Rydin' the Storm Out

  Copyright © 2014 by P.J. Fiala

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Publisher’s note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First published 2015

  Rolling Thunder Publishing

  Fiala, P.J.

  Rydin’ the Storm Out / P.J. Fiala

  p. cm.

  1. Romance—Fiction. 2. Contemporary—Fiction. I. Title

  Electronic:

  ISBN-13: 978-1-942618-00-3

  ISBN-10: 194261800X

  Paperback:

  ISBN-13: 978-1-942618-01-0

  ISBN-10: 1942618018

  Second Chances

  Rolling Thunder Series

  Dog Days of Summer

  Rydin’ the Storm Out

  Danny’s War 2015

  Gunnin’ for You – 2015

  Restoring Connor - 2015

  I was given the opportunity to read Rydin Out the Storm as an ARC. It blew me away! The writing was smooth and flowing. Every word kept you wanting more! Ryder and Molly have different reasons for avoiding relationships. Can they each be what the other needs most? Or will they continue Rydin Out The Storm alone? Don't miss out on the can't put down romance!

  ~Read and reviewed by Swanky Stories Book Blog.

  Have you experienced love at first sight? Have you ever felt insurmountable odds would keep you from the love of your life? Ryder and Molly’s story will keep you glued to your seat and turning the pages to see what happens next.

  ~M. Carroll

  Chapter 1 – The Wedding

  Chapter 2 – The Morning After

  Chapter 3 – He Didn’t Call

  Chapter 4 – Still Shy

  Chapter 5 – The Barn

  Chapter 6 – Oh God! The Morning After

  Chapter 7 – Riding In The Fall

  Chapter 8 – Danny Schaefer

  Chapter 9 – The Veterans Build

  Chapter 10 – The Dinner Date

  Chapter 11 – November

  Chapter 12 - Jeffery

  Chapter 13 –Gunnar and Molly

  Chapter 14 – Tori

  Chapter 15 – The Anniversary

  Chapter 16 – The House

  Chapter 17 – Ellison

  Chapter 18 – Christmas Tree

  Chapter 19 – Breaking Up

  Chapter 20 – Lancaster Elson

  Chapter 21 – Home

  Chapter 22 – How Do You Mend A Broken Heart

  Chapter 23 – New Beginnings

  Chapter 24 – Ryder's Notebook

  About the Author

  Emily sobbed and raised her hand to her mouth. She had tears forming in her eyes. “You look so beautiful, Joci. That dress is perfect, just perfect.”

  Joci smiled at her. “Thank you. It feels perfect.”

  The other girls were complimenting Joci and talking excitedly. There was a knock on the door and a beautiful dark-haired, blue-eyed woman walked into the room.

  “Hi, can I come in and take pictures?”

  “Yes, Molly, come in and meet everyone,” Joci said.

  “Molly, this is Emily, Jeremiah’s mom. Staci, Angie, and Erin are Jeremiah’s sisters-in-law. You know my sister, Jackie, and my best friend, Sandi. Everyone, this is Molly Bates. I met Molly a few years back at a class and then again on the Veteran’s Ride, where she was one of the photographers. We’ve been working on a few things together since then. She freelances and I was thrilled that she was available today.”

  “Hello everyone, it’s great to meet you. Okay, let’s start getting some pictures, shall we? Then, while you’re putting the finishing touches on, I’ll go out and take pictures of the guys.”

  Molly loved taking pictures, especially at weddings. Everyone was so happy and beautiful. People were, usually, very polite and used their best manners at weddings. Even the biggest Bridezillas settled down by the time the wedding actually arrived.

  “Joci, you’re a beautiful bride. You look radiant.” Molly smiled.

  Joci beamed. “Thank you, Molly. I have a hard time believing this is actually happening. I’m forty-four and a first-time bride. I had given up on love before I met Jeremiah.”

  “Well, I’m so glad that you found each other.” Molly smiled and motioned for the women to stand behind a bouquet of flowers. “I love taking pictures of happy people, and these pictures…well they’re going to be amazing; you are a gorgeous family.”

