Ryker (Steele Brothers #1)

by Cheryl Douglas

  I shook my head, unable to suppress my amusement at his insecurity. Ryker was the most confident, secure guy I knew, and the fact he was acting this way seemed ridiculous to me. “I can’t.” I held up my hand. “The weight bar will bend the band.”

  “Wear gloves,” he muttered.

  “I do, but I’m not going to risk it.” I leaned over the breakfast bar, pursing my lips for a kiss. “I. Love. You.”

  He captured my face in his hands, kissing me thoroughly. “You’re going to be the death of me, woman. You do know that, don’t you?”

  I giggled. “Just trying to keep you on your toes, sexy.” At least he wasn’t taking me for granted anymore.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ryker

  I sneaked out on my lunch hour to visit my mother-in-law. I hadn’t seen Mary since before the split, but I had something important to discuss with her and it couldn’t wait.

  Mary met me at the door of the tidy Tudor-style home where she and her husband had raised their two daughters. Mac’s sister had moved to Oklahoma when her husband got a teaching positon at a college out there. I knew Mary and Mac missed her, but they all kept in touch through regular calls and emails.

  “I was so happy when you called,” Mary said, pulling me into a hug. “It’s been too long. I’ve missed you, Ryker.”

  “I’ve missed you too, Mary.”

  Ever since my mama died, Mary had been there for me, anything I needed, which was why I felt guilty for not reaching out to her after Mac and I split. She deserved better than that.

  “I’m sorry it’s been so long.”

  She linked her arm through mine as she led me into the kitchen. “I understand, honey. These things are never easy. Tell me, how’ve you been holding up?”

  “I feel like things are finally getting back on track.”

  She pulled out a chair, a smile brightening her softly lined face. That was Mary. Always a ready smile for a friend or a stranger, it didn’t matter. “I’m glad to hear it. Sit down and tell me all about it while I make the coffee. When you called to tell me you’d be stopping by, I thought I’d make us some sandwiches. Hope that’s okay?”

  “That’d be great. Thanks.”

  Of course sandwiches in Mary’s house didn’t consist of the cold meat variety. Like her daughter, she loved to cook and bake, so these sandwiches consisted of homemade bread, grilled meat and vegetables, and two kinds of cheese with homemade condiments. I was salivating just looking at them.

  “God, that looks good.” I kissed her hand when she set it down in front of me. “You’re an angel. Bachin’ it consists of way too much takeout. I hate it.”

  “Is that the only thing you hate about it?” she asked, taking her steel-framed glasses off and letting them hang from the chain around her neck.

  “I hate everything about it.”

  She set paper napkins and two bottles of water on the table, bringing her own plate to the table while the coffee brewed. “Then why haven’t you done something about it? The Ryker I know doesn’t sit back and wait for things to happen. He makes them happen.”

  “I was trying to give her time and space, Mar. I thought that’s what she wanted.”

  She shook her head so vehemently it made her soft gray curls bounce. “You should know better than that. A woman wants to feel wanted, needed. You give her too much time and space, and she’ll think you don’t need her anymore.”

  “Trust me, that couldn’t be further from the truth.” I took a bite of my sandwich, thinking about Mary’s advice. She was right. I shouldn’t have waited so long to let Mac know how much I wanted her back.

  “But you said things are back on track? Does that mean you and my daughter have finally come to your senses?”

  I knew Mac talked to her mother every day. If she hadn’t told her we’d been seeing each other, maybe it wasn’t my place to tell her. “Uh, Mac hasn’t said anything to you about us?”

  She laughed before winking at me. “Of course she has. I just wanted to hear what you had to say about it.”

  I smiled, thinking I shouldn’t be surprised she was baiting me. Mary had spent half her life working in the public school system, where she had to be one step ahead of teenagers who thought they knew it all. “I love Mac, more now than ever.”

  Mary smiled, her satisfaction evident. “And I trust you’ve told her this?”

  “Yeah, I tell her all the time how much I love her.”

  She took a small bite before wiping her mouth with a paper napkin. “Then maybe the more important question is what have you done to show her? A woman needs to feel it as much as she needs to hear it, Ryker. People may not have pegged my Bill for a romantic, but they’d have been wrong. He was the kind of man who bought me flowers for no reason and didn’t wait for an anniversary to give me a beautiful card telling me how much he loved me.”

  She’s right. I never would have guessed that about Bill. He was gruff cop, who seemed jaded at times. “Really? That doesn’t sound like Bill.”

  “He was a softie with me and the kids. Everyone else saw a different side of him.” She patted my hand. “Kind of like you, honey. I know you’re different with your boys and Mac than you are with the rest of the world, right?”

  “Well yeah, but…” I thought about the things I’d never done: flowers or cards for no reason, hand-picked gifts for birthdays, handwritten letters, sweet or sexy texts to brighten her day. God, I had a lot to learn about being an attentive husband. Too bad Bill wasn’t around anymore to teach me what I clearly needed to know.

  “But what?” Mary asked, between bites.

  “The things you said about Bill…” It was difficult to admit I’d failed Mac, but I clearly had. “You think that’s why Mac was dissatisfied with our marriage, because I wasn’t giving her all the little things she needed?”

