Page 60 of Riding Danger

It no longer surprised me how news travelled among the group of friends. After all, I was part of them, too. Enough that I had a comeback for him. “And you’re the one having a friends-with-benefits thing with the love of your life.”

“Yes.” That was from Holden, held his hand up and I high-fived him. “You’re going to fit right in.”

We made our way back to the living area. Tiffany was adjusting things on the table, which I had to admit, looked amazing. Once again, she squealed when she saw Holden and Owen.

The front door opened letting in a cold breeze as another two women stepped in along with Jason.

Grace I was expecting. We weren’t as close as I was with Jason or even Skylar, but we were friendly with one another. It was the other woman I was not expecting. “Layla?”

She smiled at me as she waved. “Grace invited me. I was meant to spend the holiday with Oscar’s family and my mom had booked a cruise because she can’t stand him. I hope I am not intruding.”

Shiloh shook head. “Not at all. Do you cook?”

“Not at all.”

“Then you help Grace make the kitchen look pretty while the rest of us do the work.”

“Hey.” Grace tried to look offended but it didn’t work.

Owen kissed her cheek and smiled. “I’ll pull weight for both of us.”

He started rolling up his sleeves and moved to the kitchen. Holden stood next to me. “My brother can bake. I wish he would stop doing what he’s currently doing and follow his passion.”

I frowned. “I thought he was in the army.”

The chuckle didn’t offer a hint of humor. “That is what he would have us believe, yes.”

That was more cryptic than I wanted to deal with on Christmas Eve. And I didn’t have long to dwell on it before Jason walked in with Theo and the man I recognized as Theo’s Head of Security, Hunter.

Jason slapped Theo on the back. “Thanks for the lift.”

“I’m just glad both you and Grace could make it to the airport. I had no idea Layla was also with you.”

“She and Grace were at that underwear fashion show. Grace was modelling, Layla was the live entertainment.”

Once we were all seated at the dinner table, extended to include the three kids, I couldn’t help but smile. These were my people, my tribe.

Yeah, many of them were real life heroes, but they all loved each other. These were people who would do anything for one another. Anything for me. Thanks to Shiloh, I had men and women who cared about me. Not just about my career. My conversation with Theo and Owen highlighted that.

“So you directed that video of the reunion single?” Owen frowned at me. “And that one of you and Layla. Those were both brilliant.”

They were actually variations on the same idea. I’d used the kids’ footage to make it look like Layla and I were a marriedcouple singing in our home. And in turn, it looked like our kids were recording us. The whole thing was converted to black and white to add to the home movie feel.

The reunion single had a similar theme. Where we were band members and instead of playing the field, we were with good women. We’d evolved from wanting girls who showed a lot of skin to women who were comfortable in how their bodies had matured. The vibe was nautical and bright.

I was proud of the work I had done on both videos. But more, my friends recognized the work. They weren’t around me because I was Ryder Hawkins, the singer with the golden voice. I was just Ryder.

Across the table, another life changing conversation was happening. Holden was chatting to Shiloh about his future. “After that last POW stint, I am considering getting out. I have another few months, but, come summer, I’ll be out.”

“I’m considering working for Salinger Security.” Shiloh announced like it was no big deal. But we had spoken about it, and leaving the force was a big deal for her.

The whole table went silent as they understood the gravity of the statement. But it was Holden who gave her a smile. “They’d be fucking lucky to have you.”

“You, too.” She leaned on the table and faced him. “What do you say we start the next generation together. I’m sure the Salingers would welcome the young blood.”

Who would’ve thought we’d get to that point. That Shiloh would be looking at something less rigid than the police force and I would be looking at a career that was more reliable than touring for seventy percent of the year.

By the time we started clearing the dessert dishes, everyone showed signs of lethargy. Cat and I, who had been travelling, were definitely beat. So were Hunter and Jason. Theo sat back in his chair, Maggie’s daughter had curled up in his lap, fast asleep.The boys were on the couches, trying to stay awake for Santa. But that was not going to last long either.

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