Resisting Ryder(44)

“This reminds me of the home I grew up in as a child,” the husband kept saying. “It’s almost the exact same layout and everything.”

“I refuse to live in a trailer,” the woman would whisper to him.

The second showing was in the late afternoon and it was to a single guy. He worked in construction and had a long term gig in a nearby town and needed a place to live for a year or so. He even offered to do some repairs around the place and work on fixing some of the plumbing issues when he had time. He was needing a place to live as soon as possible, as he was rooming down at the Starlight Motel just off the highway.

Ryder’s eyes pleaded with her to say yes as the deal was almost too good to be true.

“Why don’t I get the paperwork together and you can come by tomorrow to sign everything?” she said, though Ryder suspected she was just trying to buy more time.

The young man shook their hands, gave her his number, and left.

“You’re going to go through with this, right?” Ryder asked. He clearly needed a little reassurance from her. “I sense a little hesitation from your end.”

“It’s just all happening so fast,” she whined.

“It’s happening exactly the way it’s meant to happen,” Ryder insisted.

“You want me to get on a plane with you two days from now,” she stated. “I haven’t even said goodbye to my family yet. Or Brooklyn for that matter.”

“You act like you’re going to another country or something. I will fly you home anytime you want. Your friends and family will always be just a plane ride away,” he promised.

Stormy chewed her nails, a horrible habit she’d picked up as of late, as she stared down at the cheap, laminate floors. She was quite sure, in that moment, that she was going to miss seeing those every day. They had become familiar to her and for some reason, comforting.

“I’m your safety net,” he said. “Jump and I’m right there.”

She raised her eyes to meet his and saw the sincerity behind them.

“I know,” she said. “I’m doing this. I promise.”

Ryder smiled. He had pretty much been nonstop smiling the entire day. “I’m going to print off some legal paperwork for your little transaction here, just to be safe.”

She loved that he thought of those things. She certainly didn’t.

“You know, if you’re going to whisk me away with you, you’re going to have to meet my parents,” she said. “Nothing serious. Nothing like that. They just need to know who you are and that I’m not being kidnapped or coerced by some psychopath.”

“Fair enough,” he said as he clicked around on his computer.

“And you should probably meet Brooklyn too,” Stormy continued. “I’ve sort of told her a lot about you.”

“Not a problem,” he said, never looking up once. Nothing seemed to faze him. He was as cool as a cucumber. Stormy wished she had an ounce of what he had in that regard.

Later that evening, they made their way to Stormy’s parents’ house. It was just past supper time, and she was sure they’d be curled up on the couch watching the latest edition of Sixty Minutes or some other news show.

“Knock, knock,” Stormy called as she walked in the front door. “I have someone I’d like you to meet.”

Her parents came out from around the corner within seconds and stopped dead in their tracks. Her mother opened her mouth to say something and then stopped.

“This is Jett’s brother, Ryder,” Stormy said. “Ryder, this is George and Maureen, my mom and dad.”

Ryder extended his hand and exchanged handshakes with them both.

“It’s very nice meeting you,” he said. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

George stood in silence and stared at Ryder. It was never good when George was silent. He looked him up and down, taking in every square inch of his denim and leather ensemble.

“I’m so sorry about your brother,” Maureen said with sympathetic eyes. “We really loved him. He was so good to our Stormy. He was gone too soon, that’s for sure.”

“So what brings you back to Coleville?” George asked. “Weren’t you just here a few weeks ago?”

Maureen nudged George as if he’d spilled some top secret of hers, and Stormy threw an angry glare towards her mother for telling him about Ryder in the first place.

“I was just checking on Miss Stormy here,” Ryder said. “We’ve become quite good friends these last few weeks.”

George’s eyes widened as Maureen smiled. Stormy could tell her mom was already smitten with him, and she was sure he reminded her of Jett. Maureen loved Jett to pieces.