I pulled on a pair of sweats and went to answer the door.
“I’m selling the inn,” Mom announced as soon as I let her in. “And my house. Then I’m moving to Idaho so I can be close to my boy.”
She was? Well, that was a…shock. But a good kind of shock.
I glanced over at Liz, who had just stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in my clothes. Her gaze darted to mine. I hadn’t asked Liz to come with me yet, though I planned to. I wasn’t sure how she would respond. I couldn’t expect her to give up everything to be with me.
“You’re moving to Idaho?” Liz asked Glenda in surprise.
“I am. I plan to open another business there. You’ll have a job as my business manager no matter what type of business I decide to open up.”
Liz’s startled gaze bounced back to mine. “Uh, um, okay. Thank you.” There was hesitancy in her eyes.
I stepped toward Liz. “I wouldn’t feel right asking you to give up your entire life to be with me,” I told her gently. “It would be selfish of me to even consider it. But I would really like it if you came with me to Idaho. That is, if you want to…”
Liz’s eyes filled with tears. “I…” she glanced over at my mom. “I…”
“Just say yes,” Mom urged. “Ryan loves you and I know you love him. So just say yes!”
Liz launched herself into my arms. “Yes! I’ll go with you, Ryan. I’ll go with you anywhere! Yes, yes, yes!”
I hugged her to me, so glad she’d said yes. Later, when the time was right, I’d pop another question. One that I prayed I would get a “yes” to, as it would bind her to me for the rest of our lives if she said “yes”.
The dregs all left for Idaho later that day. Mom headed back to Medicine Park to make the necessary arrangements to put the inn and her house on the market. She promised to join us in Idaho sometime within the next few weeks.
Luke seemed to be doing better today than he had the night before, which told me the sparring had helped. But there was still a darkness in his eyes, a dejectedness in his demeanor that wasn’t Luke at all, and I sensed he was still battling with The Controller’s pull on him—whatever it might be. Once we got to Idaho, I’d do my best to help him deal with his demons. All I could do was be there for him and hope that in time he would talk to me and tell me what had happened.
Liz and I stopped by her apartment so she could pack up some clothes and things for the road. Mom had promised to schedule a moving company to come in and pack Liz’s furniture up along with hers, and have it all shipped to Idaho at the same time. Liz had called her parents on the way to her place and told them she was moving to Idaho. They’d demanded that she bring me by to meet them before she left town. And yes, I agreed to meet them. How could I say no?
Was I nervous about meeting her parents? I little, but mostly I looked toward to it. Liz was my future, so her family would soon be my family, too.
I couldn’t believe Liz was giving up everything here in Oklahoma to move to Idaho with me. Because she loved me.
Yeah, I was a lucky guy.
I was never letting her go.
She was my forever girl.
She’d changed me. She’d turned the player into a one-woman man.
And forever was exactly what I planned to give her now.
Forever.
# # #
Thank you for reading Ryan and Liz’s story. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. It would mean a lot to me if you would take a moment to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads:
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Thank you so much!
**Don’t miss the final book in the series, The ENFORCEr, coming November 1, 2019**
Books in the Dregs series:
The Tracker
The Fighter
The Healer
The Smuggler
The Trainer
The Hacker
The Extractor
The Enforcer (coming November 1, 2019)
Other Titles by Leslie Georgeson
No Son of Mine (standalone mystery/drama)
Unlikely Heroes romantic suspense series:
Stolen – Book 1
Abducted – Book 2
Deceived – Book 3
Stoned – Book 4
Scarred – Book 5
Underneath paranormal/sci-fi romance series:
Exiled – Book 1
Drifter – Book 2
Unseen – Book 3
About Leslie Georgeson
Leslie Georgeson is the author of the popular military romantic suspense series, THE DREGS, which was nominated for the 2018 TopShelf Indie Book Awards. She is also the author of the standalone mystery/drama NO SON OF MINE, the UNLIKELY HEROES romantic suspense series, and the paranormal/sci-fi romance series UNDERNEATH. Leslie lives with her husband and daughter on a quiet country acreage in Idaho. She is currently working on the final book in The Dregs series, The Enforcer, and anticipates a November 1, 2019 release.
Connect with Leslie Georgeson
Author webpage
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
The Extractor Page 32