“You’ve been having trouble sleeping?” Instead of looking offended, her eyes held a touch of concern.
That would change in a heartbeat if she knew the reason he couldn’t sleep was because she had been dancing through his thoughts wearing nothing but the thick eyeglasses she’d worn back in high school. Old memories blended with new ones he’d like to make. The combination was distracting, to say the least.
“Well, then I’m glad I stopped by. I’m inviting you both over for dinner. I put on a crock-pot of chili before I left today and it’s going to be amazing. I’m even making some cornbread muffins to go with it. How hard can it be to screw those up? It’s the box stuff.”
“I’ve never had chili. Will I like it?” Wesley frowned.
“You’ll love it.” She winked. “Especially when it comes with ice cream sundaes after.”
“Way to negate the warm, cozy meal thing you had going there,” Ryan grinned.
“Maybe you won’t get any ice cream then, Mister.” She stuck out the tip of her pert little tongue.
If Wesley wasn’t there to chaperone, Ryan would have tasted that delicious looking tongue with his own.
Bree leaned over the counter and rested a hand on top of the one holding his cup of coffee. Her warm breath tickled his ear as she spoke.
“Perhaps you’d have better luck sleeping at night if you laid off the coffee in the late afternoon.” She patted his hand and flounced out the door.
Flounced. There was no other way to describe it. The Bree he’d known in high school did not flirt. She had no clue how attractive she was. That’s what drew him to her to begin with. This new Bree was far different, and Ryan was falling even harder and faster than he did back in high school. He watched the sway of her hips as she stepped off the sidewalk and marched toward her car. He was starting to want Bree Adams more than he’d wanted a career in football. And that was saying a lot.
Chapter 9
The sound of laughter and conversation floated to her from the living room. A man and his son bonding. It felt good to know she had some small role in that, even if she knew they would have found their way to each other eventually. After all, it was the high school quarterback who drew a lonely bookworm out of her shell and convinced her that she was worthy of someone’s time and attention.
Bree slipped an oven mitt onto her hand and pulled the cornbread muffins out to set on top of the stove. Golden on the top. Cady would be proud. She reached into the cupboard beside the sink and snagged some ceramic bowls for the chili.
Calling the two in for dinner, her smile was a little dreamy, a little hopeful. Sure, Ryan still planned to sell the hardware store and move back to California. But a lot had happened since he’d come back to Scallop Shores. Part of that being her newly gained sense of confidence.
When he’d left the first time, she hadn’t the courage to fight for him, to convince him that she was the one that could make him happy. She wasn’t certain she had the courage now, but Bree knew in her heart she had to try. Fate had given them a second chance and she owed it to both of them to try.
“Bree, it smells great in here.”
Ryan stepped up as though he meant to kiss her. Like it was the most natural thing in the world to do. He stopped just shy of doing so, the look on his face slightly stunned. She imagined she wore the mirror image on her own features as they stood facing each other awkwardly.
“Yeah, I can’t wait to try it.” Wesley seemed to have missed the exchange, having gone straight to the sink to wash up before sitting down at the table to wait for the adults.
“Thank you,” she mumbled, holding her breath until Ryan moved away.
Bree filled a basket with muffins and set it in the center of the table with a plastic tub of margarine. She poured a glass of milk for everyone then spooned out bowlfuls of chili. Setting her napkin in her lap, she watched them take their first bites.
Martha Stewart she wasn’t, but every woman should have one dish that they could make in their sleep and feel good about. This was hers. With her mother working full time and three little brothers to feed, Bree had gotten a lot of practice with her chili recipe.
“This hits the spot. I love it.” Ryan’s compliment came out on a low rumble that she could feel to the tips of her toes.
“It’s not too spicy. I thought it would be like the Texas chili cook-offs I hear about,” Wesley spoke between eager bites.
“Oh, I’m afraid I’m not as adventurous as that. Maybe we can experiment next time, amp up the spice and see what we can handle, hmm?” She grinned at the little boy.
