I’m not even really listening anymore; I’m too enchanted by all the beautiful baby furniture around me. The tags say things like ‘hand carved’ and ‘made with love’.
“You brought me to a baby store?”
Lana gives a little wave and walks to the back of the store, disappearing into the back somewhere. Looks like she’s going to give us some time alone to look around.
“Is that OK?” Ryder asks, looking a little unsure. “I thought maybe you’d like to get a head start on some of your shopping? I know how much you love being prepared.”
Tears are forming in my eyes when I step into him and wrap my arms around his waist.
“Thank you, Ryder. This is amazing.”
Ryder hugs me back tightly, placing a kiss on the top of my head. “You’re welcome. Now let’s pick some stuff out. You decide what you like and I’ll keep track.” He pulls out his phone, ready to take notes for me.
We spend an hour in the store, and when we’re done, I’ve picked out all the major furniture and some extras. I have a beautiful hand carved crib, the most amazing rocking chair, dressers, and more baby clothes than I can count. Lana takes our list, promising to arrange the delivery and get back to me with a date. And she won’t take my credit card, assuring me it’s already taken care of.
After we promise to visit and say our goodbyes, Lana takes us to the front of the store and locks the door behind us.
“You bought your neighbour a store?” I finally ask as Ryder helps me into the car again. “And convinced her to come in on a Sunday so I could pick stuff out?”
“Yes and yes,” he says after getting in on his side. He starts the car and pulls away from the curb. “She used to watch us for free when we were kids. Dad didn’t make a lot of money, so he worked all the overtime he could just to make ends meet. If it weren’t for Lana’s kindness, Hunter and I would’ve had to fend for ourselves in the evenings, or we would’ve been homeless. She was like a second grandmother to me. When I heard she was laid off and in danger of losing her home, I paid off her mortgage and bought her this store. She’s always had a thing for babies and this opportunity came along at the right time.”
Have I been selling Ryder short all these years? I always assumed he only thought about himself, but I’m learning today that’s not the case. He’s been looking after me so well this last little while, and now I learn he’s set his old babysitter up for life when she lost her job. It makes me wonder what else I’ve been missing about Ryder while I was busy noticing the funny guy who’s always up for a good time.
“That’s really wonderful, Ryder. She’s lucky to have you.”
He shrugs. “I was lucky to have her,” he says. “I saw my Gran every summer and anytime she could visit, but Lana was the adopted grandma who was around all the time. They’re both very important to me.”
We continue driving in silence for a while before Ryder says anything else.
“So, there’s a few things I need to warn you about before we get to our next stop,” he says with a hint of a laugh in his voice.
