Don't Forget Me Tomorrow(4)

But there was a bigger part of me that had accepted him as my friend. The guy who was always there, riding in like a dark knight. The part of me that didn’t want to hurt anymore when I looked at him.

The part that was ready to love and to find the one who would love me back.

Still, I couldn’t look away as he turned and slung a leg over his bike and straddled the metal.

Tatted hands curled around the handlebars. Waves of black hair billowing in the breeze.

But it was the gunmetal eyes staring at me through the fading light that sent chills scattering down my spine.

The man midnight at the helm.

He kicked over his old bike and it grumbled to life.

He just sat there, waiting on me.

Right.

I was supposed to be getting in my car.

I shook myself out of the haze he’d cast and forced myself into action. I checked both directions before I rushed to the driver’s door and climbed in.

I started my car, checked the lane beside me again, then eased onto the road, keeping my speed far less than I normally would travel.

With the look on Ryder’s face when he’d received that text, I’d figured he’d blaze around me and burn a path back into Time River.

Someone was waiting on him.

I knew it.

The thing was, there was always someone waiting on Ryder. His phone pinging off with the slew of women he seemed to have at his beck and call.

I didn’t let it bother me anymore.

But he didn’t fly around me the way I’d expected.

No.

He followed.

Followed me to the end of the highway and through the small town that I loved.

Time River, Colorado was hidden at the base of a gorgeous ridge of mountains with a river running through.

Cozy cottages and two-story buildings with colorful awnings ran along Manchester, the main street that cut through the middle of town. The sidewalks were decorated with planters that overflowed with flowers, and old-style lamps had flickered on with the setting of the sun and now burned a yellowed glow.

I drove by shops, restaurants, and boutiques.

A couple hair salons and a new day spa, plus an old-timey hardware store and a renovated hotel.

The whole time I traveled, I could feel the weight of the single headlight of Ryder’s bike covering me in some kind of shield.

Satisfaction hummed in my being as I passed by Time River Market & Café, my restaurant and country store. There were some days I still couldn’t believe that I’d built it into what it was today.

A focal point of our community where locals and tourists alike flocked to meet. I was thankful I’d found people I could trust to help me run it, and tonight, the parking lot was packed to overflowing with our dinner guests.

None of it would have been possible without Ryder, and sometimes I still didn’t understand it. Couldn’t comprehend why he would offer me something so great and expect nothing in return.

Ryder who remained close behind.

It wasn’t until I slowed to make a right onto my mother’s street a couple blocks up that he finally gunned it and wound around me, the engine roaring as the streak of metal flew down the street.

I reminded myself it was none of my concern where he was going, or more importantly, who he was running to.

Ryder was my friend. And I could rest satisfied in that, even though that friendship was always going to be bittersweet.





“Mommy, I see you!”

My heart nearly exploded as I hurried up the walkway toward my mother’s porch, my spirit as eager as my feet as I climbed the two steps to where Kayden was at the screen door.

His little face was smooshed into the mesh, a distorted smile grinning back at me.

“I see you,” I sang in return, and I reached down to caress his cheek through the screen.

My mother’s soft laughter filtered through, and she appeared behind him and reached over to flick the lock. “He’s been standing here waiting for you for the last thirty minutes.”

Affection swelled. So intense as she opened the screen door and Kayden came rushing out, his arms thrown in the air. I picked him up, and he squealed and kicked as I lifted him high, before I brought him down to smother his adorable face in a thousand kisses.

I made sure to add in a bunch of smooching noises for extra effect.

Little hands gripped me by the cheeks, the child giggling like mad.

This.

This was my meaning.

Where I’d found the greatest joy, as unexpected as it’d been.

“Hey, Mom. Sorry I’m late,” I told her.

“No need to apologize,” she said as she widened the door for me to enter. “You’re just in time. Dinner is almost ready.”

“How was he today?” I asked as I tucked my squirming toddler onto my hip and followed her into the house.

“Tasmanian Devil, that one,” she tossed over her shoulder as she walked through the living room that was a complete disaster, thanks to my little bit of mayhem, and into the kitchen.

I set him down in the middle of the mess he’d made. “It sounds like you have some cleaning up to do.” My voice was gentle as I knelt in front of him and dragged the basket for his toys over.

“I hungee.” He grabbed his belly in both hands.

A soft chuckle got free, and I brushed back the same rebellious lock of brown hair that always fell over his eyes. “You have to clean up before you eat.”