  Molly positioned the women in various poses and snapped dozens of pictures of Joci and her family. “Okay, I’m heading down the hall to snap some pictures of the men. I’ll see you at the altar, Joci.” She gave a small wave and was out the door and walking down the hall.

  Molly knocked on the door at the end of the hall and poked her head in. Jeremiah saw her and waved her in. He hugged her briefly and said, “Thank you for taking pictures for us today. Joci and I are thrilled you were available.”

  Molly smiled. “I’m thrilled beyond belief to be here. I love Joci.”

  Jeremiah smiled and turned to introduce her to the rest of the guys. “Everyone, I would like you to meet our photographer, Molly Bates. Here are my brothers, Dayton, Tommy, and Bryce, and my father, Thomas.”

  Walking to four men standing by a tall table, he said, “These are my buddies, Sarge, Superman, Pitbull, and Radio.”

  Jeremiah turned them to the corner of the room where the groomsmen helped each other with cuff links and cravats. Continuing with the introductions, he said, “David is Joci’s brother-in-law. And these are my sons, JT, Gunnar, and Ryder.”

  Heat crawled up Ryder’s body as his eyes focused on Molly. His cheeks burned bright red and his heart beat out a rapid tempo. Jeremiah smiled and cleared his throat.

  Molly looked at the camera in her hands as her cheeks brightened pink. “Okay. Ummm, let’s start over here.” She pointed to an area in the corner.

  With shaking hands, Molly set up her tripod across the room. She placed the men in several positions and snapped numerous pictures.

  “Okay, Ryder and JT, if you could sit on the stools, and Gunnar, if you would stand between but just behind them, please,” she said, with a catch in her throat. She looked through her lashes as the men took up their positions. Mostly, she watched Ryder. Molly leaned in to look through the lens of her camera. She felt goose bumps run up and down her spine as Ryder’s intense green eyes were trained on her. She repositioned the guys a couple more times and snapped several more pictures to get the perfect shots.

  “Okay Jeremiah, why don’t you step in next to Gunnar for a few pictures?”

  Molly was finding it difficult to continue working as her mind kept wandering to Ryder. Each time she looked at him, he was staring right at her.

  “Dayton and Sarge, let’s get you two with Jeremiah, please.”

  Molly briefly glanced at Ryder and watched him slowly run his hand across his jaw and back to the nape of his neck. Ryder’s eyes caught Molly’s almost immediately, causing her heart to pound in her chest. Quickly grabbing her camera tripod with her left hand, Molly snapped a few more pictures.

  “It’s time to go, Jeremiah,” Dayton said.

  Relief washing over her, Molly gathered up her cameras and equipment. “Thanks, guys, I’ll see you out there,” she called as she quickly headed out the door.

  ***

  Ryder watched Molly walk out the door
and wanted to follow her. Holy fuck! Her eyes were stunning—so shiny and blue—like a bright summer sky. Her dark hair was cut in a short bob. It suited her. He wondered if it was soft. He wanted to touch it, and let it fall through his fingers. He thought her legs would look incredible in high heels, wrapped around his waist as he pushed himself into her. He took a deep breath then released it, shaking his head; he didn’t even know if she was available, so no need to continue torturing himself.

  “Hey Ryder, you ready to go?” JT was smirking at him.

  “Yeah, I’m coming,” he mumbled.

  JT nudged him with his arm. “She’s fucking hot. You gonna tap that?”

  Ryder looked at him with a scowl on his face. “Don’t be crude, JT.”

  Gunnar shrugged his shoulders and smirked at JT. “Well, your eyes never left her once. You looked at her like you were going to devour her. Poor thing looked nervous.”

  Laughing, JT said, “Maybe I’ll take a shot at her if Ryder’s too shy to talk to her.”

  Ryder glared at JT just as Jeremiah approached.

  “Come on boys, I’m getting married.” Jeremiah wrapped his arm around Ryder’s neck and pulled him forward toward the door. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m okay, Dad.”

