Page 99 of Follow My Heart

Are you awake?

Izzy was having trouble falling asleep, but Cole’s in bed with her now. Is everything okay?

The vision of Cole in bed with Izzy so she could feel safe enough to fall asleep had my heart squeezing. Is that how Ryder was when Faith was little and needed him at night?

Ryder said he’d call when he got home but he hasn’t.

My phone buzzed with an incoming call.

I sighed, feeling badly for interrupting her night with my worries. “You didn’t have to call. I know you’re busy with the kids.”

“Ryder’s staying in Virginia tonight.” Daphne’s voice was hesitant as if she couldn’t believe I didn’t already know this.

“No.” I double checked my messages to ensure I hadn’t missed a text or a phone call from him.

“I don’t know if it’s my place to say anything.”

“Why is he staying in Virginia?” A knot formed in my stomach. Was he getting back with Stacy?

Daphne laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Stacy thought it would be a good idea to move in with her boyfriend while Faith was out of town for the weekend. Then Ryder would have to be the one to break the news to Faith and drop her off at Phil’s.”

I sucked in a shocked breath. “I can’t believe she did that. Doesn’t she care how upset Faith would be?”

“I think she knew and hoped Ryder would bear the brunt of it.”

Shock filtered through my system. “I had no idea any of this was going on.”

“I’m sorry Ryder didn’t tell you.”

“I’m glad you did. I was worried he’d been in an accident or something.” I tried to sort through my feelings, but they were overwhelming. The first one being that he hadn’t told me what was going on. He’d shut me out.

“He’s staying at their house,” Daphne said hesitantly.

I swallowed hard. “Is he moving there?”

Daphne sighed. “He mentioned it as a possibility.”

“Why wouldn’t he discuss any of this with me?” Maybe we didn’t have as good of a relationship as I thought we did.

“I’m sure he was planning to. It’s just been a crazy night.”

The hand holding my phone trembled. “He had time to talk to someone in the family, because you know.”

“Yeah, he called Dad when we were still at the house. And he talked to his attorney too. There’s nothing more he could do tonight but drop Faith off with her mother.”

There was a roaring in my ears. It wasn’t right to discuss my relationship with Ryder’s sister, even if we were friends. Where did that leave me? I could be understanding. I knew this was a difficult situation for Ryder. But I needed to know if he was planning on moving back to Virginia and into the family house.

This was what I’d been afraid of, and I almost couldn’t believe it was happening.

“I’m sure he meant to tell you.”

I gripped the phone tighter. “But he didn’t.”

“I’m sure he’s emotionally exhausted. Faith was upset about moving in with Phil and his boys, but to spring it on her like this?—”

I let out a breath. “You’re right. I should call Ryder and see if Faith is okay. I’m sure that was difficult.”

“I’m positive he didn’t mean to leave you out of everything that was happening.” She sounded more confident than I felt.

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