Emotion struck through the easiness that had been pinned on Ryder’s expression. Something soft and profound.
The same devotion he’d promised me last night.
Us.
This family.
He covered it as fast as it’d shown, but he still came around the island and whipped Kayden out of my arms. He soared him through the air.
Delight rolled from Kayden, his shrieks full of joy.
“Of course, I came to see you. I was missing my favorite tiny tornado.”
I bit down on my lip to keep the rush of affection at bay.
It’d been an hour.
With the way that gaze slanted down to me for the barest flash, I knew he’d been missing me, too.
“I a good boy,” Kayden told him right as he was trying to get fistfuls of Ryder’s hair.
Ryder laughed, though his voice turned gentle as he cupped the back of Kayden’s head, pressed his lips to his temple, and murmured, “That’s right. You are my good boy.”
I had to reach out to the counter to support myself.
To keep from falling to my knees with the earthquake that rocked me through.
Staggering.
And I wondered if every-single-person there felt it, the way everyone went quiet and watched them like they were watching a spring flower blooming to life.
Or had it been there all along and I’d had myself so guarded that I hadn’t allowed myself to see it?
Mom cleared her throat. “I didn’t know you were coming this morning, Ryder. What a nice surprise.”
“Hope you don’t mind. I’d had to swing by Ezra’s earlier, and I knew you’d all be here, so I thought I’d stop in.”
“You know you’re always welcome here.”
A flicker of sorrow traipsed through his expression. “You’ve always welcomed me. I appreciate it more than you could ever know.”
She set her hand on his cheek. “You’re family, Ryder. Always have been, and you’re always going to be.”
He swallowed hard, and I knew he’d gotten swept in a memory of his mother. I wanted to touch him.
Wrap my arms around him.
Murmur that he wasn’t alone.
“What have you been up to, Ryder?” Kayla asked as she pulled out the slices of toast that popped up from the toaster and refilled the slots.
“Not much other than work and hanging out with these two while they stay at my house for a bit.”
I couldn’t decipher the look that Ryder gave me.
All I knew was it traveled through me in an avalanche of possession.
Chills skated, and I focused on grabbing plates from the cabinet and setting them around the table.
A grunt of discomfort left Cody as he poured himself a mug of coffee from the carafe. “Any word from Ezra about the break-in?”
Ryder grimaced. “Guess there was another incident at the hardware store two nights ago. Someone busted open the back door and stole a bunch of expensive equipment.”
“Heard about that. He thinks it’s related?”
Ryder scraped a hand through his hair. “Yeah.”
“Scumbags need to get caught.” Cody’s jaw clamped.
“Guess there was some footage from the security cameras. Thinks he finally has something to go on.”
Cody breathed out in relief. “That’s good.”
I forced myself to walk around the island, tiptoeing back into Ryder’s orbit, the man a black hole I could get sucked into.
Lost forever.
I focused on gathering both a plate of bacon and another stacked high with toast.
Ryder was suddenly there, towering over me.
Midnight in the middle of the day.
I had the intense urge to push up onto my toes and press my face into his throat.
“Let me.” He took the plate of bacon while I struggled to keep my breaths under control.
“Bacon!” Kayden shouted, smacking at Ryder’s cheek and trying to get in his line of sight like the man had just given my child the best gift in the world.
Ryder turned one of those adoring smiles down at him as he spun and started for the table in the corner. “Your favorite, next to pancakes, am I right?”
“Pancakes!”
My chest tightened, and I had to take a second to gather myself before I headed that direction.
Leave it to my mother to be watching me with that same intuition as I leaned over to place the toast onto the table.
Her attention drifted over me like those handprints really were glowing on my skin.
We all settled into chairs, Kayden’s highchair pulled between me and Ryder. Ryder buckled him into it and placed a small pile of scrambled eggs and a piece of bacon that he’d crumbled onto his plate. I buttered and put jam on a piece of toast, setting it on Kayden’s plate, too, while Ryder kept cutting me glances over the top of my son’s head as I did.