Chapter Twelve
Ellie
He didn’t remember.
How could he not remember?
Bolting out of Ryder’s hospital room, tears ran down my face and nurses stared at me as I rushed by. Not a single one of them stopped me to ask what was wrong.
No one cared.
I made the wrong choice.
I should have turned left and just gone home. Earlier, in the bookstore, I thought he just wanted to pretend like nothing happened. Now, I think it might be worse that he believes nothing happened.
How would I get home? A deputy brought Beck and me to the hospital, and she left with the bikers.
I was alone.
Again.
I walked outside and thought about calling Abby, or I could just hike back to the bookstore and get my truck. It couldn’t be more than six or seven miles, right?
“Miss Livingston?”
I stiffened and looked up. A deputy stood outside the entrance to the hospital. I wasn’t sure what he wanted with me.
“I am Deputy Marshall Norris. The sheriff’s daughter asked me to give you a ride back to your car. She assumed it might still be at the bookstore?”
“Yes, thank you. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get back.” I sniffed.
“Are you ok, ma’am?”
I looked up at the deputy who had opened the front passenger door for me. I was thankful I wouldn’t have to ride in the back like a criminal. Not that I would have complained.
A ride was a ride, after all.
The deputy was handsome. He looked about thirty. Blond hair, firm jaw, tall, muscular. You know, everything a girl looks for in a book boyfriend.
I wasn’t into blonds, though.
Nope, apparently I was into assholes, because despite the deputy’s good looks and impeccable manners, I felt nothing.
“I’m ok. Today was just a lot,” I explained, sliding into the seat.
“I understand,” he said just before he closed the door.
After the deputy dropped me off, I climbed into my truck and drove home. Back to my trailer. The only home I’d had for the last two years. The only place that ever truly felt like a home.
Morning dawned, and it wasn’t bright or cheery.
Neither was I, for that matter. Instead, I wanted to hide under the covers, but I remembered Abby insisting that I come by and see the girls this morning.
After taking a shower, I just threw my hair up on top of my head. Pulling on some yoga pants with a hoodie, I was ready to go. The girls wouldn’t care if I had makeup on or not. Grabbing my bag and keys, I headed out.
It didn’t take me long to find the address Abby gave me, and before I knew it, I found myself standing in front of a door.
Knocking, I smiled as Mark quickly answered it.
“Come on in, Ellie.”
“Ellie!” Chrissy screeched as she ran toward me.
“Good morning, sweetheart.” I pulled her in for a hug.
“Nana made pancakes.”
“That sounds delicious,” I told her.
I followed Mark and Chrissy into the kitchen, where Abby was standing at the stove.
Tabby scrambled down from her seat at the table and ran over with her arms up, and I scooped her up and held her tight.
“Good morning, beautiful girl.”
“Morning, Ellie,” Abby called out.
“Morning.” I carried Tabby over to the table and sat down with her on my lap.
“So, girls, what do you have planned for today?” I asked.
“We’re gonna go see Daddy. He got a big booboo yesterday,” Chrissy replied.
“I know. I bet he’ll feel so much better when he has his girls there, though,” I said, tapping my finger on Chrissy’s nose.
She rewarded my gesture with a huge toothy smile.
I was going to miss these girls when I was gone.
I decided last night that staying in Diamond Creek after the book signing would not be a good idea. After the way things went down with Ryder last night, I needed to avoid him as much as possible until the day of the signing. It would be easier when Jessie arrived and I wasn’t so alone.
Looking at the little girl in my lap, I was going to miss her most of all. From the very beginning, Tabby had made an impact on my life. She might not speak, but she spoke volumes if anyone took the time to listen.
She saw me.
The real me.
I held her a little tighter and tried not to let my tears spill over.
“Everything ok, Ellie?” Mark asked, pulling me out of my head.
I knew he was watching me with his granddaughter. I wondered what he saw. If I had to guess, I would say he saw me, too.
Mark and Abby were wonderful parents. The minute they heard about what happened to Ryder, they were at the hospital. Then took the girls without hesitation while he recuperated.
When I was ten years old, I broke my arm, falling out of a tree. Sebbie took me to the hospital. My parents never came. Their only response was that little girls shouldn’t climb trees.
I never did again.
“Um, yea. What is going on with the store while Ryder is in the hospital?” I asked, changing the subject, hoping Mark wouldn’t ask more questions.
“We decided today it would stay closed. Then tomorrow, I will go in and work in the store until Ryder comes home and can be on his own again,” he said.
“Mark ran the store when Ryder was growing up. When he retired, Ryder took over,” Abby added.
“Oh, that’s nice,” I replied. “I could help if you need it. Obviously, I love books.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.” Mark winked.
He looked over at Abby, and the two smiled at each other. It was like they had their own private conversation inside those smiles. I guess that happened when you were with someone long enough.
“Are you gonna see Daddy with us, Ellie?” Chrissy asked.
“Oh, no, honey. I have some work I have to do, but I wanted to come see you before I got busy.”
I couldn’t tell her I wouldn’t be welcome at the hospital with them.
It had been three days since I had breakfast with the girls, and I had seen them every day. Mark asked me to fill in each day while he and Abby took the girls to visit Ryder. After the visit, they would return to the store, and I would spend a few hours with them, reading and playing games, before going home.
Alone.
