by R. Linda
I climbed out and followed her downstairs to the kitchen. Ryder was sitting at the counter drinking coffee while Joan hovered over the stove.
I wrapped my arms around Ryder’s neck and kissed the side of his head. “Morning, love.”
“Good morning,” Indie replied as she climbed onto the stool beside him.
“Bailey, sweetheart.” Joan turned and smiled at me. She placed the tongs down, wiped her hands on the small towel she had thrown over her shoulder, and came to give me a hug. “You look beautiful as ever. How are things?”
I glanced at Ryder and forced a smile. “Things are great.”
No one knew I shared a dorm with Christina, or Chace was at the same school, and they sure as hell didn’t know how hard Christina had made my life over the last year or so. I couldn’t tell anyone because they’d pity me, and I didn’t want their pity. I’d learnt to move on and not let others bother me. I wanted to prove I could survive in the big, bad world on my own and not rely on other people.
If I admitted everything about Christina, I knew my mother, and Joan, even Kenzie would step in and try to fix things for me. But it was my life. I needed to stand on my own two feet and deal with it myself.
“I’m glad to hear. That boy of mine is treating you well?”
“Better than ever,” I answered as Ryder’s hands slipped around my waist and he pulled me between his legs so my back was pressed against his chest.
“Good.” She rubbed her hands up and down my arms a couple of times before she released me and gave Indie a kiss on the cheek. “Indiana, how are you?”
“Horrible.”
I choked back a laugh, and Ryder rolled his eyes. Trust Indie to be brutally honest.
“I heard. I’m sorry, darling. I wish I could make things better for you, but all I can offer is the same piece of advice I’m sure you will get from every single person you talk to.”
“What’s that?”
“Just give it some time.”
“You’re right. That’s what everyone says.”
“But in the meantime, I have a temporary solution.”
“You do?”
“Bacon. Bacon makes everything better.”
Indie smiled. “It’s true.”
Joan was truly amazing. No wonder Ryder and Kenzie turned out so great. They had a perfect role model.
“Cole wasn’t here, by chance, was he?”
“Yeah, why?” Ryder lowered his head to my shoulder.
“I woke up with a stuffed dragon in the bed.”
Ryder chuckled. “He made me breakfast, so we sent him upstairs to check on you while I threw the food in the bin.”
“You didn’t?” I gasped.
“I did, but B, it was revolting. Tomato ketchup, peanut butter, oats, cocoa, butter.”
“What? Mixed together? Like some sort of truffle, with tomato dipping sauce??
“No, on toast.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. I could just imagine Cole making such a feast and being so proud of his effort.
“I think that was very sweet of him.”
“It was. It was also fucking vomit-inducing.”
“Hence the bacon?”
Ryder nodded.
Joan pottered around the kitchen and finished cooking the bacon and eggs. My stomach grumbled. I hadn’t realised how hungry I was until she pushed a plate in front of me.
“What are the plans for today?” she asked as I took a seat on the other stool beside Ryder and we all began eating.
“I’m going to go home for a few hours this morning and see my mum,” I said. I would have called in last night to see her, but Indie was in no state to be left alone, or to visit anyone else. She’d cried through most of the night. I felt helpless and wished I could fix things for her. But only time would heal her wounds.
“And you, Indie?”
Indie shrugged. “My parents are travelling while their house is being renovated, so…” She stabbed at a piece of bacon with her fork and swirled it around her plate. I was pretty sure she hadn’t eaten anything and was just moving the food around.
She was even denying the bacon. Things were dire.
“What about Nate?” Joan continued. Ryder cleared his throat and shook his head a fraction, warning her not to keep asking.
“I texted him. He knows I’m here.” Indie sighed. “Honestly, I think I just want to hide upstairs in your spare room and only come out for the party, if that’s okay?”
“Of course. But, you know, I’m going over to help Kenzie get everything ready for this afternoon if you’d like to come with me.”
