“Like I told you, to help Fiona.”
“It’s funny,” he added between unhurried bites. “I wasn’t even sure you’d come back for her funeral someday.”
Her fork wobbled in her hand. She stabbed it into her breakfast to steady her shaky fingers. “That’s not fair, Ryder. She’s family; the only family I have. I’d do anything for her.” Kinley may have avoided coming backtoSunset Ridge to see her aunt. But over the years, she’d booked countless plane tickets for Fiona to join her in several places around the world.
Ryder cleaned up his plate and wadded the napkin in his lap. “Sorry for prying. I didn’t mean offense. You always were easy to rile up.”
Kinley stared at the table. Her gaze landed on his ringless left hand. “Why aren’t you married, Ryder? I thought for sure you’d have a hockey team of kids by now.”
Pushing up from the chair, Ryder pulled his wallet from his back pocket. His lips formed into a chiseled frown. “Thanks for sharing your table.” He dropped a couple of bills onto the table. “Enjoy your visit.”
“Ryder—”
With quick strides and a few waves to locals scattered among the early tourists, Ryder never looked back.
“Can I get you anything else?” Cadence’s voice startled her from her distant thoughts.
Temptation to take the lodge tour she was offered tempted her, but Kinley couldn’t procrastinate going to see Ava any longer. “No, thank you. The food was wonderful.”
“I’ll pass that along to the chef.”
Two steps from the table, Kinley realized she’d left her purse on the floor. By the time she retrieved it and hooked it over her shoulder, the taillights of a black truck illuminated at the end of the lodge’s gravel road. Ryder had turned left, up the hill, no doubt headed to his mom’s place.
They’d shared their first kiss—a kiss that often drifted into her unguarded thoughts like a blissful aroma—but once grief got its clutches into her, nothing had come from that. Nothing would now. Kinley’s heart shouldn’t clench in her chest the way it did over Ryder Grant.
Chapter Four
Ryder
Ryder eased into his mom’s driveway, shoving away the guilt he felt for the way he ended breakfast with Kinley. Though he could tell with one eye closed that she was harboring some secret, he pushed too hard. It was only natural she pushed back. From the nonchalance of her comment, he doubted she’d heard what happened with Mercedes. Kinley had no way of knowing the way her words stung.
He dropped the tailgate, the familiar screech of his mom’s screen door piercing his ear. He’d forgotten the WD-40 again. But with another nine days—or more if that lawyer caused trouble—ahead of him, Ryder had time to take care of the many items on Tillie Grant’s list. Dropping by Mom’s gave him something to occupy his time since Denver’s solitary request wasn’t exactly a time suck. Mist the fern every day.Really?“Couldn’t even ask me to watch the dog,” he muttered.
Tessa, the oldest Whitmore sister, and her husband Liam had Sherlock and Sophie’s daughter Caroline for the week of the honeymoon. Denver’s words echoed in Ryder’s mind.“Don’t worry about it. You’re too busyfor a dog.”
He battled the urge to text Murph and ask how things were going—to find out if the Johnson brothers were impeding on her son’s tee-ball schedule—and lost. Sunset Ridge saw little excitement on a Wednesday morning, but one could never be too complacent. He pulled his phone out and was halfway through composing a text when Mom appeared.
“Ryder, I didn’t know you were stopping by today.”
Until a few minutes ago, he hadn’t known either. His original plans were to grab a sandwich from Willamina’s Big Dipper, then head out to the marina. The halibut were biting more reliably now, and his freezer was empty. Deleting the text, Ryder dropped his phone into the back pocket of his jeans. “Thought I’d finally get those deck steps fixed.” He gathered the two-by-fours he’d been hoarding for almost a month and carried them around back. Mom stayed on his heels.
“Why aren’t you working today?”
Dropping the boards near the bowing steps, he debated how much to confess. Though Mom was known to be a bit gossipy at times, she always kept the important things a secret. He could trust her to do that now, but he wasn’t certain he wanted to burden her with worry. It brought a little comfort to know he could always blame the mayor for the white lie if she found out on her own. “Took some time off,” he said, carefully choosing his words.
Mom placed her hands on her hips, tilting her head with exaggeration as she peered up at him through purple-rimmed glasses. “Who are you, and what have you done with my son? Outside of his brother’s wedding last weekend, I haven’t seen him out of a police uniform in months.”
“It was either use some days or lose them,” he added, still technically telling the truth. He went back to the truck for his drill, tape measure, and a box of screws. He hoped the circular saw was still in the garage from when they used it to make a parade float last summer.
When he made it back to the deck, Mom was already sliding the door closed. She handed him a bottle of flavored water before dropping into a floral cushioned chair pointed right at him. “Ryder, I love you. You know I do. But you wouldn’t even take the day off for your brother’s rehearsal dinner. What’s going on?”
The two were a lot alike, and sometimes it was downright inconvenient. “Nothing you need to worry about. I promise. Mayor insisted I use some of my vacation days. Recharge my batteries and all that.”
After an overpowering gulp of strawberry-lemonade water, Ryder went back for the circular saw before Mom could dissect his response. The overly sweet taste lingered on his tongue for several minutes. It didn’t matter how much he reminded anyone that he didn’t care for sugary drinks and treats, he got them anyway as though they were a special gift.
“Well, I’m glad the mayor twisted your arm,” Mom said, watching him work a crowbar at the bowing steps. She was a smart woman, great at puzzling any mystery together. Ryder suspected he got his best detective instincts from her. It wouldn’t be long before she figured it out.
“I’m surprised you’re home,” Ryder said after the first board popped free. He tossed it to the side and went for the next. “Don’t you have some committee to lead or organization to start?”
