Lost Her (Lost #1) (5 page)

I beam up a look at Ryan with a huge smile, “Ryan and I can be ready when you are. We should play it by ear since your friends may have jet lag and need to sleep in.”

“Oh right, right,” Parker says cheerfully, “I am so excited to see everyone.”

“We are going to the park on Saturday?” Ryan asks with an inquisitive look on his face.

Rosalie chimes in as she places nachos on the bar, “Not just any park, but our National Park. The Hitoy
Cerere, it is just one of many beautiful parks here in this country. That jungle is filled with pristine waterfalls and lush vegetation. This is an outstanding opportunity to experience uncharted territory. You will have great fun. Olivia and Parker go there a lot to hike and swim.”

Ryan smiles and nods with approval, “Does sound breathtaking but are there ticks?”

I start laughing uncontrollably, “Ryan is not much the outdoorsman type and fears ticks. But yes, Ryan, we have chiggers, mosquitoes, ticks and bees. Just like back home. Pick up bug spray when you go to the market with Rosalie in the morning.” Ryan just nods in approval with big open eyes.

Parker adds, “Spiders like you have never seen before as well.” Ryan’s eyes open wider and he starts that itching thing he does when he just hears the word bugs. I grab his hand to stop his mental image and wave my other hand at Rosalie to give Ryan another shot. We finish dinner while are chatting about the wildlife Ryan might
get to see this weekend. I pay the bill and walk over to the end of the bar to give Rosalie a big hug. She hugs back in silence giving me a gentle kiss to the cheek. Ryan and I say our goodbyes and start walking up the hill to go home.

We walk silently for a while and Ryan grabs my hand. “What was will all the hugging and kissing back there?” he questions like he is confused and just saw two women hugging for the first time in his life.

“Oh, I always do that when saying goodbye or hello. The culture here is different than home.” I say to him softly.

“My mother always tried to hug you and you were quite distant to her,” Ryan states.

“Ryan, I feel more comfortable here than I did with your family. They always made me feel like I was a poor tomboy gold digging farm girl and had no right being with their son. They never accepted me and now with Briar, they never will,” I speak meekly.

“You are right, they never understood you. How you could be so competitive in a man’s’ world and not be a little housewife. They have no idea what happened with us and the Briar rules. They would never understand or forgive you. I would rather keep them in the dark forever than cause you more pain. I, on the other hand, forgive you and always loved your tough sense of independence,” he finishes as he lifts my hand to kiss it.

All I could muster out of my mouth was, “Thank you.” We walk the rest of the way home quietly as we listened for animals. We approach the door and I fiddle with the keys to open the door. We enter inside with the dogs running over to their food bowls. Ryan motions to the bowls wanting to feed them. I point to the cabinet
and head off to the bathroom to wash up and change for the night.

While I am washing away the sun block from my face, I keep thinking about this conversation I am about to have with Ryan about his intentions. I walk back into the living room and Ryan is nowhere to be found. I go to the bedroom and Ryan is asleep on my bed. He has one dog under his arms and it appears that Ryan is snoring already. I do not have the heart to wake him to have him move to the couch. I just grab an additional blanket and climb into bed. Ryan has a tendency to sleep on top of the blankets and once he get cold he starts rolling in them to keep warm. I am exhausted too and fall into a quick sleep listening to the wind in the trees.

“Rye, get up honey. You are going to make Rosalie extremely mad if you are late,” I say as I softly place gentle kisses on his forehead. He stretches his arm up above his head and straightens his legs. I start to push myself off the bed when Ryan wraps his arm around my waist and pull me down on top of him. Then with a slight jolt to the left, he flips me over to where he is half on top of me with his one leg over mine. He starts to nuzzle my neck and I feel his erection on my thigh. I place my hand on his very strong muscular back and trace my fingers up his back to run my finger
s through his thick black hair. He moans and then I feel him moving his groin back and forth to make me completely aware that he is interested in pursuing more. His mouth moves along my neck up to my ear and he grazes his teeth along my cartilage. Now I am lost in the moment feeling completely warm and an internal aching deep within me. I run my hands down his back and grasp his rock hard ass and start to massage his backside.

He whispers in my ear, “I see you found your favorite part of me.” He just brought my excitement up another level
as I dig my finger nails in to his skin and he lets out a deep growl. He places his lips above mine without kissing me, teasing me with a promise that a deep kiss is soon to follow. He turns his head giving me access to his ear. Before I can nibble on his lobe, he suddenly jumps up out of bed. “It that the time? Shit! I got 20 minutes to get to the Cantina,” he says startled pointing at the alarm clock.

I start laughing at his shock with amusement, “Rye, we will take the Land Cruiser down today. I assume you are going to buy supplies. This way it will be easier for you to get the groceries home. I have the coolers outside in the truck already. Go shower and brush those teeth,” I finish with a wink and still sounding breathless from our intimate moment. He runs off to go shower, leaving me flustered on the bed. If I just didn’t get ready beforehand, I would have joined him in the shower.

