Chapter Seventeen

"Susie...."

The warm voice washed over Susie as she walked barefoot through the field of cool grass and dancing wildflowers.

"Susie, I have to go. Please wake up. I really want to kiss you before I leave."

"Kiss me...." she replied breathlessly to that voice as she leaned into the arms of the speaker. It was Ryder and he was standing behind her with his arms wrapped tight around her waist. The sun was rising over the hill in front of them.

Ryder chuckled and the sound vibrated against her neck, "I'd rather you were awake first," he replied.

Susie frowned and then suddenly Ryder's arms were gone. She moaned with frustration and then a fly began buzzing around her face. It tickled her nose and she swatted at it. It landed on her ear and she slapped it away. Laughter filled her ears and she realized that it wasn't coming from the field of grass and wildflowers.

Her eyes flew open and she saw Ryder kneeling beside the bed running the tip of his finger along her face, "Good morning, sunshine," he said with an amused grin, "I'm going to make sure that when I build our house our bedroom window faces east. This one faces north and I can't enjoy the sunrise on your face."

Susie blushed and sat up, stretching her arms above her head, "What time is it?" Outside the window, daylight was just beginning to break through the darkness of night.

"About six," Ryder replied, "I'm gonna get out of here before somebody catches me."

"That's probably a good idea."

Ryder smiled and kissed her forehead tenderly, "I love you, future wife." He realized that was the first time he had actually said those words and truly meant them.

"When are we going to tell the family?" Susie asked.

Ryder shrugged and ran his knuckles down her cheek, "We'll tell them together later," he promised. He brushed a gentle kiss to her lips, "I gotta get to work."

Susie sighed, wishing he could stay here with her forever, "This evening, when you get done working, could you come pick me up and show me the land you bought?"

"You've already seen it," he replied, as he twirled long strands of her hair around his fingers.

"I have?"

"I bought our paradise."

Susie's eyes widened with amazement and disbelief, "You did? How?"

"I'm magic," he teased and this earned him a scowl and a playful slap to the arm. Ryder laughed and pulled her into a hug, "Apparently that land belonged to Mrs. Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson bought it for her and told her that he would build her the dream home she had always wanted. Mr. Ferguson died a few months back and left Mrs. Ferguson willing to sell the land... And for a heck of a lot less than what it's worth."

"Why is that?" Susie asked. She only knew about the Ferguson's in passing and she had never truly been introduced to either of them, "I would think she would want to keep it forever."

Ryder chuckled as he pulled away from her, "I think it has a lot to do with the way he died. Cause of death was too much drink in the arms of a whore. He never got around to building that dream house either... He was too busy paying for his mistress's place."

"Ooooo,." Susie fought back a smile. Smiling over someone elses pain was rude and unkind.

"You get a little dimple in your cheek when you try not to smile," Ryder informed her.

Susie blushed and smiled brightly, "I love you."

Ryder beamed and kissed her nose before standing upright, "Of course you do, I'm amazing."

"And so humble," Susie added dryly.

Ryder shook his head, "Nope.. I've never had that problem." He walked over to the window, never taking his eyes off of her, "I'll be back. Miss me."

"You miss me."

"I always do, my angel. I always do."

Ryder slipped out the window and Susie rose from the bed and watched him walking away, but he quickly disappeared from view in the fog and mist filled morning.

***

The week came and went quickly. The family did not find Susie and Ryder's marriage announcement surprising at all and now Ellie was in her full fledged event planning mode as she went about making the plans for a double wedding with Liza, Ty, Susie and Ryder.

"Tomorrow," Ellie announced as the entire family lounged around the pond at Sally and Thomas's house Friday evening.

Susie raised a brow as she looked over at the other woman and felt Ryder's arms tighten around her. He was sitting on the grass behind her and she was sitting between his legs with her back pressed against his chest. She had been uncomfortable with this position at first since her brothers were around, but as usual Ryder seemed fearless and gave her no real choice.

"Tomorrow what?" Susie asked, turning her attention to the children running around the pond playing a game of tag.

"The wedding," Ellie replied, "Everything is ready and we're having it tomorrow."

"What?!" Liza and Susie both exclaimed at once.

Jacob adjusted the hat covering his son's small head and smiled, "You aren't having second thoughts are you?" he teased.

