Healing Hearts (New Hope Falls #6) - Kimberly Rae Jordan Page 0,124
bags of food. After he set the bags down on the table, he turned to where Sophia stood next to Bryson’s bed.
“Good morning,” he said with a smile as he approached them, an insulated cup in his hand.
Sophia gripped the edge of the bed as she smiled back at him, feeling a little bit shy for some reason. “Hi.”
Through her restless sleep of the previous night, she’d spent a lot of time replaying the conversation she’d had with Ryker, wondering if she’d read things into what he’d said. It was hard not to second guess everything because she didn’t trust herself to see things for how they really were. Because of that, she’d also spent time praying for wisdom and God’s will with regards to Ryker’s role in their lives.
Seeing him again in the cold light of day, the worries she’d had over whether or not he’d really been talking about a possible relationship between them came roaring back to life. She needed to watch his actions, not just listen to his words. Right then, his actions showed care for her and Bryson.
“Hi, Ryker,” Bryson said, his voice soft.
“Hey, buddy.” Ryker held his hand out for a fist bump.
Sophia had to admit that she appreciated how Ryker wasn’t treating Bryson any differently just because he’d been sick. She probably should have done that a little more with him, but she couldn’t keep from babying him. He was her baby, after all.
Bryson seemed to want to try and respond to Ryker the way he had before getting so sick. He took the cup from Ryker with a bigger smile than she’d seen from him in over a week.
If it had been for anyone other than Ryker, she might have felt jealous that she hadn’t been able to evoke such a reaction from him. But at this point, she was just so relieved to see sparks of his old personality that it didn’t matter that it was someone other than her who had brought them to life.
“How’re you doing?” Ryker asked as he turned to her, concern in his gaze. His hand rested briefly on her back. “How did you sleep?”
She shrugged. “About the same. I just don’t know how to sleep more soundly here.”
Obviously reading her exhaustion, he slipped his arm around her. Sophia couldn’t help but slump against him, letting him take her weight for a moment. He didn’t stagger or seem to have any trouble holding her, and it made Sophia want to cry, but she didn’t because she’d cried far too much over the past week.
“Well, if you want to lay down for a bit, I’m here.”
It was something she’d done before, so she’d probably take him up on that offer again.
“Is that good, buddy?” Ryker asked as he watched Bryson sip at the cup.
Sophia didn’t know why God had brought Ryker into her life. She certainly didn’t feel that she deserved him. But there was no denying that she and Bryson needed him. Ezekiel had never offered his strength to either of them. If anything, he’d used his strength against them.
Ryker wasn’t like that at all. He had only ever used his strength and abilities to help them. How long would it take for him to realize that he was getting short-changed? Especially when it came to her?
As she stood there with Ryker’s arm around her, Sophia wondered if it was wrong to lean on him, to accept the things he offered, when she felt certain that, in time, he would realize that she and Bryson wouldn’t be a good fit for his life. Maybe not wrong, but certainly selfish.
But every time she’d tried to get him to go back to his life, he’d resisted. And even when he had agreed to take a couple days away, he’d come back. Maybe he really did want to be there with them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
When it came time for Ryker to leave later that night, it was the hardest thing he’d had to do in a long time.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” he said as he’d gathered up the bags he’d brought with more food from his mom.
“You don’t have to,” Sophia said from where she stood next to Bryson’s bed. Her arms were wrapped across her waist, and even though she’d slept a little that afternoon, she still looked exhausted and fragile.
“I know I don’t have to.” He moved closer to her and lifted his hand to cup her cheek. “I want to be here for you. With you.”