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She stops walking and I can see her looking me over. I can tell she’s trying to size me up. Before she can give me an answer or make her decision, I introduce myself. “Name’s Rider. I’m just looking to do a good deed. It’s late and a young woman like yourself shouldn’t be out walking alone. No ulterior motives, just trying to get us both out of the snow.”
I see her face shudder and I know she’s going to give me a no and shoot my offer down even before she speaks. “Look, I appreciate the offer but I can get myself home. And for the record, I’m not that young.” She starts to walk and I can see her step over to put more distance between us on the sidewalk. There’s something about the spark I see in her eyes that makes me not want to leave her side. I have to make sure she gets home safely. She passes me and I match my steps to walk beside her but giving her space.
She gives me the side-eye before speaking, “Dude, I said I don’t need a ride.”
“I understand that but I still want to make sure you get to where you’re going safely. I’ll just silently walk near you until you get there and then I’ll be on my way. I swear. Scouts honor.” I even hold up my fingers in the Scout’s pledge.
She snorts out a laugh, “You don’t look like a scout to me.”
Rayleighn
This guy just won’t quit. I’ll give him an “A” for effort but I’m not going to let him know that. I also don’t want to be one of those girls from a B list horror movie that gets abducted on the side of the road and never seen again. I don’t even have any friends that would go on one of those crime shows and talk about how well-liked I am. He caught my eye when I was inside the gas station getting milk for Colton. I thought under the lights of the gas station I had never seen anyone look so hot covered in black leather and snow. When he passed me on his bike, I saw his patches so I know he’s in some motorcycle club. I’m not about that lifestyle. I’ve got Colton in my life, hell he is my life, and I can’t get involved in anything like that. I’ve seenSons of Anarchyon television, it’s all sex, drugs and illegal activity that land you in jail or worse, dead. I’m all Colton has, so I can’t diverge from my safe path in life right now.
Colton, my son, is turning two soon and since the moment I gave birth to him, his father hasn’t had one thing to do with him. He showed up at the hospital the first day, took one look at him and confirmed that he was the father, and then walked out. Since then I’ve only seen him twice and it’s when he’s come around asking to borrow money. Never asks to see his son and never speaks of him and while it sucks to be a single parent and it sucks for Colton that he doesn’t have a father figure in his life, I have to think that it’s better off this way considering how screwed up his father clearly is. I work, I take care of Colton, and then spend the rest of my time trying to do projects around the house. All my money goes to Colton and his needs so I try to pinch each penny and take care of everything myself around the home. I definitely do not date or have relationships. This guy is barking up the wrong tree. Maybe he really is a nice guy who just wants to help me get home but I don’t entertain strange men or any men—now or for the foreseeable future.
His laughter brings me out of my thoughts. “Well, I’ll give you that. I was never an Eagle Scout or even in the Boy Scouts. I am, however, very handy with engines.”
“Mhm, I’m sure you are.” I keep walking and he keeps following.
“So I gotta ask, why are you out walking so late at night?”
My hands are freezing even inside my gloves but I hold up the gallon of milk in response. I tuck my chin into my coat trying to stay warm. My muscles feel stiff walking in the cold and the snow on the ground is getting thicker by the minute.
“I never caught your name.”
I think about the idea of lying to him and telling him a fake name or not responding at all but that doesn’t sit well with me. The more we walk and the more he’s talked I haven’t got the feeling that he’s a rapist or a serial killer. It’s just a feeling I get from him but I feel like he does want to help me. I’m pretty good at reading people so I take a chance and take a deep breath and sigh, “My name doesn’t matter and I’m out getting milk because my son woke up needing it and we were out. My car battery is either dead or bad so I had to walk.” I can tell my answer throws him, or it could just be the snow as he slides some on the sidewalk.
“You have a son?” The disbelief is plain to see on his face.
“Yeah, he’s two years old.”
“This might not be my business but why didn’t his father come out to get it? If I was married or had a girl like you at home I wouldn’t send her out in the middle of the night. I’d be a man about it and go out and get it myself.”
I couldn’t hold my eye roll in. “His birth father isn’t in the picture. Never has been and hopefully won’t be. I’m not some wilting flower, I can fend for myself and my son.”
“Well… damn sweetheart, I didn’t mean to imply you couldn’t, I just meant you shouldn’t have to. I can’t do anything about the deadbeat dad but I can help with the battery.”
