Chapter 22
Ryan changed clothes and got Sam dressed to go out while Matti was closed up in her room, and they were back in the living room when she appeared.
Used to seeing her in T-shirts and shorts or jeans, he wasn’t expecting the vision standing in front of him.
He walked to her, almost feeling as if he were in a trance.
He glanced behind him to make sure Sam was playing with his toys and not paying attention to them, then said, “Wow! You always look good enough to eat, but tonight, you’re going to be the tastiest dessert on the menu.
” She’d done something to give her eyes a smoky look, and for once, her hair wasn’t all messy but was sleek and shiny.
As much as he liked that the sleek-and-shiny hairstyle was sexy, he loved her messy-just-got-out-of-bed look.
“Thank you, I think?” She beamed a smile. “I’ve never been the tastiest dessert on a man’s menu.”
“I’d say that’s their loss.” The only color on the white sundress was a red belt that matched her red sandals. Thin straps held the dress up but left her shoulders and upper chest bare, and he wanted to trail his mouth over all that creamy skin that smelled like vanilla.
“Matti,” Sam yelled at seeing her. “Did you know we’re going to see dinosaurs? Doc said they’re not alive anymore. I wish they were.”
“If they were, they’d eat us.” He stepped back before the temptation to lick her was too much to resist.
When Aiden returned, they decided he should drive, so Ryan moved Sam’s car seat and Matti chose to sit in back with Sam. “Ready to go see some dinosaurs?” he said as Aiden backed out of her driveway.
Sam clapped his hands. “Yes!”
Usually, when he was off for a day, he couldn’t wait to get back to work at the hospital.
A day off was spent doing necessary chores.
They were not enjoyable days, and he was always glad when he could get back to being a doctor and doing what he loved.
He’d been off for two days now, and he hadn’t once missed the hospital. A surprise, that.
He had today and tomorrow off, then it was back to work. That gave Wyatt and his police department two days to find those men, and Ryan hoped they did. He didn’t like the thought of Matti and Sam unprotected if the men were still on the loose.
* * *
“I think we’re being followed,” Aiden said as they drove back to Matti’s.
Ryan twisted in the seat to stare out the back window. “That white car?” They’d stopped for pizza at The Pie Works after the museum. He glanced at Sam to see that he was asleep. It had been a long day for him, and he’d conked out within minutes of leaving the restaurant.
“No, the dark blue one behind it. It might be my imagination, but I don’t think so,” Aiden said. “Matti, call Wyatt.”
They’d had a fun afternoon at the museum, and Sam had been all big-eyed and open-mouthed at seeing the dinosaur bones and the models of all the different kinds. They’d all enjoyed the day, and Ryan resented someone ruining the end of it. If there really was a car following them.
“Wyatt said to turn at the next street,” Matti said. “Right or left, doesn’t matter. See if the car turns, too.”
Aiden took a left. “The car turned, too. Tell him we’re going to head for the police station.” Aiden turned left again at the next cross street. “They didn’t follow us. Tell him it’s a false alarm.”
“Sorry, Wyatt, false alarm.” She listened a moment. “Well, that doesn’t make me feel better.” She listened some more. “Okay, thanks. Talk later.”
“What’d he say?” Aiden asked.
“That it could have been them, but you made them nervous with all your turns. That they realized you knew they were following us.”
Yup. Didn’t make Ryan feel better either.
“He said there’s a patrol car coming up behind us and the officer’s going to follow us home.”
That did make Ryan feel better because although it might well have been a false alarm, he wasn’t so sure.
“You coming in?” he asked Aiden when they reached Matti’s.
“No, I’m meeting up with some friends later. Had fun, though, so thanks for letting me tag along.”
“Anytime, man.” He liked Aiden. The guy was a big kid at heart. The patrol car parked on the street and stayed until they were safely locked inside Matti’s house.
“He’s really out of it,” he said after carrying Sam to his bed. He didn’t even wake up when Matti removed his clothes and put on his pajamas.
“No kidding. He had a blast at the museum.” She covered Sam, then they left the room. “So did I. More than I expected.”
“What? You don’t like dinosaurs?”
“That little one was cute.”
“You mean the Chaoyangsaurus?”
“How do you remember the names of them, much less how to say it?”
“I’m smart like that.” He tapped the side of his head. “Ask me anything you want to know about dinosaurs.”
“Actually, there’s not anything I want to know about them. Wait, there is. Why do you know so much about them?”
He followed her into the kitchen. “When I was in high school, I read Eragon by Christopher Paolini. That was the start of my fascination with dragons, which led to wanting to know everything there was to know about dinosaurs.”
“Never heard of that book.”
“You should read it. It’s the first book in an ongoing story, and it’s seriously good. Get this. Christopher was fifteen when he started writing Eragon, and the book hit number one on the New York Times Best Seller List when he was only nineteen. Crazy, huh?”
“Very impressive. I’ll see if the library has it. You want a drink?”
“A beer would be great. You want one?” When she nodded, he got two bottles from the refrigerator. “Want to sit outside?”
“I was going to suggest that.”
He liked her backyard, liked sitting out there with her, liked talking to her.
He just liked everything about her. They sat on her patio for a few hours talking about their lives, their childhoods, their dreams. He hadn’t even had soul-deep conversations like that with Cassie, and he had planned to marry her.
Although they’d been engaged, they’d actually not spent much time together.
He was in med school, and she was in law school.
Long hours of classes, interning, and studying made for tired puppies, and when they did see each other, they fell into bed, made love, and then slept.
Sometimes they were even too tired to do anything but fall asleep.
She’d broken his heart when she ended the engagement, but looking back on it, she’d done them both a favor.
If they’d followed through with the marriage, they wouldn’t have lasted.
He knew that now. And if he had married Cassie, even if they’d divorced, he doubted he’d be sitting on Matti’s patio on a moonlit night while enjoying a conversation the likes of which he’d never had with another woman.
And when the night grew chilly, he took her hand and led her inside, to her bed, where he made love to her and wondered if he was falling in love with her.
* * *
Ryan opened his eyes, not sure what had woken him.
He listened but didn’t hear anything. Yet, alarm bells were ringing in his head.
Thinking it was better being safe than sorry, he slipped out of bed.
Whatever had disturbed his sleep was probably nothing.
He’d check just to be sure, then crawl back into bed and curl himself around Matti’s warm body.
Enough moonlight was coming in through the window that he could see well enough to make his way to the chair where his jeans were.
He put them on and was halfway to the bedroom door when he heard a noise.
He stilled. What was it? Maybe Sam was up and getting something to drink. What if it wasn’t Sam?
Ryan wished he had a baseball bat. He was a doctor, for heaven’s sake, not a cop or soldier. He didn’t think in terms of weapons, but he sure would like to have something now. No, his imagination was getting ahead of him. It had to be Sam. He went to the bedroom door and opened it.
Sam screamed.