laughter, he let himself enjoy the sound. That cheerful nature of hers reminded him of exotic marigolds reaching toward the sun. That beaming smile, the sparkle in her eyes, made his pulse ramp up.
After taking a sip of her merlot, she let out a huge sigh. “I’m gonna love living here.”
“So does that mean whichever house you decide on, you’ll need space for a workshop?” Ryder prodded.
Her face lit up. “Oh that would be perfect. Although I wouldn’t know what to do with so much space.”
“You’ll find a use for it. The Jennings’ house has a wide, detached, double-car garage.” When she stared at him, Ryder lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “I went by there this afternoon after work to check the place out. Landon and his son, Caleb, were busy cutting the grass. But they let me take a tour around the property.”
“Really? That’s a good sign.”
“How so?”
“Because it means they’re open to a buyer.”
Later, Julianne walked Ryder to his truck under a bright crescent moon. With a starlit sky that glistened like diamonds overhead, she breathed in the February chill and studied the man beside her. His toned shoulders and trim waist had her wondering what it would be like to see him naked. If he wrapped her up with those long arms...
The sound of his voice broke into her thoughts.
“Will you be okay staying here tonight?”
“Because of Scott?” Her laugh echoed out deep and rich. “More than okay. I trust Nick and Jordan when they say he isn’t malevolent. Mostly because at the house that day Scott took the neighborly approach. The look in his eyes said friendly to me, not crazy. What about you?”
“I’m okay with it. Him. I guess.”
“You on the other hand have a hard time trusting a female. You’d rather trust a ghost before a woman.” She lifted one shoulder. “That’s my take. What kind of number did Bethany do on you anyway? What did she steal?”
She saw him look away, waited several long seconds for him to speak.
“My grandfather on my dad’s side of the family made his living as a cartoonist. His comic strips were syndicated in newspapers up and down the East Coast. When he died he left all of his sketches to my father. But after Dad died, they came to me.”
At the emotion she saw in his eyes, the way he fought back tears, she reached out to him, ran her hand along his cheek.
“You have to understand, his drawings were my most prized possessions. Those cartoons were precious to me. I let that viper into my home, my bed and she betrayed every bit of trust I placed in her.”
“You loved her.”
Ryder filled his lungs with the heavy air, blew out an angry breath. “I was getting there in between tours. But you can rest assured I have no feelings now for the woman I knew as Bethany, except maybe contempt and disgust. Some days it’s tough to forgive myself, how much faith and trust I put in her. I left for overseas, left my home and what was important to me with her. How did she repay me?”
“You had no way of knowing she would rip you off like that,” Julianne pointed out.
“There were a few signs. But I look back and realize I spent a lot of time making up excuses for her.”
“Like what?”
“Like the fact that she didn’t really mean to insult my mother when she called her narcissistic. She didn’t mean to pitch a fit every time I tried to return calls from my friends, friends I’d had since grade school. You get the picture. Anyway, that last time I got back stateside from Afghanistan I was bent on making a life together with her. Instead, when I got home I put my house key in the lock. It didn’t work. I looked through the windows, only to that the place had all new furniture I didn’t recognize.”
“Oh Ryder. How long had it been since you’d received letters from her?”
“That was the kicker. The entire time she kept up this façade that everything was fine back home. I don’t know how she managed that. Another example of
After taking a sip of her merlot, she let out a huge sigh. “I’m gonna love living here.”
“So does that mean whichever house you decide on, you’ll need space for a workshop?” Ryder prodded.
Her face lit up. “Oh that would be perfect. Although I wouldn’t know what to do with so much space.”
“You’ll find a use for it. The Jennings’ house has a wide, detached, double-car garage.” When she stared at him, Ryder lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “I went by there this afternoon after work to check the place out. Landon and his son, Caleb, were busy cutting the grass. But they let me take a tour around the property.”
“Really? That’s a good sign.”
“How so?”
“Because it means they’re open to a buyer.”
Later, Julianne walked Ryder to his truck under a bright crescent moon. With a starlit sky that glistened like diamonds overhead, she breathed in the February chill and studied the man beside her. His toned shoulders and trim waist had her wondering what it would be like to see him naked. If he wrapped her up with those long arms...
The sound of his voice broke into her thoughts.
“Will you be okay staying here tonight?”
“Because of Scott?” Her laugh echoed out deep and rich. “More than okay. I trust Nick and Jordan when they say he isn’t malevolent. Mostly because at the house that day Scott took the neighborly approach. The look in his eyes said friendly to me, not crazy. What about you?”
“I’m okay with it. Him. I guess.”
“You on the other hand have a hard time trusting a female. You’d rather trust a ghost before a woman.” She lifted one shoulder. “That’s my take. What kind of number did Bethany do on you anyway? What did she steal?”
She saw him look away, waited several long seconds for him to speak.
“My grandfather on my dad’s side of the family made his living as a cartoonist. His comic strips were syndicated in newspapers up and down the East Coast. When he died he left all of his sketches to my father. But after Dad died, they came to me.”
At the emotion she saw in his eyes, the way he fought back tears, she reached out to him, ran her hand along his cheek.
“You have to understand, his drawings were my most prized possessions. Those cartoons were precious to me. I let that viper into my home, my bed and she betrayed every bit of trust I placed in her.”
“You loved her.”
Ryder filled his lungs with the heavy air, blew out an angry breath. “I was getting there in between tours. But you can rest assured I have no feelings now for the woman I knew as Bethany, except maybe contempt and disgust. Some days it’s tough to forgive myself, how much faith and trust I put in her. I left for overseas, left my home and what was important to me with her. How did she repay me?”
“You had no way of knowing she would rip you off like that,” Julianne pointed out.
“There were a few signs. But I look back and realize I spent a lot of time making up excuses for her.”
“Like what?”
“Like the fact that she didn’t really mean to insult my mother when she called her narcissistic. She didn’t mean to pitch a fit every time I tried to return calls from my friends, friends I’d had since grade school. You get the picture. Anyway, that last time I got back stateside from Afghanistan I was bent on making a life together with her. Instead, when I got home I put my house key in the lock. It didn’t work. I looked through the windows, only to that the place had all new furniture I didn’t recognize.”
“Oh Ryder. How long had it been since you’d received letters from her?”
“That was the kicker. The entire time she kept up this façade that everything was fine back home. I don’t know how she managed that. Another example of
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