Page 21 of My Stupid Heart

“So, now we wait?”Sasha asked, trying not to yawn but failing.

“We wait,” Ryker confirmed.“But you can head to bed if you want to, half-pint.You’re safe.I won’t let anything happen to you or your mom.”

She wrapped her arm around his waist and squeezed while he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.“I like that you and mom are finally together.”

“Me, too.”

Sasha hugged and kissed her mother goodnight, then retreated down the hall to her room, leaving Ryker and Molly in the kitchen.

Lightning struck Molly’s eyes, and she rushed to the cupboard under the kitchen sink, pulling out an all-purpose cleaner and some paper towels.She sprayed down the island and started to clean it.“We had sex on this island.”

He snorted and grinned fondly at the not-too-distant memory.“Yes.Yes, we did.You also compared me to gum disease, if you remember?”

She didn’t meet his gaze as she furiously wiped down the marble.

“Sash is awfully cool about us doing it where she has breakfast,” he said, sipping his now lukewarm tea.

“My child continues to surprise me with her maturity.Sometimes I wish she’d throw a temper tantrum or pee her pants.She just needs to stop growing up so fast.”

He snorted again.“I don’t think you want her to do either of those things.”

“I don’t.No.But I just … fourteen years have gone by too damn fast.I just wish time would slow down.”

“It’s gone by in the blink of a fucking eye,” he agreed.“I remember when she took her first steps.I was here for that.Remember like it was yesterday.”

“Itfeelslike it was just yesterday.”Her exhale reached his bones, and his heart went out to her.

“You’re raising one hell of a kid.You’ve done and are doing an amazing job.Bren would be proud.We’re all proud.”Resting his hands on her hips, he stopped her militant cleaning and turned her to face him.

She put down the paper towel and blinked up at him.“I don’t want to live here anymore.”

He narrowed his brows.“What do you mean?Like in this house?Or Jackson Hole?”

“Jackson Hole,” she confirmed.“Sasha and I have been talking about it … only over the last couple of days, but she agrees.There’s nothing keeping us here now that Brendan’s parents have died.It’s a small town that costs a fortune to live in.And all the tourists … it’s exhausting.Sasha has surpassed the level of dance offered at the local studio, so she’s taking online classes and just using the studio space.And I can get a job anywhere.”This time, when she sighed, she moved into his body and rested her cheek on his chest.“All this creepy stuff with Adrian and … and now Kate, it’s just confirmed that we don’t belong here anymore.”

“Where do you want to go?”He rubbed her back and held her close, just like he’d always dreamed of doing.Like he never wanted to stop doing for the rest of his life.

She lifted her head and glanced up at him.“I don’t know.”

Pulling in a deep inhale, he rested his chin on the top of her head and she snuggled back into him.“You know … I’ve been thinking about settling down.”

She leaned back, removing her head from under his chin, and looked up at him.“You?The eternal nomad?”

The left corner of his mouth tipped up.“We’re all capable of change for the right reasons.”

“Where would you settle down?”

“Well, Ash and Nate have all this land that they’re not doing anything with.”

She huffed a laugh.“It’s called a ranch and we both know they’re doing plenty with it.They have horses and a petting farm and those cabins they rent out.Not to mention Mieka’s dance studio and Triss’s therapy clinic.They are doingplenty.”

“Yeah, but there’s still enough unused land that putting a house on a little corner near the creek wouldn’t upset the ponies too much.And they can always use a hand.I know there’s a dental clinic in that little complex near the bakery.And Mieka is a professional dancer and I’m sure her classes are more advanced than what Sasha’s learning here.Otherwise, Denver is only an hour away and I like driving.”

“Are you suggesting we move to Colorado, move in together and live happily ever after?”

Shrugging, he flashed her one of his famous Ryker McKnight smiles.“I mean, it’s just a suggestion.”Her grin winded him.“Of course, we’ll have to see what Sasha thinks of the idea.And there’s the whole deal with you not being my wife.I don’t know how God would feel about us living in sin.”

Her mouth opened and her eyes became saucers.“W-wife?”

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