Stealing Ryder Read Free Page B

right. Kylee would always be a part of my family; and while I loved Harper, I wondered if I was doing the right thing. If Kylee left, I knew my life in San Diego would follow; how hard would Harper be willing to work if I was thousands of miles away?

Chapter 2
     
    Harper
     
    The sun seeped back into the room, and I barely remembered Ryder leaving this morning to go surfing. I spun myself around in his sheets and pressed my toes against the cold wooden floors of his mansion. When I pressed the button to open the shades, the breath in my lungs stopped as I saw the entire ocean cascading into the shore right beneath my feet. It still shook me up that Ryder was not only the owner of this magnificent house, but he was all mine. He owned my every thought, fantasy, and desire I had. He saved me from my past, and from myself. I haven’t had one of my nightmares in the month I’ve been with him, and we haven’t spent but a couple nights apart.
    I tucked in the sheet over my breast and walked around his room. When Ryder went out surfing, which had been frequently lately, I liked to explore his house and make a nice breakfast that he and Evelyn could come home to.
    I ran my hands along his football trophies, which were sitting on the shelf across from his desk. He was so proud of them, just as he was of Evelyn. I grabbed a picture frame, which was next to one of his all-star trophies, and looked at it with a scowl on my face.
    It was a moment captured of Kylee and Ryder , with little Evelyn playing on the beach. It looked like it was some sort of professional photo, and was clearly staged. I knew she was always going to be in his life, but it bothered me. I felt as though I had gone through sharing my past with him, and now I have to share his past with the present.
    Just as I was studying the frame, I heard a car enter through the carport downstairs. Quickly, I grabbed my sweatpants and a light, racerback tank top over my white bra. I went down the stairs to meet Ryder outside, and saw Evelyn hopping down from the truck.
    “Harper!” she screamed, which came out more like hah-puh. She bounded towards me, and I picked her up in a hug.
    “Go inside , Evelyn. I was about to start making some breakfast, but I think Daddy can make you pancakes if you ask nicely enough.”
    “Can we have pancakes, Daddy?”
    She ran inside while Ryder came slinking towards me. He had a way about him when he walked; there was a contrast with the gentle ease of how cool he looked, but his slumped shoulders told me he was angry at something that happened. This was usually the case when he’d seen Kylee recently. He would come home distant and irritated.
    “ What’s wrong, baby?” I asked with caution, afraid I would step on his toes. It was something I was used to that bothered Ryder. I was always scared he was going to run away— away to the more logical choice he had. Away to the family he had created years ago. Desperation leaked through my voice, and Ryder immediately snapped his head around.
    “ Stop actin’ crazy woman. There ain’t nothing wrong, and you know it. You know how much I hate when you question me.” He emphasized the “know” and I was struck by the dominance in his voice. Normally, he was loving, and would reassure my anxiety; but this was unlike him. A sting of pain coursed through my bones, and my body pulled away from his. My shoulders slumped down and my heart started beating faster.
    “No. I am so sorry.” His voice turned back to the compassionate man I remembered. He walked towards me, wrapped his muscular arms ever so lightly around my back, and squeezed me against his strong chest.
    “I am just so stressed out with Kylee. She says she wants to move back to Houston.”
    My jaw must have dropped to the ground. I had no idea she was even considering moving back to Houston. I knew Ryder loved me with all his heart, but he was a parent first. And if he moved to Texas, he would go back to her. He didn’t have