Chapter 2
Riskin came up behind Lyric at the sink and slipped his arms around her waist. He buried his face in her neck and let out a puff of warm air. Lyric kept her hands plunged in the soap dishwater and leaned back against his chest.
He murmured in her ear, “Hey, baby. I missed you this morning.”
She rested her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the pleasant, comfortable delirium flooding through her. “I missed you, too. Do you have to leave so early all the time?”
“You know we have to work ten times harder in the summer than the rest of the year. It's the only time we can get all the work done during daylight hours. I'll make it up to you tonight.”
He stuck his tongue in her ear, and Lyric hummed under her breath. Her body relaxed into his embrace. She always enjoyed times like these, even though she didn't get as many of them as she’d like. “What are you guys doing today? Is it more fencing and hoof-trimming?”
“We'll be doing that for weeks to come. There's more than seven thousand hooves to trim and that many fence posts to check and replace. At least we have Mattox unloading the hay in the barn. That gives us time to get out into the pasture and get everything done. We couldn't do it otherwise.”
Lyric cast her gaze over her shoulder to make sure Mattox wasn't sitting at the table anymore. “I don't know how you can stand to work with that guy. He gives me the creeps. He slips around like a ghost. No one knows when he'll appear out of nowhere, or when he's listening at the keyhole.”
Riskin stood up straight and laid his hands on her shoulders. He turned her around to face him. “It's only for a little while. In a few weeks, we'll get married and consolidate our hold on the ranch. Your father won't last long, and Azer will take over as Alpha. My parents will stake an investment on the ranch, and we won't need Mattox around anymore. We’ll send him back to his own tribe.”
Lyric dried her hands and put her arms around his waist. She closed her eyes and lifted her face to receive his kiss. She nestled into his comforting arms. “I can't wait until we're married.”
“Soon, baby, soon. I wish it was tomorrow, but we just have to bide our time. We've waited all these years. We can wait a few more weeks.”
“I know. I just love you so much I can't stand to wait.”
He gave her one last long, lingering kiss. “I better go. Azer would never let me live it down if Mattox was out there working while I stayed in here making out with you.”
She squeezed him around his ribs. “Don't forget about later.”
He pointed to her while he retreated toward the door. “It's a date.”
Lyric finished the dishes and put the kitchen in order. She took off her apron, but when she went upstairs to her own room, she found Melody reclining on the bed. Melody flipped through bridal magazines, and her eyes widened when Lyric appeared
Melody held open the magazine she was reading. “Take a look at this dress. Don't you just love the way the bodice swoops down between your cleavage? I would love to get married in a dress like that.”
Lyric flopped onto the bed with a sigh. She didn't give the magazine so much as a sidelong glance. “Can't we please talk about something other than wedding dresses for a change? You don't know how sick I am of everything wedding-related.”
Melody took the magazine back and studied the pictures. “You're getting married in four weeks. How can we talk about anything not wedding-related?”
“I'm sick of all the planning and preparation. I'm sick of it all. I wish Riskin and I were already married so we could get on with our lives.”
Melody closed the magazine with a sigh. She rolled over on her back and gazed up at the ceiling. “Weddings are so romantic. I wish I could meet my heart's true mate and get married and live together always. I can't imagine anything more romantic in the world.”
Lyric humphed. “You wouldn't think it was so romantic if it happened to you. You would think it's just an ordinary part of life, like cleaning the toilet.”
Melody shot up. “Don't you dare spoil this for me. You've been a downer for as long as I can remember. I mean, look at this room of yours. You never had a romantic bone in your body since the day you were born.”
Melody swept her hand over Lyric's room. Posters of young women barrel racing, pictures of horses and hikers cresting mountain peaks, and Lyric's own saddle and riding boots decorated the room. No pink frills or princess trappings for her.
Lyric saw the same accouterments Melody did. “What's wrong with my room? You don't expect me to make my room into a fairy grotto like your room, do you? I can't stand all that fantasy stuff.”
“Come on, Lyric. You're marrying your childhood sweetheart. Can't you at least put a little effort into make the wedding nice? You haven't picked out your cake or the decorations or anything. You can't leave everything until the last minute.”
Lyric threw up her hands. “Childhood sweetheart, my eye! Marrying Riskin is no more romantic than marrying Azer. I've known him all my life. Okay, so I like him a lot and everything, but he's been working on the ranch so long and living in our house, he might as well be another brother. I never thought about marrying anybody else.”
Melody's hands flew to her heart. “Don't you see how romantic that is? You guys were destined for each other. You've been drawn to each other all your lives, since you were little kids. It's like something out of a storybook.”
Lyric turned away. “You live your whole life in a storybook, Melody. One of these days, you're gonna wake up and realize life is not a storybook, and it's not a fairy tale of finding your heart's true mate, either. Guys are just guys. They're people, just like women. We live together, we have children together, we grow old together, and we die. Life is about the nuts and bolts of getting a family fed and clothed and out the door to work every morning. That's all marriage is ever about.”
A cloud crossed Melody's face. She scowled at Lyric. “I won't let you spoil this for me, Lyric. You've always been a tomboy who never cared about anything but running the ranch. You worked as a cow hand after Mama died. You're upset because you had to give up running the ranch and take over the house.”
Lyric turned softer eyes on her little sister. “I won't say you're wrong. I liked punching cattle a lot more than cooking in the kitchen three meals a day and waiting on men like a servant. I wish I was out in the barn unloading the hay instead of paying Mattox to do it, but that's not going to happen. Somebody's got to run the house, and if I went out to work with the guys, we'd have to pay someone else to cook and clean. This is my way of contributing to the family business. Once I marry Riskin, the ranch will be a lot more successful and we won't need country cousins to make the ranch work.”
Melody sat bolt upright on the bed. “That's exactly why you need one day out of your practical life to be a beautiful princess. This wedding is your one chance, maybe in your whole life, when you don't have to think about running the ranch and telling everyone to wash their hands before their eat. This is the one day out of your life to make your fairy tale dreams come true.”
“I don't have any fairy tale dreams, so I don't want them to come true.”
“Well, you should. You can't live your whole life as one long ugly nightmare.”
Lyric shot off the bed with an exasperated gasp. “I'll tell you what, Melody. You care a whole lot more than I do about making this wedding a beautiful fairy tale come true. You can plan the wedding. Make it as big and frilly and beautiful as you want. I'm finished with it. I don't want to see another picture of a cake or a flower arrangement as long as I live. You plan everything and leave me alone.”