Page 15 of The Moment He Saw Her

“A body?”

“Nope.”

“Millions in cash?”

“Nope,” Bob said.

“You got me, so spill,” Ryder said, watching his niece dance around the tables to the playlist she’d put on. He could only imagine what having his own kid would be like because this one pulled all kinds of emotions out of him.

“A white dress and matching shoes…. To me, it looked like a wedding dress,” Bob said.

Had Libby Gulliver run out on her wedding?

“It was all puffy with stuff under it.”

“Stuff?” Ryder asked.

“That netting stuff.”

“Tulle?”

“Maybe, but the point is, I think it’s a wedding dress.”

“What’s the problem here, Bob? People have shit in their trunks all the time, and that’s their business.”

“Get that, Ryder. Just saying that since she’s your friend, you should know that little girl is likely hurting.”

“I don’t know her, Bob. Met her today, just like you,” Ryder said through his teeth because his patience was running out.

“Now, Ryder, she needs a friend at a time like this, and I haven’t met her yet, just her car.”

He couldn’t win this and knew it. “Fine. Whatever. Don’t tell a whole bunch of people, Bob. That could be a good start to making her feel better.”

“You calling me a gossip, Ryder?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. Talking to people in this town was like eating soup with chopsticks. You got absolutely nowhere.

“Gotta go, Bob, a customer just walked in.” He cut the call before the man could speak again.

“So I’m a customer, cool,” his brother Brody said. “Coffee stat, then,” he added, walking to his kid.

Brody had the Duke look, but while tall, he was not as solid as the others. Zoe, of course, was a smaller version of all of them with the most attitude, but he wouldn’t be saying that out loud. She may be small, but she could be mean.

“Hey, baby, how’s your day been? Uncle Ry not working you too hard I hope?”

Ryder watched Brody pull his daughter in for a hug. Ally’s thin arms wrapped around his waist, and they held each other for long seconds.

“You finish up, and then we can go home and drag Phoebe out of her office, because we both know she won’t have eaten anything for hours except chocolate.” Brody released Ally, and she started stacking chairs on tables.

“Your kid wants her party upstairs. You all good with that?” Ryder asked, handing his brother a to-go cup.

“You kidding me? No mess to clean up or food to prepare?—”

“Oh, you’ll be preparing and cleaning,” Ryder cut him off.

“So I hear you took in a stray and gave her a job,” Brody said after his first sip.

The grapevine in this town was legendary.

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