Page 40

Ryker drops his head against mine. “Go to work, darlin’. Before we’re both late.”
* * *
When I pull up to the house after work, Ryker’s sitting there on the tailgate of his pickup truck. He’s such a sight to see. As strong as his exterior is, his heart is as soft as can be. His blue eyes pierce through mine every time our gazes meet. His lips are soft, and his hands burn against my skin with every touch. Every inch of him is solid like a rock.
My heart skips a beat whenever I’m near him, and my pulse quickens at his touch. I’ve never had these feelings before. This longing to be with someone. A fear that I can lose it all in an instant. If I’m being honest with myself, it’s a good possibility that I will.
Ryker has done so much for me. In return, all I seem to do is hurt him and his family. Not intentionally, of course. Just by being here on the ranch.
I jump out of the truck and meander over to him.
“Hey there. What are you doing out here?” I move to stand in-between his legs. Ryker wraps them around me, locking me into him.
“I’m waiting on someone, a beautiful woman. We’re supposed to go have this nice picnic at the lake tonight.” He reaches behind him, patting the top of the basket. “I had this whole thing packed and ready to go. Not sure if she’s gonna show up, though.”
Looking around him, I see the wicker basket sitting on top of a few blankets. A drink cooler sits along the back of the truck bed under the back window. “Oh wow. That would be a shame and such a waste of food. You know, if she doesn’t show, I’m sure someone in town would love to have a picnic with you.”
Ryker yanks me closer as I laugh.
“Someone in town, huh?” He presses sweet kisses on my lips and then nods towards the truck. “Let’s go, woman.”
We jump in his truck and head out towards the lake. When we get there, he lays out a blanket in the bed of the truck, and I jump in the back. Ryker hands me a sandwich and grabs his own, taking a bite.
“So,” he begins, turning to me, “The past, the present, and the future walk into a bar.” His lip curls up. “It was tense!”
I laugh and throw my napkin at him. “Those are so bad. Seriously, you have no future as a stand-up comedian.”
“You know you love them. And I got you to laugh. Mission accomplished.” He digs into the basket he brought and hands me a bottle of water. “You seem to be in better spirits.”
I shake my head. “I’m not, but I’m great at putting on a fake face. Right now, I feel like I need to seem like I’m okay.”
“Don’t.” Ryker stares at me.
“Don’t?”
“Don’t be fake with me, Zo. Be you.”
I chuckle at his comment. “Um, I can’t be me, number one. Number two, this is how I need to deal with everything. I’m a huge risk to your family’s ranch. Everything I touch goes to shit. All I can be is fake.”
“Bullshit, Zo. I don’t care if you’re Nicole or Zoey. You’re still you. No one can take that away from you. And we’ll figure out what’s going on here. You know I will.” Ryker rests a hand on my leg.
I shake my head. “You don’t understand. He’s already taken who I was. Every hit, every punch, every time he forced me to have sex with him, a little piece of who I was died. I never got the chance to become anything. I never found out who I was.” I sniffle and wipe the tear that escaped from my eye. “All of this … It just makes me feel like I’m absolutely crazy. I know it’s Mitch; I just can’t prove it.”
“Don’t worry about proving it. I’m already trying to work on that. And before you ask, no, you can’t know the details. Just know that I’m using my contacts I trust to figure things out. As far as the ranch, my parents aren’t mad, Zo. They’re more concerned about you. They know you’re tired—hell, the whole town can see that, sweetheart.” He wraps an arm around me.
“Your brothers were far from concerned this morning, Ryker. They were mad at me for something I know I didn’t do.”
Ryker takes my sandwich from me and places it back inside the basket. He picks me up at the hips and pulls me onto his lap. Without a thought, I curl up against his chest. His body is warm, and it pulls me deeper into his hold. I fit him. I feel safe with him. This is where I’m supposed to be.
“Let me worry about my brothers.” He sighs. “Hey, this was supposed to be a nice dinner. Let’s not talk about the bad stuff, okay?” Ryker lays down, pulling me with him. He shifts me to his side but keeps me tucked into his body.
“The stars are beautiful out here.” I lean back on his arm, looking up into the night.
Ryker turns his head towards me. “I take it you don’t see much in New York.”
“No, I don’t. But I never really stopped to look up either.”
He exhales. “See that one right there?” He points to a set of stars. “That’s the constellation called Andromeda, also known as ‘the Chained Woman.’ She was the daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus. Story goes that Poseidon caught wind that Cassiopeia was saying that her daughter was more beautiful than the Nereids, which were sea nymphs. Well, Poseidon couldn’t let that stand, so to punish Cassiopeia, he sent the sea monster Cetus to attack Ethiopia. Cepheus started panicking and went to an oracle. The Oracle told him that he had to sacrifice his daughter to Cetus in order to save his kingdom. So, they chained her to a rock by the sea for him. Hence ‘the Chained Woman.’”