Delivered Through the Storm

by Nicole Garcia

  He folds his arms over his chest. “Oh now you want to know my secret?”

  “C’mon, tell me.”

  “The secret is to roast them with apples and bacon. That way you get both the sweet and salty flavor. What did you think, I was going to give you some boiled, unseasoned, boring brussels sprouts like our mothers used to make?”

  I laugh. “Your mom used to make them like that too?”

  “The smell was awful.”

  “Agreed.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ryder

  Looking at her across the table in the candlelight with the soft glow dancing over flawless skin gives me a warm feeling inside. She’s so radiant and for the life of me I can’t understand how any man in his right mind would give her up. Her ex-husband has to be the stupidest motherfucker in the world. I don’t plan on being that dumb. I know what I have in front of me and she’s too special a woman to lose. I never thought I’d be ready to settle down with anyone. I was pretty much ready to live the rest of my life alone and only having meaningless sex. That was until the day I literally crashed into this house. One look into Madison’s eyes and I knew I was home.

  Her boys are amazing too. I wouldn’t mind spending every single night in front of the television holding Caleb in my arms while Aiden snuggled in my lap. In fact, that’s exactly how it was last week when they were on vacation. We’d watch a movie as Madison fixed us dessert in the kitchen. A few times we’d fallen asleep before we had a chance to eat it. By the time the week was over I’d gotten so comfortable with them it never dawned on me I had to go home. They weren’t my family, but shit there’s nothing I want more now.

  “You okay?” Madison’s cerulean gaze searches my face, her brows furrowed into a deep V. “Ryder?”

  I smile, taking her hand in mine to place a kiss on her palm. “Yeah. C’mon, I have a surprise for you.” I pull her up to stand and guide her toward the back door. “Wait here, I’ll get your coat and boots.”

  “What do you have up those sneaky sleeves of yours Ryder Storm?”

  “If I told you then it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?” After helping her into her coat and boots, I have her turn toward me. “Cover your eyes.”

  “Cover my eyes?”

  “Yes, cover them.” When she does I tilt her head up and gently brush my lips over hers in a ghost of a kiss.

  “Was that the surprise?”

  A low chuckle escapes my throat. “No.”

  “Because I’d totally be okay with that if it were.”

  I kiss the tip of her nose. “Keep your eyes closed.” When I open the door onto the patio a gust of cold air blows into the kitchen, bringing a healthy dusting of snow along with it. Her golden hair is veiled in hundreds of sparkling white flakes and I smile at how beautiful she is even from the back. I lower my eyes to curve of her hips then to her ass. Oh yeah, she is definitely beautiful from the back.

  “Ryder it’s getting cold.”

  “Sorry Peaches.” Closing the distance between us, I wind my arms around her waist. She starts to lower her hands and I whisper in her ear as my growing erection presses into her lower back. “Keep those eyes covered.”

  Her breath hitches and she shivers. “Is that the surprise?” She asks, referring to my aching cock that is getting so hard it’s becoming painful.

  I take a step back because If I continue to stand behind her, I’ll burst any second. “No smarty pants that is not the surprise. Well, not now anyway.” I take her by the elbows, guiding her out the door and onto the patio. “Open.”

  Her eyes go wide, her jaw slack with surprise. She looks around the small backyard, then above her head. “Ryder, it’s beautiful.”

  The twinkling white Christmas lights wrapped around the steel garden archway dims in comparison to the sparkle in her eyes. She takes a few steps away from me as she surveys her surroundings. While she was gone this afternoon I not only cooked her dinner, but I also decorated the entire backyard with hundreds, maybe even thousands of lights. I twined them around the trunks of the trees, the fence, and the patio furniture. Okay, it wasn’t the best job, but I was in a rush to get everything done in time. Besides, the haphazard way I put them up makes them look even more beautiful. The snow falling is also an added unexpected cool element.

  Stepping off the slate patio and onto the snow covered grass, she tilts her back and lifts her arms as she spins. “It’s like a winter wonderland.”

