8. Izzy
IZZY
“Do you have your uniform?” I ask Brock as he gets in the back of Ryker’s SUV.
I slept better last night than I had in a long time. I thought I would be up all night, replaying everything with Ryker, but as soon as I laid my head on the pillow, I was out.
Brock sighs loudly from the backseat. He acts like he didn't forget his uniform just last week. “Yes, Mom. I got it.”
He leans up between the two seats. “Ryker, you should come to my game tonight.”
“Brock!” I yelp.
“What, Mom? Ryker likes sports, so I just thought…”
His voice trails off, and I hear the hurt in his voice.
I get it. I do. His father has never been there for him.
He has always traveled for work. I tried to make excuses for him, but in the end, I should have left him.
I'm tired of my son being disappointed. I look at Ryker, and he must see the expression on my face because he asks softly, "Would it be okay if I came to the game tonight? "
I hold my breath and then let it out slowly and then nod my head to confirm. “Okay, yeah, sure. Brock will love that.”
I’m not sure who is more excited. Ryker smiles as if I just gave him a million dollars or something. “Yes. I would love that.”
“Woo-hoo!” Brock shouts from the backseat. “Everyone will be so excited.”
He's on his phone the rest of the ride. We drop him off first, and then Ryker is taking me to the doctor's office. “So... uh, should I be worried about the fact that you knew where I lived last night and I didn't have to tell you how to get there?”
He keeps looking straight ahead. "I'm not going to lie to you. I never will. I've kept an eye on you through the years."
“What exactly does that mean?”
He shrugs. “It means that I've followed you on all social media. I've seen you every time I've come into town."
I interrupt him. “You haven’t been in town."
He nods. “Yes. I'm in town a lot. It was hard going unnoticed, but I did it."
I remember what Caroline told me at work. “Did you come to Brock's basketball game the other night?"
He doesn’t even hesitate. “I did.”
I shrug. “Why didn't you say hi then?"
He just shrugs.
He pulls into a parking spot at the doctor's office, and I gesture at the building in front of us. “And you knew I worked here. How?”
He clenches his eyes closed, shakes his head, and looks at me. “I knew you worked here. I follow the social media page for the office, looking for any glimpse of you, and I had my dad switch doctors to be able to check on you.”
As I absorb all that, he asks me for my phone.
I'm thinking about everything I just learned as I hand it to him.
He types into it. “I'm putting my number in here. Call or text me if you need me before you get off work today. Or, uh, if you just want to talk."
I take my phone back, grab my purse, and am about to get out. “Ryker?"
“Yeah, honey?"
I wish I was the type of person that can just sit back and enjoy things, but I’m not. I have to analyze every situation, every word, everything. “What are we doing here?”
He reaches over and squeezes my hand. “I'm going to win you back, Izzy."
“Why?” I ask him.
“Because I never stopped loving you."
Hearing those words from him has me trembling. “Thanks for the ride.”
He has one arm hooked over the steering wheel, and he’s smiling at me. “I'll see you at five."
I get out, shut the door, and hurry to the office.
Once inside, I have a few minutes in the lounge to myself. Ryker Kirby just told me he loved me.
Oh my God, I don't know what I'm going to do. If what he says is true and he really is here for me, how am I going to resist him?
I can't. I know I can't.
My phone rings, and I smile as I dig it out of my purse, wondering if it's Ryker.
When my ex-husband's name pops up, I answer with a guarded “Hello.”
“Isabel, I won't make the game tonight.”
“Okay,” I answer. At one time, I would have argued with him, but I've given that up since the divorce finalized. I hate that he keeps letting Brock down, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
Allen starts to make up an excuse, but I'm not interested in hearing it. "Okay, well, I need to go. I just got to work."
His silence lets me know I've caught him off guard.
I clear my throat. “And just so you know, you don't have to tell me you are not coming anymore. We're divorced."
I hang up before he starts to argue with me. I know it's coming, and I don't have to listen to it anymore. I walk into the break room and take my coat off. As I’m putting my things away, Caroline walks in and sees my face. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who do I need to kill?"
