Page 14 of Ryder

Thankfully, they crashed when we got home, giving Allison and myself some time to relax and catch up on laundry.

When I finally fell into bed that night, I fell asleep with Ryder’s hurt face in the forefront of my mind.

Thankfully, the boys slept in on Saturday morning. They all woke up in shifts and spent most of the early part of the day lounging on the couch and playing video games. I was busy making a batch of chocolate chip cookies for lunch when my phone began to ring. A number that I didn’t recognize flashed across the screen.

Not sure who it was, I wiped my hands off on a dishtowel and answered the call.

A man’s deep voice took me by surprise. “Scarlett?” he asked, sounding unsure.

“Yes, who is speaking?”

“Scarlett, this is Ryder. Ryder Raven,” he said like I wouldn’t have known who it was.

Rolling my eyes, I leaned against the kitchen counter. “I know who you are,” I snapped. “What do you need?” I hated how cold I sounded, but the last time we spoke, I had been extremely perturbed by his behavior.

“Well, I wanted to call and apologize for last night. You were right. I shouldn’t have asked about coming by so late without your consent first. I promise I won’t do that again,” he said, sincerity ringing in his voice.

I was perplexed as I stood there, holding onto my phone like it was a foreign object. “Oh, um, thank you,” I stuttered out.

“I hope you understand my intentions with All Our Children are not out of pure selfishness. I really want to help. I know what it’s like to need a place to feel safe, to find a home and brotherhood,” he said, his voice far away as though he remembered something tragic. “Anyway, I would still like to come by and just talk with the boys. They seem like good kids, and I am trying to find a place where I can connect and mentor some kids,” Ryder said.

I had to brace myself against the counter because I swear, I was about to fall over from shock. Was Ryder Raven really apologizing and wanting to mentor these boys. A group of boys who were disregarded and thrown out? If this were true, then he just earned himself a place in my heart. It brought me undeniable joy to know there were still good people in this world who cared about these kids.

“Ryder, I appreciate you saying all of that. The boys would love for you to come by. We are having smores tonight by our smallfire pit in the backyard. I know they would love you to join us tonight,” I said.

I think I surprised us both by inviting him over. As much as I detested the playboy that Ryder represented, I couldn’t deny his eagerness to help the boys. I could put my differences and distaste for him aside for a night to help these kids.

“Sure, that sounds great. I will see you at eight,” he said, and then the line went dead.

I stood staring at my phone for what felt like forever before Allison startled me out of my daze.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asks, moving past me as she places an armful of dirty dishes in the sink.

“Ryder Raven just called. He wants to stop by and spend some time with the boys. Apparently, he wants to mentor them,” I say, astonishment still making me dizzy.

“Really? That’s fantastic,” she beams. “Although, I would say he has other reasons to come here, too,” she says, winking as she bumps me with her hip.

“What?” I say, shaking my head. “I already told you, Ryder is more in love with himself than he could ever be with someone else. I think he is just trying to do something kind,” I defended.

While I wasn’t a fan of Ryder Raven’s, I did believe in my heart that he felt a connection to these boys. I wasn’t sure about his past, but something told me he could relate to them on more levels than I could imagine.

I waited until after dinner to let the boys know that Ryder was going to be spending the evening with us. To say they were excited would be an understatement. They were all so adorable as they moved around the house, cleaning up and helping Allison and me getting the fire pit ready and s’mores prepared. If I had known they would help this much, I would find a way to get Ryder over here more often. I mean….

At eight, the roar of an engine down the street had my heart accelerating, and I wasn’t sure why. I knew he was coming to the house. Hell, I had invited him. But still, hearing that sound filled me with emotions I just didn’t understand. I wanted to chop it up as an eagerness to see the boys happy, but I just wasn’t sure. I knew better than to look at Ryder as anything more than a playboy on a hot motorcycle. He played a part-- he was an actor in his own world. I had loved and lost before, willingly given my heart to a man who deceived me. I knew the games, boys, like Ryder played. Hell, I had been one of the pieces discarded.

He was great to look at, fantastic to fantasize about, and surely an excellent gossip story to share one day. But to catch feelings for him--that would be dangerous.

And I was too safe to be dangerous. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice--not ever going to fucking happen again.

When the doorbell rang, the boys began fighting to see who would get to the door first. I burst out laughing when Allison beat them all to it.

As Ryder entered our house again, the boys followed him like lost little puppies. He looked beyond delicious in a pair of hip-hugging jeans, a black t-shirt, and black boots. I made sure to keep my distance as I moved to the backyard and began working on the firepit. Earlier, the boys had added the firewood and kindling. As I lit a match and threw it into the woodpile, I sat back and began fixing up the smores tray. I laid out the chocolate on the graham crackers and then placed the marshmallows on the smores sticks we had.

Walking outside, I could hear the slew of questions currently being thrown at Ryder.

“Boys, let Ryder sit down before you all start bombarding him,” I joked.

Ryder just waved his hands, a bright smile on his face. “It’s fine. I enjoy their questions,” he said, not at all sounding frustrated.

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