Falling Into Love (Paradise Place Book 5)

by Natalie Ann

  “That’s good,” he said.

  “In the house, kids,” she said. “Let’s wash you up and get the dogs in the crate and then we can take off.”

  “Can we eat lunch there?” Jeffrey asked.

  “I’m not sure if they have a place for lunch there,” she said. “But maybe when we are done.” She leaned closer to Ryan while the kids were washing their hands. “Don’t feel obligated to stay if you don’t want to.”

  “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

  “No. Of course not. I just don’t want you to feel like you have to stay with us all day either.”

  “I’ve got no plans. Besides, I want some apple pie.”

  She smiled and gave him a quick kiss while the kids were in the bathroom. He took that as a sign that it was all he was getting for the moment. He’d have to be content with it.

  Thirty minutes later they were making their way across the apple orchard with bags in their hands to fill up. Each kid had a small bag and Shannon had a larger one. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all these apples. I guess I’ll be making a bunch of pies and freezing some. Maybe apple sauce too. The kids love apples but not enough to eat a few a day. I hope you’ll take some home,” she said to Ryan.

  “We’ll see. Figure out what you need first.”

  The kids were picking apples close to the ground, what they could reach, which wasn’t much. Shannon picked Maddie up and held her over her head to get a few.

  “Pick me up,” Jeffrey said to him.

  “How about one better?” He grabbed Shannon’s son and put him over his head onto his shoulders. “There you go, now you can get all sorts of them. Hand me your bag and you can drop them in. Just don’t drop any on my head.”

  Jeffrey giggled and started to reach and grab for apples while Ryan kept one hand on the boy’s leg. Shannon looked over and smiled. Not even nervous, which was a good thing. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her son.

  “Mommy,” Maddie said. “Put me on your shoulders too.”

  “I’m not as strong as Ryan,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to hold your bag because I’d be holding your legs.”

  “I want to be on someone’s shoulders though,” Maddie said and she looked like she wanted to cry.

  “How about I go see about getting one of those ladders over there. Then you can be on my shoulders and we can let Jeffrey climb the ladder and get even higher.”

  “Ryan,” Shannon said. He knew he probably overstepped himself

  “Yes,” Jeffrey said. “I want to learn to climb a ladder. You climb one at work, don’t you?”

  Shannon was giving him the stink eye and he was trying to figure out a way to get out of this. “We’ll try it. Jeffrey, you need to get down while Ryan gets a ladder though.”

  She pulled Jeffrey off and he went over to get a ladder next to a tree no one was using. Once he had it propped open and locked in place, he put Maddie on his shoulders and held onto her legs with both hands knowing Shannon was going to be nervous.

  Then Jeffrey climbed up the stepladder with Shannon’s hands hovering around his back. They hooked the big bag for apples on the ladder and one by one they were filling it up.

  “Not so bad,” he said to her.

  “I need to loosen up. I know. But they are so little and not used to doing things like this.”

  He figured as much. What small amount he knew about Tyler Wilder was that the man sat behind a desk and liked to hike. He obviously loved his wife and kids, but Ryan knew if the two men were in a room they’d be night and day and have very little to talk about, he was sure.

  Once all three of their bags were filled, he was carrying the big one, Jeffrey one small one and Shannon the other while she held Maddie’s hand.

  When they got to the bakery to get their bags weighed and paid, Jeffrey started looking at the goodies. “Can we get some cookies and muffins?”

  “Want me to take them there while you stay in line to pay for the apples? Or we can switch and I’ll stand here and you take them for goodies?”

  “Divide and conquer. I like the way your brain works. Do you mind staying here? I’m afraid you might not tell them no and have them picking out the whole case.”

  “That’s part of the fun of coming here,” he said.

  “Exactly what I figured.”

  She moved off with the kids while he stood in line. “Your children are adorable,” an older woman said. “What a beautiful family you’ve got.”

