Sadie
I NEVER DID go back to my apartment. Ryder met with the manager and must have presented a very convincing case for me, because I was able to get out of my lease without any penalties.
Ryder invited me to move in with him, and although I was tempted way more than I’d care to admit, he must have used up all his magic with my apartment managers, because he was unable to persuade me. Instead, I moved in with Laura and Bethany, who had an extra bedroom and, although I shared a bathroom with Laura, our schedules were different enough to avoid conflicts.
My bedroom had been the “bonus room” in the house, large enough to fit the majority of my furniture. I didn’t have a whole lot, but I did have a few things that didn’t fit, so I stored them at Ryder’s.
Hatch was in the wind. No one knew where. We were still totally sideswiped that he’d managed to get away, but Cameron was investigating, and Ryder was confident he’d find him. Bennie was locked up for now and apparently, there was evidence and an eyewitness who could corroborate that he was the one grabbing girls from the club.
Michael did in fact turn out to be the FBI “plant,” however, only a handful of us were privy to that information. Michael… badass FBI agent and not a priest… I still couldn’t get my mind wrapped around that one. I didn’t even know for sure whether or not he was Catholic, but he preached with such conviction I knew his messages from the pulpit couldn’t have been far from his own personal beliefs. And even after everything that had gone down, his cover hadn’t been blown. Talk about a skilled (or very lucky) spy.
Scottie insisted on attending Taylor’s memorial service, so Ryder and I went with her. We kept to the back of the church, but when Taylor’s mother saw Scottie, there was all sorts of drama. She pointed a finger across the sanctuary and accused Scottie of dragging her daughter down the dark path that had taken her life. Ryder flipped out, which meant I got the joy of ushering him and Scottie out of the church before Ryder could tell Taylor’s mom what he thought of her in front of her friends and family.
Then my temper kicked in. “Can you believe the nerve of that woman?” I asked as Ryder drove us away from the church. “Cameron told her everything, and she still blames Scottie! Scottie, honey, none of this is your fault. In fact, I have half a mind to call her—after the service of course—and let her know—”
Ryder patted my leg, fighting a smile. “Babe. We’ll sort it out.”
I flopped back against the passenger seat and crossed my arms, but Ryder tugged my arms free so he could link his fingers with mine. “We’ll sort it out, baby.”
I sighed with a nod and forced myself to relax.
Scottie’s cast came off a few weeks later, and Ryder and I settled into a rather mundane routine. Not that I was complaining, because it was awesome now that he wasn’t stressed about his sister or working overtime to make sure girls weren’t getting abducted by his psycho father.
It was nice to do normal “couple” things like go out to dinner and a movie or play a game of pool (which I was getting pretty good at, if I do say so myself).
Thanksgiving was rapidly approaching and the plan was to invite my aunt and several of our friends over to Ryder’s. I couldn’t wait to cook with him in his home, especially when we’d be cooking for a huge group.
A few weeks later, I’d been home for less than an hour before my cell phone rang. I glanced at the screen and couldn’t help but smile. “Hi, honey.”
“You okay? You sound off.”
I bit back a yawn. “Yes, just tired.”
“Have you eaten?”
“No, why?”
“Because, I’m here to feed you, so come answer the door.”
“You’re here now?”
“Yeah. On the porch.”
I rushed downstairs and pulled open the door. “Hi,” I said, my day markedly better.
“Hey, baby. You look wiped.”
“I am.”
He held up bags of food and my stomach rumbled. “And starved.”
“Good thing I bought extra broccoli beef then.”
“Yes it is.” I followed him to the kitchen. “What are you doing here?”
“Had a lull, so I thought we might have dinner.”
“Have I mentioned how much I love lulls?”
Ryder chuckled and held his hand out to me. “Come here and kiss your man and then I’ll feed you.”
I went to him immediately, lifting my head for a kiss. He smiled against my lips, gave me one more gentle kiss then stroked my cheek. “Awake yet?”
“Most definitely.” I grabbed plates and dug into the food. “What time do you have to be back?”
“Not until ten.”
“I have you for a whole four hours?” I asked excitedly.
Ryder chuckled. “Yeah, baby, you do.”
“Did you bring the car?”
“Yep.”
“Feel like grocery shopping?” I asked. “I know it’s not particularly romantic—”
“Anything with you is romantic, Sadie,” he quipped.
