Yawning, Parker asked, “There’s more?”
“Yup. I went and confronted Mom today.”
“What?! And you’re just telling me this now?” she cried before flopping over onto her back. “I know I said you needed sleep, but I have to hear how that all played out first.”
“Parks, come on. It’s so late and this bed is really comfy…”
“Ugh…fine. Just give me the highlights. Did you yell?”
“Not really.”
Frowning, Parker shook her head. “That’s not particularly helpful. Did she show any emotion?”
“She cried.”
“What?! You made Mom cry and now you think I’m going to let you sleep?” She gave Peyton a small shove. “This is huge! I’ve never seen or heard Mom cry! It’s like seeing Bigfoot and a unicorn having tea together!”
Okay, that did make her laugh a little. “Yeah, well…she just sort of burst into tears at one point and I didn’t know what to do. And it wasn’t the genteel sobs of a Southern belle. It was an ugly cry.”
“You are so lucky…”
Peyton gave her sister a hard look. “That’s really not very nice.”
“To be fair, neither is she, so…”
“You have a point.” Rolling onto her back, she stared up at the ceiling and sighed. So basically her day consisted of bullying her mother, arguing with Ryder, and running away and keeping her sister up all night with her nonsense. Unable to help herself, she groaned.
“What? What’s the matter?”
“This day has just been awful and the common denominator in all of it is me.” Turning her head, she looked at Parker. “I don’t think I like the person I’ve become.”
“To be fair, you’ve been a bit of a marshmallow for most of your life and I think you’re trying to make up for lost time.” Reaching over, she squeezed Peyton’s hand. “Maybe don’t try to be such a badass to everyone who loves you and…you know…baby steps.”
“A little too late for that now, don’t you think?”
“Actually, no. I think everyone’s entitled to a little bad behavior and if the people around you love you like they claim to, then you should be forgiven. I can’t imagine Mom disowning you or Ryder just being willing to walk away from you because you dared to respond in a way that he didn’t like. I mean…no two people can think the same thing and feel the same way all the time, right? And…and…sometimes you need to just think for a bit before making life-altering decisions! People need to realize that and stop punishing…you know…people who just need time!”
Peyton’s frown returned. “Okay, again…I have a feeling we’re not talking about me anymore. What’s going on with you? Is everything okay?”
Parker’s blue eyes went wide before she rolled over and turned out the light. “You know what? It’s late, and the day has caught up to me, too. Get some sleep and we’ll talk more about getting you back to Magnolia and Ryder in the morning. Night!”
There was a part of her that really wanted to argue and push to find out just what in the world was going on with her sister, but it was hard to keep her eyes open or to even think straight right now.
She missed Ryder. Even as mad as she was at him, she missed him. As much as she adored her sister and appreciated her opening up her home and bed to her, this wasn’t where Peyton wanted to be.
Why did I have to run away? Why couldn’t I have just gone home and stayed there while I calmed down? Did I really have to go to such an extreme?
Her phone was out in the living room, and even though she hadn’t checked it since she crossed the South Carolina/Georgia state line, she couldn’t help but wonder if Ryder had tried to reach out to her. And knowing him, her silence just made her seem more childish to him.
Great.
She considered getting up and getting her phone and calling him to apologize, but…her body just wouldn’t cooperate. She was tired but she was also an early riser. So, she’d sleep now and get up tomorrow and call him first thing.
It was a good plan.
The right plan.
And hopefully by this time tomorrow night, she’d be sleeping beside Ryder instead of her snoring sister.
“Thanks, Cal. I appreciate you putting a rush on this,” Ryder said to his attorney the next morning when the contracts were sent over. When the bank opened, he’d go and get the cashier’s check and have everything ready to give to her by lunchtime so he could put this all behind him.
And damn, did it hurt to think like that.
She’d obviously turned her phone off last night because he hadn’t been able to reach her so today after he went to the bank, he planned on going to the café and speaking to her privately and giving her the check for the hundred thousand and the contract regarding the restaurant. Moving forward, she could be the one to talk to Austin about the plans because he was going to stay out of it.
Even though it was his money bankrolling the whole damn thing, but…whatever.
Last night, he hadn’t slept at all. He’d tossed and turned and found himself reaching for her more times than he could count. He missed her, ached for her, but…the reality was that he was going to have to get used to being alone again.
And possibly consider leaving Magnolia Sound.
There was no way he could stay here and have it be the utopia he had planned on making it while knowing Peyton was there, moving on with her life without him. There’d come a time when she’d start dating another man–possibly marrying him–and adding to the amazing Coleman extended family. He’d lose not only her, but them. He knew he’d get over losing the Colemans, but Ryder didn’t think he’d ever get over losing Peyton.
“Great way to start the day, sinking further and further into misery and self-loathing,” he murmured before making himself a second cup of coffee.
It was going to be a long day.
“It’s going to be an even longer life,” he mused darkly, taking his mug. He needed to shower and get dressed and get going. The only way he was going to survive was to keep moving. If the plans for the resort got denied again, he’d pull the plug on the whole thing, sell the property and move on.
Feeling better about having a plan, he went to shower.
Leaving the house an hour later, Ryder wasn’t looking forward to anything he was about to do. He knew he was doing what was best for Peyton, but it still felt wrong on so many levels. In the car, he glanced at his phone and decided to try calling her again, but it went directly to voicemail.
God, why was she so stubborn?
It was after ten in the morning and he knew her schedule as well as he knew his own. The fact that her phone was still off was very telling.
She didn’t want to hear from him.
Letting out a long breath, he frowned as he pulled out of the driveway. Whether she liked it or not, she was going to have to hear from him one more time because once he went to the bank, he was showing up at the café and wasn’t leaving until everything was signed, sealed, and delivered. He was sure she’d be glad to see him go. After all, she never was thrilled with the plans he was making to her precious town so…again, maybe it was all for the best.