Chapter 29 Eve
EVE
Ryder and I walk into town together, wrapped in our respective coats.
The whole time, he has his hand on mine or his arm around my shoulder, and against my better judgement, I melt for him.
My mother may have ditched me and the farm for a man who looked just like him, but years and years ago, my grandmother met the love of her life in a bar and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for that.
So while my fear is strong and at times unmanageable, I decide to let my heart lead the way. Just a little bit.
When we get to the municipal building, he opens the door for me to head inside first.
Out of the six companies who agreed to stop by for a quote, five showed up. Out of the five who showed up, three thought they had the experience and materials necessary to do the job justice. Out of the two who actually gave us quotes in a timely manner, only one gave us a reasonable price.
Ryder asked if I wanted to hold out and see if we couldn’t get a few more quotes, but Luke, the owner of a restoration company named The Way It Was, seemed kind and genuine, and although I can’t make every decision based on a gut feeling, something told me he would do a respectable job.
He seemed genuinely excited about fixing it up purely for the sake of saying he charged his phone via water wheel.
Ryder rolled his eyes when he said that, letting out a soft laugh because he knew who I’d be choosing based on that conversation alone.
I pretended to give it a few days of thought, but when he was the only one who submitted a reasonable quote, I gave up the act.
Ryder was shocked.
I head for the table up front, spying Margie with her big red hair. She pushes her glasses up onto her head when she sees us coming, her red lips spreading into a wide grin. “Hello, kids.”
“Hi, Margie,” I say, resting a copy of the quote on the desk between us.
“How are you two doing?” she asks, not bothering to glance at the paperwork and instead looking between the two of us. “I hear a certain guest has been a frequent flyer at the sunflower farm.”
Ryder shrugs. “There’s just something about a sunflower that always manages to draw me in,” he says, nudging me with his elbow in a way that sends a full blush across my cheeks.
Margie’s hand flutters to her chest. “Oh, my heart, this is wonderful. Evie, your grandmother would be so happy.”
I hold my hands up to slow her down as Ryder chuckles next to me. “Margie,” I say, hoping she gets the picture that yes, he’s hot but also it’s new so please play it cool for Christ’s sake!
“Okay, okay,” she says, turning her attention to the paperwork in front of her. “So what do we have today, you two?”
“The water wheel needs a little work. Just submitting a quote for the historical society to approve.”
She hums, turning her attention to Ryder. “Anything from you?”
He shakes his head. “Still working on a new proposal. Storm delayed me a bit. Then Evie got sick.” He shrugs. “I’ll get something over to you within the next few weeks.”
She nods, flipping to the second page of the quote. “What happened to the water wheel?”
And Ryder says, “The storm just—” as I try to explain, “I accidentally—” and we both stop, glancing at each other.
Margie cocks her head to the side.
“Eve is apparently the Hulk—”
“There was a big log, you know—”
Her eyes narrow, her lips pressing together as she struggles not to smile. “A big log, you say?”
I swallow. “Margie, can you please just take the quote?”
She nods, letting me fester in my uncomfortable silence for a few moments as she stands. “Well, as you know, it’s a closed session today. I’ll take this in to Reed, but why don’t you two head out for dinner and come back when you’re done?”
Ryder nods. “That was our plan.”
Margie hits me with one of her sweetest smiles. “And you be careful if you run into any more big logs, okay, Evie?”
Ryder, apparently, cannot control his laughter.
I nod, wishing I could go ahead and melt into the floor. “I’ll be careful.”
We head to The Pub and take a seat at a table by the bar, a small votive between us that casts Ryder’s face in a warm glow as he places an order for his favorite whiskey and hesitantly orders me a white wine, one eyebrow raised for my confirmation.
I nod, thanking the server as he continues on to the next table. But before he even has a chance to put our order in, Joe swings by with our drinks, leaving them on the edge of our table with a small nod before heading back to the bar.
“Thanks Joe,” I say
He gives me a small wave over his shoulder as he grabs a rag from under the bar and cleans the area in front of a recently vacated stool.
And I turn to Ryder, Margie’s words running on repeat in my head as he takes a sip of his whiskey. “What ever happened to the easement?”
He shrugs. “I’m going to try to find another way.” He eyes me. “Unless you’ve changed your mind?”
I shake my head. “No. I haven’t.”
“Then I guess I have to.”
I nod, taking a small sip of my wine. “So you’re really just going to give up, just like that? No easement because of me? I mean, you bought a twenty-thousand-dollar rooster.”
He snorts, taking another sip of his drink. “Well, I’d like to think the rooster will not go to waste, considering I’ll still need Reed’s approval no matter what I try to build. And… yeah, no easement because of you. If you don’t want to grant me an easement, you don’t grant me an easement.”
I eye him, wondering if I can truly trust this man.
Because everything he’s saying makes me want to.
“At one point I really thought it would make my life easier, but I’m not so sure anymore.”
“No? Has something changed with the development plans that you haven’t told me?”
He shrugs noncommittally. “Yes. And no, I guess.”
