Rydin' the Storm Out Page 2

  Once all the pictures had been taken, the wedding party and guests headed to the reception hall. Molly began loading her gear into her car, taking deep breaths to get her emotions under control. She was captivated by Ryder, in a big way, but she had no business getting lost in a man, even this gorgeous man. No way! Focus Molly, just focus.

  At the reception, Molly took pictures of the wedding party eating dinner, dancing, the bride and groom’s first dance, cutting the cake, throwing the bouquet and throwing the garter. Now she was done. She loved her job, but after taking thousands of pictures today, she was wiped out. The day had been both emotional and energizing. She packed up her gear and slipped out the back door to go home.

  The drive home was a blur. All she could think about was Ryder. He was possibly the most handsome man she had ever met. Her heart beat faster just thinking about him now. She wanted to get home, pour a glass of wine, and look at her pictures.

  She walked into her kitchen and set her camera bags on the counter. She pulled her disks out of her bag and fired up her tablet. She could download the pictures onto her tablet while she jumped into the shower, then she would sit and enjoy looking at Ryder.

  As soon as Molly got out of the shower, she blew her hair dry and threw on a robe. She poured herself a glass of wine, grabbed her tablet, and sat on the sofa. She started browsing through the pictures. Joci was pretty easy to please, but these were going to make her ecstatic. All Joci wanted was to camouflage her injuries. She had been in a bad motorcycle accident about five weeks ago. They had just learned that Joci was pregnant, so it had been a very stressful time for their family. She didn’t lose the baby and was recovering, but her right arm, shoulder, and her collar bone were severely damaged. Her right hip wasn’t broken, but badly and deeply bruised. Her slight limp was noticeable when she was tired. She still couldn’t lift her right arm up, and was supposed to be wearing a soft cast, but refused to for the wedding. She had asked Molly to make sure she didn’t look injured in the pictures. She didn’t want to look back on this day and remember the accident; she wanted to remember the day she became Jeremiah’s wife.

  Molly stopped on the first photo of Ryder. Her breath caught in her throat. Jesus, he wasn’t just beautiful, he was perfect. His shoulders appeared larger than they probably were in his tuxedo but still broad. He was tall, nicely built, and freaking handsome. Wow! He had a slight smirk on his face and those blazing green eyes were staring right at her. She looked at that picture for a long time, finally making herself swipe her finger across the screen, moving to the next picture. There he was again. And again, and again, and again. She had taken tons of pictures of him. No wonder JT and Gunnar had been smirking at her all day.

  Molly fell asleep on the sofa holding her tablet, looking at Ryder. Would anyone ever capture her attention like he had?

  ***

  Ryder kept his eyes on Molly all night. He wanted to ask her out. He wanted to ask her to stay. He just couldn’t. He thought she was interested. Every time he looked at her today, she was looking at him. Watching the pulsing in her neck unnerved him, imagining he was doing that to her. It was maddening, wanting to approach her and not being able to. At the church, he could talk about the pictures or the wedding. Now, though, wanting to ask her out, he just couldn’t. Women always approached Ryder, he never had to approach them. He didn’t know what to do now. It sure didn’t help that JT and Gunnar were making fun of him at every turn. Jerks.

  Ryder looked over to see Molly slip out the back door with her gear. He waited, hoping she would come back in and have a drink, but she never came back. Fuck! The remainder of the night, Ryder visited with his family. He had always enjoyed spending time with his cousins, so he walked over to a table where a bunch of them were sitting and joined them. His mind was elsewhere though. It was on a beautiful, dark-haired woman with bright blue eyes.

  Ryder woke up with a headache. After Molly left the wedding last night, he began drinking away his irritation. He was irritated with himself for not having the courage to ask her out. He hated being shy. He always had. There wasn’t a lot he could do about it though, it was just him. Neither of his brothers were shy. None of his uncles were shy. His biological mother sure as fuck wasn’t shy. Why the fuck did he have to be shy? He could pep talk himself all damn day long, but as soon as it came time to ask a girl out, he froze. He had mentioned this to Joci one day when she was home recovering from her accident. Jeremiah hadn’t wanted her home alone for those first few weeks, so they had taken turns staying home with her.

