Stay (Wild Creek Ranch Series Book 6)

Chapter Five

Ryder climbed into the back seat with Anastasia since Renée was sitting on the passenger seat with Sawyer driving. His glance went towards Anastasia as she scooted to the far end if the car, eager to put some distance between them. Ryder was nevertheless excited. The way she prevented him from going to the ledge only proved that she cared more than she showed. It made his heart beat with more excitement. So why shouldn’t he pursue her? It wasn’t like he was the only one who wants to be with her! 

Despite the earlier daring stunt, Anastasia was exceptionally quiet. She had no idea what made her stop Ryder and talk to him when his own family was unable to make him see sense. She was stunned by her own behavior but more than that she was stunned by Ryder’s behavior as well. Why did he listen to her and not his own sister? She was dying of curiosity but with him sitting next to her, taking up all the space there, she just couldn’t ask him. She felt Renée’s curious glance upon her. She knew that Renée had heard her stopping her brother. She groaned internally knowing that she would surely ask her something later.

“Are you happy now that I listened to you?” asked Ryder, leaning in towards her to whisper in her ears. Anastasia’s eyes flew up to his and then towards Renée. She nodded quietly. 

“Are you nervous?” whispered Ryder holding her gaze, challenging her to reply. 

“No,” she whispered back. 

“Then why aren’t you talking to me? I might conclude that you’re nervous around me,” he said with a wink. 

“You’re wrong. Why should I be nervous around you?” she retorted, the sass back in her tone. Ryder grinned. He liked it this way!

“Why did you stop me from going to the ledge?” he whispered, curiosity getting the better of him.

“I don’t like to see people committing suicide right in front of my eyes,” she told him with a glare. She would rather die than accept that she didn’t want him to get hurt. Why? She herself had no idea. Ryder’s smirk widened.

“Oh right! Well, I almost thought that you’re whipped with me. I’m the hottest guy around after all!” said Ryder making Anastasia scoff and scoot further away from him till she was literally sticking to the door. 

“I’m no less so why should I be whipped with you?” she asked with a horrified expression on her face. She looked out of the window to make him realize that she was done talking to him. Of course he was the most virile, sinfully gorgeous and the typical alpha male in Fordsville that every girl would love to be with but not her. She preferred the caring types, the dedicated ones, the serious types who would be true to her, not some Casanova playboy! 

“So are we back to this? Even after we talked so much?” grumbled Ryder feeling pissed off. If Renée wasn’t present he would have closed the distance between them and pulled the sassy little creature onto his lap and compelled her to talk to him. Why was she ignoring him now? Ryder smirked at his thoughts. Would he only talk to her if she sat in his lap? He was sure his romantic organ would force him to do other things as well. His glance fell on her plump pink lips. They looked dewy and soft as she constantly bit into it out of nervousness. 

“Can you look elsewhere?” she whispered, making Ryder smirk. So she was watching hi, discreetly. 

“No why should I? I like what I see,” said Ryder with a wide grin. 

“Of course you would. You must have said that line to every girl you met,” she retorted with an eye roll. Ryder’s smile vanished.

“How did you know that?” he asked, loving the look on her face. He noticed that her face was indeed very expressive and he didn’t need words to tell him how she felt. He could read her so well! It took them an hour to reach the Clark Canyon Reservoir where they would camp for lunch and rest a little. Clark Canyon Reservoir, located south of Dillon, is the headwaters of the Beaverhead River and the terminus of the Red Rock River. They all climbed out of their vehicles and gazed at the 5000-acre lake with awe.