt was aware of all night.

“Only if you call me June,” her mom replied.

Dalton coughed and attempted to muffle his smile with his napkin.

“So, I’m interested to hear more about these cabins. Rein, our daughter tells us you’ve put a great deal of work into getting them ready.”

Rein glanced at his brother and took a sip of wine. “Well, it’s true. We’ve just recently refocused our efforts and invested more time and money into the project. It was something my uncle decided he wanted to do later in his life. Unfortunately, he was not able to see it started before he passed.” He leaned back in his chair, his gaze skipping over Wyatt and Dalton. “I think raising three boys made him realize there may be people lost out there, in need of a leg up. He believed hard work gives people a sense of purpose and pride. That’s why he chose to rename the ranch the Last Hope.”

Aimee’s mom was enraptured with the story. “I wish I could have met your uncle. He sounds like a wonderful man.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I think we’re in agreement with that.” He raised his glass and it prompted everyone to follow in a silent toast to Jed.

“I understand one of the cabins is nearly complete.” Aimee was grateful her father had kept the conversation going.

Rein nodded and went back to his pie. “It’s coming along. We’ll be using this first one as a prototype for the others. With any luck, we hope to have the electricity and plumbing ready by midweek.”

“My, this week. How exciting!” Her mother beamed.

Aimee looked at Wyatt, who’d remained quiet through much of dinner. At first, she’d chalked it up to the plight of his dinner preparations, but even now he averted his eyes and passed her father more pie. Her experience with students who attempted to hide something from her sent up a red flag in her brain.

“That’s good to know,” her father stated. “We thought maybe if it was okay with you, we might stay there for the wedding?”

Wyatt released the pie to her dad, his expression akin to a deer in the headlights. She caught the look Rein darted to him. Dalton seemed engrossed in his topping off his own pie with whipped cream. “Wyatt?” She straightened in her chair and checked once more the faces of her future brothers-in-law. “Is there something going on that I should know about?”

He looked down, took her hand, and nodded. “I had planned to bring this up later, but since your father has asked about the cabin, I feel maybe now is as good of a time as any to let you know.”

She raised her brow and waited.

“First, in answer to your question, Ward, I’m sorry, but the cabin won’t be available.”

“Wyatt?” Aimee spoke in stunned surprise. He squeezed her hand and held her gaze, his dark eyes serious.

“Aimee, I don’t know of an easy way to say this, but—”

“We have a half sister who needs a place to stay. She’s moving in Friday,” Dalton blurted out, looking up from his pie long enough to speak.

“And thank you, Dalton.” Wyatt shot a look at his brother.

Dalton shrugged.

Aimee shook her head. “Did you say half sister?” She and Wyatt had covered many a topic late night over the past few weeks and not one of those times had he ever mentioned a sister. It was a surprise, but not as much as why he’d never told her.

He sighed. “It was news to me, as well, Aimee. She called completely out of the blue.”

A host of questions tumbled in her mind; along with the realization, the wedding was only a few days away. “Good Lord, Wyatt. Are you excited? Did you tell her about the wedding? Should she be included?”

“Aimee, sweetheart.” Her mother stood and soon after her father rose. “This has been a delightful evening, and it seems clear to us you and Wyatt have some things to catch up on. Why don’t you give us your keys, and we’ll toddle on back to your place and give you two a chance to talk.”

Wyatt and his brothers stood.

“No, Mom, please sit down. Finish your dessert.” She tried to persuade them to stay.

Wyatt sat down, followed by his brothers.

“Your mother’s right, baby girl,” her dad added. “This is something you and Wyatt need time to discuss. We’ll be fine.” They headed to the front door as Aimee and Wyatt followed on their heels. Confused by their sudden departure, Aimee handed the keys to her mother. “Are you sure about this?” He mother gave her a pointed look. “Fine, then be sure to take the county road—”

“We remember, sweetie. Wyatt, it has been an utter delight to meet you. We couldn’t be happier for our little girl.” He hugged them both and then they hugged Aimee. She watched as they hurried to the car.

“Enjoy the rest of your evening. We’ll see you in the morning and oh….” Her mother paused before she climbed in the car. “Give us a call to make sure we’re up before you come home. Your father might talk me into a rousing game of cards. You know how he is.” She waved.

More perplexed than she could remember being in a long while, Aimee tried to piece together the remains of a very strange day. Wyatt curled his hands over her shoulders and gently massaged the tension in her neck. “I don’t even have any clothes,” she said as her parents drove away.

He leaned down and spoke softly in her ear. “You won’t need them tonight.”

A shiver of delight rushed through her, but she was no less confused. “This has been a weird day.” Aimee shook her head in wonder. “If they weren’t my parents and I didn’t know better, I’d say they only used the news about your sister as an excuse to leave. You don’t think they were offended that you didn’t let them stay at the cabin?”

“Aimee, I’m going to tell you something and it may disturb you. But I know that look. It’s been on my face for the last thirty-six hours since you left.” He put his arms around her waist and nuzzled the ticklish spot below her ear.

It suddenly dawned on her what he meant. “No, you can’t be right about that. No. Those are my parents, I’ll have you know.”

He turned her to face him. “Sweetheart, you didn’t come from a stork and I highly doubt
cards
are what your mother was referring to.”

“Eeew. You think so, really?”

He laughed.

“Yes, well you’ll not find it quite so funny when I tell you my mother asked about our sex life.”