  “When the right girl comes along, Ryder, you’ll be willing to move heaven and earth to get to know her. You’ll see. In the meantime, maybe write things down in a notebook.”

  “What things?”

  “Well…How you feel. A conversation you would like to have with someone. It might make you feel like you’ve already had that conversation and the person won’t feel like a stranger. I do that when I’m frustrated. I’ll write a letter and then tuck it away. I never send it, but I feel like I’ve gotten something off my chest.”

  “I hate writing. Maybe. I’ll think about it.”

  Well, if last night was any indication, his mom was wrong. He didn’t have the courage to ask Molly out. He’d never reacted to a woman like he had to Molly. He was twenty-six-years-old and he didn’t want to wait until he was forty-five to find his soul mate like his dad had. After listening to Jeremiah go on and on about Joci these past few months, Ryder wanted that now. He hated being alone. He hated going out with his brothers and watching them leave with women. The only time he left the bar with a woman was when she was bold enough to approach him. He had been approached enough in his time, but it was just sex and the next day, he moved on. He had nothing to talk about with these women and there was nothing about them he cared to know.

  Molly he wanted to know. He wanted to know what she liked and what she did on a day-to-day basis. He wanted to watch her eat and laugh and sleep, and he wanted to watch her face while he fucked her. That’s what he wanted. When he saw her packing up last night, he just couldn’t make himself go and talk to her. So fucking frustrating.

  ***

  Molly woke up with a stiff neck. She slept on the sofa all night, holding on to her tablet with a picture of Ryder staring at her. Was she a fool? He hadn’t asked her out, even though she thought he was interested. He was probably used to women throwing themselves at him. Well, she wasn’t going to throw herself at anyone. She was going to do her job and move on. She would spend today working on the pictures and culling out the bad ones. Then, she’d call Joci and let her know the pictures were ready for her and they could make arrangements for getting the pictures to her. After that, Molly would move on from Ryder Sheppard.

  Molly got up and made herself a cup of coffee and began looking through the pictures with a photographer’s eye, not through the eyes of a silly girl with her first crush. She wasn’t going to make the same mistakes her mom had.

  ***

  “Hey there, you look sad. What’s up?” Joci asked Ryder.

  “Nothing. Everything. I don’t know mom. Fuck, I’m frustrated.” Ryder’s jaw clenched as he sat forward, elbows on his knees.

  Joci sat on the sofa next to Ryder. They had finished opening gifts at Emily and Thomas’s house. Ryder snuck off to the living room. Joci was tired and had slipped away to the living room to rest for a little while and found Ryder sitting there by himself.

  “Aww, now you have to tell me what’s up. You can’t leave me hanging.”

  Ryder let out a long breath and sat back.

  “Remember when you and I talked about me being shy and you said when the right woman came along I would move heaven and earth to get to know her?”

  Joci smiled. “Of course, I remember.”

  “You were wrong. Last night I couldn’t bring myself to ask Molly out. I watched her pack up and I wanted to go over and ask her out so bad, but I just couldn’t do it.”

  Joci reached over and patted R
yder’s knee. “Yes, we saw the sparks flying. Timing is everything you know. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Maybe last night wasn’t the right time. Did you write it down?”

  “No. I got drunk instead.” Ryder smirked at Joci.

  “How’d that work for you?” Joci smirked right back.

  Ryder scraped his hands through his hair. “Dammit, I hate being me sometimes.”

  “Aww, honey. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

  They sat quietly for some time; he didn’t bother to respond. Joci leaned back and closed her eyes. Ryder did the same. His head still hurt a little and he didn’t feel very social right now. Sitting here quietly with his mom felt good.

  “There you two are. What’s up?”

  “Boy everyone’s sure being nosy today,” Ryder snapped out.

  “Excuse me?” Jeremiah snapped back. “All I asked is what’s up? Everyone else is outside or eating in the kitchen.”

