Right.
I was supposed to be getting in my car.
I shook myself out of the haze he’d cast and forced myself into action. I checked both directions before I rushed to the driver’s door and climbed in.
I started my car, checked the lane beside me again, then eased onto the road, keeping my speed far less than I normally would travel.
With the look on Ryder’s face when he’d received that text, I’d figured he’d blaze around me and burn a path back into Time River.
Someone was waiting on him.
I knew it.
The thing was, there was always someone waiting on Ryder. His phone pinging off with the slew of women he seemed to have at his beck and call.
I didn’t let it bother me anymore.
But he didn’t fly around me the way I’d expected.
No.
He followed.
Followed me to the end of the highway and through the small town that I loved.
Time River, Colorado was hidden at the base of a gorgeous ridge of mountains with a river running through.
Cozy cottages and two-story buildings with colorful awnings ran along Manchester, the main street that cut through the middle of town. The sidewalks were decorated with planters that overflowed with flowers, and old-style lamps had flickered on with the setting of the sun and now burned a yellowed glow.
I drove by shops, restaurants, and boutiques.
A couple hair salons and a new day spa, plus an old-timey hardware store and a renovated hotel.
The whole time I traveled, I could feel the weight of the single headlight of Ryder’s bike covering me in some kind of shield.
Satisfaction hummed in my being as I passed by Time River Market & Café, my restaurant and country store. There were some days I still couldn’t believe that I’d built it into what it was today.
A focal point of our community where locals and tourists alike flocked to meet. I was thankful I’d found people I could trust to help me run it, and tonight, the parking lot was packed to overflowing with our dinner guests.
None of it would have been possible without Ryder, and sometimes I still didn’t understand it. Couldn’t comprehend why he would offer me something so great and expect nothing in return.
Ryder who remained close behind.
It wasn’t until I slowed to make a right onto my mother’s street a couple blocks up that he finally gunned it and wound around me, the engine roaring as the streak of metal flew down the street.
I reminded myself it was none of my concern where he was going, or more importantly, who he was running to.
Ryder was my friend. And I could rest satisfied in that, even though that friendship was always going to be bittersweet.
“Mommy, I see you!”
My heart nearly exploded as I hurried up the walkway toward my mother’s porch, my spirit as eager as my feet as I climbed the two steps to where Kayden was at the screen door.
His little face was smooshed into the mesh, a distorted smile grinning back at me.
“I see you,” I sang in return, and I reached down to caress his cheek through the screen.
My mother’s soft laughter filtered through, and she appeared behind him and reached over to flick the lock. “He’s been standing here waiting for you for the last thirty minutes.”
Affection swelled. So intense as she opened the screen door and Kayden came rushing out, his arms thrown in the air. I picked him up, and he squealed and kicked as I lifted him high, before I brought him down to smother his adorable face in a thousand kisses.
I made sure to add in a bunch of smooching noises for extra effect.
Little hands gripped me by the cheeks, the child giggling like mad.
This.
This was my meaning.
Where I’d found the greatest joy, as unexpected as it’d been.
“Hey, Mom. Sorry I’m late,” I told her.
“No need to apologize,” she said as she widened the door for me to enter. “You’re just in time. Dinner is almost ready.”
“How was he today?” I asked as I tucked my squirming toddler onto my hip and followed her into the house.
“Tasmanian Devil, that one,” she tossed over her shoulder as she walked through the living room that was a complete disaster, thanks to my little bit of mayhem, and into the kitchen.
I set him down in the middle of the mess he’d made. “It sounds like you have some cleaning up to do.” My voice was gentle as I knelt in front of him and dragged the basket for his toys over.
“I hungee.” He grabbed his belly in both hands.
A soft chuckle got free, and I brushed back the same rebellious lock of brown hair that always fell over his eyes. “You have to clean up before you eat.”
“Do I has to, Gammy?” he hollered like his grandma was going to come to his rescue.
She moved to lean against the jamb of the wide kitchen entryway, crossing her arms over her chest with a tease dancing on her face. “Um, yes, you has to. You destroyed Gammy’s house. Blew it down like you are the Big Bad Wolf. Now you have to put it back together again.”
He howled with laughter, and he started running in place and puffing out his cheeks, spluttering as he blew between his adorable full lips. “I bwow it down! I bwow it down!”
I glanced at my mother.
Tenderness was knitted into her expression, woven with the lines that were just beginning to show on her face. Her eyes a warm brown that always met you with a sweep of soft encouragement.
Love squeezed me in the deepest place.
“You’d better get at it so I can help your gammy finish dinner. It looks like you’ve worn her out,” I told my son, glancing at my mother again.
Her curly brown hair was frizzy, her white tee dappled with stains. But she still always managed to have a smile on her face.
“Okay, Gammy, I hurry and help you.” Kayden shot into action, grabbing his toys and tossing them into the basket, only he was doing it so fast, half of them tumbled out on the other side. I picked those up and put them inside while my mother hovered at the entryway.
“How was your trip into Poplar?” she asked.
I blew out a sigh. “Fine until I ran over a nail or something on my way back. Got a flat about twenty miles out.”
Worry pulled through her features. “Why didn’t you call?”
It seemed everyone was asking me that.
“I had it handled. Besides, Ryder happened to be out for a ride, so he stopped and finished the job.”
She tsked a sound of surprised disbelief. “That boy always seems to know when you’re in trouble, doesn’t he?”
I couldn’t keep from rolling my eyes. “He didn’t know I was in trouble. We just happened to be in the same place at the same time.”
It wasn’t like he had some sort of sixth sense about me.
“Which you two always seem to be.” Something curious traipsed through her demeanor, her head angling to the side in speculation.
“Because we live in a town the size of a shoe box. I’m in the same place with a whole lot of people a whole lot of the time.”
Okay, fine. It wasn’t that small. There were plenty of people here I hadn’t met before, especially since Time River had gone through a boom.
No surprise since in my humble opinion it was the most beautiful town in the country. I honestly couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
“Well, at any rate, it was good he was there. You aren’t exactly dressed for working on cars. You sure look beautiful, though.”
I always tried to dress up a little bit when I was in the restaurant since I was the owner.
I’d warred for a lot of years with my appearance, but I’d gotten over that a long time ago.
The comparison game.
Thinking I was less.
Sure, sometimes the scars from the taunts when I was younger got the best of me, and those insecurities still snuck up on me every once in a while, but not today. Because I did feel beautiful, and I freaking loved this dress. “Thanks, Mom.”