Chapter 4
RYDER
I stepped out of the shower, glancing at my phone I’d left on the bed.
As if it knew I was looking at it, the phone lit up with yet another call from Bianca.
Striding over to the bed, I declined the call and turned off the phone.
The last thing I needed was to talk to her.
If I heard her voice, listened to the desperation and pleading, I might get on a plane and head back to New York City, and that was something I couldn’t afford right now.
I needed the distance from the whole mess, and that included the woman I thought I would spend the rest of my life with.
Drying off, I walked over to the closet and pulled out a suit out of habit, but the moment I started pulling on the slacks, I thought better of it.
“What the hell am I doing?” I muttered to myself.
I didn’t have a job. I had no interviews to go on. Hell, for once in my life, I was free to do whatever I wanted.
And yet, as I looked in my closet, I realized I had nothing that really fit in this life.
I pulled out a pair of jeans that looked almost slightly worn and grabbed a white t-shirt.
That was about as casual as I got most days.
Thankfully, I had some boots to wear. They were really more stylish boots than work boots, but it was better than wearing wingtips in Montana.
“Coffee,” I murmured to myself, walking out of the room, only to stop in my tracks.
Jeff and some other guy were sitting in my living room, playing a game on a large screen TV, with controllers I definitely didn’t have before.
“Uh…”
“You slept late,” Jeff said, his thumbs going crazy on the controller and his eyes laser-focused on the TV. “We were gonna wait, but—”
“Oh! Damn, I got you!”
“You cheated,” Jeff snapped.
“Did not. You just suck at this.”
“Who are you?” I asked.
“It’s not my fault you need the practice,” the man laughed.
“I would practice if I had a console of my own, but I don’t.”
“What the hell is going on?” I asked, still waiting on an answer.
“Listen, I’ve only got twenty minutes until I have to leave for my shift. You have until then to convince me that you can kick my ass.”
“What a pussy. You don’t have to work. You just know that I’ll kick your ass when I’m not so rusty.”
I stomped in front of the TV, missing the old days when there was an actual button to press on the TV to turn it off.
“Hey!” they both shouted, pissed that I was blocking their view.
“Who the fuck are you?” I snapped at the man.
He grinned at me, tossing the controller on the table. “You don’t recognize me?”
“Not even a little.”
The man leaned back on the couch, draping his arm across the furniture like it belonged to him. “My, my. How times have changed. Of course, I’m not surprised you don’t recognize me. Back in high school, you only had eyes for Krista.”
“That did not sound right,” Jeff laughed.
“Not like that, you idiot. I meant, he didn’t notice me because he was staring at Krista.”
“Right,” Jeff nodded, “which makes it sound like you wanted him to notice you.”
“No, it meant that he wouldn’t have noticed an army of bees flying at him because he was so focused on Krista.”
“Which we need to discuss,” Jeff retorted, turning to face me. “You know, now that you’re back.”
“I’m not back.”
“Well, you’re here, which invalidates your statement.”
“Ooh, big words,” the man jeered.
“Shut up. I have learning capabilities up here,” Jeff said, tapping the side of his head.
Anger was surging through me, but I tamped it down. This was not the way I thought I would wake up on my first day home. I was supposed to be at peace, not struggling to contain anger.
“Who the fuck are you?” I shouted.
When the man stood, I nearly took a step back. On the couch, he didn’t look that imposing, but at his full height, fuck, the man was practically a giant. With muscles that big, he could squish me like a bug.
But the grin on his face kind of ruined any hopes he had of intimidating me. “I can’t believe you don’t recognize me. Dude, we played ball together.”
I studied him for another moment before his features finally started forming what I had to be imagining was the puny face of a kid who played point guard in high school.
“Declan?”
“The one and only,” he grinned.
“But you were…” I held my hand up to about the height of my neck, shocked this kid had skyrocketed to the giant he was. “How the hell…”
“Shot up my senior year,” he grinned.
“Holy shit,” I laughed, holding out my hand to shake his.
He looked at me strangely, then strode around the table and wrapped me up in a hug, lifting me off my feet.
“Okay,” I wheezed, feeling my lungs being crushed in my chest. “That’s…you can put me down now.”
He did, and I nearly fell over.
“How the hell are you?” he laughed, slapping me on the shoulder.
I nearly stumbled.
“Good,” I lied. “And you? What are you doing now? Chopping down trees?”
