23. Chapter Twenty-Three
23
Ryker
From the front seat, I can see Wren’s surprise, but that’s not the most important part of today. Melanie is, of course, surprised by my visit because I thought that was the best approach to our situation.
The longer I stare at Wren, the more her face pales before turning green and she shoves the door open before dry heaving in front of us. Even though I’ve got an agenda today, that still doesn’t stop me from rushing over to her and kneeling on the ground to make sure she’s okay.
She looks up at me, frowning, then shakes from my hold and carefully steps out of the car. We don’t say anything. There’s not much we can say at the moment – not until I have a proper conversation with her family.
I know what her father thinks of me, Elias, as well, which is why this is the first part of my plan. Everything needs to go perfectly before I get my girl back, and it all starts with approval from the people she loves.
Wren darts her gaze from me and takes in the other guys while chewing on the inside of her cheek nervously, and then she glares at me. “What are you doing here?”
As much as I’d love to tell her, that’s not something I’m willing to say to her right now.
Brent clears his throat and touches Wren’s arm, causing her to freeze like he’s a disease she’s afraid of catching. He immediately drops his fingers, then nudges his head toward the stables. “I’m told you’re an expert with horses?”
“Yeah?”
Evan comes up this time and claps his hands together. “Was hoping I could get a professional opinion, been wanting a horse myself for a while now.”
I’ll never be more thankful for these two than I am right now. Even though I’m officially out of the band, now that we’ve found my replacement, they’ll do anything to help me, and that means more than anything else in the world.
Unfortunately, my parents are an entirely different story. The moment I told them about quitting the band, their immediate response was to tell me which schools were best for a medical degree. They were ecstatic, but that quickly changed into disappointment when I told them that’s not where my dreams lie.
Right now, they lie with the woman standing before me, and it’s time for me to make things right.
Wren looks between my two best friends curiously, then at me, and I nod toward my friends with a small smile. “Can we go somewhere and talk after?”
She nods, then reluctantly pulls my friends alongside her and mumbles a few basics when it comes to horses – but I know for a fact neither of them is listening to her because that’s not what they’re stealing her for.
When I talk to her family, I want it to be alone.
Melanie is still standing in the middle of the driveway, looking just as confused as Wren, and I confidently walk up to her with a friendly smile. “Mind if we take this inside, Mrs. Grace?”
She blinks, then shakes her head as if remembering her manners. “Oh, of course not, honey.” While we step through the front door and I take my shoes off, she turns around with an eyebrow raised. “I assume there’s a reason for your visit?”
“There is,” I say softly.
Walter is the next one to step into the room, but he doesn’t look as happy to have me here as Melanie does. Hopefully this next conversation will change that.
“Ryker,” he mutters. “Didn’t expect to see you here. What’s the meaning of this?”
I’m not surprised he has a protective mask over his face.
I run a hand through my hair and sigh. “Could we go sit somewhere? I think this is a conversation that should be had sitting down.”
Melanie nods immediately while Walter glares at me and tries to decide if he should kick me out instead. Obviously, Melanie wins the silent argument as she turns and nudges his shoulder gently.
“Of course,” Walter grumbles.
When we get into the large dining room, Melanie waves me to a seat across from her and Walter. It’s silent for a moment, and then I take my first big breath and smile. “This is unexpected, I know, but I didn’t want to scare Wren away before I made my case.”
Walter raises a brow, but otherwise he stays silent as he leans back into the chair as a way to intimidate me.
“Things got twisted when mine and Wren’s relationship got plastered all over the internet. It took some time, but I’ve got everything situated now and decided to take a break from the band until further notice.”
That seems to surprise Wren’s father, but he still chooses to stay silent.
Melanie, on the other gasps and leans forward, her cool fingers wrapping and warming around my large hand. “Oh, Ryker, why did you do that?”
I shrug and give her my best smile. “It was the right thing to do for me right now.”
“The point of my visit,” I say. “It is because I wanted to let you know that I fell in love with your daughter while I was here, and I don’t want to let what we have get away from me. My manager made a mistake in how he treated her, which was told to him almost immediately, and I want you to know that I’ve since righted the situation.”
Walter clears his throat, not looking convinced, and uncrosses his arms. “You say you love Wren, yeah?” I nod, and he shakes his head with narrowed eyes. “Then why hasn’t she heard a single word from you?”
“My manager threatened her career before I left, told me that if I got in contact with her, he would report her to the ethics board and have her license taken away. I was only doing what I thought was best for her.”
“And now?”
“Now, there’s not going to be any backlash from my manager. He’s been taken care of, along with the evidence of our relationship. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to respond to any article about me and Wren.”
Walter doesn’t say anything, and I sigh. “I’ve been trying to get everything in order, make sure Wren’s life wouldn’t be ruined, and get things situated here in Arizona.”
“In Arizona?” Melanie asks.
I give them a big smile and nod. “I plan to move here full-time to focus on bettering myself and being who Wren deserves.”
