Ryker

by Schwehm, Joanne

  Here goes. I stood and moved behind Faith’s chair. My hands rested on Faith’s shoulders, and she looked up at me and smiled. I needed to just get it over with. I cleared my throat to tell them about us, but Faith spoke instead.

  “Mom, you know that Ryker is my boyfriend. I’m assuming you didn’t tell Daddy.”

  Her father looked at Faith in complete surprise. Great. Fucking great. Mr. Bishop set down his paper and took off his reading glasses while Mrs. Bishop just looked at us with anticipation.

  I looked at both of them, but then I focused on her dad. I had a feeling that her mom would be okay with me, but her dad needed to see that I was a man and could handle speaking to him. “Mr. Bishop, can I speak to you in private?”

  I glanced at Faith. Her brows lowered, and she tilted her head. The legs of her dad’s wrought-iron chair scraped the patio as he stood.

  He put his hand on my shoulder. “Let’s go into my office.”

  As I followed him into the house, I turned and smiled at Faith, who still looked puzzled. I mouthed, “I love you.”

  Her shoulders lowered, and she smiled.

  His office was nice. There were two leather chairs. He sat in one and motioned for me to sit in the other. I sat and rubbed my hands on my shorts in an attempt to dry them, but it didn’t work.

  “So what would you like to talk to me about?” His arms rested on the arms of the chair.

  He didn’t look too intimidating. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

  “Sir, I know you don’t know me very well. I’m hoping to change that because I’m in love with your daughter, and I’d like to ask her to marry me someday.”

  Silence. Fucking great.

  I swallowed hard and continued. “This may seem out of the blue, but it really isn’t. I’ve admired your daughter since I met her. We didn’t really get along all the time, but that wasn’t because I didn’t like her. It’s because I did.” I wasn’t making any sense. I stood and paced. I turned and looked at him. “My life hasn’t been ideal. My dad passed away when I was really young and my mom abandoned me when I was sixteen, so I’ve been on my own ever since.”

  Mr. Bishop didn’t look impressed. He was probably thinking of ways to get me away from Faith.

  “I lost my younger brother when I was a teenager, and after that, my life took a turn for the worse. Living in foster homes made me feel isolated and alone. Then I moved here and met Max, and then your daughter. She has taught me what it feels like to be loved, unconditionally loved. But more importantly, she has taught me how to love. I promise you I’ll take care of her. I will love her more than any words can express. My life will be spent making her happy, that I can assure you.” My heart was beating a mile a minute. I was sure that at any moment, it would burst out of my chest and land on the floor.

  Mr. Bishop rose from the chair and looked directly into my eyes. “When do you plan on proposing?”

  “I don’t know. Our relationship isn’t typical. We’re still learning something new about each other every day. Some days I think she’s going to hit me over the head, and then other days, she’s sweeter than candy. To be quite honest, sir, she confuses me. But I want her and all the confusion that comes along with her. I have a feeling it’ll be a spur-of-the-moment proposal, and I just want to have your blessing in advance.”

  Mr. Bishop looked at me. His expression was unreadable. “Son, I realize that you both have known each other for a long time, and I may have observed a few exchanges between you and Faith. I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t think this is happening very fast, but I also know my daughter, and I’ve see the way she looks at you. It’s how her mother looks at me.”

  He paused as if he willed me to say something. After clearing my throat, I was able to speak. “The way she looks at me solidifies everything for me. Faith and I have even talked about it.”

  “It sounds like you’re serious about marrying her someday.”

  I nodded. “I suppose it does.”

  “Do you promise to take care of her?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Do you promise to support her at all cost? I don’t know much about the music business, but I’m hoping it’s profitable.”

  “Yes, sir. I make a decent living playing the drums, but if at any time we need more, I will do what I have to do, even if it means leaving the band. Faith comes first.”

  “Do you promise to be faithful to her?”

  “Yes, sir. She’s the only one for me. Faith owns my heart.”

  He nodded. “Is she happy?”