I shook my head trying to politely tell him no thank you. For the next few minutes, he remained silent as we walked together. At some point during our walk we inched closer and closer together on the sidewalk. As we rounded the corner of my block, I stopped in my tracks. “I’m just a few houses down. I appreciate you walking with me but I can make it from here.”
He brings his hand up and rubs it down his face. “I’d feel better knowing that you got inside. I get that you don’t want me coming near your house, so I’ll wait here until I see you get safely inside.”
I swallow over the lump in my throat because it’s been a long time since anyone ever did anything nice for me without expecting anything in return. I gave him a genuine smile. “Ok. Thank you. Really.” As I start to walk away I’m stopped by him calling after me.“Hey ladybug, it was nice meeting you tonight.”
I scrunch my nose up at him not understanding his word choice. He must have noticed because he offered up a response. “The coat. It reminds me of a ladybug.” His smile is sheepish and uncertain, his mask of bravado slipping, surprising since he seems like a man who understands his own worth.
I look down at my coat, one that I only bought because it was warm and on sale. It was what I could afford, I never even thought about what it looked like. I shrug my shoulders at him, give a tight smile, “I went with what I could afford.” I turn back towards my house. When I start up the porch steps I look back down the block and he’s still standing there. I give him a little wave and he waves back as I get my key out of my pocket and unlock the door. When I step inside, I turn around and he’s still there waiting on me to get inside. I can feel the smile lingering on my face.
As I closed the front door, Mrs. Lopez, my next door neighbor’s, snores hit my ears. I quickly shrug out of my jacket, get my boots off and head into the living room. She’s asleep on the love seat while Colton is laying on the couch asleep again. I bite my lip at the thought that he fell asleep thirsty or hungry. Gently, I pick him up and get him into his crib. The crib is lowered to the lowest rung on the frame and I have to reach far over to make sure I don’t jostle him which could wake him up. It needs to get converted into a toddler bed but I just haven’t had any free time to do it. Luckily he stays asleep and I head to the kitchen and put the milk away,quickly getting back to the living room.
I gently nudged Mrs. Lopez to wake her up. I feel bad that I had woken her to ask her to stay with Colton, but he was sobbing for milk. When he gets like that it’s hard to calm him down. Usually the only thing that calms him is to get whatever it is he is asking for. Since Mrs. Lopez frequently watches him she understood and came right over. I try not to take advantage of her and her kindness because without her I don’t know what I would do. I can’t afford a daycare and she lets me pay her in groceries and help her do things around the house. She’s getting older and all of her children live far away so in a way we rely on each other. It also helps that she literally lives five feet away.
She slowly stirs and blinks away the sleep in her eyes. “Oh, dear. You’ve made it back safely. I was so worried, I saw the snow when I first came over.”
“Yes, the car wouldn’t start so I had to walk. I’m sorry it took me so long. Was he ok? Did he give you a hard time?”
“No, dear. He’s always a perfect angel for me. I explained to him that you were going to get the milk and that it would be okay for him to fall back asleep. I did give him some warm water to try and help soothe him. If I had any milk in my fridge, I would have just given it to him but all I’ve got is water and juice. I’m sorry dear.”
“Mrs. Lopez I can never thank you enough for all that you do. You never have to apologize for helping.”
She took my hand between hers and patted it gently. “You don’t have to dear, I appreciate everything you do for me, and that little boy is the cutest to watch. And please I’ve asked you for almost a year now to call me Gabby.”
We walk towards the door and pause as I help her get her coat on. “Thank you again Gabby.” She smiles softly at me and heads out the door. It’ll only be a few more hours before she’s back over here to babysit. I groan thinking about my lack of sleep tonight. I confirm the door is locked before putting my pajamas on, checking on Colton one last time and jumping into bed. As I lay my head on the pillow, my thoughts drifted back to Rider and his strong hands and broad chest. He was quite possibly the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen in real life. The fact that he took time out of his night, walked in the snow with me and wanted nothing in return except to know that I was safe…swoon.
I know that nothing will come of it and I’ll probably never see him again butgoodnesswas he nice to look at and had the sexiest voice. Every time I tried to sneak a look, I noticed something different about him. I could have sworn I saw some tattoos peeking out and his legs were wide and nicely muscular. I’m still thinking of him when I finally drift off to sleep.
