Bachelor at Her Bidding (Bachelor Auction Book 2) (14 page)

Her reply was almost immediate.
More like because of *you*
.

Ah, maybe. But it made him think. And on Monday, he said to her. “If Susie wants to come and sit with Gram some time at the weekend, that’s fine by me. And we could, um, do something.”

Rachel looked at him in surprise. “You mean, we could go out somewhere?”

“Maybe for a walk by the river,” he suggested, not wanting to make a huge deal out of it.

“I’d like that. I’ll call her tonight and arrange it with her.”

*

On Sunday afternoon,
Rachel drove her sister over to Phyllis’s house.

Susie said softly to Ryan, “I know you’re worried but she’s in safe hands with me. I promise I’ll call you immediately if I’m even the slightest bit concerned. Now go and have some fun and don’t hurry back, OK?”

“OK. And thank you,” he said.

He drove them to the park for a walk along the prettier bit of the river. It was still cold enough that only the most hardened runners and a few parents with small children who were clearly fed up at being cooped up inside and needed to let off steam were in the park, and nobody gave them a second glance.

“I used to come here with my grandfather,” Ryan said as they strolled along hand in hand. “Sometimes we went fishing, and although I didn’t enjoy sitting there with a rod it was nice just to keep him company.”

“You must miss him,” Rachel said.

“I do. But he’s still here.” He placed his hand over his heart. “And I was so lucky that he and Gram were there for me. They always encouraged me to follow my dreams.”

“Hence Paris?”

“Hence Paris,” he agreed. “It’s the most beautiful city in the world.”

“Would you go back to live there again?” she asked, sounding curious.

He shook his head. “Just to visit, but not permanently. I’d miss Marietta too much.” He looked at her. “What about you – would you go back to working in the city?”

“Maybe some time,” she said, “but right now I’m happy in Marietta. It’s nice to be close to my family and my friends, and it’s felt good to reconnect with people I’d lost touch with, too.”

Yeah. He got that. He thought, I could almost dare let myself love this woman.

When they got back home, he was pleased to discover that Phyllis and Susie had had a good visit.

“We played cards,” Phyllis said. “But Susie was saying, her best friends Lexy and Dayna could make a four with us. It’d be more fun. If that’s all right with you, Ry?”

“What makes my grandmother happy makes me happy,” he said with a smile. “And I’ll make brownies for next time.”

“You are
so
on,” Susie said. “I’ve had your brownies at Grey’s. They’re awesome.”

“So are you and Rachel officially an item now?” Phyllis asked.

Ryan blew out a breath. “Yes, Gram. But we’re keeping it low key.”

“I ought to tell my friends, given that they’re playing cards with your grandmother and my sister, but they’ll be discreet,” Rachel reassured him.

Ryan’s closest friends from school had all moved away. He’d bonded well with his colleagues at Grey’s, but he knew none of them would be able to keep it quiet – not from malice, but because they worked in a bar in the middle of the town and it was way too easy to get carried away in conversation and spill secrets without meaning to. “I hope you’re right,” he said. “Don’t think I’m dissing you; I’m just not ready to go loud about it right now.”

“That’s fine.” She smiled at him. “So future dates will be only in Bozeman, right? On the grounds that going to see a band at FlintWorks or to the cinema in the middle of town is the same as standing on the town hall steps with a megaphone announcing that we’re seeing each other?”

He grimaced. “Put like that, it sounds bad.”

“No, I get why you’re wary. Me, too.”

“Thank you. For being understanding.” He kissed her. “You’re an amazing woman, Rachel Cassidy.”

“You’re not so bad yourself, Ryan Henderson.”

*

The following Friday
night, Susie, Lexy and Dayna set up a card game with Phyllis – fortified with Ryan’s brownies – while Ryan and Rachel caught a movie in Bozeman.

“It’s a long while since I’ve been to the cinema,” he said after the movie, and slid his arm round her shoulders. “I really enjoyed myself tonight.”

“So did I,” she said with a smile.

On the way back to Marietta, he pulled his car over at the side of the road and opened the roof so they could look up at the stars. “It’s a perfect night,” he said softly.

The only thing that would make it more perfect, Rachel thought, would be if they could snatch a whole night together. But his circumstances meant it wasn’t going to happen, and she wasn’t going to make a fuss about it – that wasn’t fair to him. “Perfect night and perfect company,” she said.

As he pulled up outside the house he shared with his grandmother, Rachel asked, “Would you and Phyllis like to come for Sunday lunch?”

She couldn’t help smiling at the momentary look of horror on his face and the careful way he asked, “Are you cooking?”

“No, my mom will be cooking. We try to get together as a family once a week.”