  “Oh, they’re not my kids.” He never thought those words would come out of his mouth. Or the next ones of, “They’re my girlfriend’s kids.”

  “Well, they sure do seem taken with you.”

  “Yeah, they do,” he said.

  Shannon came back with the kids and a bag in her hand. He hadn’t gotten to the register yet. “We got you a big chocolate half-moon cookie,” Jeffrey said. “I got one too. Because they are the closest things to big Oreos and you said you like Oreos like me, so we each get one.”

  “That was very thoughtful of you,” he said to Jeffrey and didn’t realize how something so simple could touch him so deeply.

  18

  Judge Her

  Shannon was cleaning the kitchen up after lunch when her phone rang.

  She reached over and grabbed it to see John facetiming. “Hey, what are you doing calling me on a Sunday morning? Morning your time.”

  “I need to wish my Godson happy birthday.”

  “It’s not until tomorrow,” she reminded him.

  “I know that, but he’ll be in school by the time I’m up and I didn’t want to get caught up in work and then he’ll be in bed.”

  “I’m just picking on you. Hang on, he’s on the deck with the dogs.” She opened the door and called Jeffrey in. “Uncle John is on the phone to talk to you.”

  She turned it around so that Jeffrey could see the phone and talk. “Hi, Uncle John. Look at Oreo. He’s getting so big. And he eats a lot and he farts. They are really, really stinky.”

  Figures her son would have to share the dog’s bodily functions. “And there’s two of them,” John said.

  “Taffy’s are more stinky than Oreo’s,” Jeffrey said. “Mom was gagging the other night and looking to see if there was a mess on the floor.”

  “All right, Jeffrey,” she said but heard John laughing.

  “I wanted to wish you happy birthday. I know it’s tomorrow, but I might miss you with the time change. Your gift will be delivered tomorrow so tell Mom to watch out for it.”

  “I will. What did you get me?”

  “You’re just going to have to wait and see. What have you been doing lately?”

  “We went apple picking yesterday and Mom made three pies last night and Ryan took one home. He had me on his shoulders and on the ladder.”

  “Ryan?” John asked. “Who’s that?”

  “Jeffrey, why don’t you take Oreo back on the deck with Maddie and Zoe.” She took the phone out of his hand and went to her office.

  “Who’s Ryan?” John asked.

  She had to decide what she was going to tell Tyler’s best friend. The man that was like a brother to her.

  Would he judge her? Would he be mad?

  She’d been trying to avoid this as much as she could.

  “He’s the builder.”

  “And he went apple picking with you?” John asked. “That’s extending services a little bit beyond the scope of construction.”

  “We’ve been dating, John.”

  There was a pause on the other line. “Really?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry. I hadn’t planned on it. It just sort of happened.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” John said. “It’s just a little hard to take in. I wasn’t expecting it. Or that the kids would know.”

  “You know I put the kids first. I always have and always will. But they met him prior to us dating. He showed us around the house when we got to town. And Jeffrey had all these questions and said that he was the man of
the house but didn’t know how to do anything. The Butlers brought over a housewarming gift and Ryan had them give Jeffrey a little tool bag because he said he didn’t have tools either.”

  “So he knew where to aim. Are you sure he isn’t looking at you as some easy conquest?”

  She wanted to get mad over that question but expected it. “No. He’s not. I asked him out. I ran into him at the picnic they have here in the development. He helped me carry things back to the car. Then Jeffrey asked him to show him how to use the tools when he thanked him. He came over and helped Jeffrey build a birdhouse. It just kind of evolved from there.”

  “Are you happy?”

  “I am. I’m going to love Tyler for the rest of my life.” She felt the tears start to fill her eyes. She held them back so much it seemed. “But even you said it was good for me to move. That I’d never be able to go forward with my life if I stayed there with all those memories.”

  She and John had talked about this for so long and he’d agreed and had encouraged her. If he didn’t approve of her dating she wasn’t sure what she’d do.