Jessie was due in tomorrow, and I couldn’t wait for my friend to get here. I wanted to show her around and introduce her to the friends I had made around town. I was also rethinking my decision to leave after the book signing. I was kind of hoping that Ryder and I could make peace, agree to leave our encounter in the past, and find a way to move forward as friends.
Ryder was getting out of the hospital today. Mark and Abby were picking him up, and Avery was at the store with me and the girls. The bell over the door jingled, and Sam, Charlie, Beck, and Rachel walked in with the bikers from the hospital, along with a few others.
“Hi, Ellie.”
“Hi, Sam.”
“Let me introduce you. You know Beck and Rachel. This is Blade, Jack, Cash, and King. And of course, you’ve met Mimic and Tank. The other two are Zero and Romeo.”
The men said hello, except for the one Sam introduced as King.
He just watched me silently.
“This is Ellie. She is the author doing the book signing next month.”
“Hello, gorgeous.” The one called Romeo smirked, taking my hand in his, and kissed the back of my hand.
I guess there was no question where he got his name. He was handsome but looked out of place in his cut. Like he should be on the cover of some magazine, rather than the back of a motorcycle.
“Knock it off, Rome,” Blade said.
“What? A beautiful woman comes to town and no one fucking tells me?”
“No, we hide them from you for as long as we can,” Grace snarked, walking in as the bell jingled again.
“Hi, Ellie,” she greeted.
“Hi, Grace,” I replied.
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.
Romeo didn’t miss it either.
“How about dinner, beautiful?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. But thank you.”
“Why not? You got something goin’ with Bookboy?”
“What? No!”
Grace caught my eye and cocked an eyebrow at me.
“Well, you look real comfortable running the store while he’s not here,” Romeo added.
“I’m just helping Mark and Abby,” I said, just as the girls came running over.
“Charlie!” Chrissy called out. “Let’s go. Avery found new books,” she said, as they scampered off.
“No running, girls,” I reminded them.
“Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?” Blade said.
“Sorry, Uncle Blade.” Chrissy ran over and jumped in his arms, giving him a hug, then kissed his cheek. He set her down, then held his arms out to Tabby.
She hesitated and looked over at me.
“Go ahead, beautiful.”
With permission she didn’t need, she ran over to Blade, and he scooped her up.
“How’s my TabbyCat?” he said before kissing her cheek. She laid her head on his shoulder for just a moment, then wiggled to get down.
As soon as her feet hit the floor, she rushed over to me with her arms up high. Lifting her onto my hip, she snuggled against my shoulder.
“Looks like you’ve been replaced, brother.” King smirked.
“Yup, definitely something going on between her and Bookboy,” Romeo mumbled.
“There really isn’t,” I insisted.
Grace snorted, and everyone caught it.
Beck narrowed her eyes at Grace. “What do you know?”
I closed my eyes, praying she wouldn’t say anything.
But why would she keep my secret?
We weren’t friends. These people in the store were her friends.
“Ryder pulled her onto the dance floor on Saturday night, and I thought I was gonna have to hose them down,” Grace explained.
Beck, Rachel, and Sam all turned toward me, and I felt my entire body blush.
“It was just a dance.” I tried to play it off, but Grace wasn’t having it.
“That was not just a dance,” she stated. “They were practically fucking right there in the middle of the bar. Then they left together.”
“Oh really?” Beck asked, her smile wide. Her pleasure at this information was clear.
The bell over the door jingled, and Abby walked in.
I steeled myself for Ryder’s reaction when he saw me here. Though, nothing could have prepared me for it.
His arm was in a sling, and he had a few days’ growth on his face. It gave him a rugged look that had me trembling with desire. Until he opened his mouth, then the trembling became something else.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Ryder barked, and the store instantly fell silent
Holding Tabby tighter, I dared not move.
“Put her down,” he demanded when he noticed Tabby in my arms.
“Ryder Montgomery Thomas! Do not speak to Ellie that way. She has been helping your father with the store, and the girls love her,” Abby scolded.
“You’ve done it now, Bookboy. You got mama full naming you.” Romeo laughed.
“Put my daughter down and get out,” Ryder growled.
“Ryder!” Beck hissed.
“No, it’s ok. I need to go anyway.”
I tried to pull Tabby back, but she held on.
I walked over to Blade and looked at him with wide eyes, begging him silently to help. He reached over for Tabby, but she wouldn’t let go.
I wouldn’t let my tears fall, not here. Not in front of everyone.
“Please, beautiful, go with Uncle Blade,” I whispered.
“Tabitha Rachel Thomas!” Ryder shouted. “Let go of her, now.”
I stiffened and turned to glare at him.
My tears no longer threatened as my sorrow turned to anger. I wanted to hold the little girl tighter, take her sister by the hand, and walk out the door with the two of them.
Maybe I had been right about him all along.
Maybe his girls were afraid of him.
Maybe he was more than just an asshole.
Maybe his wife was justified in leaving him.
Maybe he deserved to be shot.
Tabby let go of me instantly. She pulled away and launched herself at Blade.
I kissed her cheek and stomped over to stand in front of Ryder.
“You want to be pissed at me? Fine, be pissed. Don’t you dare take your anger out on her!” I growled, pointing at Tabby. “She did nothing wrong. It says a lot about a man who can’t control himself and takes his anger out on an innocent child.”
“What the fuck did you just say?”
“You heard me, asshole.”
I pushed past him, slamming my shoulder into his injured arm. I heard him suck in a harsh breath and secretly smiled as I walked out the door.