Rescuing Ryder (Serenity Securities, Team Hawk #1)

Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Claire walked to the beginning of the trail and warmed up in a pair of leggings and a blue running shirt. Pulling her hair into a ponytail, she waited for Ryder to appear. At precisely 0340, he stepped out of his cabin. Even from a distance, she saw the bulging muscles of his arms and thick chest. He turned toward her and started a small jog. As he grew closer, he noticed her on the path and slowed down to a walk.

“I didn’t know where you wanted to meet. Where did you want to run?” he asked as he approached.

“Right here.” She walked over to the path and knelt to flip a switch, making the wooded path glow in light. “Do you need to stretch?” she asked as she began stretching her legs.

“No. I’m all set,” he informed her smugly as if he couldn’t run circles around her.

She smiled, beginning with a slow jog and he followed. The sound of their feet tapping the pavement echoed along the path. The familiar pattern brought a sense of comfort to his mundane existence. The world melted away as he caught up to her and matched her stride. She never glanced his way and seemed to concentrate on whatever she listened to on her ear pods.

Fifteen minutes in, Ryder started breathing harder and his thigh hurt like a bitch. When did he become such a wuss? The woman beside him didn’t appear winded which made him push himself harder. By the time they made it to the end of the path and turned around, his lungs burned and his breath came out harsher than he wanted. Man, after eighteen months, I let myself go.

Ten minutes later, she slowed her pace as he fell increasingly behind. Shame filled him. A woman kicked his ass and it didn’t appear as if she even broke a sweat. She slowed to a walk as Ryder caught up, smiled, and pulled the water bottle from her side.

“Did you forget water?” she asked.

Yeah, and a puke pail.

“Yeah. I thought you kinda kidded about the whole running thing. I haven’t hit the pavement in a hot minute.”

“You don’t say?” Claire smirked. “Come on, I left some in my car. Tomorrow, it’s supposed to rain. I’ll meet you at the track in the therapy room.”

They walked toward her car, she opened the passenger side, pulled out another water from her cooler and handed it to him.

“Why don’t you shower and change? I’ll meet you at my office in twenty. It doesn’t come out of my time. I want to load up my boxes and meet the moving truck by 0700,” she stipulated before running up the stairs. He gulped more of the water and watched as she entered the building, not once appearing winded from their hellish run. No way he’d allow her to make him feel like a pussy again.

Shaking his head, Ryder jogged back toward the cabin, pulling his shirt over his head as he walked through the cabin to the shower. Anticipation ran through him as he dressed, and he tapped it down. Running always gave him an outlet for his stress; he’d forgotten how good it felt to shut everything out.

When he entered her office twenty minutes later, she appeared before him in a t-shirt and shorts, showcasing a pair of shapely legs. Claire pulled her hair into a ponytail and a Seattle Seahawks baseball cap rested on her head.

“I didn’t picture you as a football fan, Doc,” he admitted as he took the box from her arms.

“I’m not Doc. That’s Chase. Call me Claire. I never liked Dr. Meyers. I sound like a sour lemon. We’ll take these down and I’ll have everything indoors before the rain.”

“Are you trying to trick me? You’re not talking to me or asking me a bunch of questions? It feels like a trap,” he asked her quizzically.

“It’s not a test of any kind. If or when you feel like talking, then you will. In the meantime, you’ll help assemble all my stuff. Which reminds me, do you know anything about plumbing? My kitchen faucet started leaking.” She grabbed the next box, followed him to her vehicle, and placed it in the trunk. She checked her watch. “We have four more and time to eat. Bryanna’s bakery basket will arrive any minute. We can eat a quick breakfast before we return to my home.”

“How long have you worked for the foundation?” Ryder asked as they climbed the stairs to retrieve the next load.

“I started working here about a year and a half ago. Doc and I worked together at the Veterans Hospital in Seattle before Kassie built the foundation.”

“You must like it since you decided to settle down in the town,” he stated as they exited her office and returned to the car.

“The town’s lovely. Plus, I’m still close enough to Seattle to walk around the museums, go to a game, and shop,” she explained. “Nothing beats the ten-minute commute to work after braving the traffic in Seattle during rush hour. Where do you live?”

“I thought you knew. I have a feeling your brain works like a miniature computer.” He took the load from her arms and put them in the backseat.

“I focus on the reports. I know you live in Virginia, but I don’t know your location. I’ve visited there several times, and it’s a lovely state, especially in the fall.” Claire walked toward the steps.

“I live in Newport News. It’s near Colonial Williamsburg.”

“Did you grow up there?” Claire asked as she handed him the last cartons.

“No. I grew up in Williamsburg. My dad was in the military, and my mother worked as a history professor. What better place to live? When I left the military, I didn’t plan to stick around long and found an apartment that leases month to month. It fits my needs,” Ryder explained as he loaded the last items in the car.

She waited to walk beside him and descended the stairs leading to the kitchen. The kitchen staff busily prepped for the day. A big basket full of muffins, croissants, and banana bread sat at the end of the bar, and a box beside it contained cupcakes and cookies.

Claire agonized over the selection before finally deciding on a cranberry muffin. She went to the kitchen and asked the cook for a bowl of fruit and two scrambled eggs.

After watching her, he peered at the choices before selecting a blueberry muffin and standing beside her while she waited for her order. “Don’t they have a menu or something?” he whispered to her.

“They have the usual fair, but he takes special requests. He doesn’t like making a pan full of eggs until more people arrive. He makes mine when I come down,” she explained.

“Randy. Ryder’s a first timer here. Can you make him a breakfast sandwich and potatoes? I’m planning on working him hard today,” she called to the man behind the grill.

