Jackie takes my hand next, and his smile is soft. He’s got sandy-blond hair with gray around the temples and he’s about as tall as Kathleen is. He’s got a thin build but is wearing pretty much the same thing as Kathleen, except his shirt is dark green. His eyes are a warm blue and he’s kind as he says hello to me.
“We’ve heard a lot about you,” Jackie says, and then steps back to grab his coffee.
“I’m guessing you two are hungry,” Kathleen says, winking at me and turning around to take her seat at the bar.
I almost choke with embarrassment as Ryker slides his hand down my back and grabs my ass before going over to the bar and making us both plates of food.
“You know, I tried to teach him how to cook,” Kathleen says conspiratorially to me. “Poor Ry could burn water.”
“I’m not much better,” I say and smile at her. “I got a wild hair one time and tried to make deviled eggs. I didn’t know how long it took to boil eggs, so I just figured I’d do an hour to be safe.”
“Oh, honey, what happened?” Jackie asks as he laughs.
“They were like shriveled dust inside.” I laugh thinking about it, but then remember how I broke I was at the time, so I still had to eat them anyway.
“With enough Dukes, anything is edible,” Kathleen says and winks at me.
She’s right. I slapped in some mayo and called it egg salad. It wasn’t too bad after that. I’ve tried over the past few months to get better at cooking, but it hasn’t been going the best.
“That just means Lily can never leave us,” Ryker says and nods over to the table nearby.
Lily is putting out a platter of finger sandwiches along with the other food and then wipes her hands on her apron.
“You know I’m only staying for the money. I keep telling Mrs. Kathleen to make me an offer.” Lily laughs as she hangs her apron up. “Y’all enjoy the food and leave the dishes. Especially you,” she says, narrowing her eyes on Kathleen. “I don’t want to see you with your hands in my sink. Lord knows I need something to keep me busy.”
Kathleen holds her hands up in defense as everyone says goodbye to Lily. She exits out the back and I watch through the window as she goes out to the garden. Ryker says she loves the sunshine and spends hours out there working on her vegetables and plants.
“Thank you,” I say to Ryker as I take the plate of food he piled up for me and take a seat at the table where Lily set out places for us. Everyone else comes over and sits down with their plates as Ryker brings me coffee.
“So,” Kathleen says, and I can almost feel my stomach drop. “Are you enjoying your captivity in Perscia?”
For a moment I have to think about what she means, but then I remember that’s the name of the estate. It hasn’t been that long since Ryker told me, but it feels like a lifetime ago.
“For a prisoner, I have to say it’s pretty great so far.”
At that exact moment, Ryker pours cream in my coffee and places a tray of desserts next to it. He even uses a spoon to stir it, and it’s almost ridiculous how he dotes on me.
“Considering he’s never done this before, I’m happy to see the accommodations are suiting you.” She’s so casual as she talks about her son kidnapping me as she sips her coffee.
The thought of Ryker doing this before me never even crossed my mind. Ridiculously it makes me feel special to know that he’s never gone this crazy for someone. That I’m somehow different for him. Like he is for me.
I decide that I don’t have much to lose and go for the direct question. “Would you mind telling me why he decided to do it?”
Kathleen looks to Jackie and gives him a sad smile. He looks back at her and places his hand over hers, giving it a squeeze. Something passes between them, and I feel like I’ve somehow made them somber.
“I’m sorry…” I start to say, wanting to go back to the playful feeling we had just a second ago.
“No, it’s fine. You have every right to ask,” Jackie says, and I can see the sincerity in his eyes. “And Ryker has the obligation to explain it to you. But not today. Today is for meeting you and getting to know the woman who has our son in knots.”
I glance over at Ryker, who is watching me. He’s got his hand draped across the back of my chair and I feel his thumb brushing along my neck. He’s so casual and at ease. It’s something I haven’t seen in him before, and I really like it. He looks sexy and my mind drifts back to waking up this morning.
“Have you had a chance to visit the peach groves?” Kathleen asks, pulling me from my dirty thought about this morning and sending me straight to the dirty thoughts of the orchard. “It smells heavenly this time of year.”
I almost choke on my coffee as I hear Ryker chuckle, and I think about his comments when his head was between my legs.
“Um, yes,” I say, patting my chest. “It’s really beautiful.”
“We should take a walk out there later. I haven’t been this season and I’d love to grab a basket before they’re all gone.”
“I think we can handle that.” Ryker looks at me and answers my unspoken question. “When they’re in season and picked, we donate them to the farmers market and local food banks.”
“That’s so nice,” I say, mentally marking down another thing about Ryker that makes my heart melt. Can he really be this perfect?
“He’s pretty great,” Kathleen says, and I can hear the pride in her voice.
“All right, enough about me, why don’t you guys interrogate my woman,” Ryker jokes as he tickles my side.
He looks relaxed and so at ease with his family here. I haven’t seen this side of him, but now that I have, I want it all the time. Could he be this way with me?
His parents ask me questions, but they’re careful not to ask one that would make me uncomfortable. We talk about how I liked riding Diamond and what kinds of foods I like. There’s never any talk that might lead back to my job before I came here, or what led Ryker to take me. I wonder now and then if he briefed them on what to say before they got here, but then decide I like the safe talk. It makes me more relaxed and less afraid of landmines I’m not willing to talk about. From the looks of it, Ryker comes from a good home with good parents. My upbringing was the polar opposite of what he experienced, and I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me. My mom sucks, and I don’t have any family to speak of, but I refuse to let that define who I am.
“Oh, you poor thing,” Jackie says when Ryker tells them about me almost getting swept away in the flash flood. “You’re lucky to be alive. Those things are known to kill farmers who are more worried about saving their livestock than themselves.”
“I’m lucky Ryker was there,” I say.
I noticed he left out the part where I was trying to run away, but I’m sure his parents are smart enough to figure it out.
“We should go for a ride down and check it out today,” Kathleen offers, and everyone agrees.
When we finish eating, we start to clear up the dishes, but it’s as if Lily can hear us and comes in at that exact moment. She lovingly scolds Kathleen before we’re all pushed out of her kitchen and made to go outside.
The four of us pile into the Gator, and Ryker drives us out to the barn. He points out some things for me along the way, and I can see some of the land he’s had bush-hogged so he can put in a playground.
“A playground? What’s that for?” I ask as we drive by it. When I look over at Ryker, he’s got a sly smile.
He shrugs and then squeezes my hand. “For one day.”
It’s then the implication dawns on me. He means for our kids. The thought should terrify me, but instead it warms my heart. He’s already planning a future where we’re together and having kids. I think back to Fritz and how even the sight of children always disgusted him. I thought I never wanted kids either, especially after having a mother like I did. But as time went on, the more the thought had taken hold. Now when I look out onto the pasture I can envision children laughing in the swings and begging Ryker to push
them higher. I can almost hear their squeals as I chase them around the old oak tree. It’s so beautiful it makes my breath catch in my throat. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever thought was possible and suddenly I’m homesick for something I didn’t know was there.
“I think that tree would look good with a tire swing,” Kathleen says and points out to the same tree in my fantasy. I can see it, too, and it would be perfect.
They talk about the orchard and how it’s doing this year, and Jackie seems to think Ryker needs another barn. They talk back and forth, and the whole time Ryker’s hand is on my leg, rubbing up and down.