Page 20 of Riding Danger

“Shi, our son is going to be spending a considerable amount of time there.” He closed the door and rounded to the driver's side. As he buckled up, he continued. “It makes sense that you want to see where he’ll be spending time. And it’s close to the cottage.”

The drive was a little under ten minutes from the ice-cream truck. When we pulled into the driveway, my breath stuck in my throat.

The house was beautiful. It was also huge. “Ryder, you’re going to rattle around in there. And what are you going to do with it when you’re in Los Angeles.”

“I might have to take a meeting or two in LA, but that’s like a two hour return trip.”

“Don’t you have a home in Beverly Hills or something?” Damn, I didn’t mean for that to slip.

“You’ve been checking up on me.” He nodded as we continued to look at the outside of the house. “I like that. But I put my Condo on the market. I can stay in a hotel if I need to be in LA overnight.”

“You what?”

“Shi, my son lives here. I don’t see why I would need to live anywhere else.”

9

RYDER

It turned out keeping Shiloh entertained was just as entertaining for me. We couldn’t get inside the house even after I phoned the realtor and played the “I’m Ryder Hawkins” card. Was I proud of my tactics? No. But living the life I did came with certain perks and there was no reason to deny them when they came in handy from time to time.

Then she showed me where the Reverse Cowgirl was. Apparently, the place belonged to Maggie free and clear after her ex-husband put it in her name for legal reasons. They had divorced when he went to prison and all she wanted was that he gives up his parental rights and she got to keep the bar. If you asked me, the asshole got off easy, even if I didn’t know why he went to prison.

On the way back to her place, we stopped to put in our pizza order in time for dinner later on. I had insisted on takeout for dinner, to give Shiloh a break and to ensure she went to bed at a decent time. If she needed a good night’s sleep before her shift the next day, I was determined to give it to her.

“Wait? So you can pre-order your takeout?” I frowned, loving the concept.

She nodded and unlocked the front door and we stepped inside. “If they’re not busy. And you’ll find in small towns, cops and first responders have better perks than rockstars.”

Of course she had to pick on that. “I think I’m going to love living in this town.”

“I still cannot believe you’re moving to a small town just north of the Mexican border after spending the better part of a decade in a busy city like Los Angeles.”

She seemed to be stuck on that. “I never belonged in LA. It was the second option, remember. Besides, I love this place. The only time people have not been welcoming is when they were defending you.”

I recalled how protective Tiffany was when she met me. Then there was her dad. I did appreciate Jason not saying anything. He was my friend and it felt good to know I might have someone in my corner.

“That’s how I felt the moment me and the girls arrived.” Shiloh had never hidden from me what her past was. “We were teenagers and had just lost our mothers. We were about to be sold to the highest bidder ourselves. But as soon as Bex and Cassie found us, we were children in need.”

“I’m glad you got out.”

Even back when we were building a relationship, I never told her about my mother’s intentions. Maybe because our situations were not all that different. Maybe a little different because my mother was the problem. Shiloh always spoke of her bio-mom with such fondness back then.

“I know your childhood wasn’t great. If you want to talk about it?—”

I held my hand up. “I do not want to talk about Dana Hawkins today.” Actually, I never wanted to talk about her. “I am supposed to be entertaining you. I can sing if you want me to. Some say I’m pretty good at that.”

She let out the prettiest giggle. The sound had me in a trance and I couldn’t help but focus on her mouth. And the way her eyes lit up when she was genuinely happy. For some reason I wanted to see more of that.

Shiloh cleared her throat, her eyes darting to my mouth as well. “You want to watch a movie or play a board game while we wait for Ethan to get home?”

“Which is he more likely to join in?” As much as I loved spending time with Shiloh, something told me it would be wise to remember that I was here for Ethan.

“Well, he and I have very different movie tastes but we both play a mean game of scrabble.”

“Then let’s do that.”

“I’ll get the board.” She stood from the couch and moved to the cabinet under the television. “There’s water and soft drinks in the fridge if you want to get something.”

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