Page 43 of All Because I Found You

First, she had a ton to do, but not before stopping at Pie in the Sky and grabbing a cup or three of coffee.

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Ryder woke to a loud bang echoing through the house. He jumped out of bed, still buck ass naked, slowly remembering the events that took place last night. He could still smell Raelyn’s coconut scent on his skin, still feel her lips on his. Where the hell was she?

Other than the tangled sheets and her lingering scent, there was no evidence of her ever being there. The banging grew louder, and he grabbed his pants from the floor and stepped into them before heading to the front door.

He swung the door opened and was greeted by Gene. As much as he loved the man, he would have preferred to have woken to Raelyn’s beautiful face.

“All right. Took ye long enough,” Gene said. “Did ye fall in the crapper?”

Ryder ran a hand over his face. “No, I overslept.”

“When are ye ever scunnered? Ye don’t sleep.”

“Last night was a little different.”

“Wouldn’t have anything to do with that lass now, would it?”

Ryder wasn’t about to sit around the kitchen table and gossip like two old hens. He turned from the door and went to the kitchen, grabbing the pot of coffee, surprised it had already been brewed. Raelyn must’ve made it before she left.

He poured himself a large cup and held the pot up at Gene. “Want some?”

“Aye.”

Ryder handed Gene another mug after he poured him some coffee and leaned against the counter. “What are you doing here?” Ryder asked. Gene stopped by earlier in the day when he had questions or a problem.

“Avoiding my earlier question, aye?”

“Yes, now what’s up?”

Gene barked out a boisterous laugh. “Then you want to tell me about the giant teddy bear and bike in your living room.”

Damn, Ryder had forgotten about all of Raelyn’s prizes. Wait. “Bike?”

“Ye didn’t see it? Right there in the middle of the room.”

Ryder stalked out of the kitchen and back to the living room. His eyes widened as he took in not just the bike, but a cooler, more freaking baskets, and was that an air fryer? What the fuck was he going to do with an air fryer? And how the hell did she get all this in her car? But the real question was, how the hell did she get all of this crap in here without waking him?

This woman was going to be the death of him. He ran a hand over his face, wondering where he was going to put all this stuff.

“Want to take the meat basket and see if any of the guys want it?” Ryder said to Gene who was kneeling to look at the air fryer. “You can take that if you want.”

“Aye. Where did it come from?”

Ryder closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Raelyn tried giving me money for use of the barn, and it was a ridiculous amount, so I told her to donate it when she went to the fundraiser. Instead of just handing over the damn check, she bought raffles. A lot of fucking raffles.”

“I see.”

“What the hell am I going to do with…” He walked over to one of the baskets and lifted it up, peering through the clear cellophane to the contents inside. “A lavender scented candle, an eye mask, a bath bomb. What the fuck is a bath bomb?”

“Ye drop it in water, and it explodes, releasing like essential oils or something.”

“I’m not even going to ask how you know that.”

“My nieces asked for them last Christmas. Apparently they’re all the rage.”

“Don’t ever say that again,” Ryder joked.

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