The Ranch

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BLAZE*

I managed to get here fifteen minutes early. I had been pacing back and forth in front of the large ranch house. Someday I hoped to have a ranch house in the country like this one, where my wife and three-plus kids would reside. I frowned at the thought. At this rate, I would be lucky ever to have a wife. I can't seem to snag a faithful woman who wouldn't cheat on me.

I'm so nervous about meeting Lyra, and I'm worried about the family seeing the house and its surroundings. We guys all seemed to love it, but it's not our opinion that counts. Word of mouth can make or break a business like this.

I looked to see Tanner's truck coming down the drive. Thank goodness; I needed to rant before Jace, and the girls arrived. He parked down the road a bit and walked over to me with a grin on his face.

"Hey, cuz; I think they are going to love it. Can you even imagine what it will look like when they bring the horses over? My goodness, we did good, cuz," Tanner said as he glanced around at all the hard work, we had put in.

"Oh, I hope so," I said nervously and started to pace again.

This family who would be moving in is enormous. The couple had nine kids. Three of those have married and have had a couple of kids of their own. Up until now, they have all lived separate lives in individual homes while running the ranch. But now, they would all be living under one roof. The house was built so that each family had its own wing. It's massive. They do, however, share a kitchen and dining room. It's now ten o'clock, and Jace hasn't arrived yet. They're probably going to be late due to the women he's bringing with him.

"Blaze, what's wrong with you, man? Chill out; everything is going to be just fine." Tanner said as he walked over to me and slung an arm around my shoulders.

"Jace is bringing his girlfriend and her sister along with her. I think he's trying to play matchmaker," I grimaced at the thought. Am I really in any state to get into a new relationship?

"Aw, hell, well, it's been six months since Jessa wronged you. You're not the player type, and you need a woman. I've seen a few pictures of Vega, and she's fucking hot, dude. And as much as Jace talks about her, I can tell she's an amazing woman. Mom and Dad keep asking him to bring her over. Supposedly Vega and her sister have taken Summer courses, and their free time is quite limited. Or so he says anyway," Tanner said as he walked over to sit on a bench.

Tanner's mom left when he and Jace were very young, and my parents practically raised them. Their dad never had much to do with them after my Aunt left. So Tanner is referring to my parents as his mom and dad.

"Smart and accomplished, it sounds like. She might be very well suited for me. I don't know if I'm ready," I said as I sat next to Tanner on the bench.

I glanced towards the open pasture. "I had a dream last night about a woman I have never seen before in my life. This dream was out of this world. My soulmate, if she's even real. To top it off, this woman lived in one of the first houses we built, after mom and dads. Work is now infiltrating my dreams, man," I said as I ran a hand down my face.

"Yeah, man, it sounds to me like you need to get laid. Not Vega's sister, though. Let's go to the club tonight. Let loose a bit," Tanner said with a grin.

"I guess so; why not; it's been a while since we've gone out," I said.

"You yes, me no. I go out once every other week. Find a girl, chill with her for a bit, and then move on." Tanner said as he shrugged his shoulders.

I don't have a comeback for that one. I'm not sure if Tanner will ever be the same after what Bailey did to him. They were together from seventh grade up to his last year of college. They were engaged and would have been married just after graduating with a Master's. She had messed around with one of the football jocks and wound up pregnant. She wasn't sure who the father was. She could have lied and passed it off as Tanners. But she didn't. Long story short, she's now married to the other idiot.

I looked down at my Rolex to see that it was ten after ten. My dad got this watch for me when I graduated with my Master's Degree, and I love it. I can't stand it when people are late, though. It drives me nuts. Just then, I looked up to see Jace's truck coming down the drive. Thank goodness, I was about to message him, and nothing good would have come from that.

Jace parked behind Tanner's truck and quickly exited the driver's side. He ran over and opened the door for Vega. He reached and grabbed ahold of her and helped her down from the truck. I could see she had red hair, and Jace was such a gentleman; that's new. He extended his elbow, and she linked her arm with his. They moved a bit, and Jace closed the door. They started to walk our way, but they were too far away for me to see her.