  Mary seemed to ponder that question before she said, “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  I needed more than that. I needed someone to tell me what the hell to do so I didn’t screw this up again. Losing her once had been hard. Losing her again, after I finally got her back, would kill me.

  “But remember, Mackenzie loves you for you, honey. She doesn’t need you to be someone else.”

  “Yeah, but I clearly wasn’t enough, Mar.” As delicious as the sandwich was, it didn’t go down easily on the heels of that admission. “She needed more from me, and by the time I realized that, it was too late to fix it.”

  “Mac has always been clear about the fact she didn’t blame you for anything. She said she was just as responsible as you were for allowing your marriage to fall apart. She told me you still cared for and respected each other, but you just didn’t connect anymore. You’d drifted apart.”

  Drifted apart. God, I hated that term. “The thing is, I didn’t even realize it was happening.” I chewed slowly, fearful the food would stick in my throat, given the regret I was trying to contain. “Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and before I knew it…” We hadn’t made love in months. Of course, I couldn’t say that to my mother-in-law. “She was asking me to move out.”

  “You understand why she asked you to leave though, right?”

  “Yeah.” She didn’t want a roommate. She wanted a husband, a lover, a best friend again. “I get it.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes, honey. The important thing is that you learn from them and don’t make the same mistake twice.”

  “You’re right.” I polished off my sandwich and wiped my mouth with the paper napkin. “And I don’t intend to. I’ll do whatever it takes to get my family back. That’s the only thing that matters to me right now.”

  She smiled. “And with an attitude like that, I have no doubt you will.”

  I gave her a one-armed hug before kissing her cheek. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. You know how much I love you, right? And not just because you’re my wife’s mother, but because you guys were there for me when my mama died. The grief damn near did me in, but you
were there to remind me that my mama wanted me to be happy and wouldn’t want me to go on being miserable forever.”

  She patted my cheek, the affection obvious in her blue eyes. “I love you too.” She kissed my cheek. “Damn near broke my heart when my daughter told me she’d asked you to move out. I knew it was a mistake, but what could I say? I had to respect her decision.” She sighed. “But I couldn’t help but think how disappointed Bill would have been. He loved you like a son.”

  I chuckled as I thought about how rocky our start had been. If someone had told me then he would become the father I always wanted, I would have thought they were high, but that’s exactly what happened. “I still miss him.”

  “We all do,” Mary said with a sad smile. “I run into people in the grocery store or at church, colleagues of Bill’s or their wives, and they always have a Bill story to make me smile or laugh. That’s what life is about, isn’t it? Touching people’s lives. Being the kind of person people want to remember long after you’re gone.”

  “Yeah.” We were both silent for a few moments, no doubt lost in our own favorite memories of Bill. “I don’t know what kind of father I would have been without his influence. He showed me what it means to be a real man, a real father.” Too bad I hadn’t been paying better attention to the kind of husband he was.

  Mary smiled. “Once he got to know you better and his opinion of you started to soften, he’d tell me you were just like all those misguided kids who drifted in and out of the police station because nobody cared about them, or the person who did care didn’t know how to help them, how to be the example they needed. Bill decided he wanted to be that for you, an example of how to do things differently, better maybe.”

  “And he was.”

  Mary squeezed my hand before standing. “Let me see about coffee and dessert.” I watched her clear the plates and load the dishwasher after she waved off my offer to help.

  “Here we are,” she said, setting a big piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting on a plate in front of me.

  I dug in, moaning with satisfaction. “This is amazing. I was just telling Mac last night she should start a business selling her cookies and cupcakes and stuff. But you two should totally go into business together. After all, you’re the one who taught her everything she knows about baking, right?”

  Mary paused before setting two coffee mugs on the table between us. “You’re serious? Mackenzie is going to start a business… selling baked goods?”

  “Yeah, she didn’t tell you about it?”

  “I haven’t talked to her yet today,” she said, reclaiming her seat. “Wow, I can’t believe that.”

  I was surprised by Mary’s reaction. She seemed stunned. “I think she’d be great at it, don’t you?”

  “Oh yeah, definitely,” she said, bringing the coffee mug to her lips. “She inherited our love for baking, that’s for sure. Mine and her grandmother’s.” She smiled. “Everyone used to tell my mama she should open her own bakery.”

  “But she never did?” I asked, trying to pace myself instead of scarfing down the cake the way I wanted to.

  “No.” She shook her head sadly. “Those were different times. Besides, my family didn’t have the kind of money for a venture like that. Everything we had was tied up in surviving.”

  “Would you do something like that if you could?” I asked, regarding her carefully.

  Mary wasn’t the type of woman to ask for help, but something told me the idea of going into business with her daughter intrigued her. If I could help both of them realize their dream, that would be the ultimate win for me.

  “I’m getting too old to start something new,” she said, laughing.

  “Come on,” I said, nudging her elbow with mine. “You’re one of the most vital, energetic grandmas I’ve ever met. You could totally do this if you wanted to.”

  “But this is Mackenzie’s dream. Maybe she doesn’t need any help with it.”

