Page 9 of Ryder

“Sure. Lots of them have worked here at one time or another. My parents say that decades ago, this was a thriving estate with a dozen full-time employees. There were stables with horses at one point. It took several people just to maintain the interior. My understanding is that when your grandmother was alive, the mansion flourished. Amos and Carolyn Wilde raised their four sons here. They were an integral part of the town. After Carolyn died, Amos became a hermit and shut down, literally and figuratively. Apparently, his sons found him intolerable and left.”

Am I oversharing? I’m yammering on and on abouthisfamily.

Again, he holds my gaze intently. Finally, he swipes a hand down his face. “Shit, you know more about my family than I do.”

I startle. Is he serious?

“My parents rarely spoke of my grandfather. Hell, my mother never even met him. He was off-limits. To this day, my father won’t discuss him. I was aware that my grandmother died and then my father left home. And I was marginally aware that my grandfather might have had some money and was from Arizona, but that’s about it.”

“Wow.” Now I feel kind of bad for how I’ve acted since meeting Ryder. I’m not sure I should because it’s still possible he and his cousins intend to drain the town of its resources and walk away. I can’t know his intentions yet.

“Let me share something with you to ease your mind,” he says. “My grandfather left a lot of his personal wealth to his grandchildren. Not a dime to his own children. I haven’t spoken to my father yet about the fact that I’ve come here. However, the will stipulates that each of the grandchildren will be allotted a specified sum of money only if they move to the town, live here for ten years, and contribute to the greater good of keeping the town afloat.”

My eyes pop wide. “That’s in the will?”

“Yep.”

“Your grandfather must have written that decades ago. He hasn’t shown much of an interest in the town at all since before I was born. All he’s done is collect rent and make people’s lives difficult.”

Ryder winces. “Then let’s hope my family has the power to fix that.”

For the first time since Old Man Wilde died, I feel a weight lifting from my chest. Maybe this won’t be the total disaster most of the town is expecting. Maybe these grandkids will step up to the plate and try to improve things.

Chapter5

Ryder

Part of me thinks I should see this woman to the door and send her on her way. I’ve eased her mind. She can report back to the town that I have no intention of taking my slice of the pie and running.

But that’s not what I’m going to do because I don’t want her to leave. I’m probably making a huge mistake here, but Claire intrigues me. She also intrigues my cock.

I like her tenacity. She may be young, but she’s sharp and intelligent. And sexy as fuck. The way her breath hitched when I drew her fingers into my mouth has made my dick permanently hard.

I scoot my chair back and stand. “Do you have to be anywhere this afternoon?”

“Uh…” I like that she tips her head back to look up at me. I like the way her eyes are wide and her lips are parted. I like that I’ve made her unbalanced and uncertain.

I like how her breasts are high and pert and that she’s wearing a tank top, which makes it possible for me to see her cleavage and the edge of lace on her black bra.

I’m not willing to send Claire on her way yet. I want to spend more time with her. I find myself drawn to her even though it’s probably not in my best interest.

I hold out a hand. “Stay. Explore this monstrosity with me.”

She swallows. “You want me to explore with you?” Her eyes narrow skeptically.

I shrug. “Why not?”

She takes my hand and slowly stands before asking, “I’d like to repeat my question from yesterday, Mr. Wilde.”

I chuckle. “Which question was that?”

“What are your intentions?”

I tip my head back and laugh. “Touché.”

She tugs her hand free and puts both of hers on her hips, narrowing her gaze at me.

I like it when she does that, and she does it often—stares me down, confronts me, postures. Her chest rises and falls with every breath, and I want to grab her around the waist, pull her against me, and kiss the sense out of her until she’s dizzy, pliant, and confused.

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