  “Yes, I believe she is.”

  Her father put his hand on his chin and looked at me. He extended his right hand for a firm handshake. “It takes a courageous man to talk to a girl’s father about marrying her. I remember when I spoke to my father-in-law, my hands sweat so much I kept rubbing them on my pants.” He smirked.

  I looked down at my free hand. That was exactly what I was doing.

  “Treat her right, Ryker. I don’t want to regret giving you my blessing.”

  My heart beat picked up, and I smiled. “I promise I will. You won’t regret a thing.”

  We rejoined the women and sat around talking for a bit. Her father asked me how the band was doing, which didn’t surprise me. I knew he had a strong relationship with Max’s parents. I told him we were going to North Carolina to open for Blanco Diablo, and he was genuinely happy for us.

  The sun was beating on us, and Mrs. Bishop decided we should go inside. Faith told her we were going to head out instead. We all stood, and I thanked her parents for their hospitality.

  Mrs. Bishop hugged me. “I couldn’t be happier for the two of you. Treat each other with care, and everything will be okay.”

  I nodded and hugged her back.

  When we were back in my car, I was relieved. I thought Faith was as well.

  “Are you happy, Dude?”

  Faith laughed. “Yes, I’m happy.”

  “Good. Me too.”

  We drove to my place. All I wanted to do was chill with Faith for a bit. We had a gig that night, and I couldn’t wait to show off my girlfriend.

  Once in my house, we kicked off our shoes and lay down on my sofa. Her head was on my chest, and I ran my hand through her hair. I was so comfortable, and I knew it wasn’t because of the down pillows. I yawned.

  “Is my man tired?”

  “Yeah, that was completely draining. My nerves are shot. I just want to take a nap. Want to snooze with me?” Faith yawned, and I laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  I realized that having her in my house and, more importantly, in my arms, made the place a home. My eyes closed. My heart was content.

  After our nap, we had dinner since we’d slept through lunch. I ordered a large pizza, which we devoured in what seemed like minutes, and we were sitting at the table, totally stuffed. Faith cleared the table, and I watched her hips move. I was fixated on every inch of her. I walked up behind her and spun her around before I picked her up and set her on the counter, making her giggle. My body was positioned between her legs. She looked so peaceful and so perfect.

  She snickered. “What? Why are you looking at me that way?”

  As I pulled her hips closer, her hands gripped my shoulders for support. “You still don’t get it, do you?”

  Her top lip went into her mouth. As innocently as I’ve ever heard her say anything, she said, “Get what?”

  “You. Me. Us. I look at you the way I do because I still can’t believe you’re here with me. You make me happy.”

  She smiled. “You’ve made my dreams come true.”

  I gave her a gentle kiss. “Mine too.”

  Watching the guys load their gear was giving me jitters. I was happy and nervous at the same time, feelings I was used to having around Ryker. Getting ready to leave for North Carolina was grating on my nerves. I knew the guys would be great, but Ryker being back there scared me. How would he react? I prayed he would be okay. Clearing my head, I
put my bag in Ryker’s trunk. He insisted on taking his car rather than driving down with Max and Tyf. Since they knew that Ryker was on edge, they didn’t press the issue.

  Max was pacing, and if he kept it up, he would wear out his shoes. “Guys, we need to hit the road. Make sure you have everything.”

  The guys weren’t paying attention. Jake, Tim, Michael and Ryker were organizing things in the covered trailer. Tyf was already in the car, most likely to avoid hearing Max have a minor panic attack. I stood next to Ryker’s car, trying to stifle my laughter. I loved Max, but seeing Mister Calm, Cool, and Collected freaking out was rather humorous.

  Our eyes caught, and he lowered his sunglasses. The way Max walked up to me almost made me think he was going to yell at me, which made me want to laugh harder.

  “Something funny over here?” He tossed his arm around my neck and pulled my head down to his chest.

  He gave me a noogie, which made me laugh harder. I tickled his sides, which made us spin around. I swatted at his hands, but I was laughing too hard to speak.