  I lean against the archway, drinking in the scene in front of me. If I thought she couldn’t get any more beautiful than I already thought she was, boy I was wrong. Her long hair floats on the frosty breeze, shimmering in the glow of the lights. The smile on her face is breathtaking and the small giggle she lets out brings a satisfied grin to my own. “You like it?”

  She runs over to me, smashing her body against mine. “I love it.”

  She squeezes my waist so tight I can barely breath, yet she still isn’t close enough for me. I wrap my arms around her, holding her in an unbreakable embrace. I inhale the familiar scent of sweet peaches that is now branded in my memory. I will never forget this moment for as long as I live, and I hope she doesn’t either. The second she tries to step away from me, I slowly push her back and grip the cold steel of the archway, caging her in. A few of the lights are stabbing the palms of my hands, but I don’t care. I don’t want her to move from this spot. She’s not going anywhere until I see her face flush from my touch and hear her pleading whimpers in my ears.

  She peers up at me with a questioning gaze. “What are you doing?”

  I dip my head to her neck, brushing the thick fur of her hood away with my nose until my lips touch her warm skin. I lower my hand and bunch one side of her dress up while my other hand finds its way to the silky fabric of her panties. “I think you know what I’m doing.”

  “Ryder is it’s so cold. We should go inside.”

  I slide my hand into her panties and suck her bottom lip into my mouth. I flash her a wicked grin. “This won’t take long.” My finger barely skims over her already swollen clit before I slowly delve it into her pussy. Her soft moan grabs me by the balls, causing them to ache in a way that if I don’t get a reprieve soon, I’ll explode without even being inside her. I thrust two fingers inside her hard and slow. If I have to suffer than she’s going suffer right along with me. The more she grinds her hips seeking a faster pace, the slower and harder I go. I push a third finger into her soaked pussy and she throws her head back.

  “Ah.”

  I chuckle into the curve of her neck, gently nipping the skin. “I told you this wouldn’t take long.” I palm her ass, pulling her close to me while I work her into a heated frenzy as I stroke her clit with the pad of my thumb. Her tight walls clench around my fingers and she shudders, coating my hand with her release. I pull my fingers out and furiously claim her mouth with mine. I’m so fucking overheated; my skin sizzling as the falling snow hits my skin.

  She blinks her heavy lids as a satisfied grin pulls at the corners of her mouth. “Your turn.”

  “Fuck yeah it is.” I reach for the buckle of my pants, unfastening it and pull down my zipper.

  The playful glint in her eyes doesn’t escape me as she reaches behind her. Before I have a chance to question what she’s doing, she pulls the elastic waistband of my boxer briefs and shoves a handful of snow from the archway into the cotton fabric. The icy flakes shock my raging hard on into submission and I both curse and laugh into the frigid air. “Fuck!” She takes off running into the backyard but can’t get far in that flimsy dress and oversized snow boots. I catch up to her in a few strides and grab her by the waist, tickling her. I throw her over my shoulder and she squeals a protest as I walk us back toward the house. I smack her hard on her ass. “Now, it’s war.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Madison

  I struggle to take the frozen turkey out of the freezer. I really don’t have the energy to do this right now. Not after the night crazy hot night Ryder
and I spent together. He’s still sleeping and so are the boys. So, here I am lifting this dreadfully heavy, big as a boulder bird so the boys, Tyler and I can have a nice dinner tomorrow. Does it matter that it’s only seven o’clock in the morning? Nope, it doesn’t because I know this damn thing has to defrost for at least an entire day before we can cook it.

  “Mommy?”

  I turn around, nearly losing my grasp and dropping the turkey right on my foot. “Yeah hon?”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Taking this out for Thanksgiving tomorrow. You don’t want to eat a frozen turkey for dinner do you?”

  “Ew gross.”

  “Why don’t you go back to bed, it’s still early.”

  Aiden rubs his sleepy eyes and shuffles his feet along the kitchen floor. He climbs on a stool and sits. “I’m not tired anymore.”