  “Geez, never mind.” Ryder stood up and walked out of the room.

  Joci looked at Jeremiah and smirked. “He’s mad at himself for not asking Molly out last night. And, I think he’s a little hung over.”

  Jeremiah nodded. He sat down next to Joci on the sofa. “Well, who knew he would be so moody?”

  Joci laughed. “If you’re correct and this little bump I have is a girl, you’ll get all kinds of moody in about thirteen years or so.”

  “Oh my God, what have we done?” Jeremiah grinned. “If you’re by my side, I can handle anything.” Joci laid her head on Jeremiah’s shoulder and closed her eyes. “I love you, Jeremiah.”

  “I love you, too, babe.”

  Joci’s phone rang. Jeremiah helped her reach into her back pocket for her phone. Having put her soft cast back on, she was still a little clumsy trying to do that herself.

  “Hello…Hi, Molly. How are you?” Joci looked at Jeremiah and smirked.

  “Absolutely, when do you want to get together? Yes, we’ll be back next Saturday. Why don’t I call you a week from tomorrow and we’ll take a look? I’m excited to see them. Thank you for being there yesterday. Yes, we’ll have a great time. Talk to you next week. Bye, Molly.”

  “Well, if Ryder can’t come up with the courage to ask Molly out while we’re gone, maybe we can work something out when we get back. If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen.”

  “You know moping around isn’t going to help, right?” Gunnar asked.

  “Fuck, Gunnar, don’t start busting my chops, ok?” Ryder responded with a huff.

  “Man, I’m not busting your chops. You’ve been moping around for five damn days now. I’m just saying, don’t get down, get busy. Give her a call. Maybe it’ll be easier over the phone. What’s the worst that can happen? She can say no? Big fucking deal, there are other women out there.”

  “Easy for you to say. Molly’s different. I’ve never had these feelings for a woman before. I’m afraid I’ll screw it up.”

  “Well, sitting here isn’t going to change it. Call her up, ask her to dinner. Take her somewhere you can talk, but also where something else is going on in case you run out of things to say.”

  “Yeah, and where is that?”

  “How about that restaurant in Green Bay where they cook your food on a hibachi? There’s a little dinner show while the chef is preparing your meal and you can talk while you eat. If you can’t think of anything to say, you can talk about the cook or the food. Just sayin’.”

  Gunnar got up to walk to the kitchen as he tapped out a text. It was Friday morning and they had to get to work. He poured himself and Ryder a cup of coffee and took Ryder’s cup out to sit on the coffee table in front of him. He laid a piece of paper down next to the coffee cup.

  “I’m taking off for work. I’ve got a lot to do today. I promised Nelson I would have his bike finished so he could get another ride in this year. Mom and Dad will be home tomorrow and I want to get their lawn mowed before they do so Dad doesn’t have to do it. I’m leaving work early today to head over there. See you later, man.”

  “Ok. See ya.”

  Ryder looked at the piece of paper Gunnar set down next to his coffee cup. A number was written down on it and a name…Molly. How the hell did Gunnar get Molly’s phone number? Ryder scraped his hands through his hair, grabbed his cup of coffee, and sat back into the sofa. Gunnar had a good point, he should call her. That way if she turned him down, it wouldn’t be so embarrassing. In the meantime, he was going to try writing this all down like his mom suggested.

  ***

  Molly was pacing back and forth in her living room. Tammy, Molly’s best friend since kindergarten, was sitting on Molly’s sofa with a cup of coffee in her hand and Molly’s tablet on her lap. Ryder’s picture was staring right back at her.

  “He’s scorching, Molly. Wow, look at his eyes. I can see why you can’t get him out of your head; talk about hot dreams!”

  “You’re supposed to be telling me he isn’t worth it and not to be like my mom, not encouraging me to want him.”

  Tammy grinned. She knew Molly better than Molly knew herself sometimes.

  “I don’t think you need any encouragement in wanting him. And for the record, you aren’t like your mom. You need to stop comparing yourself to her. You’re amazing, Molly. You’re beautiful, smart, and creative. You’re making it on your own. Stop damning yourself to a lonely life because you don’t want to be like your mom.”

