Secrets Behind Those Eyes (13 page)

“I just want to talk to her dad. She
won’t return any of my messages or calls.”

“She needs time son. Give her a little
space to cool off.”

“Okay. I’m going outside to get some
air try to calm down.”

He nods that he understands as I walk
out the front door.

~*~*~

I wake up feeling like hell. I sat
last night and got drunk in the barn with Button. Yeah. I’m calling
the calf Button now too.

While I’m in the shower I decide I’m
going to talk to her mom. I need to see her.

Walking into the Tel-fair
museum. I ask for Whisper and she walks out a few moments later in
a fluster. “Hey I’ve been trying to get up
with
Scarlet, but she won’t answer my calls or anything.”

She shrugs trying to motion to some
workers about moving items around. “She left me a note that she was
going out of town. She’d call me and let me know when she got
there. She called me she’s fine.”

“Do you know when she will be
back?”

“No. She didn’t say. Sorry hun I
really have to go before they break something.”

I slump my shoulders. “Okay
thanks.”

She left town and didn’t
tell me. What in the hell do I do? It’s been almost 48 hours since
I’ve laid eyes on her and I can’t handle it.

Fuck this I’m calling Gable. Once the
phone starts ringing I realize its 8am where he is and he’s
probably still sleeping last night off. Shit he’s gonna be
pissed.

“Hello.” He sounds groggy as
hell.

“Hey man its Ryder. Where is your
sister?”

He lets out this big yawn. “She’s over
in Tuscaloosa man. Are you drunk or something?”

“No. She won’t answer my calls or
texts. Dude I’m lost.”

“Chill out. I’ll text you the fuckin’
address dude I’m trying to sleep.”

“Thanks man.”

Good to his word Gable sends me an
address I throw some stuff in a bag and head out. It takes me
almost 7 hours to get there. Driving into a very upscale suburban
neighborhood. I see her Infiniti parked outside the
house.

Getting out of the car I
take a deep breath.
Okay here goes
nothing.

I knock on the front door and a big
ass guy answers the door. “Yeah.”

“Um is Scarlet here?”

“Yeah. Who are you?”

“Ryder.”

He turns around. “Scarlet there’s a
guy here to see you. His name is Ryder.”

She opens the door and smiles. “Hey
what are you doing here?”

I’m angry that she seems so casual.
“What do you mean? You tell me you need a little time and you leave
fucking town without saying a word. I’m freaking out. I sat out
there the other night and got drunk with your damn
calf.”

She puts her hands on my chest. “Ryder
stop, calm down.”

Big guy is back at the door.
“Everything alright Scarlet?”

She turns. “Its fine Cade, he’s a
friend of mine.” He turns and walks back in.

A little relief hits me. “Cade. As in
your brother?”

She laughs. “Yes my brother. What did
you think I ran off to some random man’s house? How did you find me
anyway?”

“I called Gable. I didn’t know what to
think. I couldn’t find you. You wouldn’t return my texts or calls.
I knew you were upset the other night and I really couldn’t handle
the thought of you being mad with me. I needed to hear your voice,
see your face and I couldn’t.”

“Calm down. Cade’s wife had to have an
emergency C-Section. I left not long after you dropped me off the
other night. When I got here I crashed, we went straight to the
hospital the next morning. My phone fell in the toilet at the
hospital and quit working. I didn’t have anyone’s numbers, I had
already called to let Mom and Gable know I’d made it here. I was
going to call you today when my new phone came in. I’m
sorry.”

And I feel like a
dumbass.

“Ok now I feel stupid. I’m sorry I
over reacted. I’ve never felt this attachment to another person. I
got scared.”

She moves to the side. “Come on in and
I’ll introduce you.”

We walk into the kitchen and a little
girl is dancing around the table. She looks up at me. “Who are
you?”

Scarlet steps in. “Madison this my
friend Ryder. Ryder this is my niece Madison, my brother Cade and
his wife Daria. The new little fella is sleeping.”

