Ryan's Love - C.A. Harms Page 0,6

You’ve told me three times already. I love you, now go have a good time.”

She walked out of the kitchen and into her bedroom, leaving me once again shaking my head with amazement. Oh, how quickly she was growing up.

***

“Have you seen the new girl in town?” Booker asked as he sat down on the rock next to me in front of Pretcher’s Lake. He let out a whistle and shook his head, smiling brightly. “Got us two city girls in town, actually. They’re both nice to look at, but I gotta say Amber is a fine sight. Sweet as candy too.”

Booker has always been that one guy who crawls beneath my skin. He annoys the shit out of me, and I think he knows it too.

“No, Book, I haven’t seen them. Jackson said you two helped carry up some furniture for them or something?”

I tried hard not to show him I was annoyed. I came out here to relax and gain some peace, and the last thing I was going to do was let him ruin it for me with his arrogance.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure the shorter one, Amber, had a thing for me. I even caught her snapping a picture of our asses as we carried up the mattress.”

That cocky asshole. Booker seriously thinks every girl he comes into contact with wants him, when in reality most just want to get away from his overly inflated ego. Besides, I had already heard about Amber and her friend from my youngest brother, Jackson. He found out they’re the new owners of Helen’s Bakery, soon to be renamed Heavenly Temptations. He’s somewhat of a horn dog, so when a new lady comes to town, he knows about it. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little intrigued by the news of someone new in town, and from the way Jackson described them both, they were definitely two very attractive women.

“Well, Booker, we have already established the fact that you’re top dog around here,” I said, hoping he could hear the sarcasm in my voice. The guys sitting a few feet away from us chuckled. Every man in town thought the same thing about Booker; he was a huge pain in everyone’s ass.

“Yeah, well,” he said as he cocked his head to the side and grinned, that smug son of a bitch.

“I thought I would give them a little time to settle in before I made my move. They’re having the grand reopening on Fourth of July weekend.”

I nodded slightly while silently begging for him to pick up on the fact that I didn’t give two shits about his plans.

Despite being constantly irritated by Booker and his cockiness, the weekend of fishing with the guys had been great. It had been too long since I was able to cut loose and spend some time with my two brothers, my father, and Marty, my dad’s best friend. It was nice to get away and feel normal for once. I had allowed myself to fall into a repetitive pattern ever since Claire’s death, one of very little me time and a whole lot of regret. Regret for the things I didn’t do and the things I didn’t say. I had focused my entire life around Olivia and had let go of the Ryan I once was. I had forgotten what laughing and being carefree felt like.

I would forever love Claire. My world was consumed by her beauty at a very young age, and my love grew to heights I never could have imagined. Losing her was like losing half of myself, and I still struggled daily to feel whole. But this weekend gave me a piece of myself back. A part that let me know it was okay to keep living. I had to finally let go of all the heartache and face the unchangeable fact that Claire was gone.

Chapter Four

Amber

Bailey and I had spent each night and day for over a week cleaning the bakery. It was in desperate need of a facelift, and Heavenly Temptations needed a new look to go along with the new owners. We had to make it ours yet leave a few touches of my grandmother.

What were once dingy yellow walls were now cream with light pink and blue accents, making the room bright and cheerful. And to bring back Helen’s signature color, we threw in a few splashes of yellow here and there too. We’d cleaned and repositioned the displays, opening the place