Healing Hearts (New Hope Falls #6) - Kimberly Rae Jordan Page 0,20

there. For at least an hour or two.”

“As long as you think you’re ready,” Ryker said, eyeing the external fixator currently attached to Michael’s fractured leg. “If you overdo it, you’ll regret it.”

Michael sighed. “Yeah. I know. But I’m going a little crazy just sitting here for hours every day. There’s only so much daytime television I can handle. It’s giving me a little too much time to think.”

“How about I swing by and pick you up?” Ryker suggested. “That way you don’t have to worry about driving too. The jobs are all local tomorrow, so I can drop you back home when you’ve had enough.”

Michael sighed again. “I know I should take you up on that even though I don’t really want to.”

“You’re a smart man,” Ryker said, and despite the fact that Michael was essentially illiterate, Ryker truly believed that. “You’ll make the right decision.”

“Fine. Pick me up then.”

Ryker chuckled. “It’ll be great. I’ll even bring you some coffee.”

“And if I manage okay, will you let me go on my own next time?”

Ryker leaned back against the couch, stretching out his legs and crossing his ankles. “Maybe.”

He almost said something about doctor’s orders, but then bit his tongue. Although, Michael would probably just laugh, thinking it was a joke.

By the time Lani arrived, Ryker was ready to head to his apartment. His mom had sent him home with some food when he’d stopped by to see her and his dad on the weekend, so he was looking forward to a tasty meal for a change.

And he’d try to put Sophia and Bryson’s situation out of his mind. After all, it wasn’t really any of his business, even though one might argue that Sophia asking him for help with Bryson might have given him the right to ask some questions.

The problem was that in asking questions, he was opening himself up to knowledge that might be difficult for him to move beyond. It seemed that the two of them were safe now, so it wasn’t as if there was imminent danger for either of them.

He could live without the knowledge of where they’d come from as long as they were safe now. And from what he could tell, they were.

~*~

Sophia stood at the picture window, gazing at the part of the front yard she could see from her vantage point. It was beginning to resemble a jungle, which was a shame because Nana had always taken such pride in her yard. Until she’d fallen and broken her hip, she’d taken care of it all herself. Mowing. Planting. Raking. Even trimming the hedges that lined the front of the yard along the sidewalk.

Since she’d taken up residence there, her dad had come by a couple of times to mow, but he’d been busy with overtime lately so hadn’t been able to do it again.

The yard wasn’t a huge piece of land, but so far, it was more than Sophia had managed to take care of. Part of the reason was that she just didn’t have the experience, and another part was that she’d just never had the desire for it either. However, the biggest deterrent to getting the work done was Bryson.

He had never liked being outside. Where some kids enjoyed seeing bugs and other things out in nature, he never had. He’d been forced outside a lot, starting at around age three, but a horrific wasp sting had taken his dislike for the outdoors into the realm of a phobia. Now he tolerated walking from the house to the car and from the car to wherever it was they were going, but he never let Sophia dawdle.

Because of that, Bryson didn’t want to come outside with her, which would be okay except he also didn’t want her out of his sight. All of that meant that yard work was beyond her right then. She did feel bad though, because if Nana saw the state of the yard, she would have a heart attack.

She wondered if there was a teen in the neighborhood who would be willing to clean it up for a few bucks and some cookies…

Turning from the window, she said, “Bry? Do you want to sit on the porch so I can mow the grass?”

He looked up from the book he was paging through. With a frown, he shook his head.

“Then will you sit on the chair in front of the window while I go outside?”

Another shake of his head. Sophia stifled her sigh of frustration. She