Madison looks up at me and Scarlet.
“Is he your boyfriend?”

Scarlet turns red like her name. I
speak up. “Yes I’m her boyfriend.” She looks at me like I’ve lost
my mind for a second then smiles.

Cade steps over and shakes my hand.
“Hey.”

I look at him closer in the face.
“Wait you’re Cade Johnson.”

He chuckles. “Yeah last time I
checked.”

“You played some awesome college
football. I always figured you would go pro, with your buddies. But
none of you did.”

“No man we all decided to live a
little more low key life.”

“Wow. Do you still keep up with
them?”

About that time I hear two loud guys
coming through the back door. “No way man. Gabby needs rest she’s
big, ill and pregnant. I’m not messing with her, get
nookie-.”

Daria looks up laughing. “Guys this is
Scarlet’s boyfriend Ryder. Ryder these are the two bozos you asked
Cade about a few minutes ago. Linc and Russ Addison.” I shake their
hands.

Cade looks at them. “Seriously guys
watch what you do and say when you come in here. Maddie told her
teacher the other day that Mommy and Daddy take really long showers
together and that it must be because Mommy is so big with her baby
belly. That I must get soap in her eyes because she screams a lot.
So we are trying to guard little ears.”

Linc and Russ have to sit down they
are laughing so hard. Cade looks at me. “So Ryder what do you
do?”

“My family owns Abbott Cotton and we
have several farms. I mostly work at the farms with the
animals.”

He looks at me a little harder. “Now
just exactly what possessed you to come all the way here and get
huffy with my little sister?”

Scarlet steps up. “Cade it was all a
misunderstanding.”

“No Scarlet I should explain myself to
him. I showed up at his house acting like an ass.”

I sit down and explain to them what
all had transpired in the past 72 hours. Once I’m finished. Daria
laughs. “Well Cade you damn sure can’t be pissed about him tracking
her down, you would have done the same thing had I left you a way
to.”

Everyone except Scarlet and I laugh, I
guess it’s something we don’t understand.

Daria looks at Scarlet. “That’s the
story I told you would be for another day.”

Scarlet laughs. “Oh okay.”

Cade looks up at me. “Ryder come out
back and have a beer with us. I’m putting some burgers on the grill
for tonight. Anna and Gabby are on their way over with some stuff
so we’ll just have a dinner party.”

I nod. “Okay sounds good.” I step out
back with the guys. “Man this is a nice place seems kinda private
but in the city. I’m used to living on a thousand acres my nearest
neighbor is my Nana Pearl.”

“Yeah it’s nice. So are you serious
about my sister?”

“Well. She’s the first person I’ve
ever cared this much for. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever
laid eyes on, she smart, quick witted and sometimes a pain in the
ass.”

Russ holds up his beer. “Son go ahead
and pick you out a ring you’ve found the real deal.”

Cade pops up. “Dude don’t go trying to
marry off my kid sister. I just found her.”

Linc looks up. “Cade describe
Daria.”

“Shut up asshat.”

I laugh. “Look we haven’t been dating
that long. I just put a label on what we have a few minutes ago.
I’ve been afraid too. The first five minutes I met her she put me
in my place.”

The laugh and Cade looks at me. “Did
she quit that bar?”

“She was supposed to. She was going to
call them, I told her not to go without me.”

“That place sounded pretty
rough.”

“It was the first time I saw her
working there I stayed the rest of the night to watch out for
her.”

Cade puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Thanks man. I appreciate it.”

Chapter 21

Scarlet

Not long after the guys go outside
Anna and Gabby show up. Daria pulls them over to the kitchen window
to look at Ryder. Anna pipes up. “Ooh he’s hot.”

Daria laughs. “You should have saw him
when he came to the door. He was like half unsure of his self, half
pissed off. It was sexy. But I think when Cade’s big ass answered
the door he about pissed his pants.”