“I’m not sure I’d be much help.”
“Well, how about you take Cole for a few hours? Keep him out of our hair while we set up for the party.”
Indie nodded. “I guess I could do that.”
I smiled at Joan, thankful she convinced Indie to at least get out of the house rather than wallowing in her misery. I knew all too well how bad that was for thoughts and mood. Besides, Cole was an angel, and he’d cheer her up without even trying. You couldn’t help but be happy around that kid.
“Great, then it’s settled. You can come with me while Bailey goes home and Ryder…?” She paused and looked at him.
“Goes with Bailey,” he said into his coffee.
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t you think Bailey is big enough to go on her own?”
“No.”
“You think I’m not old enough to go out alone?” I turned to him, trying to hide my smile. I knew he didn’t mean it that way, but it was fun to tease him sometimes.
“No. I just want to go with you.”
Joan made a funny noise while Indie scraped her fork along her plate, still not eating. Ryder glanced at his mother. “I haven’t seen Mrs. M for a while and don’t want to be rude,” he said by way of explanation.
“Uh-huh. Sure, that’s the only reason why.” Joan smirked, the same smirk as her son.
“Whatever.” He stood and cleared both our plates before looking at Indie. “Not hungry?”
She shook her head.
“Okay.” He stole the bacon from her plate and scraped the eggs into the rubbish.
“I’m going to have a shower,” Indie announced as she stood and left the room.
“Is she okay?” Joan whispered to me while Ryder filled the sink with hot, soapy water and washed the dirty dishes.
“She will be.”
I hoped.
“I’ll try to keep her busy so she doesn’t dwell too much on things.” Joan patted my cheek.
“Thank you.”
“Well, I better go and get myself organised too. This party isn’t going to set itself up, and if I leave it to Kenzie, it will never happen.” She laughed and turned to Ryder. “Clean the oven while you’re at it.”
“Who died and made you queen?”
“No one. I was born that way.” She flipped her hair, snapped her fingers, and pointed at the oven then walked away.
Ryder took a deep breath and chuckled. “She thinks she’s funny.”
“She is.”
“She’s not.”
“Oh, come on. I love her attitude. You and Kenzie are so much like her. I love it.”
Ryder finished with the dishes and dried his hands, motioning for me to go to him with a flick of his head as he leaned against the counter. “How set are you on going home this morning?”
“Pretty set. Why?” I leaned into him when his hands came to rest on my hips.
“The house will be empty.” His kissed my neck.
“For a few hours.”
My jaw.
“Just us.”
My lips.
I sighed. He always made me feel special, wanted, needed. My heart was in a constant state of cardiac arrest whenever he was nearby. Butterflies had taken up a permanent residence in my stomach and came out to play every time he walked into a room. Still.
“Jones—”
Ryder cut me off when he spun us around and lifte
d me onto the counter and stepped between my legs. Fingers on my thighs, he angled his head and kissed me. I was conscious of the fact we were in his mother’s kitchen for all of three seconds before my mind went blank and all there was left was Ryder, his lips on mine, his tongue in my mouth, and his hands on my skin, sliding up my sleep shorts.
“Can you at least wait until we’ve left the house before any hanky panky happens in my kitchen?” Joan said from behind us.
My skin flushed, and I tried to push Ryder away, but he wouldn’t budge. His heated gaze caught mine, and he smirked, leaning in and brushing his lips across mine so softly I barely felt it.
“So leave, then,” he said.
“Just make sure you disinfect the counters. That’s where I prepare food.”
“Oh, my god,” I gasped and buried my face in my hands. Glad she found it amusing. Meanwhile, I wanted to die from embarrassment.
“Toodles.” Joan laughed as her and Indie’s footsteps echoed down the hall to the front door.
Tentatively, I raised my head, only to see Ryder’s green eyes sparkling at me. The dimples in his cheeks got deeper the more he laughed.
“You okay, love?”