“You’re such a good liar.”
He grinned as he set his plate at the table. “I’m happy to take you, honey.”
“This is why you’re my favorite.” I kissed him quickly and then sat at the table beside him. “Thank you.”
I’d gotten my driver’s license two or three weeks ago, but hadn’t yet found a car I liked, so was still bussing it to school unless Laura was going my way. Ryder generally picked me up after school and we’d either go to my place or his, but mornings were tougher for him. It wasn’t the ideal situation, but the plan was to look for a car this weekend, which I wanted to do about as much as having my eyeballs plucked out by crows. But, it couldn’t be put off any longer, so I had to just suck it up and deal.
I grabbed shopping bags and held them up. “Ready.”
“You’re drivin’.”
I grinned. “You make that sound like a bad thing. I love your car.”
He handed me the keys. “Then why don’t you keep it?”
“What?”
“Babe, you’ve looked at how many cars now?”
“I don’t know, around six.” He raised an eyebrow and I wrinkled my nose, adding with a grumble, “Twenty-six.” It was closer to twelve, but it felt like twenty-six.
“You hate everything except my car.”
“That’s probably because I can’t afford your car.”
Ryder chuckled. “So, borrow it during the week. I have the Harley and the truck, so I’m covered.”
“What about Scottie?”
“She’s got a car.”
“I know, but I don’t want her to feel like she’s stuck with a Honda while I get the Bimmer.”
Ryder pulled out his phone.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
Ryder put his phone on speaker.
“Hey, Ride,” Scottie said as she answered.
“Hey, sissy. If I loan Sadie the Bimmer indefinitely, do you care?”
“Why would I care? I have a car,” Scottie said.
“Just checkin’.”
Scottie chuckled. “Weird question, which leads me to believe it’s Sadie that’s asking. Tell her I really don’t care.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yeah, Sade, seriously.”
“Thanks, sissy,” Ryder said. “I’ll see you later.”
“’Bye.”
Ryder slipped his phone back in his pocket and grinned. “See?”
“I’ll take you up on that offer, honey. Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
He kissed me quickly. “My pleasure.”
“I haven’t been stalling so you’d loan me your car.”
“I know that, Sadie.”
“Just checking.”
Ryder laughed. “Baby, the day you’re able to play some kind of womanly game will be the day the world ends, so you never have to worry about what I think your motivations are.”
I climbed into the driver’s seat. “I should probably practice my womanly ways.”
“Don’t.” He slid in beside me and shook his head. “I love you just the way you are.”
“Because I can’t lie to you?”
“Yep.”
“Good to know.” I started the car and drove us to the store.
The rest of Ryder’s limited time with me was spent shopping and doing other general domestic chores. It was one of the best days I’d ever had.
* * *
Sadie
Friday morning, I had the blissful opportunity to sleep in for an extra half an hour and it was awesome. Even though I felt stressed driving in (it was my second time driving alone), at least I wasn’t stressed and tired.
By the time the end of day bell rang, I was surprised how quickly the time had flown by.
“Miss Ross?”
“Yes, Hayley.”
“There’s a man here.” Hayley pointed to the door and my heart skipped a beat to see Ryder standing in the doorway.
“Hey, honey,” he said.
“Is he your boyfriend?” Hayley asked.
“Yeah, honey, he is.”
“He’s super hot, Miss Ross.”
Ryder chuckled and I rolled my eyes.
Oh, nine-year-old girls who are going on twenty-one.
“Hayley, we really need to get out to the bus,” I said.
She grabbed her backpack and took one more wistful look at Ryder. “Okay, Miss Ross.”
“I’ll be back in a sec,” I said to Ryder.
He grinned. “Okay, honey.”
I gathered the kids and walked them outside, passing them off to Marci, who walked them down to the awaiting busses. I stepped back into my classroom and smiled at Ryder. “What are you doing here?”
He closed the distance between us and gave me a sweet but somewhat chaste kiss. “I’m whisking you away.”
“Oooh, that sounds amazing. Where?”
“Beach. You and I are gettin’ out of town for the night.”
He slid his arm around my waist. “We’ll stop at your place, pack a bag, then we’re on the road.”
“What about the bar?” I challenged.
“Reese is on it. And Ollie’s on Scottie duty.”
“Okey doke.” I followed Ryder to the car and we took off for home.