Ryder.
Blech.
Of all the people she did not want to deal with tonight, Ryder Fanning topped the list. It was inconceivable that Mason could have an identical twin so unlike him. Where Mason was quiet and thought things through, Ryder lacked patience and didn’t consider how his words or actions affected the people around him.
The man annoyed her.
She shoved the phone back in her pocket and took a long drink of the coffee.
Her stride lengthened as she neared the dance studio. She cut through the side parking lot, headed to the rear and climbed the stairs leading to her apartment. When she reached the top of the landing, she paused. As she stared at the door, a terrible loneliness crept in.
Everyone she knew and loved was moving on. Her closest friends were either married or engaged. Even her parents had embarked on a new life, traveling around the country in their RV. She wasn’t sure she could spend another night alone flipping through the channels.
For a moment she wished something—anything—would happen to relieve the monotony of her life.
Her phone dinged again, and she unlocked the door and went inside. Did she even want to know why Ryder was texting her? It wasn’t only his lack of filter she resented.
He was the one who’d bought the family ranch.
After Dad told her in January that Ryder Fanning was buying the only home she’d ever known, she’d driven to her special place outside town and cried until her tears froze. It had put the first deep crack in her hopes for the future. The life she’d always imagined truly had no chance of reviving at this point.
She’d thought she’d get married and spend Christmases in the old farmhouse, baking with her children, hanging out with her parents. But all those hopes died when Ryder bought the ranch.
Next week he was moving to Rendezvous from Los Angeles. For the past two months he’d been having the house remodeled. Her house. Hopefully, she’d never have to go inside. It would break her heart. She’d made a million memories there with Mia. They’d shared secrets, held grudges, played games.
Eden sighed, juggling the coffee as she took off her coat and kicked off her shoes. Her phone began to ring, and she glared at it until it stopped.
She had nothing to say to him.
When it started ringing again, she marched down the hall to the kitchen, gritting her teeth the entire way. Persistence was Ryder’s middle name. He’d just keep bothering her until she answered. She might as well get it over with.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Oh, hey, you answered.” Ryder’s low voice had the same effect on her as the warm latte. It heated her insides and jolted her pulse to life. Unlike with the latte, she didn’t enjoy the sensation. “I’ve got something to ask you.”
His phrasing implied a favor, and she didn’t do favors for him. Eden adored Ryder’s cute five-year-old identical twin girls, but she did not like their daddy. Not one bit.
“Eden?”
“I’m busy.” A bold lie, even for her.
“I know. It’s important, though, and I don’t want to discuss it over the phone. I’m in Rendezvous.”
“Sorry, I can’t.” Won’t was more like it. And she wasn’t sorry. Not at all.
“I’ll only take a minute of your time.”
A twinge of guilt hit her conscience, but she didn’t respond.
“Will you give me one minute, Eden?”
A minute. Would she, the one who gladly gave hours and days and weeks to any of her friends at the drop of a hat, really deny Ryder sixty seconds?
It wouldn’t kill her to hear what he had to say.
Then again, it might.
“Please?”
She’d never been able to turn down a heartfelt please. “Okay, but just for a minute. You can stop by my apartment.” She looked around her place, grateful she was a neat freak.
“Good, because I’m right outside your door.”
Of course he was.
Her heartbeat started doing the annoying hammering thing it tended to do in his vicinity. She was 99 percent sure it was her body’s way of saying don’t even think about it.
The man was good at getting his own way.
She, on the other hand, was used to letting other people have their way.
No wonder her danger signals were off the charts.
This was what she got for wishing something—anything—would happen instead of spending another Friday night flipping through the channels.
God surely had a sense of humor.
Eden padded to the door, girded her shoulders and took a deep breath. Don’t do anything stupid. It was probably too late for that. Answering his call had been her first mistake. Opening this door was sure to be her next.
* * *
Ryder couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes with his life. That was why he had to convince Eden to babysit the girls.
Starting over as a cattle rancher in the same town as his identical twin was the best decision he’d made in years. He’d have community, friends and the slower lifestyle he craved, not to mention he’d be able to raise Harper and Ivy out in the country far from Los Angeles.
It had been a dream come true to buy the large ranch from Eden’s parents. His brother, Mason, was familiar with the property since he’d been married to Eden’s sister before she died, and Ryder appreciated the fact Mason had urged him to purchase it. The renovations to the large farmhouse were almost complete. Ryder and his daughters were set to move to Rendezvous one week from tomorrow.
The life he wanted was within his grasp. And it was funny, but he hadn’t even known he wanted it until recently.
He knocked on Eden’s door. His nerves jittered as he tried to figure out how he could get her to agree to help him. He’d have to wing it. This conversation would be easier if she liked him. But she didn’t. Not by a long shot.
He’d made a bad first, second, third and fourth impression on Eden. Had he ever made a good one?