Ryder and Ty shared a look of dread. What in the hell would they do if the women said yes? Ryder felt that gnawing fear in his gut once again and decided he had to remind Susie just what he could do so she didn't answer 'yes' to her brother's question.

He pressed his lips against the long lines of her bare neck and he heard her sharp intake of breath and felt her stiffen against him as she trembled, "Stop that!" she said in a harsh whisper. Ryder could hear the embarrassment in her voice and it made him smile, "My family can see you."

"And they know how much I love you so they don't care," he assured her.

Susie looked around at her family but no one seemed to be bothered by Ryder's actions. She was most worried about Brody but he was sharpening his knife on a stone and looked calm and unfazed.

"Of course we're not having doubts. We snagged us the best two men in the country," Liza replied with a smile as she looked at Ty with stars in her eyes. Ty smiled back at her from where he stood leaned against the big oak.

"I might have to argue on that," Sally countered. Then she rolled her eyes when Thomas stuck his chest out, "I think Elizabeth and Ellie got pretty good men themselves," she added. Thomas chuckled and went back to carving on the stick in his hand.

"But Ellie, the guests..." Susie started.

"Have already been invited. The food has already been handled and George has already said he'd be more than happy to wed you both."

"Okay but what about a dress?" Susie asked. She wanted to marry Ryder she just hadn't thought that the wedding would be so soon, "I have to have a dress."

"You can wear mama's wedding dress. Ellie has been making alterations to it all week," Jacob informed her.

"I thought you measured me because you wanted to make me a winter dress?" Susie demanded. "Will mama's dress really fit me?"

"Susie, you are more like mama than any of us. Your build, your looks, your spirit... You are mama," Brody assured her quietly.

"Really?" Susie gasped. Susie had never seen a picture of her mother because there hadn't been any.

Jacob nodded, "Yes. The only part of her you didn't get was the rebellious streak. She would have wanted you to have the dress."

"And Liza already said she wants to wear my dress so everything is ready," Ellie added with exasperation, obviously annoyed that she'd been dounted.

"I can't believe this," Susie said with awe as she leaned deeper into Ryder's embrace, "I'm going to be your wife tomorrow."

Ryder breathed in the scent of her hair and studied the difference between his sun tanned and muscle hardened arm against her soft, pale, freckle covered one. She felt so soft and vulnerable in his arms and being with her was the first time he had ever felt protective or tough. Ryder knew without a doubt that he would take a bullet for this woman. He would gladly die for her and only her. There was not a single other person he would make that sacrifice for.

"Susie Hampton, my wife.... I may have called a lot of women future wife when I'd had a few too many to drink but I never really thought I'd get married," Ryder admitted, "I never thought I'd find a woman who would make me blind to all the others."

"And have you found her?" Susie teased.

"Yes ma'am."

"And I suppose that means you're blind to all others?"

Ryder grinned, as he laid his chin upon her shoulder, "Maybe not completely blind but my vision has definitely gotten cloudier."

Susie laughed lightly. She loved his honesty. Before she could reply, a child's scream filled the air and everyone turned in time to see Bryant fall from a limb of the oak and disappear into the pond with a splash.

"Bryant!" Elizabeth screamed, knowing her son could not swim. Panic and fear filled the air but before anyone had time to do anything, Ryder was up, he tossed his gun belt on Susie's lap and dove headfirst into the water.

"Oh shit!" Ty muttered as he took a step toward the water.

"What?" Liza demanded.

"That idiot can't swim," Ty replied quietly, careful to keep Brody and Elizabeth from hearing him. They were standing at the edge of the pond, looking scared to death as they waited for Ryder to surface with their son.

It took several moments but finally Ryder's head broke the surface of the water and he had Bryant by the back of the shirt and was holding him high above his head.

Ryder was splashing and barely treading water. His head kept dipping back below the surface and he would pop back up coughing and sputtering, though never once did he let the boy's head dip back below the water.

"Bring him to the shore!" Sally exclaimed from the edge of the pond.

"I...." Ryder's head went back below the surface and he popped up and coughed hard, sending water spraying from his mouth, "Can't," he finished.

"He doesn't know how to swim," Ty explained.

Brody grabbed his lasso from his belt and threw the loop through the air. It slipped around Bryant's shoulders.