  Max laughed. “Think it’s funny now? Call uncle!”

  Between laughs, I said, “No way!”

  We couldn’t stop laughing. I was sure some of my hair was going to be rubbed off my head. When we were younger, he’d always wanted me to call uncle, but I never did. I wasn’t about to start now. He knew that; he was just being Max.

  His foot hit the curb, and we toppled into the lawn. I landed on him with an oomph, and he finally let go. We couldn’t stop laughing. I wiped my tears and smacked him on the chest. We sat up and saw a two pairs of legs. As my eyes moved up, I saw Ryker and Tyf looking at us as if we were nuts.

  “Trying to kill my girlfriend?” Ryker reached down to help me up.

  I brushed loose blades of freshly cut grass off my shorts and laughed again as I looked back at Max. Ryker held my hand while Tyf threw her arm around me.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. “I can’t believe you guys fell like that!” She shook her head and laughed with me.

  “Yo! Did you guys forget something?”

  We all looked back.

  Max was just sitting on the lawn. “What about me? No sympathy or help for me?”

  Ryker and Tyf looked at each other and then at Max. “No.”

  As the laughter dissipated, we got in our cars, and I finally caught my breath. We had a long drive. North Carolina was about ten hours away, and it was only seven a.m. We should be there by dinner time.

  The show wasn’t until Friday, so they had all day tomorrow to practice and meet the guys from Blanco Diablo. Then on the following day, they’d go over to the venue for sound check and set-up. I didn’t understand the technical parts; I just liked listening. And watching Ryker, of course.

  We pulled away caravan-style. Max led us to the highway, and we were off. My man was so cute. He was sporting a backward baseball hat, and he had sunglasses on.

  He glanced at me and smiled. “What ya lookin’ at, Dude?”

  “You.”

  “Hmm… do you like what you see?”

  “Meh. You’re okay, I guess.” I looked out the window to conceal my smile.

  “Wow. Just okay? I thought you thought I was hot. Or, what was it you said the other day?” He paused and snapped his fingers as if he’d just remembered. “Downright doable. That was it.”

  I shook my head. “You know what? I’m not going to tell you what I think anymore. Pretty soon, your head will be so big you’ll need a convertible just so you can get in your car.”

  “Haha, very funny.”

  I was so glad he seemed relaxed. To say I had been a tad uneasy all week would have been an understatement. The unknown scared me. Although Ryker had told me what had happened all those years ago, I still had questions. But it wasn’t the time to probe, so I turned on the tunes.

  He pushed a button on the radio, and “How Far We’ve Come” by Matchbox Twenty came on. Ryker tapped the steering wheel in rhythm to the song. Then he started singing. I was stunned. His voice was incredible. I just stared at him.

  His lip curled. “Come on, Dude, sing with me.”

  I didn’t know the song, so I just listened. When the song ended, I lowered the volume. “You sing?”

  He shrugged. “I can hold a tune.”

  “Why don’t you sing with the guys? You can do more than hold a tune.” I felt like grabbing my cell and calling Max.

  “Because it’s Max’s thing. They don’t know I can sing, and I don’t want them to.”

  “Why?”

  He blew out a breath. “My mom used to sing to Jimmy. I don’t remember her ever singing to me, but she sang to him. Her voice was beautiful.”

  Trying to understand, I asked, “So you don’t want to sing because your mom didn’t sing to you? Or because it reminds you of her?”

  “It reminds me of the type of person she was. I knew she loved Jimmy. I saw it every day. The day he died, she didn’t really want to leave him, but she did because my stepdad wanted to go out. When it came to me, things were different. She was different.”

  “Different how?”

  “Until I was around five or so, she was really attentive. She was an aid in my class when they needed her, and she was in the PTA. It was as if she didn’t want me to be alone. Then she became pregnant with Jimmy, and it was all about him.”

  “Did you tell her how you felt?” That was probably a stupid question.

