Healing Hearts (New Hope Falls #6) - Kimberly Rae Jordan Page 0,28

back porch, the door swung open to reveal Bryson standing there in his pajamas. “Hi!”

“Hey, buddy.” Ryker held out his hand for Bryson to smack it. “How was supper?”

“Yummy. Momma made sketti with balls.”

“I do like spaghetti and meatballs,” Ryker said as he tried not to laugh at Bryson’s description. As he walked into the kitchen from the back door, he glanced over to where Sophia stood at the counter. “Are you eating bananas and peanut butter again?”

“Yep! It’s my favorite, and Momma says it fills me up, so I sleep better.”

“I think a tummy full of bananas and peanut butter would definitely make me sleep good.” He paused then said, “Do you mind if I wash up in the bathroom?”

“Not at all,” Sophia said. “Bry, can you show Ryker where it is?”

Bryson led the way out of the kitchen, then pointed to an open door in a short hallway. “It’s right there.”

“Thanks, buddy. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Once he was done in the bathroom, Ryker returned to the kitchen to find a plate of hot food sitting on the table. It smelled delicious, and he bet Sophia liked to make it for Bryson because there were all kinds of ways to hide vegetables in the meatballs and the sauce.

Bryson was already sitting at the table with a glass of milk in front of him. As Ryker sat down, Sophia set a small plate in front of Bryson. As he dug into the spaghetti and meatballs, Ryker quickly discovered that Bryson was quite right. The meal was definitely delicious.

It was a welcome meal after having worked all day then put in a bit more time on Sophia’s yard. Plus, eating at Sophia’s saved him from having to scrounge up something once he got home. Too often, he went the quick and easy route, which didn’t necessarily add up to tasty or nutritious meals.

Sophia’s phone rang as she was putting away the food. She picked it up from where it sat on the counter and stared at the display for a moment before answering it. “Can you hang on a second, Mellie?”

Lowering the phone to press in against her shoulder, she looked at Bryson. “Stay here with Ryker, okay? I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

He glanced at Bryson, catching a frown on his small face as he watched his mom disappear out of the kitchen. “Are you okay, buddy?”

“I don’t want Momma to talk to her.”

“To the person on the phone?”

Bryson nodded. “That’s Mother Mellie.”

The way he phrased that raised more than a few questions in Ryker’s mind. Not the least of which was why Bryson didn’t want Sophia to talk to her.

“And you don’t like her?”

Bryson shook his head. “I didn’t like any of the mothers. They wouldn’t let me see Momma.”

Ryker could hear the murmur of Sophia’s voice in the distance, but it wasn’t clear enough for him to understand what she was saying. The whole situation wasn’t something that he could easily parse out with the limited information he had acquired about them. Nothing really fit what he knew of Sophia so far.

From what he’d seen, she was absolutely devoted to Bryson. If someone had kept her and Bryson apart before, it explained why she didn’t try to separate herself from him now.

“What about your dad?” He asked the question even though he knew it really wasn’t any of his business and probably a question he should be asking of Sophia, not Bryson.

Bryson’s eyes widened, and he leaned closer to Ryker. “Father Zekiel wasn’t nice. He told the mothers to take me away from Momma. He made me go outside even after I got bit.” The little guy frowned. “He was a meanie. I hated him.”

Ryker hadn’t expected such an impassioned response from Bryson, but it was clear the boy felt very strongly about his dad. If the man even was his biological father. It was all very…weird.

Rather than press him further on a subject that was clearly upsetting him, Ryker decided to change the subject. “You better keep eating your bananas, or I might steal a couple when I get done with my spaghetti.”

That seemed to work like a charm as Bryson tugged his plate closer and quickly ate one of the pieces of banana.

“Want to know what one of my favorite snacks was when I was your age?” Bryson nodded. “Apples and cheese.”

The look Bryson gave him told Ryker precisely what the kid thought of that combination. “Eeww,” he added for good measure.