  She wouldn’t stop seeing Ryan, but she’d be hurt too. She’d be hurt that maybe she was hurting John.

  “I know. But you’ve only been there a few months and...I don’t know. Abby is giving me the stink eye right now because she’s been listening to us talk.”

  Shannon loved John’s wife and missed her. They still texted several times a week, but she hadn’t confided in Abby about Ryan either. She hadn’t wanted John to hear it from anyone but her.

  “I don’t want to hurt anyone. I wasn’t even ready for this. I think it just happened. The kids love him. He’s nothing like Tyler and it’s hard for me but still...”

  “No. I get it. We agreed that we were both enabling each other and our grief. It’s just a shock. You know I need to meet him.”

  “I know. He’s busy with work so there is no way that I can see him flying to Seattle when I need to go.”

  “Abby and I planned on coming to see you at some point. Maybe we’ll come for Thanksgiving.” She saw him turn his head on the screen, then Abby popped over behind him. “We’ll be there for Thanksgiving. I’m sure your parents are flying in too, but if you’ll have us we’ll be there.”

  “Yes,” she said. “Definitely.”

  She heard feet running down the hall and Jeffrey’s voice yelling, “Mom. Where are you? When’s Ryan coming?”

  “So he’ll be there today for Jeffrey’s little birthday dinner?”

  “Jeffrey really likes Ryan and wanted him here.”

  “Ouch,” John said. “Abby just hit me. Fine. I won’t say anymore. But I plan on meeting him in November.”

  “I’ll let him know.”

  “Go answer Jeffrey and then I want to talk to you about that email you forwarded me the other day.”

  “Hang on.” She put the phone down. “Jeffrey, I’m in here. Ryan will be here around three. I told you that. Once I’m off the phone with Uncle John I’m going to finish your cake and then we can watch a movie or something.”

  “Football,” Jeffrey said. “I want to watch football.”

  “Fine,” she said. “Go turn the TV on then and get settled before it comes on. I’m back.”

  “Just like his father, always wanting to watch sports.”

  “It’s still baseball season so every night we have to watch the Mets. Harris Walker lives in the development. That’s the clinic I’ve been taking Jeffrey to. Actually he’s married to Ryan’s cousin.”

  “Wow. Jeffrey has to love that.”

  “He does. Harris is just a person to him now. It’s kind of neat. I didn’t know who he was. You know me, I don’t follow sports.”

  “Yep. You’d rather bake or cook than watch sports. We always appreciated the food during the games though. Anyway, you didn’t answer Walt back, did you?”

  “No. I didn’t know what to say. That’s why I forwarded it to you.”

  “There is no reason to respond to it. I’ll take care of it. He’s trying to appeal to your tender side. He knows where to point and shoot. He’s going to blame his relapse on Tyler’s death. He always thought Tyler and he were closer than they were.”

  “Tyler had a hard time saying no to people. He wanted to help everyone out he could. I’m not sure what his soft spot was with Walt.”

  “I don’t know if he had one as much as he just thought maybe the guy was down on his luck and he could bring him around. Walt was a good programmer. One of our best. He started out with us early on. I don’t think it was anything more than a little bit of loyalty for all the time Walt put in in those early years.”

  Walt had made comments in the past about starting to drink because of all the stress and hours he worked. She wondered if John knew that. “Did Walt blame you guys for his addiction?”

  “Yes. He tried to say we caused it, but he was drinking and popping pills recreationally long before us. Don’t let him get in your head. And don’t answer him. I’ll deal with it. Do you hear me?”

  “I do. I’ll forward anything else he sends me your way. I promise.”

  “Okay. Go finish Jeffrey’s cake. His gift will be there tomorrow. We love you, Shannon. Take care.”

  “I will. I love you guys too and I can’t wait to see you in a few months.”

