Resisting Ryder(11)

Stormy couldn’t help but smile back. She was so happy to hear he was staying another day. She wanted to get to know him a little more, she enjoyed his company, and there were still so many unanswered questions.

“So what do you want to do on your last day in Coleville?” she asked.

“Gosh, that’s a tough one,” he said. “So many different options. How will I ever decide?”

Stormy laughed at his sarcasm.

“Why don’t you plan a day for us?” he asked. “Show me around town. Show me what’s changed in the last eight years. I’m perfectly fine just bumming around today and hanging out. I don’t need to be entertained.”

“Sounds good to me,” she said. “Want to go for a ride on the bike?”

Ryder stood up and stretched as he grabbed his keys and phone off the coffee table. They headed outside where Stormy stood on the front porch fidgeting with the sticky door lock.

“Jett was going to fix this,” she said, embarrassed. “Never got around to it. Obviously.”

The breeze swayed and rustled the green leaves on the sycamore trees that lined her street. It was a perfect June morning. The summer heat had yet to set in, and the sun was shining bright.

“Allow me,” Ryder said. He pulled on the door, jiggled the lock, tightened something or other, and then the key went into the lock and turned as if it were brand new.

“Wow, thanks,” Stormy said. “You’re good.”

Ryder said nothing as he turned and walked towards his bike and climbed on. Stormy climbed behind him on the passenger seat as he started it up and rolled out of the driveway. The leather seat was warm beneath her jeans. The bike’s engine hummed softly, vibrating underneath her, and the breeze floated by, carrying the sweet scent of the neighbor’s flowering peony and lilac bushes. Stormy wanted to stay in that moment forever.

They drove down Stormy’s street and headed towards Main Street. As they buzzed up and down the business district, Stormy pointed out the various shops and eateries that had closed and reopened under new management or had become yogurt shops and bars. The town was a far cry from what it was eight years ago, and with the demise of the appliance factory, everything had gone downhill fast.

“Don’t you ever want to get out of Coleville?” Ryder asked as they pulled up to a stop. “Live someplace else? See what it’s like?”

“I’m only twenty-two,” she yelled back. “I’m young. A lot can happen.”

Stormy realized her birthday was coming up in two weeks. Jett had been planning a special surprise for her big day, but now she’d never know what that was. Never in her life did she imagine she’d be a widow at twenty-three.

“What are you waiting for?” Ryder asked. “Come to California for a visit. I bet you won’t want to leave.”

Was that a genuine invitation? She wondered. Or was he just saying that because that’s what people say when they’re trying to be nice?

He pulled his bike into a parking spot and shut off the engine.

“Maybe when I get a job, I can save up some money and come out and visit,” she said.

“Or I could just fly you out,” he said. “Not a big deal. We’re family, right?”

“Oh, you don’t have to pay for me to fly anywhere,” she said.

“You’re my brother’s sweet, young widow,” he said. “It’s my job to look after you now, kid.”

Stormy loved that he said that, but hated that he called her “kid”. She was a young woman, not a child. She didn’t need anyone to take care of her. She just wanted a friend, someone she could rely on and talk to.

“You don’t have to take care of me, Ryder,” Stormy insisted. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”

“Jett probably left you a pretty penny, huh?” Ryder laughed, though Stormy wondered what the intentions were behind his question.

“Are you kidding me?” she asked. His words were like a knife through her heart. All along, she realized, he’d probably been testing her. That or he wanted money.

“As far as I know, all I have is our trailer,” she said through gritted teeth. “We never talked about money. He took care of everything. I didn’t ask any questions. He didn’t have a life insurance policy. Something we just never got around to setting up I guess.”

“Whoa, geez,” he said with his hand up in the air. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

Stormy sat in the passenger seat steaming mad. She couldn’t believe Ryder would even bring up anything about Jett’s money.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just that you don’t know me at all, and you’re already bringing up Jett and his money. You’re just like Misty.”