Healing Hearts (New Hope Falls #6) - Kimberly Rae Jordan Page 0,33
the other cookies you’ve given me.”
“It’s too bad babies can’t eat cookies,” Bryson said as he knelt next to the car seat. “You’d really like them, Vivi, but I’ll eat some for you.”
Ryker couldn’t help but chuckle. “Is that how he manages to get extra cookies?”
“One of the many ways,” Sophia said with a huff. “I have a hard time saying no to him.”
“Well, I’d better take my cookies and go. I spent the night at Michael’s last night to help him with Vivianne, so I’m running on empty. She’s still not sleeping through the night.”
“Yeah. I think she’s a little young to expect that.”
“Michael came to the job site for a bit today, but I told him to go home and get some rest since he’d probably be sleeping in short bursts again tonight. I’m going to drop Vivianne off, and then I’m going home to sleep as well. Sorry I can’t do any yard work today. But with the rain, it’s just not doable.”
“That’s quite alright,” Sophia said. “I really appreciate what you’ve managed to do already. At least the grass isn’t tall enough to hide a small child anymore.”
Ryker chuckled. “That’s true.”
“I guess we’ll see you on Monday then.”
“Yep.” Ryker tucked his cookies into the diaper bag and then picked it up along with the car seat, which was covered with a light blanket. “I’ll be here.”
After he said goodbye to Bryson, he headed back out into the rain, thankful that Sophia had covered the baby so she didn’t get soaked.
He hadn’t talked to Michael yet about what he’d heard from Sophia about her upcoming guests. Normally, he wouldn’t have been concerned except for the fact that Bryson wasn’t a fan of them and had called them mean. Though kids could be known for exaggerating, Bryson’s obvious dislike of these people still concerned Ryker enough that he was contemplating mentioning it to Michael.
The only thing was…he felt kind of like that would be betraying Sophia’s trust. Not that she’d asked him not to say anything. Still, he didn’t want her to feel that he was tattling on her, which was why he really hoped that she took the initiative and talked to Michael about it herself.
“You get a chance to sleep?” Ryker asked Michael as he set Vivianne’s car seat on the floor in front of the chair where the man sat.
“Yes. Thanks for sending me home. I had kind of forgotten how challenging it is to be up every two or three hours at night.”
“Are you planning to talk to Lani?”
Michael sighed as he dragged his hand down his face. “I don’t know. I suppose eventually I should, but what was her end game? Why was she working for us?”
“You know who could answer those questions?” Ryker asked as he dropped down on the couch.
The look Michael shot him told Ryker that he didn’t appreciate the sarcasm in his tone. “Well, I’m not sure I want to know the answers, actually. Or if I could even trust what she tells me. After all, she kept her identity from me. Lying essentially.”
After a few more minutes of conversation on the subject, Ryker knew he wasn’t going to be able to talk Michael into calling Lani on that day, so he pushed up to his feet. “You okay for food and everything?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“And you feel confident getting around with her?”
“Yes. If you could put Vivi’s car seat on the stroller, that would be great. That way, if I need to move around with her, I can put her in that and push it.”
Ryker made quick work of attaching the car seat to the matching stroller, then lifted Vivianne out and handed her to Michael. She was starting to fuss a bit, so he said, “Want me to prep a bottle for her before I go?”
“If you wouldn’t mind.”
“Don’t mind at all.” He went to the kitchen and got it ready, then handed it off to Michael. “Give me a call if you find out that you need help.”
“Thanks, man. I really couldn’t do this without you.”
“I think you’d figure out how to do it, but I’m glad to be able to help out.”
After saying goodbye, he headed back to his truck, relieved to finally be heading home. He was looking forward to an evening of not having to do anything. Maybe he’d watch a movie or play a video game after his shower. And just because he could, he was going to order in some pizza.