Healing Hearts (New Hope Falls #6) - Kimberly Rae Jordan Page 0,50
argue with me, are you, Vivi?”
“I sure hope I’m around to see the two of you when she’s in her teens. I want a front-row seat.”
“You better still be around,” Michael said. “I have a feeling you’re going to be an important person in her life.”
Ryker hoped that was true. He rarely thought more than a day or two into the future anymore, so thinking thirteen or fourteen years ahead was nearly impossible.
“Have you talked to Lani?” Ryker asked. It had been a couple of days since he’d last asked about her, so he figured it was time to nudge Michael into action.
Michael frowned. “No. I haven’t.”
“Don’t you think you should talk to her? It’s been almost a week.”
“I don’t know,” Michael said with a sigh. “I’m still not sure what to think about everything.”
“I think talking to her might help give you some clarity. Especially if you want to know why she was working for you.”
Michael didn’t respond, just kept his gaze on Vivianne. Ryker decided not to push it beyond that. He knew what it was like to be struggling with something and have someone continually harping on it. All he could do was hope that the two of them got things sorted out because he really felt like they were good for each other. Good in a way they hadn’t acknowledged before things had gone awry.
“Which of the sites do you want to go to tomorrow?” Ryker asked.
Michael lifted his head, relief on his face. “I’ll go to whichever site you think my leg will tolerate best.”
Ryker considered what was on the schedule for the next day then discussed the pros and cons of each job with him. He tried as much as possible to keep Michael abreast of everything. Michael still took care of scheduling the jobs using voice notes to communicate them to him, but Ryker was often the one who went out to survey the sites to make sure they were prepared for each one.
Once they had the next day’s jobs planned out, Ryker offered to run into town to pick up some supper for them. He would have liked to have gone to Sophia’s, but he felt like Michael could use his company. He’d go to Sophia’s the next day and do some more yard work and see how they were doing. Truth be told, he’d probably text her that night to see how the rest of their day had gone.
After he got back with burgers from Norma’s, he took Vivianne and cuddled her so Michael could eat his burger with both hands.
“That is amazing,” Michael said after he’d eaten about half his burger.
“What have you been living on?” Ryker asked.
“TV dinners and spaghetti.” He gave a shrug. “It could be worse. I think TV dinners have come a long way. There’s a lot more selection than there used to be.”
Ryker knew he was right since he lived on the things himself. “My mom would kill me if she knew how many of them I eat.”
“I wish I could cook better,” Michael said. “But not being able to read very well has made following recipes quite challenging.”
“Have you ever thought about taking adult literacy courses?” Ryker asked.
Michael took another bite of his burger and chewed before answering. “I have considered it. I never prioritized it, though, and now I have even more demands on my time. I don’t think it’s something I can take on.”
“Well, if you do decide to tackle it, let me know. I’ll help you in any way I can.”
“I appreciate that, man, but you already help me more than you should have to.”
“I don’t mind taking on additional responsibility.” And he didn’t. The more he had to do, the less time he had to think. “I’m always up for a challenge.”
Michael laughed. “You probably shouldn’t tell me that.”
Michael was unaware of just how much challenge Ryker had already gone through in his life. Between his career choice, which had resulted in long hours and lots of hard work, and what had happened in Syria, he’d had plenty of challenge.
Of course, he was backing down from the challenge of getting his issues sorted out.
After they finished eating their burgers, he gave Vivianne a bath while Michael had some coffee and a piece of cake from Norma’s.
“I still can’t get over how easily you handle her,” Michael said as he watched him from the table. “I’m still scared I’m going to break her.”