He never hated me.
How was that possible?
Ryder opened the door and stepped down from the cab of his Bronco. I turned to my door handle and followed suit. I stepped into the sultry summer night and welcomed the sticky heat that wrapped around my bare arms. Omaha’s humidity had to be at a high; the wet heat was so thick it settled heavily in my lungs and pulled beads of sweat from my head at first contact.
But after sitting in the air conditioned car for hours, it felt surprisingly refreshing.
I walked around the back of the Bronco and willed myself to have courage in the face of Matt and Nate Sutton. They both stood close to Ryder, speaking in hushed tones and with defensive stances.
The three tall, built men so close together, clearly involved in an important conversation were very intimidating. I wasn’t sure if I had the courage to approach them.
Sure, I could kill a gigante with my bare hands, but stepping close to Ryder’s family was, frankly, too much to ask.
“Where will you go?” I heard Nate ask Ryder.
“I don’t know,” Ryder answered. “And it’s probably better if you don’t know anyway. Safer.”
Nate nodded once. I could see the shadows of grief and loss flickering across his face. Nate had already lost his wife and now I was going to take away his only son.
My heart squeezed painfully. I wanted to run over there and beg for his forgiveness. I wanted to slink off into the dark night and leave Ryder for a second time- this time for the good of his family.
“This is what he wants.” Matt’s low voice made me jump and nearly scream.
I slammed a hand over my mouth and stared at him with wide eyes. “You scared me!”
A small smile played at his lips. “I’m sorry. I thought you saw me walk over here.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t ask him to leave. I’ve never wanted him to leave you guys.”
“We know that, Ivy. And he knows that too. He didn’t come to this decision lightly, but he’s thought it out. Trust me. We all have.”
“He talked about it with you? He was completely honest?”
Matt nodded once to confirm. “Completely. I’ve got to say… it’s some pretty weird shit. We didn’t believe him at first. But then, I don’t know, it started to make sense. He told us from the beginning that if you ever came back that he would be gone. He wasn’t going to give you another chance to leave him.”
“I’m surprised he still wants to go with me,” I confessed. Nate and Ryder had put their heads together over Ryder’s passport and I hoped that meant Ryder couldn’t hear us. “I mean after everything that happened and what I did to him-”
Matt cut me off sharply. “Ivy, do you understand how much that boy cares for you?” I looked up at him and shook my head. Matt was a grownup version of Ryder and the younger version of Nate. His dark hair hung down to his chin but was somehow less wild than Ryder’s, and he carried the Sutton strong bones and good looks. He was more open than Ryder and his dad though. When you met Matt, you immediately knew he was a good guy. Ryder and Nate took longer to get to know. I had always liked Matt, from the first moment I met him. This was one of the reasons I had so easily felt a part of Ryder’s family. Matt went on, “Imagine if the tables were turned. Imagine if Ryder was the one that had to leave you. Would you forgive him?”
“Yes.” There was no hesitation in my answer. I had thought I was taking him out of danger when I left in the first place. I would have done whatever it took to make sure Ryder was safe. If he felt like he had to leave me, I would have fully supported his decision.
Even if it ripped me to pieces to let him leave.
“So maybe he’s upset with how things played out, but, Ivy, Ryder would do anything to keep you safe. Never doubt that. Never doubt him.”
I nodded. I felt choked up again from Matt’s easy explanation. “And you don’t hate me?” I whispered my question. “And Nate doesn’t either?”
Matt smiled gently and looked up at the stars partially hidden behind the haze of city lights. When his gaze dropped back to mine, I prepared myself for more truth. He had that look about him, the look that said he had no more reason to hold anything back.
“You remind me of his mom in a lot of ways. She had a little bit of your world in her. I mean, I don’t know for certain, but you’re familiar in that way. She was gorgeous, unbelievably so. And she had this way about her that made you feel like you could do anything… be anything. When Nate met her, I knew immediately that she was it for him. The good thing, though, was that he was it for her too. They shared something that is rare, something infinitely special. I have always been jealous of what they had.”
I swallowed thickly and wondered if Ryder’s mom wasn’t actually something from my world. From Matt’s description of her, she sounded like a Muse.
But Muses were Nix’s territory. She would have been one of his girls.
Which was impossible knowing that Nix never let his girls go. And Ryder’s dad wasn’t worth anything substantial as far as riches untold or unending wealth.
Besides, Ryder was a boy. Muses, Nymphs and Sirens only had girls.