Probably not, and it didn’t matter. This was about his girls. They needed someone they could trust, who would love them and help them transition from a somewhat chaotic life in LA to a slower routine in Wyoming. And he needed to rest easy knowing Harper and Ivy were being well taken care of while he learned the ins and outs of raising cattle.
He knocked again.
His career as a CPA and financial planner for Hollywood bigwigs along with the divorce settlement from his ex-wife, actress Lily Haviland, had made him wealthy enough to buy the prime Wyoming property. And since he’d spent the first twelve years of his life on a sheep ranch, he wasn’t a complete novice at ranching. But cattle? He didn’t have much experience with those. Mason had been giving him tips every weekend that Ryder could make it back here, but he still had a lot to learn.
“Eden, it’s me.” He got the impression she was standing on the other side of the door. He could practically hear her breathing. Maybe that was wishful thinking. She was probably shimmying out a side window to escape.
The door opened, and he stared into the prettiest brown eyes he’d ever seen. A surge of warmth filled his gut. Every time he saw Eden, it was the same thing—he’d take one look at her, feel all warm and gooey inside and say something stupid. The woman had no idea how she affected him, and he wanted to keep it that way.
He wasn’t getting entangled in a romance again. Look at how easily he’d been fooled by Lily. He’d believed every word that came out of his ex-wife’s mouth, and they’d all turned out to be lies. The worst part about it was he didn’t think Lily even intended to deceive him. It came as naturally to her as slipping into the roles she played on television and the big screen.
The pain of being discarded by her still cut deep.
“Thanks for letting me come up.” His voice was scratchy, although he’d downed a bottle of water on the way ov
er.
Eden wasn’t quite five and a half feet tall, and her body was slender, graceful. Dark brown hair fell in a silky curtain over her shoulders. Her delicate eyebrows arched just so under a high forehead. She wore slim-fitting black pants and a burgundy sweater hinting at curves underneath. She didn’t crack a smile, but then, she was serious by nature.
Maybe that was what he found attractive. Her reserved personality. He’d never seen her flirt with any guys. She was generous to a fault with everyone—well, everyone except him.
“Come in.” She pivoted and walked down the hallway. After closing the door, he followed her. He’d never been inside her apartment before.
“Nice place.” He shrugged his arms out of his jacket and slung it over a bar stool near the counter. “The outside doesn’t do it justice.”
“It’s been remodeled. Brittany let me help pick out everything.” Eden sat on a chair in the living area and tucked one leg under her body.
The apartment was full of Eden touches. Cubbies and shelves brimming with children’s books and toys lined the back wall of the dining area, and a colorful rug housed a pretend kitchen, doll crib and other assorted play items. The living room was all adult. Framed photos of Eden’s parents and friends were placed on bookshelves along with novels, candles and photographs of nature.
“Did you take those?” He pointed to a collage of photos depicting the same view of nearby Silver Rocks River in spring, summer, fall and winter.
“Yes.” She hugged one knee to her chest.
“They’re great. I like how you captured it in all four seasons.” When she didn’t reply, he gestured to the gray couch. “Mind if I sit down?”
“Go ahead.” She licked her lips and stared as if she wasn’t quite sure what to do with him.
“The move is all set for next Saturday.” Was that a flicker of anger in her eyes? Why would she be mad? “What? What was that look for?”
“Nothing.”
“I know I’m not your favorite person, but do you have a problem with me moving here?”
“No.” No emotion came through. “I don’t love the fact you bought my parents’ ranch.”
“Oh.” It had been on the market for a year. Her father had seemed relieved to sell it to him. He hadn’t realized Eden wasn’t in favor of the sale. “Why not?”
He regretted asking as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He braced himself for the truth. She probably thought he wasn’t qualified to raise cattle and was assuming he’d fail at it.
He couldn’t fail at it. He needed this change—needed to belong here.
“It’s my childhood home.”
“And?” His muscles unlocked. At least she hadn’t accused him of incompetence.
“And I didn’t want them to sell it.” Her voice trailed off at the end, and she directed her gaze to the wall.
“Did you not want them to sell it to me?” he asked. “Or did you not want them to sell it at all?”
“At all.”
Okay, he could work with that. As long as it wasn’t him personally she objected to.
“Why are you here, Ryder? I know it’s not to ask my blessing about you moving to my ranch.”
Her ranch. His lips twitched. There had been a time in his life when bluntness would have put him on the defensive, but after everything Lily had put him through, he found bluntness—Eden’s especially—refreshing.
“I need you to babysit the girls through the summer. This fall they’ll be in kindergarten all day, but in the meantime, they need someone like you to help them adjust to their new life here.”
A wistful smile brightened her face for a moment, but it disappeared behind a frown. “Chandra Davis runs a good day care program in town. Talk to her.”
“I already did, and she’s booked. She can’t take the girls.”
“Then find someone else.”
“I’ve tried.” He kept his tone gentle as frustration started to build. “Martha McNally has agreed to come to the ranch early every day so I can do my morning chores. She’ll get the girls dressed and fed, then drive them here, so you wouldn’t have to do anything but open your door for them at eight in the morning.”
