Stay (Wild Creek Ranch Series Book 6)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

A Year Later

Ryder was excited. His exams at college were over and he was in his third year. For the whole of last year, he had been after his parents to allow him to go to Las Vegas. Finally, his parents gave in and here he was all packed up and heading to the Great Falls Airport. He had regularly kept in touch with Anastasia the whole year. Although initially he used to call her every alternate day, gradually he stuck to a routine of twice a week and he had maintained that. Everything he spoke to Anastasia, he could sense that she had been eagerly waiting for her call. Although she never explicitly told him, but his heart could feel it. 

He knew that she had made friends at her college and he was extremely jealous of them, especially of the guys. As for him, he had left his playboy ways, he had dropped football as well as he had joined work now since Sawyer was still missing. In fact , even Ryan had dropped football and joined the family business. The atmosphere at home wasn’t the same as before. His sister had lost the seal to live and so did Rex and Rhett who were going through storms of their own. Their parents still didn’t give up looking for Sawyer but it seemed as he he had just disappeared from the face of the earth. 

It was noon when Ryder reached Las Vegas. He straight dropped in at his older brother Russell’s house with his luggage. Although it was a surprise visit, Russell and his wife Janette welcomed him with open arms. They lived in a huge palatial mansion with their six year old twin boys, Bryan and Bradley. While Russell’s twin, Rowland lived a block away with his wife, Sharon and 3 year old son, Rowan. 

“What a pleasant surprise, Ryder! Whoa, look at you! You’ve grown up so much since we last met,” said Russell. Ryder grinned and hugged his older brother. 

“Yeah, obviously. We met seven years ago at your wedding, remember? Seven years is a long time, bro!” reminded Ryder. Janette agreed too. 

“Yeah, that’s right. We were in fact planning a visit to Fordsville. The boys haven’t even met their grandparents and great grandparents even once,” said Janette.

“Why don’t you make a plan and spend some time with us at Fordsville?” asked Ryder as they sat down at the living room to chat. Janette served him a refreshing drink. 

“Ask your brother that. He’s the one who can’t get away from his precious hotel even once. He won’t let us go either “ complained Janette, rolling her eyes. Russell grinned and scratched his neck. 

“It’s because I love you so much. I’m lost without you,” admitted Russell with a chuckle. Ryder too chuckled.

“I guess marriage makes you dependent, right?” he asked his older brother who nodded knowingly.

“You bet. So, don’t marry, little brother,” advised Russell. Ryder shook his head. 

“No way, bro. I definitely would love to get married,” he declared.
“Are you in love or what?” asked Janette curiously. Ryder grinned and got up.

“That reminds me, I need to go and give her a surprise,” he said. They both gaped at his admission. 

“Freshen up first. I’ll show you to your room. You have to tell me later about her, deal?” said Janette. Ryder grinned. 

“Sure else you won’t let me stay, right?” he asked with a chuckle. Janette smiled back.

“Exactly,” she said, leaving the room. Ryder was excited. He quickly freshened up and changed out of his soiled clothes. After spraying some cologne upon himself, he went downstairs whistling a merry tune. It was Saturday and Russell would go to the hotel a little later while Janette was enjoying her weekend with the boys. 

“I’m not going anywhere. You can take my car. Here, catch,” said Janette, throwing him the keys.

“Thanks, I owe you,” said Ryder, striding away happily. He drove towards the address that Anastasia had mentioned once, a long time back. He had saved it from the chat window. Feeding the address to the GPS system of the car, he drove to her house in five minutes. 

Located a stone’s throw away from Eagles Canyon Park, Anastasia’s three-storied luxurious  house was easy to find. Ryder parked the car and walked over to the main door with his heart beating faster and faster. The last time he had spoken to Anastasia a week back, he hadn’t once mentioned to her that he had plans of visiting her. So he was a bit apprehensive. Would she be there at home? What if she wasn’t and her family threw him out? A thousand questions and doubts erupted in his head as he pressed the doorbell and waited patiently. He had bought a little gift for her with his own money but after seeing the beautiful place she lived in, he started having second thoughts. She lived like a princess and had every luxury in the world at her doorstep. Therefore she might not like his gift at all. 

The door opened and Anastasia peeped out. Her eyes widened seeing him at her doorstep. Ryder’s breath hitched in his throat. He could see that she had grown lovelier than before, curvier, taller, her se*y, toned figure looking too hot to ignore. There was an elegance, a sophisticated look about her that made her look like a queen, making her stand out from every girl on earth. His heart skipped many beats as he gazed at her, lost in her ethereal beauty. 

“Blue? Oh my Gosh! I can’t believe this. Are you really here or am I dreaming?” she gasped, holding onto her chest as she opened the door wider. 

“Do you really dream about me, Annie? I’m touched!” he said with a wink, as he walked into her house. 

Anastasia came to her senses. Yes, he was really here as he was the only one who spoke to her that way, his every word dripping with se*ual innuendos.  “Wow! Your house is very fancy. Do you live here all alone? I don’t see anyone else here,” said Ryder excitedly. Anastasia rolled her eyes at him. 

“Yours is much better. I could swap anytime,” she stated with a bored look. Although they were meeting after a year, the strangest thing was that it didn’t feel like they were ever apart. The only thing was the rapid heartbeats, the flutter in their stomachs,  the eagerness in their eyes, the longing in their hearts. Ryder grinned and took a step closer making her eyes go wide. Would he kiss her? Would he pick up from where they had left off? 

“I have a better proposition. Why don’t you move into my house instead?” he asked, his eyes looking straight into hers, as their bodies touched. Anastasia was lost in his vivid blue eyes, seeing them after so long. Now that she saw him, she realized how much she had missed him. The times that they had spent at Fordsville were too precious to forget. At least not for her, in this entire lifetime!

“You shouldn’t joke about such things, Blue. I might take you up on your words,” she said, shaking her head. Ryder gazed at her, his eyes taking her in minutely, as if committing her to his memory.

“I don’t joke about these things, Annie. You know that I still feel the same way about you. I’ve left all my bad ways and all I’ve ever done these last few months was just miss you,” said Ryder, his fingers, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. Anastasia trembled at his touch. It was something she had dreamed every time he called and filled her head with dirty implications. But there was nothing vulgar about Ryder. Despite his bad reputation, Anastasia found him sweet and adorable. She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. His words touched her heart and melted her completely to mush. She wanted to announce her feelings as well but knew that she couldn’t. It wouldn’t be fair to give him hope and then snatched it away ultimately when she would have to leave everything and go to her mom. 

Ryder tightened his hold and pulled her close. Her soft, curvy body felt so good against him. It was a dream come true for him. This was what he had been fighting for. This was what he had been wishing to do all the time. Finally, bliss! 

“I’m sure you didn’t miss me the way I did,” he smiled, teasingly. Anastasia looked up at him, from this close, she could feel his hot breath fanning her face. She could feel his erratic heartbeats against her chest. 

“I missed you more, Blue,” she whispered. Ryder’s body tingled with excitement and his glance fell to her luscious lips, that attracted him to them like a moth to a flame. 

“Show me how much. Kiss me,” he whispered in a hoarse tone. It was as if a year hadn’t passed by since their last kiss. It seemed as if it was just yesterday that she had left the kiss incomplete and ran away.