“Can I help make it?”
“Absolutely.”
“And maybe we can make the cornbread muffins from scratch,” Wesley added.
“Well, let’s not go crazy there.” One thing that had never rubbed off from hanging out with Cady was her baking skills. The less time spent baking, the better.
For a meal that had spent the better part of a day simmering in the crock-pot, it was gobbled up in less than ten minutes flat. But Bree couldn’t have been more pleased. Sitting across the table from Ryan, she watched his easy smile as he listened intently to Wesley describe a classmate’s visit to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando.
Her mom would probably find it quite ironic that she chose to move out of her childhood home in order to have her own space. A place where she didn’t have to cook for anyone else or care for children that weren’t her own. And yet she found herself doing just that for Ryan and Wesley. Volunteering it even.
Okay, so over-volunteering was something she’d intended to work on this year. But Bree decided Ryan was officially exempt from that. She enjoyed spending time with Wesley. Even more so when they were all together ... almost like a family.
“I believe I promised someone an ice cream sundae if he ate all his dinner,” she sang out during a lull in the conversation.
“I did eat it. I did!”
“But in order to earn it, you and I need to clear off the table, rinse the plates and load the dishwasher for Bree.” Ryan nodded at his son’s empty bowl and milk glass.
She gave the man points for teaching his son manners. Pushing her chair back from the table, she allowed them to take her bowl away. Clearly they had an established routine at home because they worked together seamlessly, never getting in each other’s way.
Once the table had been cleared and wiped down, Bree got out some smaller plastic bowls and spoons. She had some chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and even a jar of maraschino cherries she’d picked up on impulse at Dade’s Grocery last week. She hoped they liked Cookie Dough ice cream. It was her favorite.
After dessert, Bree suggested a board game. It wasn’t terribly late and she was suddenly reluctant to spend the rest of her evening in a quiet apartment with just a book to keep her company. She wasn’t sure if Wesley was old enough to catch on to Monopoly and she immediately ruled out Trivial Pursuit. But it turned out he kicked butt at Clue—which he did, three times before Ryan finally told him it was time to get ready for bed.
Bree returned the board game to the hall closet while Ryan and Wesley gathered their coats and put on their shoes. She’d really enjoyed herself and she hoped they had too. Joining them at the door, her mind was already racing ahead, trying to come up with another reason to have them both over again. Was that pushy? Perhaps she should wait and see if Ryan invited her over for dinner next.
“Hey, buddy, here’s the key. Let yourself in, change into your PJs and brush your teeth. I’ll let you have thirty minutes of reading time before lights out, okay?”
“Aren’t you coming home?”
“Right behind ya. I just wanted to talk to Bree for a minute.”
Wesley started to brush past the adults then turned back and wrapped his arms around Bree. He was so slight, but he had a tight grip. Looking at Ryan over the top of the boy’s head, her eyes misted. She hadn’t thought, or expected to mean so much to him. Though it was little wonder, as he’d come to mea
n just as much to her.
“Thank you for dinner and the game,” he mumbled against her stomach before hurrying off to the apartment next door.
“You lock your door when you leave, even just to come over here?” She teased Ryan once they were alone.
“Old habits. Scallop Shores is so different from our condo in California. I’ve missed this laid back lifestyle. It killed me having to coach Wes to be suspicious of strangers, to assume that people meant him harm and wouldn’t think twice about stealing his stuff.” He shot one last protective glance toward his own apartment before gently shutting the door. They were alone again, in her crowded entry hall.
She didn’t want to get her hopes up. But his words gave her pause. Did he not want to go back to his old life? Would he stay and make a life here? Could they finally be together?
“Wes seems to be settling in quite nicely here.” She ventured.
“He’s making friends, Bree.” He grabbed her hands and gripped them tightly, his eyes a bit too bright. “This is so big.”
“He didn’t have many friends in California?”