“No one…. Allen.” I make a growling noise. “Grrrr. How can he make me feel like this and we're not even together?"
Caroline laughs. “Isabel, are you kidding me right now? You caught your husband railing some woman in your bed. Of course he's going to make you angry.”
I nod. “I know.” I suck in a breath. I know that today someone is going to say something about seeing me at Pizza Haven with Ryker last night, and Caroline will never forgive me if she hears it from someone else.
“I need to tell you something," I confess.
She puts a hand on her hip. “Bitch. I know you do.” She starts to count on her fingers. “You had dinner with Ryker. You introduced him to Brock. And you didn't tell me.”
I sit down in the chair, sinking into the cushions. I should have known that Caroline would have already heard about last night. The Whiskey Run grapevine is in full effect.
“My car broke down.” I cover my face thinking about it. I’m still embarrassed to have been caught driving by Ryker’s. “Uh, I was driving by Ryker's new house, and my car broke down right in front of it."
I tell her the whole sordid story. She nods, eyes wide, and sits down next to me. “What are you going to do?
I laugh bitterly. “Wait for him to come to his senses?”
“Bullshit,” Caroline says. “So help me if you screw this up again... Isabel, this is your second chance. You loved him, and don't try to tell me you didn't.”
I stand up and look at myself in the full-length mirror. I tug at my shirt that fits tighter than it probably should. I suck in my breath and turn to the side and then blow it out. “Look at me. This is ridiculous. I have no business…” I stutter. “He can be with anyone.”
Caroline stands up and grabs my hands. “And he wants you.”
Overwhelmed, I shake my head. “This is crazy. You know that, right? Stuff like this doesn't happen to single mom divorcees. This is ridiculous.”
Caroline puts her hands on my shoulders. “Isabel, you deserve this. Promise me that you will be open to this and hear him out. Please. You deserve to be happy.”
I know my best friend is not going to let me out of here until I promise her, so I agree. “I promise."
She tilts her head to the side and challenges me. “Isabel.”
I hold my hands up, palms out. “I promise.”
Satisfied, she hugs me and then makes me promise to give her all the details.
My phone dings with text.
I’m hesitant to look, but I am glad I do when I see Ryker's name pop up.
“Your car is going to be ready in the afternoon. I'm going to take it to your house and park it.”
On edge, I ask, “How much is it? I can call and pay for it."
“It's free today,” he responds.
I frown at my phone and type back, “I thought you said you wouldn't lie to me.”
My phone starts to ring almost instantly.
“Hello?”
“Izzy. It's not free, but I'm not taking your money for it.”
I shake my head at the same time Caroline looks at me sternly. “I can't let you pay for my car."
He sighs. “Izzy. Let me do this. I want to do something for you?—"
I cut him off. “Uh, hello. You had my car towed to the shop. You picked up my kid and his friends. You fed us dinner. Heck, you fed half his basketball team. You got up early and took Brock to school and me to work. I think you've done plenty.”
His voice is deep and filled with emotion. “I have twenty years to make up for, Izzy.”
If my silence unnerves him, he doesn't act like it. Calmly, he says, “Izzy, I know you're independent, and I know you can take care of all this on your own. But you don't have to. Can you just try to enjoy having someone around that wants to take care of you?”
More silence.
“Repeat after me. Thank you, Ry. Oh, and I'm looking forward to tonight.”
I sigh. “Thank you, Ry. I’m looking forward to tonight.”
I just know he’s smiling when he says, “See you soon, baby.”
He hangs up, and Caroline is standing next to me with her hands over her mouth. “Oh, Isabel, you might as well give up. That man wants you.”
I open my mouth just as the doctor's voice booms down the hallway. “Good morning, ladies.”
Caroline and I both get into work mode after she gives me an excited hug and then walks out of the break room to greet the doctor.
I follow her out to the nurse’s station and start going through the day’s appointments.
I need to focus on my job instead of Ryker, but throughout the day, I think about him and everything he’s said to me in the twenty-four hours.
I figure I have two options. I can keep doubting him, or I can trust that what he says is true.
And Ryker Kirby really does still love me.