Page 37 of Dr. Ryker (Brothers Paradise #3)

Thirty

Ryker

I’m up bright and early the next morning, and all I want is Ginny. I hate the idea that she feels she can’t trust me with this, though I absolutely do understand her needing to do things for herself. I can’t come on too strong. She’s vulnerable right now.

Finally, after two cups of coffee and a run, I can’t wait any longer. But I decide not to just show up at Sadie and Beckett’s place. Instead, I call Ginny first.

She picks up on the second ring.

“Hey,” I say. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”

There’s a pause, then a breath. “Better. Sleep helps—a lot.”

She sounds good. “I’m so glad to hear that.”

“I spoke with Sera and Josie a little bit ago,” she says. “They apologized. Said they didn’t agree with what happened.”

“Okay, that’s good,” I agree.

“But they’re tied to the vineyard,” she continues, “and they’re already dealing with my cousins trying to edge them out.

So they can be sorry all they want, but it doesn’t change anything.

They’re not about to take a risk like letting me stay with them.

Nothing will be different until Evelyn decides to step down.

And we both know the only way she’ll do that is if she’s in a pine box. ”

“I’m so sorry, Gin. You don’t deserve this.”

She lets out a tired laugh. “I’m not sure what I deserve, but I should have seen this coming.

She did it to all three of her children, and now, she’s working on my generation.

I think my little sister, Addie, was the smartest of all of us.

She pretty much gave Gran the middle finger and walked away. ”

She sighs. “But I did speak with Marc over at the consortium yesterday, and they’ve offered me the marketing job. It’s part time, but maybe I can get a job at Steaming Mugs to help pay the bills.”

“That’s great!” I press the phone tighter to my ear. “Are you still staying with Sadie and Beckett?” I ask.

“For now. But I’ll figure something out.”

“Let me help. Come stay with me, just until you’re back on your feet. I would love nothing more.”

“No. The last thing you need is to have your family do this same thing.”

“They won’t,” I assure her. “I mean, Max may rant and rage about it, but my mom understands—I told you that—so she’ll get my dad on the same page. And you know Tarryn likes you. Please. Stay with me. It’s not charity,” I add after a moment when she doesn’t respond.

“I know,” she says. “But I need to do this on my own. I have to. Otherwise, I’m just someone who got kicked out of one family and ran straight to the arms of the enemy.”

I bite back a curse. “You and I are not enemies. When are we going to stop being victims of our families’ pasts?”

Her voice softens. “It’s not just that. I know you want to help. I know you care. But I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

I want her to feel good about this, to feel strong, so I don’t push. “I miss you,” I say instead.

“I miss you too,” she whispers.

I sit up straighter. “Okay, then here’s what we’re going to do.”

“Oh?” she says, sounding wary. “Are we plotting revenge now?”

“Better.” I grin. “I’m stealing you for the day.”

She laughs. “You? Take a day off? What about your patients?”

“Mom will cover for me. It’s just one day. Only fun. No work, family drama, vineyard sabotage, or secrets.”

“You’re terrible at relaxing,” she points out.

I smirk. “Challenge accepted.”

She exhales. “Ryker…”

“I’m not trying to take over and fix anything,” I tell her. “I just want to give you one good day. You’re between jobs. Can you let me do that?”

“Fine,” she says eventually, though I can hear her reluctance. So damn hard headed. “But I get to choose the music.”

“Deal. I’m on my way. We’re starting with a good breakfast.”

“On your way?”

“Yep. Just put on comfortable clothes. Don’t worry about your hair or your makeup. This is going to be all about us, and I’m warning you, we might get dirty.”

It’s a quick drive through the neighborhood to Beckett and Sadie’s place.

All my siblings live either on vineyard property or on adjacent land that’s been converted to real estate.

I pull into the driveway and kill the engine, giving myself a second before getting out.

I don’t want to rush her, don’t want to spook her.

Play it cool, Ryker. Just give her a chance to relax.

But the second the front door opens, I lose the thread of every careful plan I rehearsed on the drive over.

She’s wearing black yoga pants, Adidas Sambas sneakers, a thick hoodie, and her hair’s knotted in a messy twist like she didn’t even bother to look in the mirror.

She looks beautiful. How did I ever manage without her?

“Hey,” she says.

I cross the threshold and wrap her in my arms without a word. She sinks into me, head resting against my chest like she’s been holding herself together with duct tape.

“You ready for a good breakfast at Dots?” I murmur into her hair.

“Yes.” She breaks away. “That sounds like just what I need.”