I laugh. “Well we had a little issue
and I didn’t think to let him know I’d left town, plus all the
stuff with my phone he couldn’t get ahold of me. He panicked a
little and called Gable to find me.”

Gabby laughs. “Oh so he went all
caveman on your ass.”

I laugh. “I guess so. But he did admit
to sitting in the barn and getting drunk with my calf. Even though
it’s not my calf it’s his I just named him.”

“So how did you guys meet?” Anna
asks.

“During community service.”

Anna laughs. “Oh yeah the ex’s car. I
have to say you might be Cade’s little sister and not mine but I
was very proud of you that day. It was like something Gabby
would’ve done.”

“Anyway. He hit on me I shot him down.
Like shot him down bad. He kept kind of stalking me until I said
yes to a date. He took me on an awesome first date and I guess
according to him now we are boyfriend and girlfriend.”

They all laugh and Daria speaks up.
“Caveman style. Honey go ahead and figure you are going to marry
that man. Only two people who love each other can act that crazy to
one another and that guy is over the moon for you.”

The guys come back inside with the
burgers and we begin to eat. Madison, Marshall (Gabby and Linc’s
son) and Emma (Anna and Russ’s daughter) have all fallen in love
with Ryder. I can’t really say as I blame them.

After dinner Daria and Cade invited
Ryder to stay with me and follow me back home tomorrow. As we are
lying in the bed I turn to him. “So what did you really think I had
done?”

He shakes his head. “I honestly didn’t
know. I just knew I was scared to death that you’d given up on
me.”

I brush my hand down his chest. “Ryder
I’ll never give up on you. I just needed a little time to think and
then it all got crazy. I should have text you on my way here,
before I killed my phone.”

“It’s okay I shouldn’t have flipped
out so bad.” He kisses my lips. “I’m sorry again.”

I start kissing down his neck. “You’re
forgiven.”

“I’m not having sex with you in your
brother’s house. Plus you could’ve told me that your brother was
the Cade Johnson.”

I giggle. “I’m sorry. It’s not that
big of a deal to me. I didn’t really watch football that much and
at that time I never knew Cade. So the only thing I know about his
football days are the things I’ve read and the stuff he’s shown
me.”

I run my hand over his stomach and
down to his erection. He grabs my hand. “I told you no. No means
no.”

I laugh. “Oh really. I consider that a
challenge.”

“Shh. Your big ass brother will come
in here and kill me.”

“We could be really quiet.”

He turns over to me and starts kissing
me hard. He starts making his way down my belly and works my
panties down my legs. “Now if you’re really quiet I’ll give you a
treat until we get home tomorrow.”

I giggle and whisper as his tongue
swipes my clit. “I promise. I’ll be quiet.”

~*~*~

“Are you guys sure you don’t need me
to stay a couple of extra days to help you with the
baby?”

Cade laughs. “We are sure. Don’t worry
Anna will be over here all the time and it’s a few months before
Gabby has their new addition. Plus if I don’t let you go I think
Ryder over there is going to have a coronary.”

I laugh and hug him. “Yeah I guess so.
But I’ll be back to visit and get baby cuddles.”

Still hugging me Cade chuckles. “And
for God sakes the next time you decide to blow out of town text the
boy and let him know. I’ve done the crazy over the girl you love
thing. It’s not fun.”

I step back a little. “You think he
loves me? Really?”

“Sure do kiddo. Nobody follows a piece
of ass 7 hours from home. I don’t care how good it is.”

I smack his arm. “Damn Cade. Don’t say
shit like that it grosses me out.”

“Be safe going home and call me when
you get there.”

Driving back from Tuscaloosa I take
some time to think about Ryder and me. The things Cade said. That
Ryder loves me or else he wouldn’t have almost lost his mind trying
to find me. He got drunk with Button because he missed me. I pull
off the interstate and pull into a hotel parking lot.