He looked slightly worried. “And I’ll be there as a… friend?”

She shrugged. “As whatever you like.”

“We’ll be there – just tell me what time.” He smiled and kissed her. “Tell your mom I’ll bring dessert as my contribution.”

*

Sunday lunchtime, Ryan
drove Phyllis over to Rachel’s parents’ house. Phyllis had chosen some flowers and wine, and he’d made one of his red velvet cheesecakes.

He already knew Rachel’s sister, Susie, but discovered that her husband, Jake, was a sweetheart, and so were their five-year-old twins, Allie and Kirstie. Rachel’s brother, Ricky, was quiet but welcoming, and her parents, Richard and Susan, were really sweet. He could see why Rachel was so close to them, and why she’d missed them so much when she’d lived in Missoula.

After lunch, Allie and Kirstie insisted on playing snakes and ladders with him and then having a dollies’ tea party.

“It’s Lindy’s birthday,” Allie lisped. “Will you make her a birthday cake like the one you did for Aunty Rachel?”

“We saw a picture on Mummy’s phone,” Kirstie enlightened him. “Like a fairy princess tower.”

“It’s called a
croquembouche
,” he said. “Can you say that?”

“Cr…” Allie looked stuck.

“Say it after me,” he said. “Croc.”

“Croc,” the girls chorused.

“Um.”

“Um.”

“Boosh.”

They beamed. “Boosh.”

“And now you put it all together. Croc-um-boosh.”

“Croc-um-boosh!” they yelled, clearly pleased with their new word.

Rachel looked at him playing with the girls and had the clearest vision of how he’d be with his own children. And it shook her. She’d never thought about Nick in terms of being a father; he wasn’t really a family man and liked the sophisticated side of city living. He’d rarely come back to Marietta with Rachel and had only seen the twins a couple of times, and the last time they’d been very shy and wary of him. Whereas Ryan was a natural with kids, and the girls had taken to him straight away.

After Ryan took Phyllis home, Rachel helped her mom clear up in the kitchen.

“He’s a nice guy,” Susan said. “I like the way he is with his grandmother and the twins – and as your mom I’m glad you’ve found someone who treats you properly, this time. I never really took to Nick.”

Rachel stared at her mother in surprise. “But you were always perfectly friendly to him. You treated him as family.”

“Because you chose him and I respected your right to choose your partner even though I didn’t like him.” Susan looked at her. “But his family didn’t do you the same courtesy, did they? They judged you as roughneck country stock while they saw themselves as sophisticated city folk – and you’re every bit as good as they are, Rach. Better, I think. Because you have a real heart and they just had a veneer.”

Rachel hugged her mother. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too – and all I want is to see you happy.”

“I’m fine.” She bit her lip. “But Ryan… it’s early days, Mom, so we’re keeping it low key.”

“You know we won’t say anything,” Susan reassured her.

Her family and friends knew; his family knew; and Rachel just had to wait for him to be ready to let the rest of the world know. Until he was sure, perhaps, that she wouldn’t hurt him the same way his ex clearly had.

Rachel just hoped that he’d come to feel he could take a risk with her. Because, after seeing the way he’d been with her family, she knew she could take a risk with him. She could dare to let herself love him.

‡

T
hings were fine
for a couple of weeks – until Rachel’s practice got an emergency call.

“Dr. Cassidy, the day care center just called,” Shannon, the receptionist, said. “They think one of their patients might have had a stroke. Would you be able to go down to see them?”

Dr. Majors would normally cover the day care center; but he was off sick, meaning that Rachel would have to go in his place. “Sure,” she said. “Please can you explain to my patients that I’ve been called away so I’m running a little late, and see if any of them can reschedule?”

“Of course,” Shannon said.

“I’ll call you and let you know when I’ll be back,” Rachel promised.

When Rachel went down to the day care center’s area on the ground floor of the building, Jolene, the manager took her into the office to fill in all the gaps before Rachel went to see the patient. “It’s Phyllis Henderson,” she said.

Rachel went cold. “Has anyone called Ryan?”

“They’re getting in touch with him now.”

“Good. Right. What can you tell me about Phyllis?”

“She said she felt dizzy, and then she fell,” Jolene said. “But I think it was more than just being dizzy because she got up too quickly. She doesn’t seem to be able to move her left arm or leg properly, and she can’t get her words out. I don’t mean she’s just forgetting the odd word, like most of our patients with dementia – she’s struggling to talk.”

“OK. I’ll assess her first, though from what you’ve just told me I’m pretty sure I’ll want to admit her to the hospital for further treatment,” Rachel said. “Thank you for acting so promptly.” If this was a stroke – and it certainly sounded like it – then the earlier they started treatment, the better the outcome would be.