  “Don’t let them get you down, buddy.”

  Ryder nodded.

  He and JT went to sit in the church with their grandparents. Gunnar was walking his mom down the aisle, so he headed down the hall toward the chapel doors to meet up with his mom, Aunt Jackie, and his mom’s best friend, Sandi.

  As Ryder and JT took their seats, he looked around to find Molly. His heart hammered in his chest when he found her standing in the corner at the front of the church, waiting for the men to walk out so she could take pictures.

  ***

  Molly’s heart was beating wildly. There was something about Ryder that really got to her. She chanced a look around and saw Ryder looking right at her. Her breath caught in her throat as little shivers danced down her arms and up her spine. Dammit, she couldn’t stop looking at him. She forced herself to look away just as the men were walking through the door to stand in front of the church. She almost missed it! She had to start concentrating.

  Molly snapped pictures of the men as the music started. She quickly trotted around the back of the pews and scrambled through to catch the bridesmaids walking up the aisle. She could snap posed pictures later, but sometimes these in-the-moment photos were fantastic. Joci and Gunnar started walking in. Gunnar looked right at her and winked. Molly began snapping away. As soon as they walked past her, she scrambled around to run up the side of the church to get more candid moments up front. Just as she got there, she was able to snap Gunnar and Jeremiah hugging and then she looked over and saw Ryder hugging Joci. Molly was snapping away as quickly as she could while she watched Ryder whisper something in Joci’s ear. JT leaned in next and hugged Joci as Ryder hugged his dad. Wow, what a moment.

  Throughout the ceremony, Molly continued taking pictures of this beautiful family. She couldn’t wait to get home and take a closer look at Ryder. One of the advantages to being a photographer was knowing you could snap away now and stare all you wanted to later after the pictures were developed. So far she hadn’t been able to keep her eyes off Ryder. It was like her eyes sought Ryder out on their own.

  Joci had given Molly a list of pictures she wanted taken after the ceremony. Then later, she and Joci would sit down and work on the photo albums together. Joci wanted a few pictures for the house, but mostly, she wanted digital collections made. She and Jeremiah planned to give digital pictures frames to all of their family and friends, to share memories from today and throughout the past year.

  Molly ticked through the picture list she’d gotten from Joci. She finished with Sandi and Jon and their kids, then leaned over the pew to see who was next in line on her list. She could feel the air around her crackle and goose bumps shimmied up her arms. She slowly raised her eyes and looked into Ryder’s beautiful eyes. She sucked in a breath and froze. Gawd, he was beautiful. Having him this close to her was very distracting. She could smell the spicy, tantalizing scent of his aftershave and see his corded neck and strong jaw leading to his broad shoulders…wow.

  “I believe my brothers and I are next,” he said, his voice husky.

  Molly’s mouth went dry and she had difficulty swallowing. When Joci had described the boys to her, she had explained that Ryder was shy and would need encouragement to participate in things. He didn’t usually jump in unless invited—he was content to stand back and wait to be asked. So Molly was a bit surprised that he approached her at all. When the only response she gave was a slight nod, Ryder’s eyebrows shot up in question.

  Licking her lips, Molly said, “Yes, you’re up next.”

  ***

  Ryder continued watching her. She had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen—set off perfectly by her dark brown hair. Standing this close to her, he could smell her perfume. She smelled like…more. His cock twitched as he watched her swipe that little pink tongue of hers across her lips. Now that she was ready to take pictures of him and his brothers, his cock decides to stand at attention. Fuck!

  “Maybe we can start on the altar and then we’ll step outside for a few more pictures your parents asked for.” Molly’s voice shook and a blush crept up her cheeks.

  His brother chuckled behind him as Ryder nodded at Molly and headed toward the altar. Ryder turned to scowl at them. He loved them, but they could be dickheads when they wanted to be. When he reached the altar and turned to face the back of the church, he found Molly standing right in front of him. It’s a good thing he was wearing a tuxedo to help camouflage the now raging hard-on he was sporting. Ryder grimaced at his brothers as they stood watching him, then turned his attention back to Molly.

