“I’m making pot roast.You come on over here and get yourself some food.”
The last thing he wanted was to eat or to talk.Casey hadn’t been gone four hours and already there was a hole inside of him that food couldn’t fill.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll just stick around here for the evening.”
“If you change your mind, you know how to get here.”
“Yes, ma’am, I do.”
He hung up and then headed for the shower.After he cleaned up, maybe he’d watch a little TV, have an early night.After all, he had the whole place to himself.And it was the loneliest feeling he could ever remember.
* * *
By morning, it had started to rain.By the next day, and then the next, it alternated between gray skies and drizzle, with a downpour now and then in between.And as if the rain wasn’t bad enough, a line of heavy thunderstorms was pushing its way into the state and today was the day that Casey was due to come home.
He sat at the window looking out at the rain, ignoring the fact that today he’d already angered Erica and caused Eudora to have to change her plans.
He didn’t give a damn that Erica had a lunch date with a banker to discuss buying a business.He couldn’t have cared less whether or not Dora was going to miss her bridge luncheon.Erica knew how to drive and Dora could take a cab.
Erica argued, then whined, then begged.When she realized that nothing was working, she started in with what she considered simple reasoning.If she drove herself, then there was no way she could keep from having to walk in the rain.At this point, Ryder had heard enough.
“Where are you meeting the banker for lunch?”he asked.
She sniffed.“The Tea Room.”
“Take an umbrella, and use their valet parking.”
Erica knew when she’d been had.She rolled her eyes and flounced out of the library, muttering beneath her breath about hardheaded men who did not know their place.
Eudora patted her hair and straightened her belt.She was certain that the rapport she’d developed with this man would bring him around.
“Ryder, dear, it’s Evadine Nelson’s turn to play hostess for the bridge club.She lives right at the edge of town, remember?Hers is that big white house with the portico that I so admire.”
“Yes, ma’am, I remember the house,” Ryder said.
Eudora beamed.“Then you won’t mind just dropping me off.It won’t take more than half an hour either way.If Delaney hadn’t insisted on building this place out in the middle of nowhere, we wouldn’t be so isolated.”
Ryder shook his head.“Dora, you weren’t listening to me.I’m not budging until Casey calls.Dammit, look outside.There’s a storm due in within hours.Chances are, her plane will be delayed, or the pilot will wind up trying to outrun it.Either way, I want to know what the hell is going on.I’ll call a cab for you, but I’m not playing chauffeur today and that’s that.”
She rolled her eyes.“You know, things have been upside down ever since-Casey brought you into this family.You’re supposed to be the chauffeur.Chauffeurs are supposed to do as they’re told.”She tried to glare.
“So fire me,” he said, and kissed her cheek, which brought a smile to her eyes that she just couldn’t hide.“Go on with you then,” she spluttered.“Go sit and wait for that phone call.”She walked away, mumbling beneath her breath.“Land sakes, what will Evadine say?Me coming to her door in a cab, like some commoner.”
Ryder followed her out the door.“Dora, you are a fine lady, but you are not the Queen Mother.Taking a cab now and then is good for the soul.”
Eudora pivoted, giving him a cool, pointed stare.“I declare,” she said, about to give him a piece of her mind, but Ryder didn’t wait around to listen.
He ran from the main house all the way across the courtyard, then up the stairs just ahead of a cool gust of wind.Pausing at the landing, he looked up at the sky, judging the dark, angry swirl of clouds overhead.Today was not a good day to fly.
As soon as he entered the apartment, he turned on the television and flipped to a local station he knew would be broadcasting weather bulletins all day.With the phone at his side, he sat down to wait for her call.
A half hour went by.By this time he was pacing the floor.She’d promised to call before she left.She wasn’t the kind of person who’d break a promise.
“A line of severe thunderstorms is blanketing the state,” the TV announcer stated.
He turned toward the television, picked up the remote and upped the volume.
“Wind velocities have been measured at fifty to sixty miles per hour with gusts up to seventy and eighty.Authorities advise staying off of the roads and avoiding low-lying areas that are prone to flooding.”
