Chapter 9
The sound of a vehicle coming up the drive made me stop so fast my boot slid in the mud.
My pulse jumped before I even looked up because all I could think about was it being Ryder. But when I glanced up, my disappointment sank to my stomach.
A white work van rolled toward the house with ROOTSTOWN GLASS printed across the side in faded blue lettering. The driver parked near the porch and climbed out carrying a clipboard. He was an older man with a gray beard, a round stomach, and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes.
“You Miss Lila Shaw?” he called.
“That’s me.” I used the rag slung over my shoulder to wipe off my hands as I moved toward him.
He glanced toward the plywood covering the living room window. “Figured this was the place.”
Confusion must have been written all over my face because he paused as I stopped in front of him.
“I didn’t call any glass companies,” I said. Then it clicked. Ryder.
“No?” He flipped through the papers on his clipboard.
“Got a call this morning. Boss said it needed to be done first. Priority job.” He looked up and smiled, wrinkles forming around his denim-blue eyes.
“Must be a friend of the big guy for him to put a rush on it.” He tapped his pen.
“I’ve already got the measurements, but I’ll double-check them.
Replacement glass should be here tomorrow afternoon or maybe the morning after if the supplier holds us up. ”
“Of course he made the call,” I muttered under my breath, thinking of Ryder. An intense flush spread through me before I could stop it.
“Pardon, miss?”
I shook my head. “Sorry. Do you need anything from me?”
“No, ma’am. I’ll just get to work so I can get out of your hair.” He climbed the porch steps and examined the temporary covering.
“Thank you,” I said, still a little stunned.
He was done in about twenty minutes, and when he left, I watched the van disappear down the drive. My mind kept circling back to Ryder. Of course he’d handled it. That was just who he was.
I went back to picking up debris, but the knowledge of all Ryder had been doing and was still doing followed me. It sat with me while I dragged branches away from the house and cleared mud from the porch steps.
It stayed with me when I walked across the yard and into the barn. Everything still looked the same as it had the day I arrived. Worn, weather-beaten, and quietly holding on but I couldn’t shake the knowledge that without Ryder’s years of quiet work, this place would have fallen into ruin long ago.
I spent the rest of the morning clearing more storm debris and adding more sticks and branches to the burn pile.
The physical work helped keep my mind off a certain dark and rugged cowboy, but it didn’t quiet the thoughts circling in my head.
Every time I looked up, I found myself glancing toward the Kane Ranch, half expecting to see Ryder’s truck coming up the drive. It never did.
Later, a flatbed truck arrived with stacked lumber.
The driver confirmed the order was for Shaw Ranch and that it had already been paid for.
I almost refused it out of pure habit. Accepting help had never felt safe.
With my father, every kindness came with a debt.
But this wasn’t my father. This was Ryder.
I stepped aside and let the driver unload, watching the lumber stack higher, the weight of everything settling deeper in my chest. The tax receipt, the window repair, and now this.
Ryder hadn’t started taking care of this place when my father died.
He hadn’t started when I came home. He’d been doing it long before either of those things happened.
He had simply refused to let the ranch die.
By late afternoon, I couldn’t sit still.
Every room I walked through carried pieces of him.
The smooth-closing window, the faucet that no longer leaked, and the back door that locked without a fight.
I had spent so long looking at this house and only seeing my father’s damage.
Ryder had looked at the same place and saw something worth saving.
And now, I was slowly starting to see it the same way because I knew Ryder had been saving it for me.
The thought lodged deep and wouldn’t let go. Ryder didn’t know if I’d ever come back, but I knew he’d been fixing things silently just in case.
He’d held on when I couldn’t.
By the time the sun began sinking toward the mountains, I was done waiting. I showered, changed into clean jeans and a soft black shirt, and stood in front of the mirror for a long moment. I looked tired and uncertain because I didn’t know exactly what I was walking into.
I only knew I couldn’t spend another night staring toward the Kane Ranch unable to stop thinking about him.
Ryder.
I grabbed my keys and drove the short distance next door.