“He was always a loner. And because it meant I didn’t have to interact with other parents on awkward play dates, I was cool with it. I never realized he was lonely. Not until I saw the excitement on his face after school today. He actually wants to be a part of something. He’s seeking out friends and companionship.”
Ryan let go of her hands, gripping her shoulders instead, pulling her to him in a spontaneous hug that had them both laughing from pure joy.
“And it’s all because of you. You gave him the attention he needed, you listened to him and knew exactly what to say.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t—” Her words were cut off with a kiss.
His hands cupped her cheeks, fingers fanning out into her hair. His lips were gentle but insistent, encouraging her to let go, open up. She did, gasping as his tongue swept into her mouth, conquering, exploring. She leaned into him, her legs suddenly wobbly.
As quickly as he’d initiated the kiss, Ryan stepped away. His dark eyes were so full of emotion that she had a hard time breathing. He rubbed a thumb along her cheekbone, not saying a word. Bree turned into the caress, finding it difficult not to embarrass herself by climbing all over him.
“I want ... ” he began.
Her breath hitched in her throat. Was he asking her ... ? Did he want to pick up where they’d left off all those long, lonely years ago?
“ ... to stay. I was going to sell the hardware store. I put it on the market today, but it doesn’t feel right.”
“You can sell the hardware store and still stay, Ryan. Start your own accounting business from home. Find something else altogether. There are no limits.”
“See? You always know just the right thing to say.”
Her heart was still thudding from her hope that he was going to tell her he wanted her. But if he wanted to stay in Scallop Shores, that was a start. A very good start.
“I need to go make sure Wes brushed his teeth before bed. We’ve been having a little battle of wills over that particular issue lately.”
He put a hand on the doorknob but stopped, resting his forehead against the wood. Turning around, he didn’t bother to hide the raw need that pulled the skin tight against his cheekbones, drew his breath from his lungs in rasping shudders. An answering need filled her with the overwhelming urge to step into his arms, whisper to him to stay a little longer, appease the ache that had her clenching her thighs together so hard they shook. But now was not the time. She gave her head a little shake and stepped back instead of forward.
“Soon, Bree. Soon.” His eyes fluttered shut for a moment before he opened them again and fixed her with a look that had her gripping the wall to keep upright.
Then he was gone.
• • •
“You have a lot in common with Sam,” Bree told Ryan on the way to recruit the last two models for her calendar.
She’d asked him to come along with her this morning, and given that she’d been doing most of this on her own so far, it clearly meant something for him to be there today. Though now that she’d started this particular thread of conversation, he couldn’t help but wonder if his presence wasn’t needed for the calendar but for another reason altogether. Both hands on the steering wheel, he studied her profile, trying to figure out what she was plotting.
Ryan had asked his mom if she wouldn’t mind holding down the store for the morning. She was the one who’d trained him on the updates to the cash register and credit card system when he’d reopened the store, so she’d be fine for a few hours. He made her promise not to lift anything heavy, but Anne Pettridge could charm anyone into helping her, so he knew if she needed help she’d ask.
“Sam was on the baseball team my freshman year. I think he was a senior? Oh, man! I remember now. Wasn’t it his parents that died together in their house? Carbon monoxide poisoning or something.”
Bree nodded. “And he hid away from Scallop Shores for years and years.”
“Well, clearly he came back, so maybe he wasn’t hiding. Could have been taking a break.”
She snorted at this.
“Listen to yourself, Ryan. Taking a break,” she muttered under her breath as she shook her head.
“Okay, so we both left town for a number of years between visits. I totally get how coming home would remind him of his parents’ death and how incredibly painful that would be to dredge it all up again.”
“But he did it. He came home and he stayed home. He faced his demons and he never looked back.”
Now Ryan rolled his eyes. To her, everything played out like it would in a book. Her favorite, he would guess, was a good love story. Because everyone always got their happy ending. Bree was a sucker for happy endings. He loved that about her.