  “I know, Tammy, I actually do. But, I’ve struggled for so long. I grew up watching my mom struggle. Besides, as soon as he finds out what I really am, he isn’t going to want to be with me anyway.”

  Molly grabbed her tablet and looked at Ryder’s beautiful face and body. His eyes were so mesmerizing. The green was so green and his lashes were long and a little darker than his hair, creating a beautiful frame. His lips were full and looked soft, probably would feel fabulous kissing her. He had a strong jaw and a great smile—what a package. Just looking at him caused her heart to start beating faster. She was close enough to him when taking their pictures that she caught a few whiffs of his cologne. She could still smell him and imagined what it would feel like to be wrapped in his arms. Without thinking, Molly began tracing his picture with her finger.

  “What happened to you is in your past. It was also not in your control. You have to stop blaming yourself and thinking everyone on earth will judge you for it.” Tammy sucked in a deep breath. “Maybe you should give him a call. You said he was shy. Maybe he’s too shy to ask you out.”

  “Joci told me he was shy, but he didn’t seem shy at the wedding. As a matter of fact, he approached me at one point to ask me if it was time for his pictures. And then, he carried my bag outside when we walked out to take pictures. I saw him dancing with some woman, too. So, I don’t know what to think about the shy part.”

  “Well, first of all, he wouldn’t be shy around his family. So, you weren’t observing him in a situation where you could judge that fairly. Second of all, he asked you about taking his picture, which was something he knew the answer to already. And, you said he carried your bag out, but didn’t say anything to you, just picked it up and started walking. I would say shy.”

  “Well, I’m not going to call him. If he really wanted to get to know me, he would man up and call me. Besides, it’s probably for the best anyway.”

  “Molly, I will kick your ass if you don’t stop condemning yourself. You need to listen to me. What can I do to get that through your head? Of the two of us, I’m the one who has made stupid mistakes, not you,” Tammy said.

  “Let’s go out next weekend and have some fun. Maybe you’ll meet someone else and you’ll stop thinking about Ryder Sheppard.”

  Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly Molly absently answered her. “Yeah. Sure.”

  Ryder sat with his phone in his hand. He had nine digits dialed in and then he hesitated. He sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. As he exhaled, he hit the button and cancelled the call. Nope, it didn’t feel right.
He would think about it today and call her later. He got up, slipped the piece of paper with Molly’s number into his pocket, and headed out to get on his bike. The fresh air would clear his head and help him think. Nothing like a bike ride to help a person sort through their thoughts.

  Pulling into the parking lot at Rolling Thunder, Ryder drove to the rear garage door, closest to his work station. He parked his bike next to Gunnar’s and went in through the back door. They each had their own stations, with their own tools and lifts. Ryder, Gunnar, and Frog were the primary mechanics. They had a couple students from the local tech school who worked part-time doing oil and spark plug changes. Their work stations were pushed to the back of the shop. As the company was growing, the building was bursting at the seams. His dad had been talking about adding another addition onto the current building. Dad wanted Joci to have an office here to meet with her clients. She currently used a spare bedroom at the house, but with the baby coming, they were going to need the space. There was a small, unused room upstairs next to Jeremiah’s office that could be used in the interim, but, once they added on to the building, there would be more room for everyone.

  Ryder checked out the bike he’d be working on today and pulled the needed tools out of his tool box and set them on the lift. Gunnar walked in from the front showroom and nodded at Ryder. Ryder stiffened, thinking Gunnar was going to start asking questions about calling Molly.

  Instead, he walked over to Ryder and said, “Tomorrow night is Frog’s birthday party at The Barn. You still going?”

  Fuck! Ryder had forgotten about Frog’s birthday. But, Frog was a friend and he wouldn’t miss his birthday party.

  “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

  Ryder thought about calling Molly and asking her out for tonight instead of tomorrow night, but that seemed wrong. Weren’t you supposed to give a girl a little time to prepare? Well, at any rate, he wasn’t going to call her today.