Page 153 of Desperate Pucker
“He’s the kindest soul. He always stops by when he has time on a day off to help us with stuff around the house. And when he’s traveling during the season and can’t make it over, he calls me and his dad once a week to check up on us. He takes care of his brother and sister too,” Shannon says.
“He’s paying for my college. Nick’s too,” Anna says.
“He’s so generous,” Shannon says, her eyes misty.
That soft feeling inside of me intensifies, wrapping around my heart. I already knew that Ryker takes care of his siblings, but to hear how much he does for his parents makes me fall even harder for him.
I look over at him. When he notices me staring, he winks. My heart slingshots around my chest.
He walks over to the living room and leans against the back of the couch. “You’re not gossiping about me, are you?” He looks between his mom and sister.
“Only good things, honey. I swear,” Shannon says.
Ryker smiles at her, then ruffles his sister’s hair.
He walks over to me. “Having a good time?”
I look up at him. “The best.”
Chapter 52
Ryker
“Honey, can you grab the coffee filters from the shelf for me?”
I reach up to the top floating shelf along the wall and hand my mom the filters.
“Why do you keep them so high up where you can barely reach?” I ask.
“I had this brilliant idea to try and cut back on caffeine, so I put the filters somewhere I couldn’t easily get to.” She shakes her head, chuckling. “I regretted it immediately.”
She brews a fresh pot while I grab her a mug from the cabinet.
“I know I’ve only met her a couple of times, but Madeline is a lovely young woman.”
“She is.”
I look at Maddy sitting on the couch next to Anna. Anna’s showing her a funny video on her phone. They’re both cracking up.
I finish wiping down the kitchen counter and catch my mom smiling at me.
“What’s that look for?” I ask.
“You really like her.”
“Of course I like her.”
Mom shakes her head. “This is different, Ryker. I can tell.” She glances over at Maddy, who’s doubled over, laughing at something Anna just said. “She fits in with us,” she says softly.
There’s a flash of sadness in her eyes. I know exactly what she’s thinking about—how Alina never fit in with my family—how she never really wanted to.
I think of all the times she came over to my parents’ house, how they always welcomed her and treated her like a part of the family. But I could tell she never felt comfortable. Whenever she came over with me for dinner or the holidays, she would always make an excuse to leave early. She wouldn’t talk much to them and would often be on her phone instead of joining in our conversations. My mom would invite her to go shopping with her and my sister, but she always declined.
Because she never wanted to be part of my family—my world.
An ugly feeling gnaws at my gut at how I stayed with her for so many years when she treated my family like an afterthought.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
