Page 36 of Rip Ryder's Second Chance

Noelle followed the sounds of laughter and chatter flowing outside through the open doors of the Roundhouse building.

As she reached the entrance, she nearly bumped into Parker who was exiting and had her head down. “Hi, Parker.”

She lifted her chin and her eyes lit. “Noelle! My neighbor!” The woman had her long, curly hair pulled up on top of her head and she wore a loose-fitting dress that hid her belly.

“How are you?”

“Baby is still on board.” She patted her full stomach.

“I see that. When the time is right, he’ll make his appearance.”

“Derry, come here.” She called for her husband, waving him over.

“I’m coming, honey. I had to say goodbye—” He saw Noelle and blinked. “Hi, Noelle. How are you?” He offered her his best smile.

“Doing well. Congratulations on the new baby. You have a house full.”

“When we got married, we wanted a house full. We got our wish.” Parker tucked her arm through Derry’s and looked up at her husband with such unabashed loved.

“That’s right. They’re going to eat us out of house and home, but we love them.” He kissed his wife on top of the head. “I’ll go grab the car, honey. Noelle, it was nice seeing you again.”

Once he strolled away from the building, Noelle stepped with Parker away from the entrance so they weren’t in anyone’s way. “Parker, when you were at the farm today, did you by chance see anyone drop off the envelope?”

Her thin brows scrunched. “No. Is something wrong?”

“No, I was just curious. There was no address on the envelope so I don’t know who to thank for the present,” Noelle said with a forced smile.

“That’s a shame. If you’d like I can ask Harley if she saw anyone.”

“Sure. If you don’t mind.”

“No problem.” She patted Noelle’s hand. “Do you like apple hand pies?”

“I do.”

“Make sure you grab one. They’re delicious.” A car beep sounded and she waved to her husband. “He has no patience.” She rolled her eyes “It was good seeing you. Enjoy the carnival.”

“I will. Take care.” Noelle entered the building. A large crowd had gathered but she didn’t recognize anyone. She moved her way toward the center of the room and then she saw Rip. He was behind the counter in the Crew and Brew booth. He wore a big smile and drew her in.

Two women who were eating up his Ryder smile like whipped topping on a sundae.Still the charmer.

“Ladies, this is the Honey Do,” Rip said as he poured two tiny plastic cups with wine. He spotted Noelle and after an initial look of surprise, that heart-melting smile returned full force, triggering something warm in Noelle. “I’ll be right with you, ma’am.”

“No hurry.” She realized she was smiling too when her cheeks started to ache. She always was a sucker for a nice smile. And nice eyes. Body. Hair. Cowboy hat…

Sheesh.

“Honey Do, huh?” The pretty blonde with large hoop earrings leaned in, her smile almost as deep as the crease between her double Ds exposed in the low-cut shirt. She might have come for a wine tasting but she wanted to leave with a cowboy obviously. “What does honey do exactly?” she cooed.

Her friend laughed, but backed up a pace as if she wanted to give the blonde and Rip a bit of privacy.

Noelle stayed put. “May I get a sample of the Cheesy Flirtation?” She’d lost some patience. She didn’t have all night to watch him eat up the blonde’s flirting tactics.

“We don’t have that flavor,” he said in a level voice. “It’s Cheeky Flirt.”

“Could have fooled me,” she muttered. “Then I guess I’ll settle for Pink Lush.”

The blonde gave Noelle a side eye in irritation. She didn’t like that her chance with the cowboy could be spoiled by Noelle’s intrusion. “Ooh, Pink Lush sounds delish. Pink is my favorite color.”

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