"Bryant, keep your head up like you see the dogs doing," Elizabeth explained and Brody looked down at her with his brow raised as he began to pull his son in.

Ryder released his hold on the boy when he again went under the water. This time he didn't come back up, "Ryder!" Susie screamed, fully prepared to jump into that water petticoats and all to save the man she loved. Ty beat her to it, slicing into the water and out to where Ryder had vanished, with ease. He popped back up with a sputtering Ryder just as Brody was hauling Bryant to the shore.

Elizabeth wrapped the boy in a hug so tight and fierce that Brody feared he would suffocate, "Alright, boss. Let the kid breathe," he warned gently. Elizabeth wiped a tear away before anyone other than Brody could see it and pulled away from her son.

Brody ruffled his hair while Lexi, Nathan and Max grabbed his hand and pulled him away to talk about his near death experience, "Bryant?" Brody called.

The boy turned to look at his father, "What papa?" he asked meekly.

Brody fixed him with a stern gaze, "If I ever catch you climbing that tree again, drowning is going to be the least of your worries. Do you understand?" Bryant nodded enthusiastically and then let the other kids lead him into Sally and Thomas's house to borrow some dry clothes of Max's.

Ty brought Ryder to the bank and Susie was there in an instant. She threw her arms around Ryder as he lay flat on his back, soaking wet and trying to catch his breath, coughing occasionally. Ryder figured almost drowning was worth feeling her soft warm body pressed against his thin wet clothes.

"What were you thinking?" Ty's angry voice broke through Ryder's fantasy of pulling off Susie's clothes and feeling her skin wet against him. Ryder sat up and kissed Susie's hair, "Thinking didn't really play into it," he replied honestly.

"You know damn well you can't swim!" Ty scolded as he took off his boots and poured the water out of them. Ryder shrugged and grinned sheepishly.

"I forgot," he replied. Susie stared at him with awe. He had just risked his life to save her nephew.

"How in the hell do you forget that you can't swim?" Sally asked with a raised brow.

Ryder stood up, helping Susie to her feet as well and then he began to unbutton his shirt. All five women's eyes widened when he slid off his wet shirt, revealing the tan rolling muscles he had beneath it. Susie watched the lean lines of his back as he turned and spread his shirt out in the sun. Her mouth was dry and a delicious heat had spread through her body when he turned back around and grinned sheepishly.

He ran a hand through his soaking wet hair and shrugged, "It takes talent I guess."

"It was stupid is what it was," Brody growled, "You could have gotten yourself killed and then what would have happened to my sister?"

"Uh... well...." Ryder shifted his feet and looked around uncomfortably. His brother was busy taking the wet ammunition out of his gun, "I guess it was kind of impulsive."

"If I had any damn doubts about what kind of man you were before they're gone now," Brody sounded angry and Ryder was unsure of what to say. Hadn't he just saved the mans son? Brody strode toward him in that self assured, confident way he had and stopped less than a foot away. Ryder wondered if he was about to get punched but instead Brody put his hand on Ryder's shoulder and offered him a rare smile, "Thank you, Ryder. You're a good man."

"Now you and Ty need to get out of here. It's getting late and you're getting married tomorrow so the women need their beauty rest," Ellie commanded as Jacob helped her to her feet with Eli in her arms.

"She doesn't need any beauty rest," Ryder argued as he nuzzled his face against Susie's neck.

Susie flushed bright red and tried to pull away even as a delicious little shiver of pleasure washed over her and goose bumps covered her arms, "You can't do that in front of everyone!" she scolded quietly.

Ryder grinned against her skin, "Brody does it..." he informed her and sure enough when Susie spared a quick glance at her brother he was holding Elizabeth tight and she was laying kisses along his jaw.

"Yes, but you're not wearing a shirt," she reminded him as she let her fingers rest against the hard, heated skin of his broad chest.

Ryder sucked in a hard breath and pulled away from her quickly. He picked up his shirt, folding it across his arm and using it to innocently cover his growing arousal. The feel of her soft fingers against his bare skin had very nearly had him coming undone.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Susie," he said as she tossed him his gun belt and he caught it, "I love you," he added.

"I love you too," she replied. She watched him jump up on his horse and she looked over to see Ty whispering to Liza who was giggling quietly. Ty kissed her head and then jumped up on his own horse and the two brothers rode away.

