Sheltered(38)

“Oh, you poor thing,” Jackie says when Ryker tells them about me almost getting swept away in the flash flood. “You’re lucky to be alive. Those things are known to kill farmers who are more worried about saving their livestock than themselves.”

“I’m lucky Ryker was there,” I say.

I noticed he left out the part where I was trying to run away, but I’m sure his parents are smart enough to figure it out.

“We should go for a ride down and check it out today,” Kathleen offers, and everyone agrees.

When we finish eating, we start to clear up the dishes, but it’s as if Lily can hear us and comes in at that exact moment. She lovingly scolds Kathleen before we’re all pushed out of her kitchen and made to go outside.

The four of us pile into the Gator, and Ryker drives us out to the barn. He points out some things for me along the way, and I can see some of the land he’s had bush-hogged so he can put in a playground.

“A playground? What’s that for?” I ask as we drive by it. When I look over at Ryker, he’s got a sly smile.

He shrugs and then squeezes my hand. “For one day.”

It’s then the implication dawns on me. He means for our kids. The thought should terrify me, but instead it warms my heart. He’s already planning a future where we’re together and having kids. I think back to Fritz and how even the sight of children always disgusted him. I thought I never wanted kids either, especially after having a mother like I did. But as time went on, the more the thought had taken hold. Now when I look out onto the pasture I can envision children laughing in the swings and begging Ryker to push them higher. I can almost hear their squeals as I chase them around the old oak tree. It’s so beautiful it makes my breath catch in my throat. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever thought was possible and suddenly I’m homesick for something I didn’t know was there.

“I think that tree would look good with a tire swing,” Kathleen says and points out to the same tree in my fantasy. I can see it, too, and it would be perfect.

They talk about the orchard and how it’s doing this year, and Jackie seems to think Ryker needs another barn. They talk back and forth, and the whole time Ryker’s hand is on my leg, rubbing up and down.

When we get to the stables, Kathleen and I walk towards the horses while Jackie and Ryker go down to talk to a couple of his farmhands about some repairs that were needed after the storm. Ryker was telling me that he’s got several other houses on the property where families and workers live. They all take care of the land and the orchard, and Ryker pays them more money that I’ve ever hoped to make in my life. He says taking good care of his employees is what makes them take such good care of him. And he’s right. As I see him greet the group of guys, they all smile and shake hands like they’re friends. I had no idea this many people were even around us, but I’m seeing today there’s a lot I don’t know.

“Hey Johnny!” Kathleen says, bringing my attention back to the barn. “I was hoping I’d get to see you today. How are you doing?”

They talk for a moment, and I see Johnny smile at her lovingly.

“You know my brother Johnny, don’t you?” Kathleen says as she turns around to look at me.

I step forward and think about how kind he was to me when I needed a friend. He may have betrayed me when he helped Ryker bring me here, but I’m starting to see that there’s more to this than I realized. And he might have done this to help me.

“Hey, Johnny, how’s it going?” I give him a friendly smile and I can see how he brightens immediately. I didn’t realize how much giving him the cold shoulder had affected him until now.

“I’m good, Miss Blair. Are you and Kath going to ride?”

“We sure are. That is, if you’re up to it, Blair?” she asks, and I nod. “All right then. If you don’t mind, Johnny, I’ll saddle up Goober.”

I bust out laughing and look at her. “Who?”

“Oh lord, just wait. She’s as pretty as can be, but you better not be in a hurry on her. She’s a biscuit short of a full breakfast, but she minds, and I have a soft spot for her. I assume you want your Diamond?”

I like hearing that she’s mine, but I worry she might not let me after I tried to take her out and then got her stuck in the rain. “Maybe?”

“Come on with me, I’ll get her for you,” Johnny says.

Kathleen goes down to the end of the barn and into the last stall on the left. Johnny takes me to Diamond’s, and we stand there at her gate as he gets her saddle out.

“I’m sorry—” he says, but I cut him off.

“Let’s forget about it,” I say, and I mean it. “I know you wouldn’t ever do anything to put me in harm’s way, and I know Ryker feels the same. He trusts you, and that’s why we met. I’m going to trust him and trust you, too. So, I’m sorry about how I treated you when I first got here. But I’d like to be friends again.”

“I’d like that, too, Miss Blair.” His eyes lock with mine. “If I thought he would hurt you I would have never gone along with it. It’s just that well…” He puts his hands in his pockets. “I’ve never seen him show interest in a girl before, and then there you were. He was, well…”

“Obsessed,” I finish when he trails off. My cheeks warm, but I want to know more. I take a step closer to Johnny. “So no girlfriends before? Like…” Now I’m the one to trail off, making him smile.