Page 65 of Keeping What He Wants

Chapter Eleven

Ella couldn’t wait for her discharge papers to be signed so she could go home. Ryker and her father spent an entire twenty-four hours in the same room with her and they hadn’t tried to kill each other.

She called that progress.

Now she simply wanted to sleep in her own bed. Take a shower in her own bathroom. Watch her own TV. Basically hide away until she felt completely better.

“Are they going to release you today?” her father asked. He sat in the chair next to her bed while they played a game of cards.

“They’d better.” She glanced over at Ryker who stood by the window. “You two are being civil. What gives?”

Neither said anything to her. She snorted and slapped a card down on the growing pile between her and her father. Men were interesting creatures.

“Okay. Can you at least tell me if this is just for twenty-four hours or is there some kind of agreement going on outside these four walls?”

“I don’t have a beef with Pat.” Ryker kept his attention on whatever was outside the window. “Me and you are getting married some day. I’ve gotten used to him being around.”

She turned to her father. “What about you?”

“He’s saved you twice. I can’t exactly hate him for that.”

“Aww. You love each other.”

She laughed when both men jerked their attention to her. She slapped another card down and reached for her drink.

“You might as well. Ryker is eventually going to be your son-in-law and the father of your future grandkids. And Dad is going to become your father-in-law. He’s going to come over all the time to play with our kids. You two really need to bury the hatchet now.”

“Don’t rush into that too soon.” Her father slapped down his own card. “You’re still a baby yourself.”

She tossed another card to the pile. “It’s going to happen soon. I’d say a year or two tops.”

Both men looked like they wanted to throw up. Ella collected the cards and lay back in the bed. She didn’t know why she kept thinking about babies. She’d seen a woman gushing to her husband in the hallway of the hospital and pictured herself doing that one day. She wanted that with Ryker.

“Stop looking like that. Both of you.”

Ryker leaned against the window. “No babies.”

“Yes.” Ella smiled. “Two or three.”

“Shouldn’t you get married first?” Pat leaned back in his chair. “Take it one step at a time. You didn’t pop along until five years into my marriage. That’s a good amount of time to wait.”

She pursed her lips. “I don’t think so. We can sign the papers and he can get me pregnant before the ink dries.”

“That concussion has got your thinking all messed up.” Ryker moved away from the window. “No babies.”

“Three.” She closed her eyes. “Mom will be ecstatic.”

“Are you pregnant now?” Pat asked her.

Ella’s eyes popped open. “No.”

“You sure?” Pat asked. “Because it sounds like you are.”

“I’m not. I’m still on birth control. I’m not trapping Ryker or anything.”

Ryker walked to the other side of the bed. “Pat’s right. Five to ten years before we even consider bringing kids in to the mix.”

“I’ll be an old woman.”

---