Don't Forget Me Tomorrow(19)

People who truly cared and would drop everything and come running.

Not everyone had that.

It was the whole point of family, wasn’t it?

And I guessed I had to admit this was Ryder offering his own personal strength.

His own type of dedication.

Swooping in. Forever the protector. The one who’d step in front of a car spinning out of control to push their loved one out of the way.

The one who’d fight if it came down to it.

Oh, and Ryder would definitely fight.

He might come off as easygoing, but I’d seen him come unhinged a time or two.

The scraps he and Cody had gotten involved in when someone had said the wrong thing or acted the wrong way.

The aggression that had taken over a year ago when some douchebag had gotten too friendly with me at the bar and wouldn’t listen after I’d told him to keep his hands to himself.

My stomach tightened when I thought back to what he’d done when I was nineteen. The turbulence of his assault and the aftermath of what he’d left behind.

No, Ryder was not to be toyed with, which I guessed was part of the reason I’d called him in the first place.

It was the rest of this that was difficult, making the two quick turns required to get to his house and pulling into the driveway.

I couldn’t shake the sense that I was traveling into forbidden terrain.

Rocky, unstable ground.

The neighborhood was completely quiet at this time of night. The windows blackened. A calm so intense you could almost see it hovering over the roofs.

His neighborhood was in an older area in Time River. Some houses were large estates and others were smaller, though each sat on two acre lots.

Most had been renovated, their values skyrocketing, though there were still a couple that were run-down and gave off a creepy vibe, especially at two in the morning.

Ryder’s was smaller, though fully redone, as quaint and gorgeous as could be. White and two-story with a big, elevated porch out front.

It had been his childhood home, where he’d grown up, just him and his mother.

It made my heart soar that he’d been able to buy it back once he’d had the means.

Knew what it meant to him.

He was the one who’d had the remodel done, bringing it back to life when it’d once rang with death.

Ryder pulled in directly behind me, boxing me in, and I exhaled a shaky breath.

I could handle this.

It wasn’t any different than hanging out with him at Mack’s or at my brother’s or at my mom’s. Or any of the times he’d come by my house to help with things, or when I’d pop over here to drop off some special recipe I’d made.

It was totally, completely the same.

I didn’t know why I was making such a big deal about it.

I worked at convincing myself of that while I climbed from my car. Ryder was already there, striding up to the back passenger door and opening it.

I stalled out for a fraction of a beat.

This dark, casual mayhem that stirred the air and sent it skittering across my flesh.

Midnight.

He dipped in, unbuckled Kayden, and pulled him into his tattooed arms.

God, why did a man snuggling a baby have to look so good?

But even contemplating that was dangerous, so I started for the tailgate to grab our things. Only Ryder snagged me by the wrist as I started to pass. “Leave it. I’ll get everything once we get you settled inside.”

“I’m not incapable of carrying in a few bags, Ryder.”

He smirked one of those smirks that danced through my insides.

“Clearly. But why would you go and do that when I’m here to do it? Use me up, Dakota.”

He had the audacity to wink.

“You’re asking for it.” I forced lightness into my voice as I yanked a little to free myself from his hold. The connection was just too much. “I’m going to get used to this pampering, and you’re never going to get rid of me. Lugging around that kid is getting tough. He’s heavy.”

I rambled it as I turned to move up the walkway that wound around the front of the house to the five steps that led to the porch.

Ryder followed close behind.

That energy vibrated.

Entrancing.

Hypnotic.

Our footsteps thudded softly across the planks.

Ryder edged around me when we got to the door, and he held Kayden in one arm while he worked the key into the lock with the other. Wrangling all of that, he still managed to glance back at me with that sly expression on his face. “Who said I wanted to get rid of you?”

Doing my best not to choke on his words, I scoffed out a tease, giving into the playfulness he seemed to have gotten lost in as he held the door open for me to enter.

“I’ll give you until tomorrow morning for you to be hauling us back to my place and dumping us on the doorstep. He looks harmless now…” I drew out.

I cast a soft glance at Kayden held in the safety of the man’s arms as I stepped passed them.

Affection inflated my chest.

Chuckling, Ryder rubbed his hand over my son’s back. “You act like I don’t know a thing about this tiny tornado. Think I can handle it.”

“You are begging for trouble.”

Okay, the one who was really begging for trouble was me.

“Guess I am, aren’t I?” The mumble was so quiet I wasn’t sure if I imagined it, and Ryder angled around me and headed for the stairs. “Come on. Let’s get you two settled so you can get some rest.”