“Maybe Martha would watch them all day.” She wouldn’t meet his eyes. Annoyance flared up, catching him off guard.
“Look, Eden, I know I’m not your favorite person. When we first met, you were right to call me out for arguing with Lily on the phone in front of the girls.”
“Your relationship with your ex-wife is none of my business. If the girls hadn’t been completely crushed at the time, I wouldn’t have mentioned it at all. It was ages ago. I’m over it.”
Then why did she avoid him whenever he was in town? It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her. However, that was not why he was here.
“Hey, I take full responsibility for putting my foot in my mouth a few times since then, too,” he said. “I’ve tried to make things right with you, but I don’t know how. And at this point, it really doesn’t matter if you resent me or think I’m a class-A jerk. I just need my girls to be in good hands. You’re the only one I trust them with.”
Her stony expression softened a fraction.
“I’d need you to watch them Monday through Friday. Obviously, I’d make it worth your while financially.”
“I’m sorry, but no.” She stood and crossed over to the window, rubbing her forearms as if chilled.
“What can I say that will convince you to agree?” He forced himself to stay seated.
“Nothing.”
He’d hoped Eden would see this for what it was—a business arrangement—and agree. Maybe her dislike of him was stronger than he’d thought.
Had he been mistaken about her? Was she the best person to take care of his twins? When it came to women, he didn’t always see clearly.
Still...his gut was telling him the girls needed Eden. And he’d do anything for his daughters.
* * *
She wanted to say yes.
Eden gripped her biceps as she stared unfocused out the window. Ryder’s twins, Harper and Ivy, had wriggled into her heart the moment she’d met them over a year ago. But she had to decline. She was supposed to be working on her long-term plans, not drifting into another babysitting job.
“I don’t have any other options.” Ryder’s caramel-brown eyes pierced hers. Why was he so handsome? She’d never been attracted to Mason in all the years she’d known him, but she found his identical twin, Ryder, to be positively gorgeous. It was strange.
“Have you even asked Martha if she’d babysit them full-time?”
“I don’t want her to.” Ryder sat with his knees spread, elbows on his thighs. His hands were clasped and dangling between his knees.
The man looked so muscular and lanky and miserable sitting on her couch it was all she could do not to go over there and pet his head like she had Mr. Jenkins’s dogs.
“Martha has a lot of experience.” Eden could not cave. She had her own life to live and would not get caught up in his problems. She’d gotten caught up in everyone else’s problems for five years, and look where it had gotten her. “She used to take care of her grandkids.”
“Martha doesn’t have the energy or desire to watch lively preschoolers all day.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Is this about me? You wouldn’t have to spend time with me or anything.”
“This isn’t about you.” She didn’t hate the guy. That being said, he was correct. He’d put his foot in his mouth on more than one occasion, but he probably didn’t even know why she’d been offended. Eden would never forget the look on the twins’ faces when he’d taken a phone call from his ex-wife at Christmas Fest and argued with her in front of them. They’d been devastated. When Eden pointedly told him she’d watch the girls if he got another call, he’d rudely told her to mind her own business. Then a few days later,
he’d pulled her aside and told her she couldn’t possibly understand since she’d never been married.
That one had hurt.
And over the past year, he’d made comment after comment about how she had the right idea by staying single.
As if it was by choice.
Ryder Fanning should come with a warning: Hazard—Do Not Touch. He was not the guy for her, and if she ever forgot it, even for a moment, all she had to do was picture his former wife, Lily Haviland, the glowing, talented, beautiful actress and winner of a Golden Globe.
Even if Ryder was the greatest guy on earth—which he wasn’t—he would never be into ordinary Eden Page after being married to spectacular Lily Haviland. What man would?
“What is this about, then?” Ryder watched her with a thoughtful expression.
What was it about?
Getting her life together. For five years she’d been babysitting for her loved ones. She’d been happy to be there for them when they’d needed her the most. They were her friends, her support group.
But Ryder? He wasn’t one of her friends. And she didn’t want him to be.
Starting here, starting now, she was saying no.
“Taking care of the twins doesn’t fit in with my plans.”
He raked his fingers through short dark blond hair and met her eyes. “It would only be for the summer.”
Harper and Ivy with their adorable dark wavy hair and gigantic blue eyes came to mind. They were darling girls. She could do the summer, couldn’t she?
No. She wasn’t getting sucked into his problems.
“Look, Lily’s been out of the country shooting a movie,” Ryder said. “The girls have been struggling since I told them we were moving. Ivy asks me roughly eighteen times a day how Mommy will find her when we move to Rendezvous. And Harper gets real quiet when Lily is brought up. They need more care than the local day care center or Martha could give them.”
Her heart ached for the poor girls. This wasn’t just a move for them; it was a complete upheaval of their lives.
The day care would never do. And Martha was in her midsixties. It would be a lot for her to take care of the twins for hours every day. “My apartment isn’t set up for multiple children.”
Amish Baby Lessons Page 18
