One Last Chance

Chapter 3 ~ Freckles

Rory

I made homemade chicken tenders and smashed potatoes for dinner. At five, I went to Y's room. I opened her door and she stood up. "Mama you back" she said and I told her yeah. I picked her up and hugged her. I missed her so much. I couldn't work in an office because it kills me being away from Wy. She's 21 months old. I secured Wy in her chair and she ate a lot of her food. After dinner, I cleaned up. We watched a movie and I got Wy ready for bed. I told her a story and she fell asleep. I put her in her crib and shut the door. I cleaned up a little and checked my email. The publisher of the magazine loved my article and told me she'll publish it in the next issue. I went to my bedroom and put pajamas on. I scrolled through instagram and watched tv. I went to sleep around eleven and Wy woke up at one. I did her normal checks and rocked her in my arms. She didn't go back to sleep. So I brought her to my room. She laid down and curled up next to me. I fell back asleep and woke up around 8:30. I got dressed and cooked pancakes in the microwave. Wy woke up and I gave her breakfast. I got Wy ready and Addie got here. Wy ran to her and I grabbed my backpack. I went to the arena and talked with the owner. My publisher didn't want them to sue for some reason. But the owner told me there was no problem at all. After I talked to him, I saw Ryder. He asked me out on a date and we ended up making out in the lobby !!! I had to get to the publishing firm so I went to my car. I couldn't believe he called me freckles. Also that we kissed !!! I drove twenty minutes to the firm and the publisher showed me the article. I luckily had time to clear my mind. The article looked really good and wasn't like I only complimented the coach. I drove home and Wy ran to me. I picked her up and Addie already made lunch. We had grilled chicken salad with tortillas. I told Addie about Ryder and Wy understood what I meant. She thought she was going to and I told her no. I haven't figured out how to tell Ryder about her. He'll obviously see her tonight so I'll have to tell him. He's the only guy I trust after Hunter. Hunter broke me literally into pieces. I had no choice but to leave. He wasn't the guy I fell in love with anymore. Thankfully Wy looks exactly like me and nothing like Hunter. Addie went to school and I spent the rest of the day with Wy. We had pizza for dinner with leftover salad. Wyatt helped me get an outfit and I curled Y's hair for her. She looked at me and put a bracelet on my wrist. "Alright princess, how do I look ?" I asked Wy and she told me to spin. "Ten out of ten mama" Wy said and I hugged her. I put a long puffer sleeve top on with ripped jeans and a coat. I had my Nikes on and put snacks in my crossbody bag. Wy got up on my hip and I checked my phone. Addie was in the living room but Wy wouldn't leave my hip. She doesn't want me to go. Ryder knocked on the door. I walked over and opened it. "Hi, freckles, who's your twin ?" Ryder asked and Wyatt looked at him. "Who are you ?" Wy asked Ryder and he smiled. "I'm Ryder, who are you ?" Ryder asked and I told him Wyatt. She looked at Ryder and hid on my shoulder. Ryder gave me a bouquet of flowers. He walked in and I put the flowers on the counter. "I'll see you later princess I love you" I told Wy and she looked at me. "I love you too mama, bye" Wy said and she hugged me. I gave her to Addie. Ryder and I left. "You have a daughter with Pierce" Ryder said and I told him it's not what it sounds like. He raised his eyebrow so I told him. "I got pregnant and he left me. I raised Wyatt on my own with my parent's help. She's almost three and Hunter left before the first pregnancy appointment." I told Ryder and he drove us to where our date was. "That guy is a jackass for leaving you. He left one of the best. If that were me I wouldn't have left your side once." Ryder said. I know that he will never leave. That's how much different he is from my ex. We pulled into the arena and I asked if this was our date. "Yeah, you used to skate and the rink was free tonight. Come on, freckles" Ryder said and we went inside. I got skates on and Ryder tied his skates. We got on the ice and I wasn't stable. I started to fall back and Ryder caught me. I skated around and my skills came back. I went into a camel spin. "Trying to show off freckles ?" Ryder said. I told him no and he asked if I wanted to race. I told him ok. We both skated to the far end and raced to the other end. My toepick got stuck and I felt my body go. Ryder slid in front of me and caught my head. I looked up at him and he was looking at me weird. "I think it's time to go. You don't need to get hurt" Ryder told me. I smiled at him and asked if he cared if I got hurt. "Yeah because this one is only a part of your date. I go full out freckles. Are you done here ?" Ryder asked and I told him yes. He got up and helped me up. We took the skates off and I checked my blood sugar when Ryder left. It was normal. I didn't want that to affect our date. Ryder got back and we went to his jeep. He drove us downtown. "What are we doing here ?" I asked Ryder. He told me that we are seeing the Halloween decoration contest. Every year people in Colgate go completely crazy and decorate the shops on main street. The town gets to walk around and you vote on which storefront is the best. You also get a cider slushy with the purchase of a ticket. So we got out and Ryder got us two tickets. The woman gave Ryder two slushies and he handed me one. I forgot how good these were. Ryder and I walked to the farthest store first. We looked at it and moved on. "Does your daughter like doing this stuff ?" Ryder asked. I was surprised he asked. Usually people ignore that I have a daughter. But Ryder remembered. "Wyatt loves decorations, slushies, and glitter. So she'd probably love this." I told Ryder and he nodded. We looked at the rest of the storefronts and got to the last store. "Which store are you gonna choose ?" I asked Ryder and he told me to go first. I wrote down the store's name and he wrote one of the stores down. I chose Colberry Central. They had tons of pumpkins with neon Halloween lights. Ryder chose Baynards. Baynards is a bakery and they had hockey themed decorations. It was around nine when we got to Ryder's jeep. I left my phone and Addie texted me. She has to leave by 9:30 to get back to her dorm. Ryder drove us back and I grabbed my crossbody. "Do you mind if I come in ? My roommates party goes til ten" Ryder said. He seemed like he liked parties. But I told he could come in. We walked up and I unlocked the door. "Mama you're back" Wy said and she hugged me. I asked Addie why Wyatt was still up. "She wouldn't go to sleep without you, I really gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow" Addie said and she left. I picked Wy up and she played with my hair. "It's bedtime Wy" I told Wyatt and she looked at Ryder. "Is it his bedtime ?" Wyatt asked and pointed at Ryder. He smiled and I told her soon. I put Wy down and took my coat off. I put my bag on the hook and Ryder took his shoes off. I sat on the couch and Wy got on my lap. I rocked her and she fell asleep. I took her to her room. Ryder opened the door and I put Wy in her crib. I shut her door and Ryder checked his phone. Ryder looked at me. He walked over and kissed me. He brought my waist to his. "Do you want me to stay ?" Ryder asked and I kissed him. "Freckles, do you want me to stay ?" Ryder asked and I told him yes. He took his coat off and we sat on the couch. We talked for a while and I fell asleep. "Freckles, Wyatt's up" Ryder whispered. I woke up and went to Wy's room. Her sugar was low so I gave her apple juice. She fell asleep and I put a blanket over her. I put pajamas on and went to the living room. "It's late, you should go," I told Ryder. He looked at me and got up. "You know I don't want to leave you freckles but I have to" Ryder said and we kissed. I told him bye and he put a coat on. He left and I locked the door. I turned the lamp on and went to my room. I laid down and turned my alarm on.