Page 18 of Follow My Heart

Ryder shook his head. “I was close to my siblings. Especially after my mother died.”

Violet glanced over at me. “I’m sorry about your mother.”

“It was a long time ago.”

“I think that’s why I moved home, to get away from my sister and her accomplishments. It was hard to breathe around them. I was constantly reminded of all the ways I didn’t measure up. Here, it’s just me.”

“And your grandfather is proud of you.”

“That too. I love being close enough to him that I can drop by after work and check on him.”

I bumped her shoulder with mine. “You know he doesn’t need anyone to check on him. He’s one of the strongest guys I know.”

Violet chuckled. “He walks four miles every day.”

“And he talks to everyone in the neighborhood. Everyone loves him.”

“That’s good to hear.”

At the next stop sign, Faith turned her bike around and moved back in our direction. “This is usually where we turn around.”

We continued to follow Faith to our house. We walked in companionable silence. Neither of us felt the need to fill it with small talk.

Our home was a few down from Violet’s grandfather’s. It was a two story, a little bigger than his, and it had a two-car garage.

I waved at the house. “This is us. I’d better get her inside for her shower, then bedtime.”

Violet turned slightly to go. “It was nice talking to you. See you on Monday.”

She left and there was no reason to call her back. We weren’t dating. She was just someone I kept running into. I forced myself not to watch her ass in that dress as she walked away.

Inside, I bugged Faith to take a shower and get ready for bed. It was lights-out at nine, but she could read before she fell asleep.

It gave me a lot of time to myself to think. Especially when Faith was at Stacy’s. I was essentially a bachelor.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to start dating, even though I was attracted to Violet. I needed to focus on Faith and ensure she was going to be okay. But it was harmless to fantasize about Violet. Even if nothing came from it.

When Faith was at her mom’s, I worked long hours at the office. It was necessary because I was trying to prove myself in this new position. It also served the dual purpose of keeping me from going home to an empty house.

It wasn’t that I wanted to stay married to Stacy. Even I could see how bad things had gotten over the years. But all I ever wanted was a family. Now it felt like I’d missed out on the opportunity. I had Faith but only saw her on weekends. This wasn’t how I predicted my life going.

I hated the back-and-forth. I swore I’d never do this with my kids. But then it wasn’t my decision. Stacy was the one who wanted a divorce, then started dating someone almost immediately.

I wondered if she’d eventually move this guy into our house, the one we’d shared together. If Faith would have a stepdad. If she’d want to spend less time with me as she got older. If she’d ask me to stop coming around all together.

It was easy to spiral when it was just me. That’s why I spent so much time at work. There were no improvements to be made at the house, not when I was renting.

The only thing I could do was check on George, and he didn’t need anyone looking in on him. He was the most active eighty-something-year-old I’d met.

One evening, I was restless after dinner and decided to go for a second run. George was outside mowing. I wiped the sweat from my forehead with my shirt and stopped to wave at him.

He turned off the motor. “I haven’t seen you around much.”

“I run in the morning, then work.” All day. Order take-out instead of learning to cook. Although that’s what I should have been doing. Practicing recipes so I could manage something besides boxed mac and cheese and quesadillas when Faith was visiting.

“You must work long hours.”

I looked away. “Gotta keep busy when Faith’s with her mother.”

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