Page 23 of Unbreak Me
“It came with strawberry-shaped sunglasses,” he grins. “That one was a no-brainer. Do you like strawberries, Rybug?”
“Stwaberries,” she says in her cute baby voice, causing us both to laugh.
“See? She loves it.” I shake my head at the two of them. They both are too adorable to even try to go up against. I start loading things onto the conveyor belt as Ryder lifts Ryland over his head and back into his arms so he can help me with the cart.
When I see the total, I automatically get out my wallet. It’s going to put quite a dent in the small amount I have saved, but I’m going to be looking for work soon and will be able to put some back for an apartment.
“What are you doing?” Ryder looks at the card in my hand.
“Paying for Ryland’s things.” I go to swipe my card and he takes it from me.
“I don’t think so.” He swipes his card and signs it before I can stop him. Pushing the cart with one hand, he leaves me standing there. The cashier hands me the receipt and gives me agood lucksmile before I run to catch up with them.
“Ryder, wait!” Jesus, he’s got long legs and walks fast. He’s halfway across the parking lot before I finally catch up to him. “Why are you mad? I just didn’t want you to have to pay for all of the things I had to leave behind. It’s my fault we’re in this mess. My family is the messed up one in this situation, not yours.”
We reach Travis’s truck we borrowed, and he puts Ryland in her car seat before walking around to the back to load the bags.
“Will you talk to me, please?” I see his jaw clenched tight and can tell he’s pissed about something.
“I don’t need your daddy’s money paying for things my daughter needs. I’ve got plenty of my own, and I’m perfectly capable of taking care of her.” He shoves more of the bags into the bed of the truck.
“Daddy’s money?” Does he really think I would take a dime from that man? “Ryder, I don’t want a thing to do with my father’s money. Yeah, they gave us a place to live and boughtthings for her, but half the stuff I donated to children’s homes. I got a part-time job doing billing at a daycare so I could keep Ryland with me. I didn’t even trust my mother enough to be alone with her. I finished my business degree doing online classes, so between paying for that and refusing to get help from my parents with Ryland, I’ll barely have enough to get a place while I look for a job.”
I hear him sigh as he grips the side of the truck bed and bows his head. When he finally lifts his eyes to mine, I can see how much turmoil there is in those greys.
“I’m sorry. I just assumed you had this huge trust fund sitting there and the thought of him paying for anything of my daughter’s just got to me. I’ve missed so much because of him, and I don’t want him taking anything else from me, even if it’s as little as buying her new things. That’s my job, not his. I’m her father.” His pain sears through me, and I find myself automatically wanting to soothe him as I step close to him and put my hand on his heart. It starts beating rapidly under my palm as his gaze meets mine.
“You are her father, Ryder. Nothing will ever take that away from you again. He’s out of our lives for good. He never even held her once. Can you believe that? Her own grandfather. My mother did twice when she had friends over and pretended to be a doting grandma. Ryland doesn’t even know who they are. She never reached for them like she did you. She knows you are her dad, and she immediately felt love from you. He doesn’t have the power to take away anything else from us unless we let him.”
He looks down at my hand on his chest. I had stepped closer without even realizing it. Our bodies are pressed together like two sides of a magnet being pulled in the same direction. It’s always been this way between us and obviously still is.
His hand comes up, and he hesitates briefly before touching my hair and letting it run through his fingers. I close my eyesat his touch. It’s been so long, and something I’ve craved every single night we’ve been apart. I open my eyes and am met with the same kind of longing that I’m feeling.
“Ryder,” I whisper. I want more than anything to feel his lips on me again. I want back what we got taken from us. When he glances down at my lips, my heart races, and I grip his shirt tightly. He drops his hand and sighs.
“We should probably get back home. We have a lot to unpack and put together before dinner.” His eyes meet mine, and he’s put a wall back up, leaving me to guess what he’s feeling.
I release my hold on his gaze and reluctantly step back. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” I walk to the passenger door and get in. I’m silent most of the way back, too absorbed in my head to focus on the two of them having their own conversation—as best you can with a two-year-old, at least.
My body is still humming from that almost kiss, and I absently touch my lips as a small smile escapes. I had been waking up in night sweats more times than I could count, so afraid that he had moved on and had forgotten all about me. I went through all the scenarios in my head…married, engaged, girlfriend or single, and just flat-out hating me and wanting nothing to do with me. The relief I felt when I didn’t see a ring or any evidence of a girl at all in his place lifted a weight off my shoulders that I had been carrying around. For the first time since I left, I feel hopeful that my parents didn’t ruin everything we had.
I feel his eyes on me and glance his way. I remove my fingers from my lips and get another glimpse of what I’m feeling before he shuts it down. He focuses back on the road and I notice he has a tighter grip on the wheel. I threw a lot at him in a short amount of time, and I know it’s going to take some time before he can release the hurt and pain I’ve caused him. The Ryder I still knowand love with everything in me is still in there, though. I can feel it, and when he’s ready, I’ll be right here waiting for him.
“That ought to do it.”Ryder fastens the last screw in the toddler bed. He insisted we stop at a furniture store on the way home to get Ryland a bed and a dresser to put both our clothes in. We rearranged some of the furniture in the living room and were able to set up a cute space for her in the back corner as a bedroom. I insisted on sleeping on the couch and giving Ryder his bed back. He’s way too big to be comfortable on a couch for however long we stay here.
I smile as I walk over and put the freshly washed princess sheets and blanket on the bed. “Way cuter than the pack-and-play I had in mind.”
“And ten times more comfortable. Max never slept well in those, and I don’t blame him one bit,” he laughs. His phone dings next to me, and I glance down at it before I can stop myself.
Mackenzie
I’m looking forward to seeing you tonight. I’m almost done getting ready, and then I’ll be heading over there. ;)
Jealousy shoots through me as I stare at the text. Who’s Mackenzie?
“You got a text from Mackenzie. Sorry, I didn’t mean to look. It just popped up.” I hand him the phone, avoiding his gaze.
“Fuck,” he says, taking the phone and reading it. “I completely forgot about our date.” He glances at his watch. “It’s in thirty minutes. Shit.” He looks over at me, and I see the guilt on his face before he looks away. “I’m sorry. I’ve got to go. Can you tell Ryland that I’ll see her in the morning?”