I narrow my eyes. “What does that mean?”
“The development plans have been on the back burner recently. With the storm and you being sick and everything. And during that time I guess I realized that the easement would have made the life I thought I wanted easier.”
I bite my lip. “The life you thought you wanted?”
“Yeah, like my life in Manhattan. My life at work. I think it would have made that life easier. But I’m starting to wonder if that’s the life I truly want.
Being here the past few weeks has been… different.
And I think that pushing you into that easement might make the life I want now a little harder than it needs to be. ”
I blink, because it sounds kind of like he’s saying he wants to make a life here and that…
Well, it’s exciting in a way that makes me want to stamp down the giddy feeling running through my veins. Because there’s nothing worse than thinking you’ve gotten everything you wanted, only to have it all swept out from under you.
“What is the life you want?”
He takes a sip of whiskey. “One that feels like home. I never really got that feeling growing up. As much as Gam tried to make it happen for me, I was stuck in this household where my parents didn’t care much about me and Gam didn’t have the power to change anything.
And you… you’ve really shown me what home feels like.
That it’s not where you are but who you’re with. ”
Do not cry, Evelyn Harper. Keep your damn tears in your damn eyes.
“That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
He reaches across the table, grabbing my hand.
“Even when you were sick, it felt good to be right next to you. And at that party that you weren’t up for but you showed up to anyway.
With a bunch of friends that I kind of feel like are my friends too, now—well, I claim Aiden because I knew him first, but we can share him.
” He shakes his head. “Look, I’m not trying to be sappy or jump to any conclusions.
We’re still exploring something, right? All I’m saying is that as far as the easement is concerned, I’d take this any day over the easy way out for the development.
Some battles are worth more than others, and I’ll choose to fight Reed over you any day. ”
I take a desperate sip of wine to calm my thumping heart. “Is it because I have baby Hulk hands?”
He snorts, the mood lightened. “Yes, and they are beautiful but terrifying.”
We’re quiet for a moment as our server hovers ever closer, likely hoping to take a food order.
Before he can interrupt us, I squeeze Ryder’s hand. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’ve stuck around.”
By the time we get back to the municipal building, I’m a little buzzed, which is greatly amplifying the swoony effect that dinner with Ryder has had on me.
His arm is around my shoulders as we walk, mine wrapped around his waist. And I can’t resist staring moony-eyed up at him as he points out an unkempt road that apparently leads to the trailhead he and Aiden used to drink at before zipping between trees on their bikes.
He’s been doing that frequently—pointing out places around here that once meant something to him.
My chest tightens when I think about what he said to me over dinner—that he’s feeling a little bit like this place is home now.
That I’m home.
And it brings tears to my eyes all over again that I desperately blink away as he holds the door open for me to pass through.
But Margie’s face distracts me from all of the goodness that is Ryder Blackwell.
“Why do you look like that?” I ask as she pushes her glasses onto her head, rubbing at her forehead.
She shakes her head. “Reed is in a mood again.”
“Please don’t tell me I have to buy another rooster,” Ryder says.
Margie’s brow furrows as she waves him off.
“I don’t know what euphemisms the kids are using these days but keep me out of it.
” She brings her glasses back down over her eyes.
“No, he got in some fight with his daughter today that he won’t shut up about.
Apparently his ex-wife is ill—” She waves her hand in front of her face again.
“Regardless, Evie. I’m sorry, but your quote wasn’t approved. ”
“What? Because Reed is in a bad mood?”
She shakes her head. “Believe me, we tried to reason with him.” She reaches into the purse at her feet and withdraws her pocketbook, taking a business card out and sliding it across the table toward me.
“Try this guy. He does a lot of historical restoration in town and Reed almost always approves his quotes.”
I let out a long breath, disappointed I won’t be able to see Luke’s face as he finally plugs his phone into the water wheel outlet. “Okay. Thanks, Margie.”
Sensing my disappointment, Ryder wraps his arm around my shoulders again, leaving a kiss on my head that sends all sorts of nice feelings through my veins.
And Margie lights up.
“How was dinner?” she asks, her frustration with Reed seemingly forgotten.
“It was good,” I say.
She turns to Ryder. “That’s high praise, from her.”
“Oh, I know it,” he says. He nudges me with his elbow. “She even told me she’s glad I’ve stuck around.”
Margie’s jaw drops, her grin so wide I briefly wonder if she’s going to get lipstick in her hair.
“So when’s the wedding?” She points at Ryder.
“Will you be moving here?” She turns to me.
“If you move to Manhattan, I think I can speak for the entire town in saying that we will be incredibly sad to see you go but so happy you found love.”
My face is hot. I turn to Ryder. “You can’t tell people these things.”
“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed.”
Margie clasps her hands together in front of her. “Oh, summer wedding, I bet. You’ll need to have it when the sunflowers are in full bloom.”
I grab Ryder’s hand, tugging him back toward the door. “Bye Margie!”
I push through the front door, Ryder following on my heels, as Margie rises from her seat and shouts, “Do you need a flower girl? I’m available!”