Page 8 of Riding Danger

A sob caught in my throat. Ryder cupped my face in his hand. “Hey, no one is going anywhere. I’m in town. I’ll be coming to dinner.” He stopped the tear that had escaped with his thumb. “I need to pay child support and amend my will. Logistically, things do need to change, Shi.”

I glared at him. I wanted to argue. But more, I wanted to believe him. “Fine. Get my address from Layla and I’m making chicken enchiladas. We don’t do takeout on school nights.”

“Is that even a thing?”

“It is in our home.” I squared my shoulders ready to argue with him. “You can bring dessert if you want. Dinner is at five because I’m working the night shift.”

He stepped over to the table next to the guitar stand and pulled two tissues from a box. He wiped under my eyes. His hand went to my lower back as he led me back to the kids. The girl that came out of the booth with Layla was not the same one that went in. Exactly how long had we been talking?

“I’m ready.” He waved over at Everly who had moved to the other side of the glass where the big desk with all the knobs and buttons was. “Do we have a backing track?”

She nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

Ryder moved from me to Ethan. “Come along, kid, let’s do this.”

As he led Ethan into the booth, goosebumps erupted over my skin.

He held the door to the booth open, and Ethan stepped through ahead of him.

He placed the headphones over Ethan’s ears. “You’ll be able to hear the music and our voices but nothing else. I will cue you—” His eyes narrowed as Ethan looked a little overwhelmed. “When I point at you, you start singing. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ethan gave him an exaggerated nod.

“And relax, you’re going to do okay.”

He smiled over at me and motioned for me to record what was happening. I was glad he had the forethought, and I wasn’t sure if it was my benefit or his own. Or maybe he wanted Ethan to have the memory later on.

The music filled the speakers as the intro played. Ethan looked like he wanted to start but Ryder shook his head slightly. I held my breath as the intro played. A few moments later he pointed at Ethan and I was blown away.

Ryder’s mouth dropped open, but there was no missing the smile on his face.

I knew my child could sing. He did so at the junior choir and a few years back he participated in a talent show. He was good, but he didn’t win. Hearing him now, I could see, or hear I suppose, why he was so excited to visit the recording studio.

His voice wasn’t as deep as Adele’s, yet he sang the song with ease, not missing a beat. My gaze got watery and I looked at Ryder who didn’t look much better himself. Then another awesome thing happened. Ryder held his hand up and joined in part of the second verse.

All of a sudden, a song I had always considered a romantic ballad took on new meaning. When Ryder sang of doing anything for the person he loved and the softness in his eyes as he looked down at Ethan, it was obvious the song had taken on a different meaning for him. He was singing to Ethan. The words were meant for his child and that made the dam crack even more.

How could this be? The idea I had built up of him was going to crumble. I could tell. I wasn’t sure if Ryder was prepared for what parenting meant. Did he even want to be a father? How were we going to manage it with him in Los Angeles and me here in Marina De Ferrier?

It wasn’t something I wanted to contemplate. Surely Ryder saw his lifestyle was not conducive to having a kid. Although,one could argue that I had a dangerous job which was not conducive to parenthood either.

“Sing it, Kid.”

Ryder’s voice grabbed my attention and gave me a small nod with a raised brow. He wanted to know if I was okay. I answered the unspoken question with a nod. Yeah, it wasn’t like I was prone to panic attacks. But I did run away with my thoughts and go down a spiral of overthinking and worst-case scenarios.

Watching father and son together scared the hell out of me. They’d just met and already they had something to bond over. I had to be careful not to let the fear override my common sense. There was no doubt that Ethan getting to know Ryder was a good thing. I wasn’t sure what Ryder was thinking but I needed to steel myself. Would he visit town more often? Or he might expect me and Ethan to travel to Los Angeles. I needed to explain that my job didn’t always offer me that kind of flexibility.

As the song came to a close, the whole room applauded. Ryder took the headphones off Ethan’s ears and made a slit motion across his throat to Everly. He bent down to Ethan’s height as he spoke to him. There was a lot of nodding on my son’s part and he answered whatever Ryder asked him. He waved to me, a big grin spreading across his face. Then Ryder stood and the two left the booth.

“Mom.” He was still smiling as he approached me. “Mr. Ryder said I could come back later this week and he’ll sing with me again. He said we could rehearse and record.”

Ryder looked down. “That’s not all I said, kiddo.”

“Oh.” Ethan rolled his eyes. “Only if it's okay with you.”

“Sweetie, it will depend on his schedule. I go back to day shift, remember?” Not wanting to dash his hopes I quickly continued. “But he’s coming to dinner tonight. Maybe we can work out the details then.”

“He’s coming to dinner?” Ethan’s eyes grew wider with each word then he turned back to Ryder. “Mom’s a cop. It would be better if we can work around her schedule.”

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