Page 38 of Christmas Wish
Chapter Eleven
Savannah pulled intothe garage, slid out of Ryder’s Jeep, and walked around back to take out the bags from her shopping spree. She’d dropped Timmy over at Cara and Hawk’s house earlier that morning and had a quick cup of coffee with Cara. At first, Savannah was uneasy about the idea of leaving Timmy at the house of the vice president of an outlaw motorcycle club. When she’d met Hawk at Ryder’s cabin, the dark-haired man had intimidated the hell out of her, but Ryder assured her that his bark was worse than his bite when it came to his brothers and the people in their lives. But when Ryder took her and Timmy over to meet Cara and their son, Savannah took an instant liking to the friendly woman. They ended up talking for a few hours while Ryder and Hawk went over to the Insurgents’ clubhouse. Timmy and Braxton got along fine, and their daughter, Isa, seemed to have taken a real shine to Savannah, which touched her and stirred up buried longings to have another child. At thirty-six and separated, she knew time was ticking away, but she didn’t want to think that all hope was lost.
Savannah pushed open the door with her shoulder and set the packages down on the bench. She kicked off her boots and hung up her jacket then scooped up the bags and headed into the kitchen.
From the doorway, she saw Ryder sitting on the couch, his good leg propped up on the coffee table, and Brutus’s head resting on his lap. The dog barked but didn’t raise his head, then Ryder craned his neck, and those intense eyes that made her shiver bored into her.
“Must’ve been a helluva shopping trip,” he said, his gaze still on her.
Savannah came into the room and dropped the bags on one of the overstuffed chairs. “It was.” She smiled and sat down on the other end of the couch.
Since that night when she’d come into his room during his nightmare, Ryder had kept his distance. At first, Savannah had been hurt and disappointed, but as the days rolled by and she had time to get to know him better, she realized that he was embarrassed that she’d seen him like that. Silly, of course, but it made sense since Ryder had a real tough, independent edge to him. The guy was a biker, for Christ’s sake, and for several years he’d been an active member of an outlaw club, which sort of scared the crap out of her when she really thought about it. The guys who came around were all members, and they looked like they wouldn’t hesitate to cut a person’s throat if they crossed them. But what blew her away was how they looked out for Ryder and each other. They came over often, brought groceries, and one of them called every day to make sure he was doing all right. She could feel the love, mutual trust, and camaraderie they all shared; she’d never seen such a bond or connection like that between a group of unrelated people.
“What did you get Timmy?” Ryder brought a mug to his lips.
“A couple of games he’s been wanting for his Nintendo, some books, puzzles, and a whole bunch of other things.” Savannah tilted her head. “I know, it’s too much, but I feel terrible that he won’t be home for Christmas. He misses my parents a lot.”
Ryder pivoted toward her. “Does he miss his dad?”
“I’m sure he does, but he hasn’t talked about him so much.” She kneaded her shoulder. “My husband wasn’t into having a kid.”
For a few seconds, Ryder just sat there piercing her with his gaze. “I kinda gathered that. So is the dude your husband or ex?”
Savannah folded her hands in her lap. “Soon-to-be ex.”
“So, you’re divorcing him?”
“I want to. I spoke to a lawyer before I’d left Boston. I was planning to file the paperwork, but then he … let’s just say things changed, and I had to get away sooner than I planned.”
Ryder quirked his lips. “Do you wanna talk about what changed?”
It was a shameful secret lodged in her throat, ready to choke her every time she contemplated telling it. “Not really.”
“When you do, I’m here. I’m a damn good listener.”
A small smile fell across her lips.And a damn good kisser. That’s what came to your mind, Savannah? Really?The truth was that she couldn’t get their kiss out of her mind, and she was hoping he’d want to kiss her again. The way she’d been subtly flirting with him and patting his hands and shoulders, Savannah thought she was giving off signals that she wouldn’t rebuke him, but he hadn’t made a move.He’s probably not really interested, but he does look at me. A lot. Maybe he thinks “why bother” considering Timmy and I will be leaving after Christmas, and he’s right. What would be the point in starting anything?
“You look like you got something important on your mind. Care to share it?”
His deep voice took her out of her musings, and she tossed her hair over her shoulders. “I want to go to the tree-lighting ceremony. Cara told me about it when I dropped Timmy off at her house. She said it’s a community thing, and the tree is lit in some square.”
“They’ve been doing that since I can remember. The town council gets this big-ass tree and decorates it, then they have somewhat of a festival when the tree’s lit. Main Square is where they do that.”
“Do you still go?”
A crease lined his forehead, and his brows knitted. “No. Haven’t done that shit in a long time.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not into it—or any of the holiday cheer bullshit rammed down our fucking throats every December.”
Savannah jerked her head back. “I guess you don’t have the spirit of Christmas.”
“No, I don’t. It’s just about spending money, putting on fake smiles, and pretending to like each other even though most are bitches and bastards the rest of the year. It’s all bullshit.” Ryder waved his hand toward the packages on the chair. “Look at all the money you spent. Why the fuck can’t people buy presents and show they care during the year, and not just reserve it for one damn day?”
“I can see your point about the commercialism, but it’s nice to have a few weeks out of the year to really focus on our loved ones and those who aren’t as fortunate.”
“And forget the poor bastards the rest of the year?”
