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I bit my lip and thought. “First, I want to go home to see your momma and daddy, and then I would love to go to our place.” Visions of him and me at Rosemary Beach on the hot white sand made me feel all sorts of warm.
He leaned in and his lips played against mine. “This is why you own my heart,” he whispered. His lips swept across mine. “Now sit down. Breakfast is getting cold.”
I took my seat and he pushed me in before rushing over to the kitchen and bringing back two plates, each filled with a huge omelet and cut up tomatoes on the side. He set a plate in front of me.
“This looks divine. Thank you.” I was also touched he remembered I was still on my no sugar kick. Emma was down five pounds and surprisingly hadn’t had a drop of Dr. Pepper. But she warned me if she didn’t get pregnant soon she would seek retribution against me.
“You’re welcome.” He took the seat next to me. “I’ll say grace.” He took my hand, bowed his head and closed his eyes.
I couldn’t help but stare at him. It wasn’t out of disrespect to God, but out of the admiration I had for the man who talked to God like He was a friend and thanked God for me. Was there anything more precious than a man thanking God for you? In his simple, heartfelt prayer, Ryder reminded me of all the reasons I was in love with him and wanted to raise a family with him. There in that moment, I saw the farm boy I fell in love with. Maybe Memaw was right. I should haul him down to the courthouse now and start in on that baby-making thing.
Ryder said, “Amen,” and caught me admiring him. “What?”
I tilted my head and smiled. “I was just thinking about how much I love a man who can cook and pray.” I had some other thoughts too, but I kept it ladylike.
He grinned before digging into his food.
“Did you get that server thingy fixed?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Integrated server, and yes, we should be back up and running today.” Such relief flooded his voice.
“Is there anything I can do for you?”
He set his fork down and exhaled. “Be patient with me.”
“I can do that.”
He took my hand. “How about this? If I need to work late again, if I can, I’ll bring it home so at least we’ll be together. And let’s do this every morning.”
“I’d like that very much.”
“Good, Miss Shelby, because I plan on having breakfast with you for the rest of my life.”Chapter Twenty-NineRyder was good to his word, which meant I spent a lot of time with him on his couch over the next week while he worked and I studied up on how to apply for my APN license in Colorado to allow me to practice midwifery again. I didn’t want to sell the boutique, but I was ready to start doing what I loved in all aspects of my life. It also meant I had to move on from the not meant-to-be’s in my life, namely my little yellow house, which meant I also was looking for a place to live.
I would interrupt Ryder from time to time while he was working to get his take on different properties. Like a fixer-upper in the old part of Carrington. I held up my screen and enlarged the tiny two-bedroom brick home that was in serious need of some TLC, but it was within my price range.
Ryder set his laptop down and took my tablet. He squinted his eyes at the home and me. “Darlin’, why would you pay good money for this shack?”
I took my tablet back. “Because I love Carrington Cove and I promised Mr. Carrington I would move out in two months at the end of the summer.” I knew Mr. Carrington would let me stay longer but staying felt backwards to me. I loved the Ranch, but it was a safety net that I needed last year when I was trying to deal with profound loss and get my footing. Now I had the direction I had longed for and the love of my life. It was time to move on.
He nuzzled my neck. “Do you really have your heart set on living here?”
“Yes,” I breathed out. His lips grazed one of my favorite spots, the hollow of my neck, sending tingles through me.
“Then we will figure something out together.” His hot breath played against my skin.
I closed my eyes and focused my senses on his touch. My hands ran through his hair. “I don’t want your money.” He, like Memaw, had offered to help buy the yellow house.
“Who said anything about my money?” He worked his way up to my ear and stayed a while, driving me nuts with his soft kisses.
