Healing Hearts (New Hope Falls #6) - Kimberly Rae Jordan Page 0,10
the town was particularly noisy. At least not when compared to a similar neighborhood in Seattle.
The houses opposite the apartment building were all dark at this time of night, with only the streetlamps casting any sort of light onto the street. It was an older neighborhood, which he really liked because it had lots of large trees on the boulevards and in the backyards of the homes.
It was a far cry from the refugee camp, and the quiet of the neighborhood went a long way to calming his mind. He took a deep breath, forcing his lungs to expand against his rib cage, then blew the air out before taking a sip of his orange juice.
For the next few minutes, he settled into a rhythm of sorts.
Inhale. Exhale. Drink.
Inhale. Exhale. Drink.
As he sat there, a feeling of calm finally settling over him, Ryker tried to figure out the best way to deal with picking Vivianne up. He had to do that for Michael, so somehow, he had to be able to deal with Bryson and the child’s reaction to him.
He hoped that it was just seeing the little boy unexpectedly that had set his nightmares off so badly. If he could steel himself against the looks the little boy gave him, maybe everything would be okay.
One thing Ryker knew for sure was that if he’d walked into Sophia’s to find Bryson having a medical event while looking at him the way he had, he would have frozen.
It was a horrible thought and was also the main reason why he didn’t think he’d ever be able to practice medicine again. He didn’t want to ever have the life of a child in his hands and then be unable to administer the medical care they desperately needed.
And if that meant he never got on with his life, then so be it.
Later that day, Ryker sat in his truck for a few minutes, mentally preparing himself to see Bryson once again. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically, since he’d only managed to get a couple more hours of sleep before having to get up for his day.
Thankfully, all the jobs that day had been physically demanding, but none had been dangerous. Michael was proof that sleepless nights and tree removals didn’t go well together. Sleepless nights and garden preparation, on the other hand, usually worked out okay.
Knowing he couldn’t put off the inevitable, Ryker climbed out of his truck and made his way up to the front door to ring the doorbell.
“Hi, Ryker,” Sophia said with a small smile when she opened the door. “Vivianne is ready to go. She’ll probably want to eat in a little while, but she hasn’t been fussing, so I didn’t give her a bottle.”
“That’s fine. Michael enjoys feeding her when I get her home, so that works out well.”
Sophia handed him the diaper bag then set the car seat just inside the door. She hadn’t invited him in, which was fine. He had a feeling that Sophia was trying to protect her son from whatever it was about Ryker that had scared him. It just so happened that not seeing Bryson worked for Ryker too, so he wasn’t going to get upset with her for that.
What did upset him was knowing that he’d caused that fear in a child. When he’d made the decision to go into pediatrics, it had been because he enjoyed the idea of working with children. He had known that he would likely deal with children who were afraid of him in his role as a doctor, but Sophia’s little boy seemed to be afraid of him simply because he was a man.
That didn’t sit well with him, and it made him worry about why the boy felt that way. However, that history wasn’t any of his business. Sophia seemed to be providing a safe environment for her son, and that was what mattered the most.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as he picked up the car seat and stepped back from the door.
“Yep. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“You too.” Ryker smiled at her, then headed for his truck.
When he arrived at Michael’s, it looked like the other man hadn’t had a good night’s sleep either, though his face lit up at the sight of the baby.
Ryker quickly freed her from the car seat and handed her over, then went to prepare a bottle. After giving it to Michael, he sank down onto the couch.