"Let's get home and try on those dresses," Liza exclaimed excitedly as she wrapped an arm around Susie's shoulders. Susie felt anticipation and joy fill her and happily agreed.

888

"It's my last night as an unmarried man!" Ryder exclaimed as he downed another shot of whiskey.

"Maybe you should slow down on the liquor there, brother," Ty warned.

Ryder whooped loudly and stood up on the stool. He began walking across the top of the stools, forcing several cowboys, drifters and farmers to abandon their seats or get stepped on.

"Ain't it something else?" Ryder asked as he made his way back across the stools and sat down beside his brother, "I never thought I'd find a woman like Susie."

"I never thought you'd find a woman like Susie either. It's amazing that she knows how odd you are and yet wants to marry you anyway," Ty replied dryly as he took a swig of his beer.

"I'm not odd," Ryder argued with a smile, "I'm unique."

"Whatever you say."

"You're getting married too!" Ryder exclaimed.

Ty nodded, "Yep and I'm nervous as hell. What if I ain't cut out to be a husband?"

"You've always been the responsible one," Ryder assured him as he nudged Ty with his elbow and spilled some of his beer down the front of his shirt.

Ryder didn't seem to notice that he'd spilled his brother's beer as he downed another shot and jumped to his feet on the dust covered floor, "I'm not nervous at all! Dammit tomorrow is gonna be the best day of my life! I love that woman!" Ryder took Ty's beer from him and downed the last of it. Ty thought about warning Ryder to stop drinking or else he'd be paying for it in the morning but that was the thing about Ryder. No matter how much the man drank he had never got a headache the next morning. Sometimes Ty wondered if he had any blood at all in his veins or if it was all liquor.

"I love Susie Atkinson!" Ryder exclaimed and several of the men in the saloon chuckled.

"We'll see if he's still saying that once he's been married for about ten years and she turns into a nagging hag... All women do eventually," someone announced.

Ryder shook his head and plopped himself down on the edge of the table where the doubtful ranch hand was seated, "Not all women turn into nagging hags," he countered, "Only the ones who ain't got a man who knows how to satisfy them."

The ranch hand's eyes narrowed with anger and he slammed his beer down on the table, "Is that so?" he demanded.

Ryder grinned, oblivious to any danger he might be in and nodded, "That's the way I got it figured anyway."

"How about I just knock that goofy ass grin right off your face?" the hand demanded.

Ryder laughed and downed the strangers beer. The large amount of alcohol he had ingested in the last hour had done away with whatever good sense he may have been born with. He was feeling loud and cocky. He just wanted to have a good time and he assumed that everyone was in on the good times with him.

"Truth hurts don't it?' he asked.

The hand stood up and clenched his fist, fully prepared to knock this drunks teeth down his throat when a shadow fell over their table, "Is there a problem here?" Brody asked.

Ryder jumped to his feet with a sloppy grin and threw his arm around Brody's shoulders. Thomas and Jacob were also there and were watching him with amusement, "Heck no, Brody. We're having us a good time!" Ryder exclaimed, "What are you all doing here?"

"Just here to make sure we have a halfway conscious groom tomorrow," Brody said, glancing at Ryder through the corner of his eye.

"Ty don't never get drunk, Brody. You can count on him to be sober."

"I don't think I'm the one he was worried about!" Ty shouted from the bar.

Ryder laughed and stuck his finger into his own chest, "Don't worry 'bout me Brody! Tomorrow is gonna be the best damn day of my life! Hey Earl?!" he hollered back to the bartender, "Whiskey for my friends here!"

"Just a beer for me, Earl." Jacob amended.

"Yeah me too." Thomas agreed. "Whiskey makes me foolish."

Brody raised a brow as Ryder walked back to the man currently playing tunes on a dusty old piano and began to sing off key as he danced around and around a wooden support pole, "No, apparently whiskey makes Ryder foolish."

Ty chuckled as he walked over with a beer for Thomas and Jacob and a whiskey for Brody. Brody shook his head and refused the whiskey and Ty handed it to the ranch hand, from whom Ryder had stolen a beer. This seemed to ease the man's temper somewhat and he sat back down at the table.

"I'm afraid you're wrong, Brody." Ty countered. "Birth is what made Ryder foolish. The whiskey just helps it along a little."