I pushed him in the chest as hard as I could. “That was so mortifying.”
He shrugged. “She doesn’t care.”
“But I do. She thought we were going to…you know.”
“Pretty sure we were before she interrupted.”
“Oh, my gosh. No. You,” I pointed at finger at him, stabbing it in his chest, “make me lose my inhibitions too easily. Lose my morals and sense of right and wrong. You’re a bad influence, Jones.”
“You love me. And the fact I do that to you.”
“But not in your mother’s kitchen. I’m invoking a three-foot rule this weekend.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“You are not allowed within three feet of me all weekend. You’re going to get me in trouble.”
“Three feet, huh?”
I nodded and squared my shoulders, feeling confident. If he kept his distance, then I’d keep my clothes on.
He stepped back, maintaining the three feet. Chewing on his lip ring, he shrugged and moved to the coffee pot. He poured a coffee and placed the mug down on the opposite counter. “Guess you don’t want to join me for a shower, then?” He glanced over his shoulder at me, and I shook my head. “Enjoy your coffee, love.”
He pulled his shirt over his head and threw it at my face as he walked past, leaving me sitting on the counter, alone.
“You play dirty, Jones,” I called after him, balling up his shirt and throwing it in the sink full of hot, soapy water and the greasy bacon pan.
I smiled.
That’d teach him. It was his favourite shirt.
He paused at the door. “Never said I didn’t. I’ll follow your rules, Bailey, but by the end of the weekend, you’ll be begging me to break them. Every. Single. One.”
I folded my arms and huffed as his footsteps ascended the stairs. I wouldn’t cave in. No way.
The soft sound of something hitting the floor behind me had me looking in the direction of the stairs. His boxer shorts were on the ground. Dammit. He’d taken them off and thrown them over the stairs to tease me.
Rat bastard.
I’d remain strong.
Clothed.
And three feet from him all weekend, even if it killed me.
I could do it, right?
Maybe. Yes. Of course.
Who was I kidding? Neither of us had been able to keep our hands off the other from the first time he kissed me against in his car in the school parking lot.
I was screwed.
Chapter Seven
Ryder
She was taking the three-foot rule seriously. So seriously, in fact, that she sat in the back of my car behind the passenger seat. The farthest possible point from me.
“I feel like a taxi driver with you in the back.” I angled the rear-view mirror so I could look at her.
“Three feet, Jones. Three feet.” She pushed herself into the door and tried to make herself as small as possible.
“Give it up. You’ll cave in. You know you will.”
“Give me some credit. I’m perfectly capable of keeping my distance from you.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Why?”
“We’re drawn to each other, love. Like magnets. Tethered together. The pull between is too strong. I feel it, and I know you do too,” I said.
Bailey scoffed. “Well, I’m flipping over.”
“What?”
“You said we’re magnets.”
I didn’t know where she was going with this.
“And magnets are attracted to each other,” she continued.
“I just said that.”
“But when you flip a magnet over, it repels the other magnet. I’m flipping myself over, so I won’t be attracted to you for the weekend.”
I glanced in the mirror to see her smug smile and burst out laughing. She was fucking cute when she was trying to prove me wrong.
“Not sure it works that way. You need two negatively charged ions to repel. And I’m positively charged…” I caught her gaze in the mirror. “All. The. Time.”
Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the meaning of my words. She swallowed and tore her gaze from mine to stare out the window.
One point for me.
I pulled up the drive at Mrs. Mitchell’s studio, and Bailey was out of the car, running up the path to the front door before I even turned the engine off.
I made my way over just as Mrs. M opened the front door. She squealed and pulled Bailey into a hug. “Ryder, get over here,” she called when she saw me hanging back.
I didn’t want to intrude on their moment. They were so close, more like sisters than mother and daughter. Most likely because Mrs. M was such a free spirit. I’m talking burning sage to cleanse bad energies, incense, yoga, and meditation.