“And the reason he came home, against all odds, was true love. Am I right?” He flashed her a grin.
“Don’t tease me, Ryan Pettridge. Yes, as it happens, Sam did fall in love and his wife wanted to come back home to Scallop Shores. The only way to hang on to her was to follow her.”
“I’m not teasing. Really. You just have this way of seeing the good in every situation.” He turned to stare at the road, unable to meet her eyes as he continued. “You should have found your own happy ending a long time ago. You deserve it.”
“It’s just taking a little longer than usual, that’s all. It will happen.” She plucked imaginary lint off her skirt and studied the scenery passing on her side of the pickup truck.
They pulled up to a duplex not too different from their own, except this one had a wheelchair ramp where the front steps would have been. Sam was in a wheelchair? Ryan furrowed his brow as he hurried around to help Bree down from the truck.
“I haven’t met Riley yet, but I’ve heard he can be a bit prickly. Cross your fingers we can get them both on board.”
“Riley?”
“Sam’s best friend. Afghanistan vet and paraplegic.”
Ah. They climbed the ramp and knocked on the front door. It was opened by a woman with short, spiky red hair like fire. Ryan remembered her from high school. What was her name? It was a month. No, a season?
“Summer?” he tried.
She laughed even as Bree thumped him soundly on the shoulder.
“It’s Wynter, actually—with a y. I know, it’d be easier to remember if my hair were white as snow. Come on in. Sam and Riley are expecting you.”
Ignoring Bree’s scowl, he stepped into the duplex. It was much more open and inviting than theirs. Looking around, he realized it was because the walls between the two apartments had been torn down to make one large residence. He liked it.
“Hiya.” A tugging on his jeans alerted Ryan to an adorable toddler.
Her jet-black hair was pulled to the sides in little pigtails. Sam and Wynter’s daughter? She didn’t look like either one of them. He bent down to her eye level and smiled wide.
“Well, hello gorgeous. What’s your name?”
“Charlotte.” She gave him a shy grin and shoved her two middle fingers into her mouth, backwards. Oh, that was cute.
“Ah, the fickleness of youth. A new man steps into her life and she forgets all about her favorite uncle.” The man seated in the wheelchair beside the couch could only be Riley.
Ryan ruffled the tot’s head before getting up and approaching the adults. He shook hands with each man as they were introduced and then was waved toward the couch along with Bree.
“I’m Bree. You’ve probably seen me around town a time or two. And this is Ryan Pettridge. His parents own the hardware store. We’re here to ask you probably the most bizarre favor you’ve ever been asked.”
“Well, before you get down to business, can I get anyone a drink? I have a pot of coffee going. Or I can make tea,” Wynter offered.
“I make tea.” Charlotte raced off excitedly to a pint-sized toy kitchen in the corner.
“Our little hostess-in-the-making.” Sam chuckled as she rushed back with a pink plastic cup and saucer, dumping it in Bree’s lap before hurrying off to get one for Ryan as well.
“I wouldn’t mind a cup of coffee if you have it already made. In addition to this fabulous tea. You must give me your recipe.” Ryan addressed both mother and daughter, receiving a nod from one and a delighted giggle from the other.
“Cady said she’d spoken to Wynter and thought you two might be interested in posing for the library calendar?” Bree leaned forward, obviously eager to get down to the reason they were there.
“Question is, why would you want us? A messy-haired computer geek and a half-man. The photographer would have to lie down on the floor to get a good shot of me.” Riley flung her a calculating look.
“So then he’d lie down on the floor,” Bree agreed, affably.
“But...” Riley started again.
“I thought you were Sam’s friend? So why would you sell the man short? Longer hair is in. And the scruff? Totally sexy. We’d definitely keep him in his element. Some kind of tech gadgets. Maybe just a laptop and a bear skin rug. Nice tight pair of jeans...” She tapped her chin, her eyes unfocused.
Always My Hero Page 10
