“Come on. We’ll figure out where I’m sleeping, but let’s do it downstairs before we wake them up.”
In the basement, we drop our bags and turn on the light in Hank’s old room. Ryder stares at the queen bed in the middle of the far wall.
“The workout room is next door. I’ll sleep in there,” I offer.
“You’re going to sleep on a weight bench?”
I shrug. “I’ve slept on worse.”
Her head lolls to the side as she inhales and lets it out. “It’s fine. I’ll sleep on the floor, and you can have the bed.”
“You’re not sleeping on the floor.”
“I’veslept on worse.” She throws my words back at me, but her eyes tell me it’s the truth.
I don’t want to think about where she might have slept.
“Look, you’re here for me, so I’ll take the floor.”
“Fine. You’re right.” She tucks the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth, surveying the room.
I wait for her to look at me. “Everything is ok.”
Her eyes move between mine, determining if she believes me.
“We’d better get some sleep, though. The only quiet time in this house is right now.”
We quickly take turns in the bathroom, and Ryder pulls the extra blankets from the closet, doubling them up for extracushion on the floor. She tosses me a pillow, and we get settled—her in bed and me on the floor beside it.
She peers down at me over the side of the bed. “Does your entire family think we’re together?”
I slip my hands behind my head. “I haven’t told them anything about you. Maggie would drive herself and everyone else crazy worrying.”
That’s it. I have no other excuses. Maybe part of me liked the idea of people thinking I had someone who cared about me.
That private admission makes me feel like an asshole. “I’ll clear things up in the morning.”
Her eyes roam over my face, and then she reaches up and turns off the lamp. A dim nightlight flicks on in the corner. Ryder rustles in the sheets and punches the pillow to flatten it as she tries to get comfortable.
You ok, Jones?” I ask quietly.
She doesn’t answer, but I know she’s not sleeping.
“In the stillness that follows, I hear her release a breath.
“I’m going to stay right here. . .on the floor. Ok?”
After another second, I hear, “Ok.”
Someone is after me, and it’s Ryder’s job to make sure they don’t get too close. But here, I finally get to protect her, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
______
I hear athump, and then somethingclickwith ascrape.
“Shit.”
I rub my eyes and sit up. Ryder stands on her closed suitcase, reaching for the top shelf in the closet.
