15. Chapter Fifteen
15
Ryker
When I wake up in the morning, I make sure not to wake Wren up as I head into the shower.
I still can’t believe that I asked her to stay with me last night and that she climbed into bed afterward. She should’ve run for the hills, but she chose not to, and that does things to me I’m not used to.
Things I don’t want to feel.
I’ve already got a plan for this morning.
First, I’m going to plan a nice day for me and Wren – something that will get her out of this safe shell that she’s got locked tightly around herself. After that, I’ll do what I told her I would and call my parents.
Maybe she’s right and that’s what they’ve been waiting on. There’s this fear deep inside that Wren could be wrong, but the idea that she could be right has me pushing forward with my plan. I know that they are on vacation right now, yet I’m still hopeful that one of them will answer their phone.
It’s been a long time since I talked to them, choosing only to keep up with their lives through social media, and I’m nervous to see how they’ll react to my call.
I find my mother’s number first, knowing that if anyone is going to answer it’s likely going to be her, and quickly click the call button before I lose my nerve. It rings a few times, but eventually she answers and clears her throat. “R-Ryker?”
“Hey, Mom. Been a while.”
“Honey,” she says into the line, but her voice sounds further away than it did before. “It’s Ryker. Come here, quick.”
I give her a few moments to gather her thoughts, since it’s probably a bit of a shock that I’m calling her in the first place, then clear my throat. “I’ve been told that I should try to call you guys.”
“Oh, Honey,” my mom says softly, then she sniffles. “I’m so happy to hear from you. Your dad is here, too, so you can say hi.”
“Dad, hey.”
He coughs, then says, “Son.”
“So, uh, how’ve things been?”
“A lot better now that we’ve got you on the phone. Is everything okay?”
I sigh heavily. “Everything’s going okay. I’ve been ordered to take a break from the band's tour, so I’m in Arizona right now.”
“A break, why?”
“You haven’t seen everything in the media about me?” Somehow, knowing they haven’t kept up with my career makes me feel worse than if she wouldn’t have answered my call at all.
Are they so disappointed with the life I chose that they couldn’t even bother to keep up with me?
“It was hard, you know? You left and never turned back, we were ashamed of our behavior and afraid that you would hate us. We chose to stay away.”
That’s a little more understanding, I guess.
“Well,” I say while running a hand through my hair. “I’ve got some anger that I need to learn how to cope better with, so our manager sent me to my Arizona place and hired a wellness coach.”
My dad sighs heavily in the background, and I don’t miss it as he says, “If he would’ve gone to medical school, this wouldn’t be an issue.”
“Don’t,” my mother whines into the phone. “Not right now, Kenneth.”
I’m surprised that she didn’t agree with my father. That was her favorite thing to do before I left home to move forward with my career. Normally, anger would be bubbling after hearing my father’s words, but the feeling never comes and I take a deep breath instead.
“It’s been an unexpected relief.”
Instead of starting an argument, I simply choose to ignore the slight jab at my career and focus more on letting my mother know how everything is going.
“That’s a good thing? You’re feeling better?”
“I’m feeling great, Mom. Better than I have in a long while, actually.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” she says softly. The line is silent for a few moments, then she chuckles. “Sorry, I just still can’t believe you called. Shocked, but it’s a good kind of surprise. We’ve missed talking to you.”
“Same here, Mom.”
When I look up, Wren is leaning against the doorway that leads into the kitchen, and she gives me a quick thumbs-up before disappearing back down the hallway.
I expected her to listen and try to psycho-analyze everything that’s being said, but I’m relieved that she chooses not to do that.
“Look, we’ve still got another week left of our vacation, but I’d love to come see you when we get back. Is that okay?”
“Of course,” I say with a small smile. “Just let me know when you get back and we’ll get something planned. Maybe you and dad could come to one of my shows if we have one close to you guys.”
“Absolutely not,” my father mutters. “You can go, but I’m not hanging around a bunch of young adults while they give themselves brain damage by shaking their heads all over the place.”
This is what I was afraid of.
“We’ll figure something out, Honey, don’t worry,” my mother immediately responds. She’s still not agreeing with him, but I can sense that she’s holding back from doing so.
Maybe this was a bad idea after all. The only reason she’s not voicing a real opinion is because she doesn’t want to take the chance that I go away again. I need to change my ways, though, that was the point of coming here in the first place – and that includes more than just my anger.
“That sounds great, Mom. I’ll let you guys go and enjoy yourselves, but I’ll be in touch again soon.”
“I love you.”
It’s been a really long time since I heard those words from her and they’re exactly what I needed in this moment to make myself feel better. “Love you, too, Mom. Talk soon.”
By the time I hang up, Wren’s already back in the kitchen, fixing herself a cup of coffee without looking at me over her shoulder. I smirk, noting how she taps her foot on the floor nervously, and I lean into the island. “It’s killing you, isn’t it?”