Ryder hit a particularly loud note as he sang and Brody winced. At moments like this he wished those canon blasts he had been surrounded by for four years would have put him deaf, "My poor sister." Brody mumbled as the four men sat down at an empty table.

"Ryder will be a good man to her," Ty assured him, "And she'll certainly never be bored."

"I trust him to be good to her," Brody replied, "And if I'm wrong, I'll shoot him myself."

"I'll tell ya what, if he ever hurts her I'll give you the damn gun to shoot him with," Ty vowed before taking a swig of his beer.

"Is he gonna be able to walk in the morning? I mean he does have to get married," Thomas reminded everyone as Ryder grabbed one of the saloon girls by the hand and started twirling her around the dusty floor.

"I'm getting married tomorrow! Ya wanna come? Damn but that woman is amazing and she picked me! Can you believe that?!" Ryder exclaimed and the saloon girl, who Brody knew to be named Carla, laughed and shrugged as she looked over at the sheriff helplessly.

Brody just shook his head with exasperation.

"You do realize that he just invited a whore to the wedding don't you?" Jacob asked.

Ty let out a long breath, "He's invited the whole saloon about a half dozen times so don't be surprised if we have all sorts showing up tomorrow."

"Are you nervous?" Jacob asked Ty.

Ty took another swig of beer and nodded, "Yeah."

"I was too," Jacob admitted.

"I wasn't." Brody cut in.

Jacob rolled his eyesm "You're never nervous. You're the cockiest and most arrogant jackass this side of the Rio Grande." Brody grinned and began to trace patterns on the dusty table top.

I was nervous," Thomas admitted. "Of course that could be cuz the first time I married Sally I had both Brody and Jacob looking pretty damn eager to put a bullet in my backside and Sally herself wanted to knock my head loose."

The four men chuckled and then suddenly Ryder was there. He had been running and couldn't stop himself completely before crashing into the table. He flopped on his back, knocking over everyone's beer, but seeming oblivious to any wrong doing.

"Wanna play some poker?" he asked as he looked up at everyone.

"I think you're a bit too drunk to be challenging anyone to poker," Jacob mumbled as he used his bandana to try to dry up the beer soaking into his pants.

Ryder appeared insulted, "I'm never too drunk to play poker!" Thomas, Jacob and Ty didn't seem interested but Brody stood up, "Let's go then."

Ryder jumped to his feet and laughed, "You sure? I have to warn you, I'm damn good," he said with a lopsided grin.

Brody nodded and pointed toward an empty poker table, "I'm sure."

***

"Well shit," Ryder sighed about an hour later as he plopped himself down at the table with Thomas, Ty and Jacob. He suddenly looked a lot more downtrodden and a lot less drunk.

"Brody's good," Jacob said with a nod.

Ryder reached for Ty's beer and Ty shook his head, "I think it's about time we call it a night, Ryder. We got a busy day tomorrow."

A smile lit Ryder's face, "A great day!" he exclaimed as he took Ty's beer anyway and downed it, "I'm gonna be Mr. Susie Atkinson."

This caused chuckles to fill the saloon. Everyone was enjoying the entertainment that drunk Ryder provided, "Don't you mean that she'll be Mrs. Ryder Hampton?" Thomas asked.

Ryder shrugged, "That's what I said."

"No it wasn't," Thomas argued.

"Sure it was," Ryder replied.

"No it...." Thomas started but Brody grumbled under his breath.

"Does it matter?" he snapped.

Thomas and Ryder both gave a sheepish grin and shook their heads, "No I guess not," Thomas said.

"Doesn't matter at all," Ryder agreed.

"We better get on to the hotel," Ty said as he stood and grabbed his brother by the arm, "You gotta get some rest for tomorrow."

"So do you. You're the one that's nervous he won't be a good husband. I know I'll be a good husband."

"Good for you," Ty grumbled with annoyance. He was feeling a little drunk himself at this point but unlike Ryder, who was a happy go lucky drunk, Ty was a sad, self-destructive drunk who developed low self-esteem the minute too much beer and liquor entered his blood stream.

"At least he won't have to worry about his wife gaining weight after they've been married a while," a drunk chuckled from a few tables away. "After all, I don't think Susie Atkinson can get much fatter than she is now." All five men turned to look at the drunk. Ryder didn't even think about what he doing. No one would speak that way about his Susie without earning a few black eyes and busted teeth for their troubles. He lunged forward but Brody grabbed him by his shirt and jerked him back.