During the short ride over we hold hands, and I don’t ever want to let go. But that kind of intensity is not what she needs from me right now. I remind myself again to chill. Just be supportive.

Dots smells like bacon and syrup, and I hold the door open for Ginny as she walks in. She’s quiet as we slide into a booth by the window, but at least she’s agreed to do this.

I hand her a menu she doesn’t look at. She just wraps her hands around the mug of coffee the server brings and stares out at Main Street.

“We’re not talking about yesterday,” I say gently, though she still flinches. “No Dempseys. No drama. Just pancakes, bacon, and whatever ridiculous thing we decide to do next.”

Her lips twitch. “Ridiculous, huh?”

“Completely irresponsible. I have a plan. Just you wait and see.”

That earns a quiet laugh. “Deal,” she says. “One fun day. No emotional landmines.”

We order French toast with strawberries and the breakfast scramble, and by the time we’re halfway through, her shoulders have dropped an inch. The tightness around her eyes is starting to ease.

She sets down her fork and wipes syrup from her lips. “You know, it’s hard to be here and not think about Rosie Kennedy. This was her grandmother’s place, and she started working here when her mom moved to Vancouver.”

My heart tightens. “She was really a lovely person.”

“I agree,” Ginny says softly. “She made Sadie promise to do their bucket list. There’s a whole notebook full of crazy ideas.

Paris in the spring. Dog sledding in the Arctic Circle.

Learning how to blow glass.” She shakes her head, smiling a little.

“She wanted to live big, even if she didn’t get the chance. ”

I nod. “If you could go anywhere—like, right now—where would it be?”

Ginny stares into her coffee for a second. “Greece. Santorini. I want to swim in the Aegean and eat feta that isn’t mass produced.”

“That sounds perfect.” I grin. “I’d pick Patagonia. The lakes, the mountains. Total silence.”

“Very outdoorsy of you.” Ginny laughs.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” I protest. “I hike. Occasionally. Under duress.”

She laughs again, and then for a little while, we just sit there, sipping coffee and dreaming about blue water, open skies, and the possibility of something good.

We scrape the last bites from our plates, still trading travel dreams, and I toss down cash and grin. “You ready?”

She tilts her head. “Ready for what?”

I smirk. “Go-karts is first on the list, down at Rattle Snake Canyon.”

She blinks. “Go-karts?”

“We’re racing,” I explain. “I need to crush you on the track to restore balance in my universe.”

She laughs. “You think you can beat me?”

“Oh, I know I can beat you.”

“That sounds like someone who’s never seen me take a corner at full throttle.”

I shrug. “Then let’s find out.”

We climb back into the Armada, and as I pull onto the road, she looks out the window for a minute. The hills are lush with grapes, apple trees, peach trees, and blueberry bushes, and the fields rush by as we drive.

“I’m okay,” she says finally. “Just…bruised.”

She’s bruised, not broken. I think I love her even more for that. And I’m so glad she’s starting to see it for herself. I glance over. “Yeah?”

She nods. “I’m not an idiot. Gran’s never been soft. And I made my choices anyway. But still…it hurt.”

“Of course it did. I’m sorry.”

She shrugs. “My dad got kicked out years ago, and so did his brother and sister.”

I glance over at her. “She kicked out all three of her children?” I knew they’d left, but I guess I was too young to understand that Evelyn helped them to the door.

Ginny nods, still watching the landscape roll by. “Gran called it a betrayal of blood.”

I frown. “What did your dad do?”

She looks over at me. “He had an affair with a Paradise—Chereen.”

I almost slam on the brakes. That’s why she disowned him? “Chereen isn’t a Paradise. Not by blood anyway. She was just married to Max.”

Ginny nods. “She’s a Fields, but to Gran, my dad had chosen your family over ours.”

“My mom said Chereen and Henry didn’t love each other.”

She winces. “I don’t know. Both of them went back to their marriages, at least for a while. But when my mom told Evelyn what had happened, she cut my dad off completely and he left, just like Chereen did, right? It wrecked both their marriages.”

“I only found out about their affair when my mom told me a few weeks ago.”

She nods. “No one talks about it. They pretend it didn’t happen, that he just ‘left.’ But he didn’t. He got erased.”

“What about your aunt and uncle?”

“Neither wants anything to do with the vineyard and Evelyn’s anger.

I was maybe five when my granddad died, and even I noticed that Gran was particularly miserable to be around after that.

My uncle, Franklin, was cut off and has since died, though I don’t know how.

Georgia, his wife, and my Aunt Eleanor come around when it benefits them or their children. ”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell her.

She gives my hand a squeeze. “I know.”