They both look at me, and Walter looks like he’s seeing me for the first time – he probably is. Just like everyone else, he’s had this notion about me that’s not true. Maybe now he’ll take the time to get to know that other side of me, the side that Wren caught feelings for all those weeks ago.
“The thing is, I’d love to get approval on dating your daughter… but you have to know, I will still win her heart back even if you don’t. This is merely a courtesy and out of respect.”
Walter nods slowly, letting my words sink in, and then he leans forward. “You’ve got my approval, but I’m watching you.”
Melanie's eyes shine with unshed tears, and she dabs at the corners as if they’ve already fallen. “Of course, you’ve got our approval. Is there anything else you need?”
“Actually,” I say. “Do you happen to have an extra blanket and small basket?”
“Of course, is that all?”
“I’ve got everything else figured out,” I say politely before she disappears from the room.
There’s a heavy silence in the air, then Walter leans closer to me and says, “If you hurt her, don’t think you’ll get the chance to come back here again and plead your case. I’m trusting you with my baby girl.”
“Of course, sir, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Everything feels as though it’s falling right into place when Melanie walks back in with the basket I asked for, along with a blanket draped over her arm.
I’ve been waiting weeks to be able to do this, and I can’t stop my heart's rapid beating, no matter how much I try to calm myself down with breathing exercises.
Wren arrives as I place the last items in the trunk. I give her a small smile and hold the car door open. Her unsure nod says it all, and we slide onto the leather seats without a word as I drive the vehicle out of the driveway at an unhurried pace, leaving her folks and my bandmates watching from behind.
***
Just as I imagined, our sedan pulls up to the spot where Wren and I had a picnic before, and she hops out of the car in a far better mood than when I saw her earlier. She looks scared as she carefully inches closer to me, making me wonder if this is a terrible idea, but the moment I hold my hand out to her, relief floods into her features, and she takes my hand.
This feels right.
There’s a few things scattered around me – the picnic basket full of food that Melanie suggested I pack, a guitar case resting next to that and right on top of that is a notebook of things I never thought I’d make known to another person before.
It’s a notebook full of my deepest thoughts.
Wren settles onto the blanket slowly, eyes casting over the scenery the same way they did the first time as if she’s never witnessed it before, and I take a moment to study the side of her. Her shoulders are tense once again, and I frown at the sight.
There’s something off about her.
She’s worried.
I reach forward, clasping her hand in mine, and give her the best smile I can manage. “Did I make a mistake doing this?”
Immediately, she shakes her head, and a tear falls down her cheek that I reach out to wipe away with a frown. “Not at all, Ryker.”
Wren rubs her hands together, then sighs heavily. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
She stares at me as though she’s scared of what my reaction will be, and that scares the shit out of me.
Is it that she doesn’t want to be with me anymore? Did I take too long to get back to her?
“Okay,” I say softly, trying to keep my nerves in check.
“This is hard, telling you, but I know you deserve to know before anything goes further,” she says while closing her eyes for a brief moment to take a deep breath.
When she opens them, her eyes are glazed with more tears, and it breaks my heart in two. “I’m pregnant, Ryker.”
“W-what?” That’s all I can manage right now.
Everything goes deadly silent. Not even nature in the background can be heard around us, and Wren curls into herself to hide away from me. Her cheeks are pink from embarrassment, and I still haven’t figured out what the hell I should say.
When I made my surprise arrival, this isn’t the type of conversation I had in mind. I think back to the moments we shared, trying to figure out where the slip-up was, but it doesn’t seem so important anymore.
Wren’s pregnant.
Before I can let the fear take hold of me, I smile brightly and take the chance to pull her onto my lap. “We’re having a baby?”
She stares at me, confused, and nods slowly. “Yep.”
“How are you feeling?”
I guess that explains why she threw up earlier.
She shrugs and frowns. “Not that great, but I’m handling it the best I can. My mom helped me schedule an appointment earlier.”
“Can I, uh, go to it with you?”
“Is that what you want? Shouldn’t you be on tour?”
“I thought about it,” I say while smiling against her head. “But how would I be able to be with you if I’m always on the road?”
Wren pushes away from me. “What are you talking about?”
“I quit the band, Wren, and I’m officially moving to Arizona.”
She blinks rapidly, tears glistening in her eyes, and shakes her head. “You can’t do that.”
“Yet, I did. Everything is done. I’m officially out.”
“But why?”
“Because it didn’t seem more important than being here with you, even if my dream was one of the things I had to let go of. It seems like I’ve got bigger dreams to focus on now,” I say, my hand falling onto her stomach with a grin.
She opens her mouth to protest my decision, but I press a finger over her lips. “This is what I want, Wren, for both of us.”
“Us?”
“I came to get my girl back, couldn’t you tell?”
She chuckles and pushes away from my lap to pick everything out of the basket. Even though she hasn’t told me if we’re okay, there’s something about the ease in her laugh as we talk for the next hour that lets me know it’s all okay.
It’s definitely okay when she leans forward, lips pressing softly against mine, before climbing into my lap and grinding herself against me.
It's not the best time to have our moment, but I couldn't care less who happens to be watching.
I also made sure no one else would be coming up here.