Ryder glared at the other man but Brody's green eyes were narrowed and angry. He strode toward the drunk who stood and stuttered several times as he tried to back away. Jacob, Ty, Thomas and Ryder all watched with surprise as Brody made a fist, drew back his arm and caught the drunk hard across the jaw. The man went down with a thud and didn't get back up. Brody looked at the man's friends who were sitting at the table in shock, "Anybody else got something to say about my damn sister?" he demanded.

"You're the sheriff... You can't go around punching people," one of the drunks friends argued.

Brody raised a brow, "Sure I can." He turned and walked away from the table as the other men tried to rouse their friend off the dusty floor.

"Let's go," Brody called as he walked past Jacob, Thomas, Ty and Ryder. The four men followed after him.

"Why didn't you let me hit him, Brody? I really wanted to hit him," Ryder pouted as he walked backwards in front of everyone so he could look at them.

"Because, Susie doesn't want you hitting people."

"But she doesn't care if you hit people?" Ryder asked.

Brody shrugged, "I have hit, kicked, shot, stabbed, branded, and killed so many people that I guess everyone sees me as a lost cause."

"Branded?" Ty asked.

"Long story," Thomas assured him.

"You two get to the hotel and get some rest," Brody said to Ty and Ryder, "Make sure you're out to the house by one tomorrow." Ty pulled out his watch and saw that it was already nearly three in the morning.

"We'll be there!" Ryder said happily. "Hell I ain't gonna sleep at all." He turned and headed toward the hotel.

"I was actually a little worried he would have too much fun tonight and sneak in my sisters room," Brody admitted to Ty, "I would hate to have to kill the man. Susie's a good girl and she deserves to have a man who treats her like a lady."

Ty nodded, "Yes, she does." he said as he started to turn and head for the hotel. He was in no hurry to let these protective men know that Ryder had already been in Susie's room. Not only did Ty not think that Ryder and Susie had actually made love yet but Ty would have to admit that he had been in Liza's room and well, he hadn't been quite so self controlled with Liza... Hell just thinking about the love the two of them had made every night for nearly a week had his body heating up all over again.

"Liza deserves the same thing," Jacob stated and Ty froze, "You think we don't know that you and Ryder have been sneaking into Liza and Susie's rooms all week?"

Ty swallowed hard, "Uh..well...I..."

"Just show up tomorrow and say 'I do' and we'll forget about it," Thomas said cracking his knuckles.

Ty nodded quickly and then practically ran off toward the hotel. Thomas, Jacob and Brody looked at each other and began laughing, "He was scared to death," Jacob said.

"Least now we know they've been sneaking in. I love how he caved under pressure," Thomas added.

"You know all about sneaking in windows don't you, Thomas?" Brody asked as they headed toward their hitched and waiting horses. Thomas smiled, "Yep, and it was a damn good time."

"Watch your mouth," Brody growled, "You might be married to Sally now but that don't mean I won't kick your ass for saying things like that."

***

Justin sat on the dark bank steps, smoking a cigar and glaring over at the hotel. Susie was getting married tomorrow to that idiotic, immature, drunk named Ryder. Justin couldn't believe Susie had chosen Ryder over him.

Justin had no doubts that if Ryder had stayed away she would have chosen him. They had had something special when she had been caring for him and it could have grown. He could have had her the way he had wanted before he had to leave town. He had to leave town soon, he knew that much. He hadn't heard from his father in law or his wife since he'd told them that he'd moved away from Texas but they wouldn't believe that forever. Eventually they would track him down here.

'What in the world does Susie see in Ryder?' Justin asked the star above him.

The damn idiot was currently hanging out of the third story hotel window, literally howling up at the moon, "Ryder, SHUT UP!" Ty yelled and Ryder's head disappeared back inside the hotel.

Justin thought about tomorrow. Surely if he showed up at the wedding and made up a bunch of sweet stuff to woo Susie with, she would leave that overgrown child and decide she wanted him instead.

Justin smiled and stood up. He made his way over to the hotel so he could go to his own room. Tomorrow Susie would see that what she really wanted was a dependable, mature man. She didn't need to know that he would be gone within a few days time.