  “Why is everyone up so..?” Ryder’s voice trails off as he hurriedly makes his way to me, grabbing the turkey out of my arms. “Why didn't you wake me up to help you Madison?” He easily carries it to the sink and places it inside before giving me an annoyed glance.

  I take a clean dish towel out of the drawer and wipe my cold, wet fingers. “You were sleeping. I didn't want to bother you.”

  “You never bother me.”

  “Ryder are you cooking the turkey for us tomorrow?”

  “Aiden! Ryder is not your personal chef. Besides I think he’d rather spend Thanksgiving with his own family.” I quickly glance at Ryder sitting on the stool across from Ryder and see a hint of disappointment cross his face. I hadn’t even given what I said a second thought until I looked at him just know. “It’s not that I don’t want you here Ryder, I do. I just thought you’d rather spend the holiday with your mom and brothers.” Ryder and I have spent plenty of nights talking about our families, or in my case, a lack thereof. It was only logical for me to think he’d want to be with his family tomorrow.

  “I’m not going to my mother’s this year. She’s going to my brother Wyatt’s in-laws. I was invited but I’m gonna spend the day with Quito. His sister is flying in with her best friend. We’ll probably go out to dinner or something. Quito’s mother has the flu, so the whole family will have a do over Thanksgiving when she’s better.”

  “Have Thanksgiving here with us Ryder. Uncle Tyler is coming.”

  “I don’t think…”

  I place my hand on his forearm. “Yeah, spend the day with us tomorrow. I mean you’re here anyway, you might as well stay.” I wink playfully.

  He chuckles. “I’d love too, but I made plans with Quito.”

  “Then break your plans and make new ones. Invite him and his sister here instead.”

  “No Madison. I don’t think that would be a good...”

  Disappointment twists in my stomach and it’s obviously written all over my face because he stops talking to survey my expression. Is he embarrassed by me so much that he doesn’t want his friends and family to meet me? Maybe he is. Maybe I’m not up to his friend’s standards of the kind of woman Ryder should be with. After all, who would want their best friend to meet his mother of two, divorcee girlfriend. Yeah, he’s definitely ashamed of me. I lower my head feeling utterly deflated and take the coffee grinds out of the overhead cabinet to busy myself.

  “Aiden, why don’t you go brush your teeth and make your bed while your mom and I talk a minute, okay”

  Aiden jumps off the seat. “Okay.”

  I take a deep breath, holding back the sob that desperately wants to escape my throat. I can’t cry. I will not cry. I inwardly scoff. Here I thought I was actually important to him; that my kids were important to him. Well, I guess we didn’t mean as much to him as he had me believe. This fact makes me want to cry even more and I can feel the tears beginning to well in my eyes, my vision becoming blurry with hurt. With my heart breaking in two I try to brush past him. “I...I should go help him.”

  He blocks my path, lifting my chin with his finger. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  I bite the side of my cheek and avert my eyes, doing my best to hide the agony bubbling deep in my gut. “Nothing. I should really go help Aiden.”

  “I think Aiden can handle it on his own. Talk to me.”

  “Maybe you should go home Ryder.” I say wryly, pushing past him again.

  He grabs me by the elbow, spinning me around to face him. “Oh no you don’t. You’re not going to tell me to leave and not give me an explanation why.”

  Observing my face with a sympathetic gaze, he seems to inspect every line, every pore of my skin until a small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. He frames my face with calloused, tattooed hands and regardless of how I feel, my body betrays me by shuddering under his gentle touch. “Oh Peaches, did you think that I didn’t want my friends to meet you?”

  Crossing my arms over my chest and being downright annoyed that he was able to read me so easily, I lie. “No.”

  He chuckles. “Yes you did.”

  His levity at the situation is only making me angry, the sadness I felt only seconds ago now depleting. “I’m glad you think it’s funny.”

  “I find it funny that after everything we’ve shared you can stand there and think that. You should know me well enough by now that I don’t care what anyone thinks. I know we haven’t been together long, but you and the boys mean the world to me and I would be proud to introduce you all to my family. I was turning you down because I don’t want to burden you with extra guests when you already have so much to worry about. It was not because I’m embarrassed of you.”