  She disconnected the call and then went to the kitchen. She could see Maddie and Jeffrey watching cartoons. The dogs were on their beds sleeping. Zoe was in the kitchen. She’d been keeping an eye on the kids while Shannon was trying to get everything out to bake Jeffrey’s chocolate cake.

  “How was John when you told him about Ryan?”

  “Fine. Shocked but accepting. I wasn’t sure how he’d be. They’re coming for Thanksgiving. They want to meet him if we are still together.”

  “You will be,” Zoe said quietly, trying to mimic her tone so the kids didn’t hear. “Mom and Dad will be here too. Have you told them about Ryan?”

  “No. I should. Jeffrey is liable to say something just like he did to John. I should go call them now, don’t you think? Before they call to talk to Jeffrey tomorrow.”

  “That might be the smart thing. They’ll be happy for you, you know that. Then they will call me to get the scoop on him. Don’t worry. I’ll say only good things.” Zoe leaned in closer. “Like how he makes you blush when he takes his shirt off.”

  She waved her hand at her sister. “Stop it. Don’t talk like that in front of him either. I can’t believe you even took that picture yesterday.”

  “Come on. It was a hot picture.”

  “Yes, it was.” And she wasn’t admitting she looked at it multiple times when she was alone in her room last night.

  19

  Defending Me

  “So, when were you going to tell us you were dating someone?”

  Ryan turned to see his mother and father standing in his doorway. Interesting. His mother rarely came into the office. His father and Uncle Michael were here often as they still worked but not as much as the rest of them.

  His father and Uncle Michael were more into buying the properties and dealing with the lawyers and city, things like that. Trying to expand where Christian, Evan, and he did the day-to-day building.

  “Did Whitney tell you?” he asked his mother who’d asked the question.

  “Whitney knows?” his mother said loudly. Loud enough that he’d heard Whitney laugh in the office next door. She was probably moving over to join the interrogation too.

  “Yes, I knew,” Whitney said, “but Ryan asked me not to say anything. Give him hell. It’s fun to watch.”

  “How do you know?” he asked his mother again. His father was just grinning at him.

  “We all live in the same development. Plenty have mentioned a certain SUV with Washington State plates in your driveway, then your truck in hers.”

  “What’s the big deal?” he asked.

  “Nothing other than your mother is thrilled,” his father said. “You know you never date an
yone. Or anyone she cares to meet. Definitely not a single mother. A widow. How is that going?”

  It’d been a few weeks since Jeffrey’s birthday. Since he’d helped Jeffrey learn to ride the bike that John Mann had delivered the next day. Shannon had tried, but the kid was terrified of falling.

  When Ryan showed up a few days later, Jeffrey asked him to teach him. So he took the kid on the lawn and said if he fell it wouldn’t hurt as much. It didn’t take more than a day and the kid had the hang of it.

  “It’s going good. Why?”

  “I didn’t know you liked kids,” his mother said.

  “Whatever gave you the indication that I didn’t?”

  There just weren’t any young kids in the family so he didn’t know one way or another, but he found himself enjoying the time with Jeffrey and teaching him things as much as he did the time with Shannon and teaching her things.

  She said she was letting loose like never before. He wasn’t sure how to take that. To him she wasn’t doing much out of the ordinary and he had to wonder how mundane her life had been.

  It seemed to him all she did was work and care for her family. She never asked him for anything, no help, nothing. Not when it came to the house or the kids.

  He was coming to understand she wanted to do it on her own, even if she wasn’t sure how to, she’d figure it out.

  For a guy that grew up helping his family and protecting his sister, he was a little frustrated over Shannon’s independence but knew enough not to push things.

  Her job and family took up a lot of her time, but she found time for him too.

  His father shrugged and looked at his mother. He could see she wanted to ask more but was thinking her words through. He didn’t like to be questioned over anything.

  He’d been lectured enough in his life over his temper and moodiness. As he’d gotten older they laid off of him and he made sure he was on his best behavior when they were around.