Page 25 of Riding Danger

Valerie nodded. “Besides, you need to be careful with that one. Who knows where all he’s been.”

For some reason I didn’t like her pointing out that Ryder played the field. “Actually, I am well aware of where all he’s been. The paparazzi have documented his encounters well over the years.”

Maggie frowned and then faced me. “And now? Is he treating you right?”

“It's not like that. He’s here for Ethan.”

“But you want there to be something.”

“No.” That wasn’t exactly true. “Maybe. I think. Fuck, I don’t know, Mags. He makes me feel things. And not just down there.”

“You can say he gets you horny.” The bell rang behind her as more people walked in the door. “Your order’s up. Wanna get it while I help these two.”

I turned around and noticed Theo Snow and his Head of Security walk in. We were all friends and he was one of the people I would do anything for. Still, since he took over his father’s business there had been rumors. The business was not all on the up and up. But no one had any proof.

I made a quick run to the kitchen to get my order. When I came out Theo and his friend were seated and he and Maggie were glaring at one another. As much as we were all friends, the fact that Maggie never believed him about her ex-husband stillniggled. He’d warned her about him, and when the man was sent to prison, Theo showed way too much told-you-so energy. And Maggie never got over that.

Still, they would do anything for one another, even if that meant glaring at each other while they did it. None of us felt the need to intervene. They would eventually get over what had happened.

With a quick kiss to my sister and a wave to Theo and the other two, I headed toward the police station.

11

RYDER

Waiting rooms sucked. All it did was give people time to think about all the bad things that could happen once you actually got to see the doctor. As Ethan and I sat waiting for our appointment we chatted about why we were there.

“So, this will prove that I am your son.”

“No.” I was doing a piss poor job of explaining things for him. “You are my son. This will just be a way to document it. Like putting my name on your birth certificate.”

“So why are we doing it, if it doesn’t prove anything.”

I took a deep breath. Who knew nine-year-olds could be so logical. Then again, considering his mother was Shiloh Bauman, it shouldn’t surprise me.

“I don’t need proof. I believe your mother. There is no doubt in my mind that you are my son.” An idea came to me. “But the courts will need actual proof. And this way we have it, if we actually need it.”

He frowned and narrowed his eyes at me. “Is this if Mom dies? Cause you know, she's a cop. She wears a bulletproof vest to work.”

Yeah, I was really screwing up this conversation. Now my son had to think about his mother’s job.

“This is just another safety measure. If anyone ever needs it, we’ll have it handy.”

He looked down and I could tell that something was bothering him. “What if it says you’re not my dad.”

Fuck. He didn’t need that kind of fear. “It’s not going to say that. There is no way your mom would lie to either of us about something so important.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

The last thing I wanted to do was scare him. Or think my love was conditional. “Look, if it helps, I can cancel the appointment.”

“No.” He shook his head. “I want to do it. I want nothing to take you away from me.”

Yeah, I really screwed it all up. Now he had the same fears as me. Before I had a chance to answer him, the doctor walked out of his office.

Ethan stood and walked with the utmost confidence. There was no holding him back. He stepped into the doctor’s room and went straight to the bed and hopped on. “Hello, Uncle Logan.”

“Ethan, it's good to see you.” He turned to me. “And it’s good to finally meet your dad.”

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