She spins around, the cup just over her lips, and hums at my question. “Not sure what you mean.”
I can see the amusement shining in her gaze, and I chuckle. “You’re desperate to know how it went.”
“Nope. That’s your business, and you’ll talk to me when you’re ready.” She turns to the stove and hums a tune that I’ve never heard, then looks at me over her shoulder with a raised brow. “Breakfast?”
“Not this morning.” I walk over and pull her away from the stove. “I’ve got the morning all planned out for us.”
She shakes her head. “You can’t possibly already have a day planned for us already, you’ve barely been up.”
“And how do you know?”
Wren shrugs and backs a few steps away from me. “I’m a heavy sleeper, but not that heavy. You weren’t exactly quiet in the shower, you know?”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up.” She waves me off like it’s no big deal, then I clear my throat. “In that case, go get dressed into something more outdoorsy and we’ll head out.”
“Sure thing, Rockstar.”
While she heads into her room to get dressed, I quickly slip things into a small basket – or my version of basket, since I don’t have the fancy woven ones that most people use for a picnic – and pray that she’ll like it enough.
I’ve got everything packed and hidden away before she’s made it into the entryway, and I trail my gaze over her frame with heat flaring up in them. “You look nice.”
“Let’s get this show on the road, Rockstar, we’ve got some work to do today that doesn’t include having fun.”
When she walks in front of me, I can’t help but watch the way her hips sway dramatically, and I briefly wonder if she’s hoping I’ll be watching. Before she catches me in the act, I quickly look away from her ass and focus on meeting her at the passenger side of my car.
At least we’re not taking hers.
Once she’s seated inside, I gently shut the door and take the things I packed to the trunk. This feels more like a date, and I can’t even bother denying it. After last night, I don’t think I could if I tried.
There’s no doubt in my mind that this is going much further than a working relationship.
***
I pull into a clearing and give her a nervous smile as she stares at the scenery ahead. “I, uh, hope you’re okay with eating here.”
She snaps her attention to me and raises a brow. “Here?”
Without answering, I get out of the car and pull our things out of the trunk before heading over to her side of the car. She pushes the door open while curiously eyeing the bucket. “A bucket?”
“Let’s pretend it’s a basket.”
She follows as I lead us closer to the edge of the canyon and I pull the small blanket out of the bucket, then drape it carefully onto the ground. Wren blinks a few times. “What is this?”
“Well, I thought that was obvious, Teach.”
“Asshole,” she mutters while slowly sinking onto the blanket, then she looks up at me. “I mean, what are you doing it for?
“It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I’m thinking I should’ve chosen to do something else?”
“No. No. Sorry, this just isn’t something anyone’s ever done for me and it’s sweet. Not sure how to react about it, honestly. What does it mean?”
Although I’d love nothing more than for her to acknowledge it for what it is – a date – I know she needs to be the one to take it to that next step. “Whatever you want it to mean,” I say, then sink onto the blanket next to her with a smile. “You get to choose, Wren.”
She doesn’t say anything, just stares into my eyes like she’s searching for an underlying truth somewhere in the depths of them, and I clear my throat. “Until then, let’s dig in, yeah?”
“This is weird, right?”
I shrug. “Doesn’t have to be, unless you make it that way.”
“Right.”
“Are we going to have that weird conversation and talk about what happened last night?”
“Not if you don’t want to,” I say casually, even though the reminder of last night brings back the way she screamed my name, and I desperately want to hear it again. “Whatever makes you comfortable.”
“You’re being… sweet.” She scrunches her nose while taking a large bite of her sandwich, waiting until she’s swallowed it before adding. “It’s weird.”
“Good weird, or bad?”
“I’ll get back to you on that.”
***
She never did get back to me on whether being sweet was a good thing or not.
Granted, right after we ate our food and relaxed for a little while I decided taking her bungee jumping over the grand canyon was a good idea – that could’ve ruined any thoughts of me being sweet, but she seemed to enjoy it.
When we pull into the driveway, I narrow my eyes at Elias standing confidently on my front porch and look over at Wren expectantly. “Expecting a visit so soon?”
Wren sighs heavily and shakes her head. “I didn’t know he would make an appearance like this.”
I calmly get out of the car, even though I’d very much like to punch him the closer we get to his tall frame, and nod curtly at him before making my way inside. I’d already told Wren it was okay that she give him access to the property, but I guess I should’ve mentioned that I didn’t want things like this to happen – surprise visits.
I’ll let them have their talk, then talk to her about it – It’s the least I can do when I’ve managed to keep her smiling this morning.
My mind is spinning with thoughts of what Elias could’ve needed to come here and say to her, but I’ve got a strong feeling it has everything to do with me.