Her voice was wobbly, and it fucking slayed me.
“He was wrong.”
She glanced up at me warily. “But it has to be true. He’s an adult. Adults always know best.”
“Well, some adults think they know everything and like to speak even if they don’t know all the facts. Owen didn’t know how much I love you and your mom.”
Avery’s mouth formed an O. “You love us?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
She still didn’t look convinced. “But then why didn’t that man know?”
“I hadn’t told him. But everyone else knows. My whole family, even your grandparents.”
That seemed to win her over, because her little face lit up with a smile that rivaled the one she gave me when we went shopping at Bergdorf.
“So you still like us?” she asked, as if it was just a normal fact to check.
“Yes, I do. I always will. I promise.”
Before they came into my life, I would’ve stayed at the office to make sure I was on top of the situation at hand, but last night, I hadn’t even hesitated to book my ticket. I’d never give Avery or Heather even the slightest reason to doubt that they meant everything to me. For as long as I lived, I’d take care of them.
Avery laid the puppy on her shoulder, not minding that it was licking all over her ear. She had something on her mind.
“Is there something you want to tell me, Avery? You can ask me anything.”
She glanced up at me for a beat before pulling the puppy to her chest. What was going on?
“Do you want to be my dad?” she whispered.
I gripped the edge of the step I was sitting on tight. “Yes, I f—do.” I’d almost said fucking do. Jesus. “Yes. But you didn’t want that before. Are you sure?”
She looked up, nodding energetically. “Yes. You buy me everything I want, and you love us. I think you will be a good dad.”
“I promise I will.”
She got up from the stairs and threw one little arm around me, holding the puppy in the other one. Laughing, I rose to my feet, hoisting them both up. She trusted me enough to tell me her fears. She wanted me to be her dad. I couldn’t wrap my mind around that yet.
“I’m going to tell Mom you’re here,” she said.
“Actually, I’d like to talk to her first. And when she asks about what we talked about, maybe don’t tell her everything.”
“Why?” she asked suspiciously.
“I have a few surprises for her.”
Avery frowned for a split second, but then her expression lit up and she bounced up and down in my arms.
“Can we take her with us to New York?” she asked, pointing her chin to the golden retriever. Remembering what Heather said about Mrs. Prescott bribing her with animals to come here, I put two and two together. She wanted a dog to keep quiet? Talk about being an excellent negotiator.
“Sure, we can see what your mom thinks about it too,” I said. Avery frowned again, putting the puppy down on the porch. I wondered if she was reconsidering her decision about me being her dad.
“Ready to go to the fair? Jill is already waiting for us,” Mrs. Prescott told Avery the second we returned inside the house.
“Yes.” Avery climbed down from my arms, heading to her grandparents. “I want to tell Mom that Ryker is here, but he says he wants to do it.”
The corner of Mr. Prescott’s mouth tugged upward. His wife chuckled.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Mrs. Prescott said. “Ryker, see you and Heather later. Keys to the house are on the kitchen counter.” Then she added with a wink, “We’ll be gone for about two hours.”
They headed to the front door, explaining to Avery in hushed voices why it was a good thing for me to talk to Heather alone.
I waited until they left before heading out to find my woman.
Chapter Thirty
Heather
The pool was exactly as I remembered it, only it wasn’t as popular as in my childhood. A newer pool with a slide had been built downtown. As a result, this one was empty.
I removed my cutoff shorts and tank top. I laid them on one of lounge chairs before entering the water.
I swam energetically, bringing one arm in front of the other as fast as possible. I was out of practice though. I turned on my back, moving at a slower pace. I’d always been able to just half float, half swim like this for hours.
Being in the pool brought back memories of long, lazy summers, where my biggest worries were whether the town’s only movie theater would run the newest movie early enough that I could return home before my curfew. But then thoughts of Ryker entered my mind, and I became jittery again. Holy shit! Why had he called Mom?
Right... change of plans. Swimming wasn’t helping. If anything, I was even more worked up than before. I needed to know what they’d talked about and was determined to find out no matter what. Mom was even more stubborn than I was when she wanted to be, but I just had to be more creative, that was all.
Goose bumps broke out on my skin as I got out of the pool. I headed to the lounge chair where I’d put my clothes.
Wait a second, where were they?
I could have sworn I’d placed them here. I inspected the tiles around the chair... maybe a gust of strong wind blew them away. No such luck, there was barely any wind today. But my clothes were nowhere to be found. Had someone stolen them? Impossible. I mean, as a kid we’d played this prank on each other from time to time, but there were no thieves around here. Or, well, shit. Maybe there were. And I was supposed to walk like this to Mom’s house? I groaned. My ass was hanging out. My boobs were practically on display through the soaked bikini bra.
A low chuckle sounded behind me. A bolt of heat danced along my nerve endings, because it was very familiar. Ryker was here? I turned around slowly, heart beating at a million miles an hour. He stood there, in the flesh, gaze trained on me... and holding my shorts and top.
“Oh my God,” I exclaimed. “You’re here. When did you fly in?”
I didn’t give the man a chance to speak though, because I practically jumped his bones. I nearly slid on the wet tiles in my haste to get to him. Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I soaked my clothes and Ryker’s shirt. I stepped back, blushing. “I can’t believe you’re here. When did you arrive?”
“Just now.” Ryker smiled widely, looking me up and down slowly. I felt as if I was wearing absolutely nothing.
“I should probably get dressed,” I murmured.
“I disagree.”
“Ryker!”
“If you insist....”
“I do.”
He stepped closer, handing me the clothes. I tried to ignore the current of awareness that jolted through me when our fingertips touched. He’d only been here for a few seconds, and yet I was already overwhelmed by the intense feeling of longing.
“Where’s your towel?” Ryker asked.
“Don’t have one.”
“You’re just going to put clothes on over your wet bikini? You’ll get sick.”
“I’ve done this my whole childhood, no worries.” I quickly dressed while asking him, “How did you know the address?”