“Nah,” he laughed. “I’m a fireman.”
“Not just any fireman,” Jeff said, kicking back in his seat. “He’s gonna be chief next year.”
“No shit?”
“Well, the boss is retiring. It’s not a guarantee.”
“Bullshit,” Jeff laughed. “You’re the only man willing to run into a burning building in this town and pull out tiny little puppies. Of course you’re gonna be chief.”
“Well, we’ll see about that,” Declan grinned sheepishly. “Well, I gotta run. Work calls, and firemen don’t get paid for sitting on their asses all day.”
“See ya,” I waved as he walked out the door.
Taking a seat beside Jeff, I shook my head in disbelief. Declan had grown like a tree. What else had I missed while I’d been gone?
“So, game?” Jeff asked, handing me the controller.
“You know, believe it or not, I don’t actually like video games.”
His jaw dropped in shock. “No way.”
“Seriously.”
“But…every guy likes playing video games.”
“Clearly, not every guy. Why the hell are you here, anyway?”
“It’s like I told you, to play the game.”
“You could have played at your house. And how did you get in?”
He grinned at me, completely unabashed by the fact that he broke in. “Well, my family does own the place. It would be silly of us not to have spare keys around. You know, in case you got locked out.”
“Or in case you needed to break in to play a game.”
“Whatever you choose to believe, man. Hungry? Let’s grab some food. I’m starving and you have nothing to eat in the house.”
“That’s because I just moved in!” I called out as he strode for the door.
I didn’t really want to go with him, but he was right. There was no food, and I’d have to go into town sooner or later for groceries. I could at least get something at the diner.
Grabbing my keys and wallet, I headed out, stopping on the porch as I was struck by the glorious view.
Bright sun peeked over the mountains, illuminating the river in the distance.
I hadn’t seen something like this in years, and now that I did, I found it hard to breathe.
I’d been missing out on so much while I was in New York.
“But you had a career and a woman you loved,” I muttered to myself.
“Hey, are you comin’ or are you gonna stare at the mountains all day?”
I could sit here all day, but then my stomach growled, reminding me that food was required. Instead of driving separately, Jeff sat in the passenger seat of my car, wiggling around and running his fingers over the leather interior.
“Fancy. Didn’t think a boy from Montana would drive anything quite so…sophisticated.”
“It’s just a rental.”
“Right, but you chose it.”
“It’s just a car,” I said in irritation.
“Okay, fine. It’s just a car.”
“Exactly.”
He bit his tongue, but I knew there was more coming. I just wasn’t sure when it would hit.
“So, are you still living at the—”
“Who drives a car with leather when they’re living on a ranch?” he blurted out.
“I’m not working on the ranch.”
“Right, but there’s mud and dirt and filthy things all over the place.”
“That’s all the same thing.”
“And you’re going to step in mud one of these days and get your car filthy.”
“Again, it’s a rental.”
“And that’s another thing. If you’re staying here for a while, why would you rent a car?
That’s a huge expense. I mean, they usually have mileage limits, which you know you’ll go over because we’re a million miles from nowhere.
If you wanted to go to the city to say…buy some clothes that didn’t make you look like a pretentious prick, you’d have to drive all the way to Missoula. ”
“I don’t look like a pretentious prick.”
“That’s to be determined. Unless you’re not actually planning on staying that long,” he said thoughtfully.
“Maybe you’re telling yourself that you’re going to stay out here for an undetermined amount of time, but in reality, you’re only going to stay a few days before you decide to go back to your fancy life.
In which case, you would know deep down that a rental car is all you need. ”
“I don’t know how long I’m staying,” I gritted out. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“No, you’ve got me there. Unless, of course, you’re here to rekindle a passionate affair with my sister. She’s got someone, by the way. She’s madly in love, and there’s no dragging her out of her house.”
“I’m not interested.”
“Of course, maybe you’re over Krista, but you want a shot at Lizzy. Not that I would blame you. She’s beautiful. She’s got a kind heart. She’s feisty and a little scary when she gets mad.”
I sighed heavily. “Is there a point to any of this?”
“Then again, she has a kid, and I’m not sure you’re put together enough to handle that kind of commitment.”
That was news to me. “She has a kid? Since when?”
“Last winter.”
“Is she married?”
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Why? Are you considering stepping up to the plate?”
“Jesus, it’s just a question!”