Ryan
- I sure do not understand why Livi walks back and forth to work when she has this perfect Land Cruiser. I know she will say to give the dogs exercise or to save on gas money, but this truck is a fun off-roading beast. She always liked the finer vehicles. Her Lexus truck at home was her daily driver and in the garage was her 1998 Mercedes convertible that her father Henry bought her when we graduated from Seton Hall. She was always fickle about putting mileage on the car. Maybe, when I get back I can do some exploring before I prepare dinner for Livi tonight. I should have gotten pen and paper from Livi so that I can make a shopping list. Ah, I will just use my phone while Rosalie is driving. I was going to make a lasagna, salad and cheesy garlic bread. Also, a few bottles of a nice dry red wine for tonight as well. I just want us to stay in the house tonight and talk.

The last few nights we have been so occupied with other things that we have not had time to get reacquainted. This morning was getting close to the re-acquainting that I wanted to do and Livi seemed very much wanting me as well. I know our marriage is far from over and Livi does seem happy here. That is all I ever wanted for her, is to be happy. The move, the new job and her students seem to have brought her back from the dark depression that she was in. I will tell her tonight that she was right all along to want a change of scenery from all the bad memories and my anger.

I pull up to the Cantina and see Rosalie with a big box truck. I jump out of the truck walking toward her when she points back to the Land Cruiser. I nod at her fully understanding her non-verbal message. I walk to the back of the Cruiser and take out 3 coolers. This is overkill I think to myself. Does Livi really think I am really going to purchase three coolers of food today on this trip to the market? I place them in the box truck that has close to 20 coolers much larger than Livi’s coolers all stacked and bungee corded together. Rosalie is waiting for me in the truck and I climb up in to get this trip started. Rosalie smiles at me and hands me a big insulated cup of coffee with some good but has an odd taste to it. I look over and nod with a smile, “What is in the coffee?” 

“Oh that is butter pecan ice cream that I need to use up from the freezer before it
gets burned,” she smiles brightly.

I take another
gulp, “Good thinking and it tastes really good.”

She drives up the gravel road and the truck is quite bouncy
. She looks over to me, “Butter pecan is my guilty pleasure. I fell in love with it when I lived in the States.”  I pull out my phone and start typing a list of shopping items. Rosalie is curious in what I am doing and she asks, “I know you do not have a signal yet, so what are you typing?”

I smile look
ing up from typing, “Grocery list. I am going to make a tray of my famous lasagna tonight for Livi.”

She throws her head back with a deep laugh, “How do you plan on cooking that? On the charcoal grill near her front door? Livi does not have an oven.” I think to myself and I am angry that Rosalie is correct with the no oven in the house. Rosalie noticed my look of defeat and she offers me a solution, “Ryan, I will let you use my ovens, but you have to make 2 trays for me to serve for Sunday dinner specials.”

I nod in excitement, “That is a deal and you like lasagna?”

She
nods over and smiles, “Yes, when I lived in the States, we used to like to go to Olive Garden for their Lasagna Classico. That is very yummy.”

I look at my phone again at my list then turn to her, “Us too with the kids, we used to go to Olive Garden all the time. I got lazy and overwhelmed with my career that I stopped cooking. Livi’s always raved about my cooking
as if it were a big treat and said that I made the best lasagna.” I can see why Livi is so attached to this woman; she has a lot in common with us.

“Take sausage off your list, I have pounds in the freezer. You just need to take it out of the casings,” she replies, “Also, Livi told me to take you to the money exchange first
. You need to pay in our currency or you are going to get taken when paying with dollars.” Rosalie is playing with the radio in the truck trying to tune in music. She gets disgusted turning off the static. “I guess we are not close enough yet to get music,” she grimaces.

“How long is the drive?” I ask noticing how slow we are going.

“It is about eighty-eight kilometers to Mercado Central in Limón or for you Americans, fifty-five miles. Roughly about three hour drive as longs as we do not encounter road hazards,” she studies the gauges in the truck.

“Three hours, let me drive! We will get there much faster.” I look over to Rosalie with a shocked expression on my face.

She bellows out a huge shocking deep laugh, “Ah no, I saw the way you drove up in Livi’s truck today. You are hard on vehicles and here you must watch road to make sure your tire stays on the rim until you reach the highway. Extra tires are hard to come by and this truck has to last until your next child is born.”

My heart just sank with that American cliché, “There will be no next born for us. When Briar became a terror at 4 years old a lot like Livi’s earthy country good ole boy brothers, we knew that we had our hands full. With the stress of the child terrors and our careers, we only had one release and that was sexually in our bed. We both got fixed to guarantee no more accidental babies.”

Rosalie grunted and sounded like she disagreed with our decision, “That is very sad. Livi never told me. Maybe she is more private than I thought. I am sorry, I never factored in age for you both either. I always look to Livi as being decades younger than me with plenty of time, but I do know that we are only about twenty years apart.” I nod, but not sure what I am agreeing to.