The beads and chains on her wrists jangled as she waved me over.
There went Bailey’s three-foot rule.
I smiled and skipped up the front steps, wrapping an arm around Bailey’s back and the other around her mum.
“Group hug,” she laughed and squeezed us both tighter. The smoky scent of whatever incense she’d been burning clung to her clothes and tickled my nose.
Bailey elbowed me in the ribs when I pressed against her. With a groan, I dropped my arms and stepped back three paces.
Bailey’s mum didn’t miss the fact I put distance between us if the crease between her eyebrows was anything to go by. “What was that?” she asked.
“What?” Bailey shrugged and stepped back, causing me to move farther to the side.
Mrs. M looked at me. I shoved my hands in my pockets. “Don’t look at me. The three-foot rule was her idea.”
Mrs. M smiled and winked. “Gotcha.” She faced Bailey and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “How long do you plan on making him keep his distance for?”
“All weekend.” Bailey followed her mother inside
“Good luck with that. You’ve got no chance.”
“Does no one have any faith in me?”
I chuckled. “Maybe I’m just that good, love.”
“You wish,” she shot back over her shoulder as I closed the door.
“We’ll see.”
“I could totally last longer than the weekend, Jones. If I wanted to.”
“Oh, honey. Don’t kid yourself.” Mrs. M smiled before turning to the stove to boil the kettle.
“Is that a challenge?” I took a seat at the opposite end of the counter.
“A week. Three feet for a week.”
“Deal. Should we shake on it?” I leaned forward and held out my hand.
Bailey reached out, and her fingertips brushed mine. I smirked as her eyes widened, darkened, and she reared back, pulling her hand away from mine.
“Dammit,” she mumbled and crossed her arms over her chest.
I grinned. “Not off to a good start.”
“Because you cheat.”
I opened my mouth to retort but was interrupted.
“Now, now, kids, no fighting.” Mrs. Mitchell pushed a mug of herbal across the counter to both of us. “So, tell me about uni?”
***
We left Bailey’s mum’s place, with Bailey curled up in the back corner of the car again and stopped to pick up Cole’s present. The kid was going to love it. He was obsessed with cars.
His party was at the park by the beach, so we grabbed a basketball and the bucket and spade so we could build sandcastles.
Cole ran over to us the moment we climbed out of the car. “It’s my party, Uncle Ryder.”
“Really? Are you sure? I thought we were here to clean the sand off the beach.”
Cole pursed his lips, screwed up his nose, and looked over his shoulder at the beach. “Umm, Uncle Ryder, you can’t clean the sand away. It will break your vacuum cleaner.”
I widened my eyes and opened my mouth in mock surprise. “You’re right. Guess we better have a party, then.” I ruffled his hair and he giggled, skipping over to Bailey.
She wrapped him in a big hug. “Hey, buddy. How’s my handsome man?”
Little bugger straightened his shoulders and stood a little taller when she called him handsome. Brushing his curls out of his face, he lifted one side of his lips in a half-smile. “Great. It’s my birthday.”
“I know, and we got you something special.” She pulled open the passenger door and took out the gift bag with his present. “Whoa, it’s almost as big as you.”
“Thanks!” Cole smiled and tried to pick up the bag, but Bailey was right. It was almost as big as he was
“Let me help you carry it over to Mum, okay?” she asked, and he nodded, sliding his hand into hers and walking along beside her.
He loved her. Followed her around everywhere whenever she visited. I’d been replaced as his favourite person by Bailey the moment she met him and read him a story when he was two. She adored him and loved spoiling him every chance she got. Cole had her eating out of the palm of his hand, which meant I wouldn’t see her for the rest of the party.
He hadn’t had an easy childhood. Granted, he was only four, and my sister did the best she could. Being a single mother at sixteen made things hard. But you wouldn’t know it from looking at him. He was always so happy and bright. He had a smile that could light up the room. It was infectious.