3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Scarlet

Lying awake, I found myself unable to fall asleep. Ryder's face played in my mind until the early morning hours. I don't know why I was allowing this man who I had only met once to have such a profound effect on me. I had found myself itching to learn more about this man. I knew I was going to push myself down a rabbit hole, but I just couldn't help myself.

Grabbing my phone, I began Googling Ryder. Articles and images popped up and biting my lip. I began to read about this man that had me beyond unnerved.

From what I had read, it was clear that Ryder came from a pretty shady past. Growing up in a motorcycle bar, he and his brothers, The Ravens, had been through their fair share of drama. He had spent his teen years and early into his twenties doing some small-town racing. It wasn't until he was sponsored by a local business that he began to get noticed. Now, he was a superstar on the track as he raced both motorcycles and cars. He was spotted with every young pop star in Hollywood.

Throwing my phone onto the bed next to me, I tried to erase the images I had just seen. Ryder was a playboy. The type of guy who would give you one hot and steamy night in bed and then move on to the next girl. I had already been burned by my ex-douche bag, and I wasn't interested in going down that road again.

Ryder would be fun to look at, but that was it.

Managing to close my eyes around two in the morning, I was able to get four hours of sleep before my alarm went off.

I had a busy day of getting the boys ready for school, making sure I got the house cleaned and ready for the next crew on shift and then helping the boys

Stretching, I rolled out of bed and stumbled down the hall to begin waking the five boys we currently had with us.

My first stop was to wake up the teenagers. They were the hardest to get out of bed. Opening the door, I flipped on the lights and heard Isaac and Ethan groaning. Isaac was on the top bunk, and he rolled over, digging his curly red hair into the pillow. Ethan was on the bottom bunk and sighed, knowing there was no use in trying to fight me. Once, I poured cold water on him for defying me.

"Wake up, boys," I called.

Moving out of the room, I went to the next room. I knew I would have to circle back around to ensure Ethan and Isaac were up. Opening the door, I turned on the light as Charlie sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Morning," he grumbled. He was ten-years-old but was far more mature than the older boys. He got his own room because he had a traumatic experience at a previous foster home where he shared a room with a group of older boys. We didn't talk about it, but he seemed calmer when he was alone.

Finally, I stopped at the last door. Opening it, I turned on the lights and waited for Christian's smile to brighten the room. Sleeping on one of the twin beds, he sat up and began moving about the room. Lucas rubbed his eyes as he, too, sat up.

Checking on the teens, I made sure everyone was up before I hurried downstairs. Allison, the other person on shift with me, was already making breakfast. Greeting her, I began packing lunches and checking backpacks for homework.

The schedule was on the wall by the backdoor. I glanced at the calendar to see what was in store for this afternoon.

Suddenly, a knock at the front door startled me. Sometimes, the boys in the neighborhood would come by and eat breakfast with our kids.

Rushing to the door, I grabbed a cup of coffee that Allison handed me as I went to the front door.

Opening, I expected to see smiling faces of a bunch of little boys. Instead, I was greeted by a rock-hard chest against a tight, gray t-shirt. As my eyes traveled up the body, I saw tattoos peeking out of his shirt and snaking up his neck.

"Good morning," Ryder greeted.

I was shocked. Looking down, I realized I was still in my hot pink pajama bottoms that had polka dots on them. My tank top was old and probably had stains on it. Again, this beautiful man gets to see me looking at my worst.

I wasn't sure what I had done to deserve such shitty Karma, but I needed to fix it quickly.

"Hi, I wasn't aware that you were stopping by," I rushed out.

Now, I was starting to freak out. Did Travis and Jenna plan something that I wasn't aware of?

Holding up his hands, Ryder stopped me. "Don't worry. They don't know I am here. After meeting the kids last night, I wanted to stop by again this morning," Ryder stated.

My heart began to melt as I realized he was here for the boys. Something he decided to do on his own, but because he was obligated to for some press junket or part of his contract with Travis's company.

"Oh shit, it's Ryder Raven," Michael yelled, as he began to run down the stairs.

"Language," I chastised, giving Michael the ‘look' he knew meant he was in trouble.

Ryder chuckled at Michael's response.

The other boys quickly descended the stairs and rushed Ryder.

"Hey, you all need to go eat your breakfast and get ready for school. Ryder can talk with you guys in just a moment," I yelled over the commotion.

There were a few arguments, but they all went to the kitchen. Ryder gave me a strange smile as he watched the boys drag themselves down the hall.

"You seem to have them under control," he mused.

"Well, they need structure and rules. I appreciate you stopping by, but they have a strict schedule this morning. Would it be possible for you to stop back by this afternoon after school?" I asked.

I could tell I had startled Ryder. I was sure he wasn't used to people telling him no. But we weren't living in his world. As excited as the guys were to see him, they needed to get ready for school. If he wanted to be part of All Our Children, then he would have to make time for them.

"To be honest, I didn't think about that. I just wanted to stop by and say hi," Ryder said, seeming a bit defensive. "You know, I have a busy schedule," he said.

The audacity of this guy had me fuming mad. How dare he show up here unannounced and act like I was out of line? He may run the show with his little entourage, but not here.

"Well, these boys have a bus to catch in ten minutes," I stated, crossing my arms and taking a sip of my coffee.

Ryder Raven might be painfully gorgeous, but I didn't care about his celebrity status. In this house, the only thing that mattered was the boys. The rest of the world might bow down to him, but I sure as hell didn't.

Nodding, Ryder just smiled at me. "Boys, I will stop by later today. Have a great day at school," he said, before turning back to me.

The boys all yelled goodbye to him, and he ate it up.

Rolling my eyes, I just watched Ryder as he put his dark shades back on. He turned to leave, but before he was out the door, he leaned in close to me, his breath tickling my neck.

"I bet you like to boss people around behind closed doors," he said, the meaning behind his words causing my insides to shake.

I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound emerged.

I watched him saunter down the walkway and to his shiny Harley-Davidson Street 750 Motorcycle parked along the curb. A few neighbors who were out already were gawking at him as he moved. They were just as starstruck as I had been, only I knew what a real jerk and pain in the ass this guy really was.

As I removed my eyes from his ass, hey, don't blame me, it was a sight to behold, I spotted something else drawing attention to Ryder.

Sitting on the back of his motorcycle was a tall, thin blonde with barely any clothing on. Her plump red lips were smiling as she watched a now pissed off Ryder head her way. Now I was sure I had fire pouring out of my eyes and ears. First, he thinks he can come to All Our Children and demand to be seen. Next, he didn't even have the decency to drop his, um, date off before? Shaking my head, I uttered a string of curse words as I saw her briefly glance back at me. I wasn't sure why, but seeing this bombshell look at me like I was trash, sent a wave of jealousy through me. I had no reason to be jealous. Ryder was a womanizer, and I didn't even know him. When he flirted with me, I had felt a spark, but of course, it was just his charm oozing out of him. I'm sure he had no problem persuading ladies into bed with him.

Slamming the door, I leaned up against it. I would show this guy that he didn't get to dictate us around. He would just see.