“Sure thing, Claire. Take a seat and I’ll bring it to you,” Randy called as he busied himself with putting sourdough toast in the toaster and cracking a couple more eggs.

They sat at the table. She sipped her coffee and greeted the men and women who ambled in.

Randy brought out two trays and set them down. Ryder stared at the breakfast sandwich… sourdough bread, a large serving of eggs, and bacon. A bowl of fresh fruit accompanied it.

Claire started eating and scrolled through her phone. Glancing up, she noticed him staring at her. “Hurry up, slow poke, no slacking on my dime.” She gestured toward his food and smiled.

“Are you permanently attached to a phone like all the teens?” he quipped.

Claire paused and put her phone in her back pocket. “I wanted to confirm the time with the movers. I received a text earlier. One of their men called out and they texted to alert me. They waited for a replacement before heading to Serenity. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to appear rude.”

“I’m giving you a hard time, do…Claire. Are they bringing everything assembled, or did you conveniently see me coming for free labor?”

“I paid extra for the bed assembly. I didn’t trust myself to put it together by bedtime and don’t want to sleep in a slanted position. You’re a bonus addition,” she teased.

He chuckled, imagining her hanging off the side of the bed.

“Why didn’t you ask the men to come help you? I met Whiskey yesterday and he mentioned the team offered to help.”

Claire’s smile faltered a bit. “They’re busy. Two recently welcomed newborns. The team works locally with law enforcement and such. Two more wives announced their pregnancy, and the others fill in for the ones with families.”

“I can’t picture the men hanging around a bunch of babies, except for Doc. He seems enthralled with his wife and kids,” he admitted to her.

“Kassie and Chase help a ton of people. They have a long, complicated story and deserve every bit of happiness,” Claire lightly admonished him as she sipped her coffee. The head shrink may be good at reading people, but he didn’t survive his military years not knowing when someone hid something. It appeared she held secrets of her own.

“Are you ready? I’ll grab my briefcase from the office and meet you at the car.” Claire rose and placed her tray with the dishes in the receptacle before returning upstairs.

Ryder finished his coffee and dropped off the tray before heading to her car. Slipping into the passenger side, he waited for her to appear. A minute later, she descended the steps. A teen wrung her hands at the bottom and said something to her. Claire paused to place her arm around the girl and listened. He watched and she nodded, squeezed the kid and led her back up the stairs. She glanced back at her car and held up her hand to ask him to give her a moment.

Smiling, she ran down the stairs and jogged to her vehicle. “Sorry. I asked Whiskey to pick you up in an hour,” Claire informed him breathlessly. Starting the car, she drove them down the mountain and pulled into the driveway of a pink Victorian house, beaming with pride at her dream home.

“Geez Doc, you seriously bought this? Did they pay you to take it off their hands? It resembles a mountain of the pink stomach medicine,” Ryder blurted out at the sight of atrocity. He cringed as he saw the horrendous colors. The window shutters and door were painted deep purple, while the trim and porch were outlined in dark yellow.

She reached over and punched him in the arm. “Hey! Don’t judge a book by its cover,” Claire chastised him good-naturedly. He grunted as his gaze floated back to the house, and Ryder raised his eyebrow in question.

Claire shoved him, laughed as she exited, and grabbed a box from the back seat. He did the same and followed her in. The sunlight from the front door showed off the gleaming hardwood floors. To the left, a wide staircase circled upstairs with the same polished hardwood and white trim. To the right, a large sunny room with a bay window stood empty with built-in bookcases. He followed her into the kitchen and admired the gleaming new appliances, and the navy-blue cabinets reaching the ceiling. She set her stuff on the island, and he placed his things beside hers.

“I take it back. It may have hope yet,” Ryder confessed as he scanned the room and walked back toward the hall to view a large area with a fireplace.

“Thanks. I love it. I’ll show you my favorite room.” Claire motioned for him to follow her toward the back of the house to a large bedroom with French doors. She walked across the room and threw them wide open. Beaming, Claire entered the screened-in patio, complete with a fireplace.

“I have my office in the front, which will double as a library. But I imagine working out here. I love the view. I hope they bring the new patio furniture in the first truck. I can’t wait to set it up.” She leaned against the doorframe.

Ryder didn’t say anything. He walked to the screen and gazed at the mountain. The entire view seemed like a painted picture. Wildflowers decorated the landscape in red, orange, and yellow. The majestic and stoic mountains sat in the background. It was easy to see why she loved the area.

“Can I show you upstairs? The men helped paint it for me, but I haven’t gotten to show it off,” she asked him. The excitement in her eyes lit up her face.

“Sure.”

They made their way up, and she pointed out the detailing on the staircase. The first room at the top of the stairs appeared large and spacious. The second, located at the front of the house, held a picture window and a seat along the bottom. The third room, at the back of the house, contained another set of French doors leading to a balcony.

“What do you plan to do with these rooms?” he asked, peering over the balcony’s edge.

She shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll turn one into a guest room. I haven’t decided on the other two. One day, I hope to have a family, maybe a nursery and another bedroom. I’ll work on them one step at a time.”

He turned to watch the expression change from happiness and excitement to sadness or loneliness.

“You did good, Claire. It’s beautiful,” he complimented her.

She grinned at him and something happened to his chest. He felt his heart skip a beat as he returned her smile.

The moving truck pulled into the driveway, and she practically skipped down the stairs to meet them. The men exited the truck and began unloading. Ryder headed toward the kitchen, where he noticed the lopsided cart sitting in the corner. He fished inside the box she carried in with the lamp, pulled out the screwdriver, and shook his head as he tore it apart and rebuilt it. If only he could rebuild his life as easily.