Then she tried to grab the bill, but Ryder snatched it away.
“Consolation prize, remember?”
“Yes, but I’m covering the garlic rolls and drinks.”
“Tell you what, you can buy next time.” He dropped a couple of bills on the table, then walked out with Elizabeth.
Next time? He wanted a next time. There could be no next time. Ryder Donovan threatened to be a huge distraction. But deep, deep down, she wanted a next time. And when Ryder gently held her arm on their way to her car, Elizabeth did not pull away.
He held open her car door, but didn’t want her to leave. Things were starting to feel good between them. If Sinatra hadn’t stopped singing, and the tiramisu hadn’t arrived, he’d still be on the dance floor with Elizabeth in his arms.
Despite her uptight got-to-get-an-education personality, she was easy to be with and Ryder wondered if he saw a side of her she didn’t know existed.
“Hey, can you spare thirty minutes?” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll have you back here by eight thirty, eight forty-five.”
“To where are you kidnapping me, Donovan?”
“You’ll see.”
Two minutes later, they were in his truck driving down River Road toward Wade Reed and the fire tower.
They were quiet on the way over with the radio playing softly in the background. When Buck Mathews’s first big hit came on, they sang softly along.
>s>What a lucky man I am/ I’ve seen love.
’Cause when you walked in the room/I saw nothing but
You, you, you, only you, you, you
My heart will never be the same.
I just had to know your name.
From that day on, I knew…I’d never be the same.>s>
Off Wade Reed, Ryder cut down a dirt road and through the vanishing rays of the setting sun, his F250 cutting through dry, overgrown brush and branches. Buck’s song gave way to Foy Vance’s “Guiding Light,” and the romantic melody sank into Ryder’s bones.
If not for the bend in the road and the ravine that folded down to the river, he’d keep on driving toward eternity. As long as Elizabeth was by his side. These thoughts, these feelings came from the secret places in his heart, bypassing all reason.
“Is that the old fire tower?” She leaned forward to see out the windshield.
“The one I supposedly bought cherrywood to repair.” Ryder parked and popped open his door. The melody of “Guiding Light” cut off, but all of Ryder’s feels remained. When he opened Elizabeth’s door, he sank into the scent of her presence.
“It’s beautiful here,” she whispered, standing beside him in the hushed, pure quiet of the WMA. “So reverently quiet.”
“It’s my church every weekday.” He made his way to the steps, shining his flashlight over the rotten portions. “Careful,” he said, reaching for her hand.
He showed her the best boards to grab on her way up, then followed. At the top, the summer moon was just making its appearance in the twilight sky.
“It’s so peaceful here.” Elizabeth stepped to the left side of the tower.
“It’s my sanctuary,” Ryder said. “Nothing preaches more than God’s own creation. I wish He’d make it rain.”
She glanced back at him, causing his heart to kick up a beat or two. “I love that you’ve not let the past make you bitter.”
“Who says I haven’t?”
Her white, even smile defied the shadows. “Me. I see it in you.”