  I knew how close my wife and her mother were. She would love to have Mary’s help getting this business off the ground. “Why don’t you talk to her about it? See what she’s thinking before you decide against it.”

  Mary bit her lip, looking as though she was trying to contain her excitement as the idea started to take root in her mind. “Maybe I will.”

  “Good. So listen, there’s another reason I stopped by. As you probably know, Zane’s taking driving lessons.”

  She chuckled. “Yes, I remember how anxious I was when my girls got their driver’s licenses. I used to wait up for them every night.”

  “Well, he’s been bugging me about getting him a set of wheels, and I was wondering whether you still had Bill’s old car?”

  It was classic Mustang, just like the first car he’d ever owned, and he’d planned to restore it when he retired, but he passed away before he could. He loved that car, the memories it held and the potential fun and excitement it represented. It was a part of him, and I thought bringing it back to life so Bill’s grandson could drive it would be a nice way to honor him. Besides, I knew Zane would love that car once his uncle got finished with it.

  “Of course I do,” she said, smiling. “You know I could never sell it. Bill loved it too much.”

  I was almost afraid to ask, but since that had been part of the reason for my visit, I did. “Would you consider selling it to me, for Zane? Seb said he’d work on it for us, and trust me, when he gets finished with it, it would be everything Bill envisioned.”

  “I’m sure it would.” She broke into a wide grin. “I can’t think of anything Bill would love more than seeing one of his grandsons enjoy that car.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course!” she said, clapping her hands. “He would love that!”

  I pulled my checkbook out of my pocket. With a pen poised above it, I said, “Name your price, Mar.”

  “Put that away,” she said, slapping my hand. “I don’t want your money, Ryker. You’re family. Besides, I know Bill would want Zane to have it.”

  I knew Mary could use the money but was too proud to take it. “I’m not taking that car unless you let me pay you for it. End of discussion.”

  In its current condition, I knew the Mustang was worth about six thousand dollars, but I suspected Mary didn’t know the market value. I wrote her a check of ten thousand, sliding it under the plate before she could see it and object.

  “I wish you wouldn’t do that,” she said, frowning.

  “There’s just one more thing.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t tell Mac about this. I want it to be a surprise.” Mac knew how much her dad loved that car. I had to believe she would be almost as excited as Zane when she saw it restored to its former glory.

  “Do you really think that’s the kind of secret you want to keep from your wife, Ryker? She might have an opinion about it.”

  “Trust me, it’s the right call,” I said, kissing her cheek. “Thanks for everything. Lunch was great.” Setting my hand on her shoulder, I said, “I’ll ask Seb to have his guys pick up the car so they can start working on it right away, if that’s okay.”

  “Sure, whenever you like.”

  “And talk to Mac about the business idea. I know she’d love to have you on board.”

  “Thanks,” she said, patting my hand. “I just might do that.”

  ***

  When I returned to work, I stopped into the store to see how the training was going. Nex had instructed the manager to teach the boys everything they needed to know about the store, and judging by their intent expression as they watched the computer screen over his shoulder, that’s exactly what he was doing.

  “Hey, Ryker,” the store manager, Jordan, said when he spotted me. He reached across the counter to shake my hand. “Thanks for the help. Nice that I don’t have to worry about hiring anyone this summer.”

  “Yeah, I probably should have given you a heads-up, Jordan. Sorry about that.”

  “No worries,” he said, grinning.
“Perfect timing, really. I was just going to post an ad today, so it worked out great.”

  “Good.” While we were conversing, I noticed Zane was checking his phone, something that was a no-no on the sales floor. “Uh, can I have just a minute with them, man?”

  “Sure,” Jordan said. “Take your time. I was just gonna take a quick break anyhow.”

  I waited until Jordan wandered into the back room and the other sales associate on the floor was busy with a customer before I asked, “Has Jordan gone over policies and procedures with you guys yet? What is and isn’t allowed on the floor?”

  “Yeah,” Cole said. “He covered that first thing.”

  I nodded toward the phone still clutched in Zane’s hand. “So, what are you doing with that?”

  He shrugged. “I was just making plans to hook up with a friend later. I didn’t think you’d mind.”

  “First of all,” I said, leaning over the high glass counter, “Jordan’s your boss here, not me.”

  “Yeah, but you own the whole damn place,” Zane said, smirking. “So that makes you his boss.”

  If there was one thing I never wanted my kids to have, it was a sense of entitlement. They worked hard in school and sports and reaped the rewards. I didn’t want this job to be any different.

  “Let’s be clear on one thing,” I said, narrowing my eyes at my eldest son. “You don’t get special treatment here. You come in for your scheduled shifts on time. You don’t call in sick unless you are. You take the allotted time for lunches and breaks, and you’re respectful of Jordan and the other employees. Is that understood?”

  “Yeah,” Zane said, glancing down at his shoes. “Sure.” He cleared his throat before stealing a glance at me. “What’s got you in such a pissy mood? You and Mom get into it again or what?”

  I glared at him before pointing at the door. “Outside. Now.” I waited for him to follow me, walking a safe distance away from the building before I said, “What the hell’s with this attitude?”

  “Nothing,” he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his baggy denim shorts.