  “Um, no. I became invisible. Remember I told you that I joined the school band?

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I wanted to play the drums, but because I was new to the school, the teacher gave me the triangle to play. So I’d chime in here and there, no big deal. One day after practice, I sat at the drums and just played. I had taken a few lessons, but I was just a natural, I guess.” He took a breath and continued. “One of the older kids forgot something and came back into the auditorium. I never saw him, but he went to get our director. When I finished, I heard applause and whistles. I’d never noticed them come in, but they loved what I’d played.”

  I smiled and took his hand. “I’m sure they did. Then what happened?”

  “My director told me I was exceptional and he was sorry he hadn’t given me a chance to prove I could play. He offered me a solo in the holiday concert. I was so excited. He told me I needed to practice every day, and I promised I would.”

  “Aww, that’s great!” I kissed his hand.

  “You’d think that, right? I went home and told my mom that I got a solo and I needed to practice every day. I asked her if we could get a drum set, and she said, ‘We’ll see.’ That was code for no. I talked to my director, and he said I could practice at school.”

  “Well, that’s good. How was the concert?” I cringed when I remembered him saying that she didn’t go to his concerts. “She didn’t go, did she?”

  “Nope. But the concert was great. My mom never did get me drums. The director took pity on me and let me borrow an older set from the school. They weren’t great, but they were better than nothing. With my allowance, I bought my first set of sticks.” He looked at me and winked.

  I wanted to cry. “The pair you gave me?”

  “Yup, those are them. I told you, they were all I had as a kid. So back to your original question, I don’t sing because it reminds me of my mom.”

  I nodded. I could totally understand where he was coming from. “So what song were you playing when you were ‘discovered’?”

  He chuckled. “‘Moby Dick.’”

  I straightened in my seat and smiled. “Great song.”

  “The best.”

  We arrived in North Carolina and found our hotel. The town was small, but at least we weren’t in a motel. We decided to call it a night. Everyone was exhausted, and since we’d stopped to eat dinner, no one was hungry. The guys had a two-hour practice session at ten a.m.

  Just thinking about curling up next to Ryker made me happy. He stripped off his shorts and tank top and lay on the c
overs. I felt like a voyeur as I watched from the bathroom, but damn, he was really a spectacular specimen of man.

  I brushed my teeth and put on cute pajamas. I shook Ryker’s shoulder to get him to move under the covers. He only stirred a bit, so I decided to leave him where he was. As soon as I put my head on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around me. I thought he was awake until I heard him talking.

  “Just a breath. Please. Wake up. Please.”

  My head shot up. I looked at him. He was talking in his sleep. I’d always heard not to wake someone while they were dreaming, so I left him alone and prayed he’d wake up on his own.

  His voice was clear and soft. His words came out very staccato. “I’m sorry. I tried. Please, Jimmy. God, take me instead. Daddy, come and get me.” A tear escaped his eye, and then his hand stretched out. He grabbed my arm. “I got you, Jimmy. I got you!” His eyes flew open. He looked completely disoriented. “Faith?”

  “I’m here. You were dreaming.” My heart broke for him. I wished I could help him. “Are you okay?”

  He looked at his hand, which was still gripping my arm. “God, I’m so sorry! Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

  “No, I’m fine. Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I don’t know what to say. Maybe it was because we were talking about my mom earlier, but I was dreaming about her and Jimmy.”

  I nodded. “You asked your dad to come and get you.”

  “Yeah, I really needed his help. I thought he could help me get Jimmy back. Then after… I thought being dead would be better than that hell on Earth. I never tried anything. I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t scare you.”

  He stroked my hair and kissed the top of my head. “Let’s get under the covers. I just want to hold you.”

  I pulled the bedspread back, and we slid in. I rested my head on his chest and ran my fingers over his rippled abs. “Ryker?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  My eyes closed, and I was out like a light.

  The alarm on my phone chimed. I stretched, and Ryker grabbed me around the small of my back. He pulled me on top of him and kissed me.