We drive in silence until we hit the highway. Then my phone lights up like a Christmas tree with all the e-mails, text messages and voicemails coming in. My father-in-law must have called 80 times since I have been in a dead zone. I am too worried to phone him back. I am not sure what Katie has told him or anything about Livi moving on with a surfer boy.

Just as I switch over to read e-mail, my phone rings and the caller ID is working. It is Katie, so I answer. “Katie, what is going on? Are you doing well?”

She shrieks, “Daddy, Daddy, I am with Grandpa. He is going to send out the hit men if you do not return his calls. Grandpa is cursing you out at this moment.”

I laugh fully knowing Livi’s dad is a piece of work. “Honey, you know it is a dead zone where Mommy lives. I am going to the market with Rosalie and we just came into phone range.”

“Ah yea, so I know. Shopping Daddy, really? You do not shop! So how is Mommy doing with her blonde Parker friend? Are they dating?” sounding muffled like she do
es not want to be overheard by Grandpa.

I laugh, “You are such a freaky drama queen. Your mother is not shacking up with the surfer boy. He might
have wanted to, but mommy loves me. You’re silly to get me all upset to come down here. I will deal with you when I come home. Let me speak with Grandpa now, please.”

Katie responds meekly, “Daddy, please call Grandpa on his phone. You are going to run up my minutes.”

My blood pressure soars. “I pay your phone bill; just put Grandpa on the phone now!”

Kat
ie whispers in to the phone, “Okay, so don’t yell at me when you get the bill. I love you.”

I hear muffling in the background and a heated Henry speaks, “That you Ryan? What the hell is going on down there? You better not be hurting her or threatening divorce again. Katie told me everything. I am coming down there. Olivia needs me and I need to see my little girl.”

Now I have to tread lightly or Henry will be on the first plane down here, “Livi is doing really good and she is so happy. She is teaching and has a very small home. I love her as always and I am only doing what is best for her.”

He speaks into the phone quietly so only I can hear, “Margret left me. She was mad that I will not travel with her and let my children live their own lives. I can never turn my back on my family. Katie told me where you both are and I am coming down.”

“Sure, wonderful, but Livi’s home is smaller than your kitchen back home,” I fade out as Rosalie grabs my knee
.

She speaks assertively, “I have extra rooms in my home. Livi’s dad can stay with me while you are doing work on your marriage. She needs a support system right now on her own grounds.”

I faded out to what Henry was saying but then I interject, “Henry, come on down. A good wonderful friend of Livi’s just said you can stay in in a room at her home.” 

Henry’s voice became uplifted as he spoke, “I will see you both in a few days. Can
you pick me up from the Limón International Airport?”

I look toward Rosalie for approval, “Yes, as long as you e-mail me your flight plan within the next 4 hours. If I do not send back an e-mail response, just keep resending until I do. The cell
ular towers are not very good down here.” I know that Henry, Livi’s dad is this very well-connected retired State Attorney General. He will be on a flight first thing in the morning. Henry says a quick final word as he normally does and the phone goes silent. I put my phone down in my lap and Rosalie looks over to me with such caring eyes.

“Very good, her father is coming down to make sure you save what you have grown all these years.” I laugh, knowing that Rosalie means the best.

“His woman of almost thirty years dumped him for being too family oriented. She waited for him for so long and to break the tie now. Henry will not have her to grow old with. I feel for her, I really do. She was a really nice lady to help this man raise his children after his wife passed away in a car crash. You would feel or think she knew him and how he is always going to be there for his kids.” I trailed off. Rosalie only nodded since she already internally knew the pain too well herself. I do not know too much about Rosalie, but she seemed to have taken to Livi and her family.

“I feel sad for him too, for them both,” she sighed.

We drove the rest o
f the way in silence until we draw closer to the city. We stopped at the bank so I could exchange some money then off to the market. Rosalie is laying down ground rules while driving over to the market. As to where to meet if I get lost from her and areas to stay away from if we do get separated. I pretty much knew I was going to stick to her like glue since I do not know the language. Rosalie parallel parks that big box truck on a side road like a professional driver. She locks up the truck and we start walking. We turn the corner and I see the market. It reminds me of the Paterson Farmers Market that my mom would drag me to all the time as a kid and smelled quite the same too, that sour milk and rotting fruit smell.

I followed Rosalie into a packaged foods store which also sold pasta. As Rosalie is waiting for her order to be rolled out, I start to gather my ingredients for my dinner. I find almost everything I need including foil pans. I go to check out and the man rings up everything. He speaks to me in Spanish and I call over to Rosalie for help. She swings her long pony tail over her shoulder laughing as she walks over to help me settle my bill. “Ryan, maybe you should be purchasing a program to learn the language. Give him those two bills,” she points to my money. I smile and hand the money to the man. Rosalie speaks to him in Spanish and they are laughing. I know that they are laughing at me. I should download a program to learn Spanish. Rosalie is right about that fact if I plan on living here. The long flat cart comes out of the back. Rosalie gestures to the door as I push the cart down the street back to the truck. We load the truck and return the cart. We hit a few other places and I find almost everything that I want. Rosalie turns to me, “What else do you need?”