Page 77 of Deserving Ryleigh
He held out his hand to Tiny, and they shook before Wolf gave him a man-hug and pounded on his back in greeting.
“Damn nice to see you again,” Wolf said.
“Same,” Tiny agreed with a smile. The first time he’d met the former SEAL, they’d hit it off immediately.
Caroline smiled at Tiny from beside her husband. Wolf immediately wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her against him. She was almost a foot shorter than her husband, but seemed to fit against him perfectly. Her light brown hair wasn’t done up in any special hairdo and it didn’t look as if she was wearing any makeup. Her jeans and blouse were casual and comfortable-looking. When she looked up at Wolf, her eyes came to life and she seemed to shine from the inside out. This was a woman who was deeply loved, and blossomed as a result.
“This is my wife, Ice.”
Caroline mock-slapped his chest and shook her head in exasperation. “Caroline. My name isCaroline. It’s very good to meet you, Tiny. And you too, Ryleigh. It is Ryleigh, right?”
“Most people call me Ry,” she told the other woman.
“Ry it is, then.”
“You have a chance to look around yet?” Tiny asked.
“Just got here, so no,” Wolf said.
“I’ll be glad to give you a tour,” Ryleigh volunteered.
For all her nervousness at meeting the couple, Ryleigh seemed completely at ease, and Tiny was so proud of her. She might think she wasn’t a people person, or that she couldn’t make friends easily, but that definitely wasn’t the case.
“I’d love that!” Caroline said. “Matthew, you go and do your thing with the guys. I’ll go with Ry. She can show me around.”
“Sounds good to me. I’ll bring our stuff to our cabin later,” Wolf told her.
“I’m sure it’s probably already there,” Tiny informed him.
“And I’ll show Caroline which cabin you guys are in during our tour,” Ryleigh said.
“You guys run a smooth ship,” Wolf said with a grin.
“Hell yeah, we do,” Tiny agreed.
Wolf dipped his head to his wife and said something softly, and Tiny took the opportunity to sidestep with Ryleigh. “You good?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
He couldn’t stop himself from saying, “Told you that you’d be fast friends.”
Ryleigh rolled her eyes. “I’ve known her for like two seconds. I think the jury is still out.”
“Nope. You’re in. Besties. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was inviting you for a visit to Riverton before the evening’s out.”
Instead of rolling her eyes again, Ryleigh whispered, “This place never fails to surprise me. People don’t usually like me when they first meet me.”
Tiny hated that for her. “Then you’ve simply been meeting the wrong people.”
She considered his words for a beat. “You’re probably right.”
Tiny kissed her forehead gently and squeezed her hand. “Have fun, but be careful walking around.”
“We will.”
“Meet you back here in an hour or so? Is that enough time?”
“Plenty. The Refuge isn’tthatbig,” she told him with a laugh.
