Page 10 of All Because I Found You

“So…” Raelyn started. “Remember that wedding I had, and the venue got flooded?”

“Sure do. I spoke to my parents yesterday, and they said the town is still recovering. They’re lucky they weren’t so close to the flood zone. Anyway. Back to you. Venue flooded. Yes.”

“And remember I was trying to figure out who owns the old barn on Beaver Creek.”

“I do. Did you figure it out?”

“I did. And you’re never going to guess who it is.”

“Then tell me.”

“Ryder Douglas.”

“Wait a minute… the Ryder Douglas? The Ryder Douglas whose party you forced me to go to, even though we weren’t invited, because you had the biggest crush on him?”

“That would be the one.”

“I thought he moved out of state.”

“So did I. Apparently, he’s been living in his grandfather’s house ever since the accident!”

“That’s actually… really sad. Has he been there all by himself this whole time? I mean, to go undetected in Morgan’s Bay for what… a decade? Does he even leave the house?”

“I’m not sure. We didn’t talk much. He kind of shut the door in my face and I set up camp on his property.”

“Come again?”

Raelyn gave a rundown of the entire day, making sure not to spare a single detail.

“Just when I think you can never leave me speechless again, you go and do something like that,” Cindy said when Raelyn finished. “What the hell did he do?”

“Oooo you said a bad word!”

Raelyn stifled a laugh while Cindy exhaled loudly into the receiver.

“I did, didn’t I?” Cindy said. “I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”

“Don’t do it again!” Juju’s little authoritative voice drifted into the phone.

“I won’t,” Cindy said. “Sorry. What did he do?”

“Turned the sprinklers on me, but jokes on him because it was starting to get really hot. I mean, I was out in the open surrounded by fields and no trees. I was dying. The sprinklers felt great.”

“I can’t,” Cindy said, amusement in her tone. “Is he still hot?”

“His hair is longer now. Very Jamie Fraser season one.”

“Oh geez. We both know that is your favorite Jamie.”

Raelyn only re-watched season one of Outlander a dozen times. “It’s not just the hair, either. He’s muscular and rugged. Rough around the edges, a little gruff, but who wouldn’t be after everything he’s been through.”

The entire town knew of the tragedy that took his parents’ life and his younger sister. It had been a miracle that Ryder had survived the crash, a possibility that had been bleak those first few days after the accident. It was an event that not only shocked the entire town, but sent them into mourning alongside Ryder even if he had spent months in the hospital and missed all the memorial services held throughout their tight knit community.

“I’m not surprised he’s hiding out. I’m sure you showing up on his doorstep through him for a loop he wasn’t expecting.”

Raelyn shrugged, not that Cindy could see her. “I just added a little excitement to his day.”

“Where are you off to now?”

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