Page 3 of My Stupid Heart

Knowing that he was on his way always sent the butterflies in her belly into a frenzy.She was relieved that someone was coming to help, but the fact that it was Ryker …

He was the first that she reached out to.Ryker, then Decker as the rest of the guys had settled down with partners and kids.She felt bad pulling Rob away from Skyler and the twins.Aaron had his hands full with his construction company and four kids with Isobel, and Asher and Nate had a ranch to take care of, not to mention new wives, and Asher just had a baby.

But Ryker was a nomad.And he was usually at her doorstep in roughly twenty-four hours or less after she called.Which was hardly ever.Because she knew if she called, one of them would show up.Even if she didn’t have a problem.If she called, there’d be a knock at her door a day later with one of the guys checking up on her and Sasha.

She felt blessed to have such a far-reaching community.A safe village and nine adoring and overprotective uncles that would kill and dispose of the body of any boy that dared to hurt Sasha.

There was another reason she called Ryker, first, though.

She tried to deny it, but it was impossible.

She was in love with him and had been for years.

And even though she wasn’t sure if he felt the same way since he’d never made a move or given any indication, she tortured herself by calling him, knowing he’d be on the next flight to see her.

With the pitcher of lemonade and a plate of cookies, they headed out the French doors that led to the beautiful deck the guys built her a few years ago.She had outdoor light bulbs strung up between posts, a big umbrella to shield them from the unrelenting June sun, and a small water feature burbling placidly in the corner.It was her happy place.Her place of Zen.She and Sasha both spent hours lounging on the deck, reading books, listening to music and just enjoying the peace that came with living on a dead-end road with nothing but forest behind them.Add in the nearly three-hundred-sixty -degree view of the mountains and, for a very long time, she considered herself a lucky woman to live in such a beautiful place.

At least she used to.

As beautiful as it was, Jackson Hole was losing its appeal.It was expensive, riddled with tourists and pretentious millionaires and billionaires, and the locals seemed to survive on a diet of gossip and Botox.None of those things appealed to her.

Ryker wedged his big, handsome frame into one of the deck chairs and leaned forward to grab a ginger snap.“How long were you and Adrian Michael Huber together?”

She was momentarily taken aback by his business-like question, not to mention how stoic and even-toned he was.His hawk-like amber eyes narrowed as he waited for her response.He probably wasn’t judging her, but she sure felt judged.She felt like he was interrogating her.

“A couple of months,” she said softly, avoiding his gaze and staring out at the surrounding mountains.“It wasn’t serious.Or at least, I didn’t think it was.We went out on maybe twelve dates in total.I never even slept with him.I just …” She glanced at Sasha, who rolled her eyes.

“I know people have sex, Mom.It’s fine.”

Molly grumbled.“You’re too mature for your age sometimes.”She exhaled deeply and focused back on Ryker.“I just never felt comfortable bringing him here, and he lives all the way across town.There just wasn’t everthe rightmoment.Or a moment where I felt like … okay, it’s time to take the relationship to the next level.”

“Then why’d you let it go on for two months?”Sasha asked.Molly could tell Ryker was thinking the same thing.

“Because he was nice.We had fun together when we went out.We have the same taste in music and movies and food and … now that I’m saying it, maybe we don’t actually have the same taste.Maybe he was just faking it, so we would seem more compatible.”

“You think?”Sasha said with a scoff.

Molly’s cheeks burned, and she shot her teenager a half-hearted, dirty look.

“Okay, so how’d you break it off with him?”Ryker asked.He scratched at his sexy, barely there dark scruff.She loved his facial hair.It was always tidy, always trimmed short, and it just gave him the most rugged, animalistic look that filled her dreams until she woke up wet and breathless.

“I just told him that I didn’t think this was working.That he was a very nice man, and it had nothing to do with him as a person.I just didn’t feel that romantic chemistry with him.Which was all true.I don’t think I ever felt that spark.I never got butterflies when I saw him, or right before I saw him.I kind of …” Even more heat erupted in her cheeks.“I always felt kind of grossed out kissing him.Almost like I was kissing my brother.”

“You didn’t tell him that, did you?”Ryker asked.

“Oh god, no.I just told him I thought we were better off friends.That I just didn’t see a future with him and I didn’t want to waste his time.”

“Then what happened?”Ryker probed.

“Guy went psycho,” Sasha replied just as Molly opened her mouth to say something.

Molly made a noise, but then pressed her lips together and nodded.“Mhmm.He did.He raged at me and in a coffee shop.We got thrown out.”

“Both of you?”

“Wewere apparently making a scene.”

“Did you go to the police after that?”

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