  “If your friends are important to you, then they’re important to me Ryder. You are never a burden to me or the boys. You’ve done so much for us. The least I can do is have a few of your friends over for dinner.”

  “So, this is a pity invitation.”

  I smile. “Maybe.”

  He places a tender kiss on the tip of my nose and grins. “Well, thank you for your kind offer. Can you make me some coffee now please?”

  Aiden rounds the corner half carrying, half dragging Caleb into the kitchen. “We brushed our teeth.”

  Ryder bends down, picking Caleb up, and the baby lays his tired head on Ryder’s bare shoulder. And there go my ovaries again. I swear I can hear them screaming, ‘Awww, look at them. Aren’t they the cutest thing in the world?’ Get a grip Mad. You do not need any more children at the moment. Maybe ever. As I watch Ryder take Caleb’s sippy cup out of the dish rack and place it on the counter, my heart does a little flip. He would make a wonderful father. Switching the baby to his left arm, he pulls the milk out of the refrigerator and pours it in the plastic Cookie Monster cup. I hold out my arms to take the baby, but he adjusts him and places a kiss on top of Caleb’s head. “No, I got him. Why don’t you go shower and we’ll go out for breakfast today. I’ll get the boys ready.” He opens the container of chocolate powder mix and grabs a spoon from the drawer, scooping some in the milk. He stirs it, puts the spoon in the sink and twists the cover back on the cup. He is doing all this one handed while holding Caleb in his other arm and I have to say I’m impressed. Handing sleepy Caleb his cup, he settles him on the couch to watch cartoons on the television.

  “Aiden, go pick out clothes for you and Caleb so we can get ready while we wait for mom to get out of the shower.”

  “Ryder you go take a shower first. I can wait.” I insist.

  “No you go ahead. I took one last night. I can wait until we get back. We have to go out soon if I’m going to be making dinner tomorrow. The supermarket will be a disaster zone.”

  Aiden jumps up and down excitedly. “Ryder is cooking dinner tomorrow?”

  “Yeah I am little man.”

  Aiden puts his hand to the side of his mouth, trying to whisper to Ryder. “Good, ‘cause mommy’s turkey is dry.” He says the last word in two syllables for emphasis.

  I place my hands on my hips. “Hey! I heard that.”

  Aiden shrugs. “Sorry mom, it’s true.”

  Ryder laughs. “Let
’s go get ready.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Ryder

  Turkey in the oven; check. Side dishes prepared; check. Called mom to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving; check. Called Quito to wake him up and start cooking the food he was bringing; check. Called Mercedes so she could wake Quito up a second time because I know his lazy ass didn’t get up the first time; check. I go over the mental list I made in my head over and over again. I feel like I’m missing something, but I can’t figure out what it is. I’m fucking stressing out. This is the first time I’ll be hosting a family dinner on my own. Not that I can’t do it, because I can. Between my mother and Mrs. Perez I’ve learned more than any culinary school could ever teach me. I’m just so damn nervous about Madison meeting my friends. They can be a little...rambunctious at times. I don’t want her day to be chaotic. Being a single mom worrying about her boys is hard enough on her already. I want her to have a nice, quiet day. Yeah, like that was going to happen with Tyler, Quito, Mercedes, and Raven being here under one roof. I slam my hand to my forehead. “Fuck! Raven.” I completely forgot I offered to pick her up at the airport so Quito and Mercedes could go see their mom for a quick visit.

  I pick up my phone from the counter looking at the time and Raven’s plane lands in thirty minutes. “Shit!” It’s going to take twice as long to get there, especially with all the holiday traffic. I slide my thumb across the screen and search for Raven’s name in the contact list.

  “Hey Ryder. I was just going to call you.”

  “I know I’m late. I’m leaving now. Just wait there for me when you land. Hopefully the traffic…”

  “Ryder slow down, I’m here already.”

  “You are? I thought your plane landed in a half hour.”

  “Originally it did, but I took an earlier flight. I wanted to go see mommy with Quito and Mercedes before we left for your house.”