  Joci had failed to mention just how handsome her sons are. Ryder and JT were tall, about six foot one or so. Ryder’s short, spiky hair suited him. JT and Ryder were Jeremiah’s boys from a previous relationship, and Gunnar was Joci’s. Gunnar was about an inch shorter than the twins. He was dark with bright blue eyes, and he wore his long dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail. The twins were light like their dad. With JT’s hair pulled back like Gunnar’s and his dad’s, it made Ryder stand out just a little more. He was different but in a subtle way.

  ***

  “Okay, Gunnar, if you would sit on the stool, and JT and Ryder, you two stand just behind him. We’ll do a few formal pictures, then some fun ones.” The boys moved into position as Molly looked through her lens. She snapped a few pictures, moved them around again and continued until she had the shots she wanted.

  These guys were great subjects. She could easily do something like this for Rolling Thunder. She made a mental note to mention this to Joci. She didn’t get a chance to photograph these guys at the Veteran’s Ride. The studio that hired her had assigned her to one of the Veterans groups that had recently earned accolades for their work with veterans and were also the recipient of some of the money from the ride.

  After finishing with the boys alone, Jeremiah and Joci came forward to be included in some of the pictures with them.

  Molly arranged them in several poses and clicked away. Ryder watched her intently. It was unnerving the way he continued to focus on her, and she wondered when her hands would stop shaking. After finishing with the pictures indoors, they headed outside to take those pictures. Molly grabbed her camera and started to reach for her big camera bag when Ryder stepped in and grabbed it for her. Without saying a word, he started walking toward the back of the church with her bag. Molly watched him a few beats and looked back to see Joci smiling at her. Molly’s cheeks flamed bright red as she turned and walked in the direction Ryder had gone.

  Joci looked up at Jeremiah. “I do believe I see some sparks flying.”

  “Yep. We’ll see what happens from here. They sure seem to be paying a lot of attention to each other,” Jeremiah smirked.

  They both chuc
kled and followed Ryder and Molly out the door.

  Joci had not only fallen in love with Jeremiah at the Veteran’s Ride this summer, but also with an old orange 1937 Ford Pickup with an oak box and oak box rails. Jeremiah had asked the old guy who owned it if he could rent it for the wedding. He told Jeremiah he would be happy to rent it to him, but he would prefer it if Jeremiah just bought it and took it off his hands; he’d been thinking about selling it anyway. Jeremiah was excited when he found out the old truck was for sale. Joci was about to find out that Jeremiah not only bought the old truck, but he’d bought it for her. Molly couldn’t wait to capture Joci’s surprise in pictures.

  “Okay, line up alongside the truck for a few group pictures,” Molly directed. Everyone else in attendance knew what was coming. Jeremiah lifted Joci into the box of the truck for a few photos. The boys all took “gangster” style pictures with the truck, making everyone laugh.

  “I’d like some pictures with Joci sitting in the driver’s seat,” Jeremiah said. He kneeled down in front of her for a few photos, then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the truck keys, with a tag attached, and wrapped in a ribbon. He held them up to her with a smile stretched across his face. Joci looked at the keys, carefully taking them in her hand, and reading the tag—“Something old. I love you Joci – Jeremiah.”

  Joci gasped and threw her hand up to her mouth. Molly snapped picture after picture as Joci’s face ran through a gamut of emotions from confusion to understanding, surprise, and happiness, and finally to love—overwhelming love.

  Joci sprang from the truck and jumped into Jeremiah’s arms as he swung her around and whispered in her ear, “I love you Jocelyn Sheppard, with everything I have in me.”

  “God. I love you Jeremiah, so much. Thank you. Is it mine? Is that what this means?”

  “Yes, baby, it’s your wedding present.”

  “Oh my God, Jeremiah, it…it’s perfect.”

  All who stood by watching were clapping, cheering and wiping tears from their eyes as they watched. Except for Ryder, he was watching Molly.