'Wait, what about her sister? Where was she?' I thought to myself.

As Jace and Vega came closer, I realized just how bad the universe was screwing with me. The woman in my dream was walking toward me, and she was Jace's girlfriend. Bloody perfect.

I knew that I should get up, but I was rooted in place on this bench, with a shocked expression on my face. Tanner stood up and looked down at me.

"Hey, get up. What's wrong with you?" Tanner asked.

"That's the woman I dreamt about last night," I whispered.

"Oh shit?" Tanner said it a bit too loud for my liking.

"Yeah, and I made love to her in that dream. So I'm freaking out a little bit here," I said while waving my hands around in the air as I tried to make sense of all of this.

"Play it cool, and we'll talk more about this tonight, ok," Tanner said dismissively as Jace and Vega walked up.

"Vega, this is my brother Tanner and my cousin Blaze. Blaze, Tanner, this is my girlfriend Vega," Jace explained with a lovey-dovey grin on his face.

I made myself get up from the bench and forced a smile. Tanner reached out and shook her hand "nice to meet you, Vega,'' Tanner chirped.

I was trying hard to keep a forced smile on my face as I walked up to Vega and shook her hand: no sparks or anything. Hum, damn you, universe. No words would come out, so I just nodded and continued to smile. We guys talked shop for a few minutes, and then Vega's phone started ringing. She walked away, and I heard her yelling at someone. I guess it was her sister Lyra that everyone had been patiently waiting on.

Vega ran back to us screaming, and tears streamed down her face. "Jace, we've got to go. Lyra's been in an accident, and I have to go to her," Vega screamed and ran towards Jace's truck. Jace burst from his seat and ran to Vega, helping her climb into his vehicle. Jace got in, started his truck, and gunned it.

LYRA*

It's a Saturday morning, so I honestly didn't think Sonic would be so busy, but I was wrong. It's now almost ten o'clock, and I just now got my order; I had waited thirty minutes. Of course, this would happen to me today. I don't like being late to places. So I'm contemplating not going to the Ranch. I should have gone with Jace and Vega. It's one thing to be late. To be late and by yourself while being late is another.

I quickly ate my breakfast burritos; when I was done, I saw it was after ten already. I heaved a sigh.

I told Vega I would be there. I put the pin into my GPS, backed up, and headed off to the ranch. I got up on the loop in the hopes of getting there faster. As I was coming off the ramp to get on the access road, an idiot went through four lanes of traffic and sideswiped the front of my car. My car was thrust to the left, and I was hit by the trailing vehicle behind me.

The airbag went off, and I was pinned between it and the caved-in door. I must have hit my head on the window because blood was running down my cheek onto my shirt. That ass hole who clipped me took off; that's great. I pushed the phone button.

"Call Vega," I screamed. "Calling Vega." It rang twice, and Vega picked up.

"Where the fuck are you, it's ten-thirty; you said you would be here, and Jace's cousin has been looking at me all weird this whole time," Vega yelled.

"Vega, I've been in an accident. I'm pinned in the car. I'm bleeding, and I'm scared," I screamed as I started to cry.

"Oh my God, Lyra, where are you? I'll come to you. I knew something was up; I got a sudden pain in my head. You hit your head, didn't you?" Vega asked.

"Yesss, "That is all I could muster. My head was throbbing now that the shock from the crash had worn off. "Use the tracker on our phones. I can't think of where I am right now." I said.

"Ok, I'll put it in, and then I'll call you right back. I'm here, Lyra," Vega said.

"Jace, we've got to go. Lyra's been in an accident, and I have to go to her," I heard Vega scream, and then the line went dead.

Writer's Note

So much went down in this chapter. What are your thoughts on everything?

Thank you all so much for reading! You're the best!