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Authors: Susanna Carr
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not looking for trouble anymore.”
“It finds me on its own. Believe me.”
“And you’re not the only one who has changed. The town has mellowed out about you.”
“If you say so.” There were still quite a few people who walked the other way when they saw him coming.
“If it was so bad, then why’d you stay?” the older man asked as he stomped his feet to ward off the cold.
“Force of habit,” Ryder said, but he didn’t think that was totally true. He could have left years ago, start over where no one knew him or his wild past. But for every ten people who gave him grief, there was one person who made up for it.
“What’s the place you’re moving to?” Frank asked. “Dubai? Never heard of it.”
The way the guy butchered the pronunciation, Ryder would believe it. “Think beaches and parties.”
“You’re not interested in that stuff,” Frank said, surprising Ryder with his insight. “You’d give up all this for a bunch of sand?”
Ryder was willing to give up a lot for peace of mind and a Katie Kramer-free zone. “Spoken like a man who has never lived anywhere else.”
“Why would I want to?” Frank looked genuinely puzzled. “Crystal Bend has everything a man needs.”
It was true. He loved it up here. He liked testing himself against nature, whether it was skiing or rock climbing. He looked forward to fishing in the cold mountain streams with his friends or watching the autumn storm clouds roll in at his favorite lookout point.
But it was more than that. Crystal Bend was isolated from the rest of the world, and the neighbors looked after each other. Sometimes he felt like he was butting heads with the other residents, and sometimes the sense of community was suffocating, but Ryder always felt like he belonged here.
“I know there’s going to be quite a few ladies who will be disappointed to see you go,” Frank said with a twinkle in his eyes.
“I’m sure you’ll be there to offer them a shoulder to lean on,” Ryder replied with a straight face, knowing that Frank didn’t have eyes for anyone other than his sweet little wife.
“It’s the least I can do. But there’s one girl who’s heart will be broken.” Frank shook his head. “Katie Kramer isn’t going to handle the news well. Not at all.”
Ryder tensed. He didn’t like the idea of anyone gossiping about Katie, not even Frank. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I could always tell when you’re lying, Ryder.”
“I’m never going to date Katie,” Ryder insisted. “The sooner she realizes it, the better.”
“Too late,” Frank said with a smile. “Everyone in Crystal Bend knows that Katie loves you to distraction.”
Ryder’s frown deepened as the words pierced him. Loved him to distraction? That he had the ability to make someone love him so strongly, so unconditionally, nothing could break it. If only. “That’s an exaggeration.”
“Hah. She’s been your shadow from the moment she laid eyes on you.”
“Are we talking about the same Katie who’s been flirting outrageously with every guy in town this year?” He’d hated seeing Katie out with other men.
“That’s the one.” Frank nodded. “She isn’t going to let you go without a fight. Mark my words.”
That was what he was afraid of. “Frank, you’re forgetting who you’re talking to. Nothing and no one is going to hold me back.”
Katie couldn’t believe she was doing this. She had never shopped at a Day After Christmas sale, and if she survived today, she wouldn’t do it again. This was clearly a sign of how far she would go, or how far she had fallen, to get Ryder into her bed.
She had braved the darkness and the frigid cold. She battled the ice and snowbanks. She tossed and turned in bed all night, and her spirits were already flagging. But she was on a mission. A quest. Probably an
“It finds me on its own. Believe me.”
“And you’re not the only one who has changed. The town has mellowed out about you.”
“If you say so.” There were still quite a few people who walked the other way when they saw him coming.
“If it was so bad, then why’d you stay?” the older man asked as he stomped his feet to ward off the cold.
“Force of habit,” Ryder said, but he didn’t think that was totally true. He could have left years ago, start over where no one knew him or his wild past. But for every ten people who gave him grief, there was one person who made up for it.
“What’s the place you’re moving to?” Frank asked. “Dubai? Never heard of it.”
The way the guy butchered the pronunciation, Ryder would believe it. “Think beaches and parties.”
“You’re not interested in that stuff,” Frank said, surprising Ryder with his insight. “You’d give up all this for a bunch of sand?”
Ryder was willing to give up a lot for peace of mind and a Katie Kramer-free zone. “Spoken like a man who has never lived anywhere else.”
“Why would I want to?” Frank looked genuinely puzzled. “Crystal Bend has everything a man needs.”
It was true. He loved it up here. He liked testing himself against nature, whether it was skiing or rock climbing. He looked forward to fishing in the cold mountain streams with his friends or watching the autumn storm clouds roll in at his favorite lookout point.
But it was more than that. Crystal Bend was isolated from the rest of the world, and the neighbors looked after each other. Sometimes he felt like he was butting heads with the other residents, and sometimes the sense of community was suffocating, but Ryder always felt like he belonged here.
“I know there’s going to be quite a few ladies who will be disappointed to see you go,” Frank said with a twinkle in his eyes.
“I’m sure you’ll be there to offer them a shoulder to lean on,” Ryder replied with a straight face, knowing that Frank didn’t have eyes for anyone other than his sweet little wife.
“It’s the least I can do. But there’s one girl who’s heart will be broken.” Frank shook his head. “Katie Kramer isn’t going to handle the news well. Not at all.”
Ryder tensed. He didn’t like the idea of anyone gossiping about Katie, not even Frank. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I could always tell when you’re lying, Ryder.”
“I’m never going to date Katie,” Ryder insisted. “The sooner she realizes it, the better.”
“Too late,” Frank said with a smile. “Everyone in Crystal Bend knows that Katie loves you to distraction.”
Ryder’s frown deepened as the words pierced him. Loved him to distraction? That he had the ability to make someone love him so strongly, so unconditionally, nothing could break it. If only. “That’s an exaggeration.”
“Hah. She’s been your shadow from the moment she laid eyes on you.”
“Are we talking about the same Katie who’s been flirting outrageously with every guy in town this year?” He’d hated seeing Katie out with other men.
“That’s the one.” Frank nodded. “She isn’t going to let you go without a fight. Mark my words.”
That was what he was afraid of. “Frank, you’re forgetting who you’re talking to. Nothing and no one is going to hold me back.”
Katie couldn’t believe she was doing this. She had never shopped at a Day After Christmas sale, and if she survived today, she wouldn’t do it again. This was clearly a sign of how far she would go, or how far she had fallen, to get Ryder into her bed.
She had braved the darkness and the frigid cold. She battled the ice and snowbanks. She tossed and turned in bed all night, and her spirits were already flagging. But she was on a mission. A quest. Probably an
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