Chapter 13

An hour of bumbling around in the morning while she attempted to get dressed, grab food, and pack her bag made her realize how annoying this whole sprained ankle thing was going to be. She hadn't thought much about it yesterday, but when she was a kid and sprained her ankle, her parents had of course driven her everywhere, made her dinner, and carried her stuff for her. Being injured while living on your own was much more difficult, and that made Jo vow to be a lot more careful when it came to nefarious tree roots in the future.

Jo sighed as she glanced with longing at the coffee maker and then down at her phone. 7:27. Nope, no time, Well, at least she knew for tomorrow how long she was going to need to get ready. Maybe the little food court at the school would have a coffee place or, if she was really desperate, a McDonald's with hopefully passable coffee.

She made her way to the foyer with her lunch, then sat down to put her shoes on. Just in time too, because as she finished tying her laces, there was a knock at the door. Jo started up--she hadn't expected him to come to the door. She thought he'd just honk from the driveway the way her ride had done when she was in high school.

"Just a minute," she called, standing up and leaning forward to turn the lock. The handle was just out of her reach, so she hopped a step and grabbed the doorknob, pulling it open. "Come in," she said.

Ryker carefully stepped through, while she hopped out of the way and back toward the bench to grab her bag. "I got it," Ryker said, swiping it out from under her hand. "You got the crutches, remember?"

Ugh, those blasted things. Jo heaved a sigh, causing Ryker to laugh.

"Come on," he said, holding the door open for her. "I promise you'll survive this."

"That's debatable," she said, her voice almost as growly as Ryker's had been yesterday. But she hobbled forward, then locked the door after he came through. Turning back around and glancing up the driveway, she wasn't surprised to see that Ryker drove a truck--half the people that lived here seemed to. It was an old Dodge, with a nice blue color that seemed to reflect the sky. "Nice truck," she said, making her way slowly down the steps. Ryker hovered while she did, but at least he didn't try to swoop her up into his arms again. If he had, she might've brained him with one of her crutches. Accidentally, of course.

"Thanks," he said, looking up for a moment. He continued with obvious pride," my dad and I fixed it up a few years ago." Jo would've thought the mayor's son would have some sort of flashy ride, but she supposed that she didn't actually know what his parents did. Or maybe neither of them was the mayor. Maybe he just liked fixing cars.

"You like working on cars?" she asked as they made their way to the truck.

Ryker nodded. "When I have time. I just like fixing things in general. Good to feel useful, you know?"

"So you're saying you understand why I hate being stuck on crutches right now?"

His mouth twisted a little in amusement as she caught him. "Well of course I do," he said, opening the truck door for her. He held his free hand up as she glared at him. She just basically said she wanted to be independent! "Not helping you in, just holding the door open like any gentleman would do."

Fine. Whatever. She used the handle above the door to pull herself in the truck, then brought the crutches in next to her on the bench. Before Ryker could close the door she held out her arms for her bag. Thankfully, he handed it over before moving around to get in on the driver's side.

Once they were headed down the driveway, Ryker glanced over at her. "So what time is your first class today?"

""9:30, you?"

"8:30," he said. That explained the 7:30 am pick-up. Well, at least she wasn't causing him to have to wake up early. She'd been a bit worried about that. "Do you drink coffee? I was going to stop and grab a cup on the way if you don't mind." He shoved a hand through his hair. "I' need all the help I can get to stay awake through these early lectures."

Jo laughed. "Actually, it's a blessing you need coffee because I ran out of time this morning. I am 100% down for that." Even if she had managed to make her coffee this morning, who ever said no to another cup of coffee anyway?

They drove into town and headed straight for Ms. Blue's coffee shop. Ah, so he did know this shop. Well, it did seem to be the only one in town, so it made sense. When they drove up, she thought that he was going to offer to go in for her, so she swiftly got out before he could even try. The look he gave her when he joined her on the steps told her he had been planning that very thing.

There was a young man at the coffee counter who took their orders: another iced mocha for her and a plain black coffee for Ryker. She guessed she shouldn't be surprised; it was practical and no-nonsense, which seemed to be a very "Ryker" style of beverage.

While they waited, Jo roamed around the shop, looking at some of the things that were for sale. Her crutches made it a little difficult to maneuver, but she managed. She eyed a creepy baby doll that looked like it came straight out of a horror movie before moving on to look at the antique jewelry in a glass case. Some of it was audacious and obnoxious, but a lot of the pieces were elegant or cleverly crafted.

"You like this kind of stuff?" She knew Ryker had been occasionally glancing her way, but now he was coming toward her, looking from her to the glass case. He tapped the case. "It's old."

"It is an antique shop," she said, shrugging. "And I think it's cool. It all has history."

Ryker didn't seem impressed. "I guess..."

Jo didn't think Ryker seemed like the type to wear jewelry of any kind, not even rings or a simple chain. She, on the hand, did enjoy a pretty necklace or nice bracelet or simple ring. Nothing too loud.

"How about this stuff?" She stepped over to a pile of old farming equipment. Adjusting her crutches, she picked up an old pick-axe. "Is this more your speed?"

The corner of his mouth turned up, like he didn't want to smile but couldn't help it. "That would fall apart the moment you tried to use it." He reached over and took the pick-axe from her. "You might hurt yourself with it."

Jo pursed her lips. "I'm not clumsy."

"What about all that stuff you said yesterday?"

"Those were accidents," Jo stated, "In fact, I was in gymnastics for five years. I'm flexible." The smile that curved across Ryker's face made her smack him in the arm. "Don't get any ideas."

"I wasn't," he protested, but she knew that he was lying.

They got their coffee and arrived at the college parking lot a few minutes later. Jo realized quickly that she should've installed a drink holder on her crutches or something; she wasn't sure how she was supposed to carry her bag and her drink.

Ryker apparently had the same thought because he grabbed her bag from her while she was fumbling with the crutches, then held out his hand for the drink.

"You have to get to class," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"So hang out outside my class while you finish your coffee," he said. "You said your class isn't until 9:30 and they've got some of those big lounge chairs in the common area there."

It wasn't the worst idea. But-- "Fine, but if you're carrying my coffee, I can manage my bag. It goes on my back, no hands needed."

Ryker looked like he wanted to argue, but she guessed the need to get to class kept him from going into debate mode, as he gave in and handed her the bag back after she passed over the coffee. Jo almost regretted it, because it put extra weight on the crutches, and damn, but it made her armpits hurt like hell. She was going to burn these sticks of evil when she was done with them.

Determinedly keeping her cool outwardly though, she looked up at him. "Okay, I'm ready, lead on."

He hadn't mentioned what his first class was, but by the looks of things, they were heading to the humanities building. History maybe? No wonder he struggled to stay awake through the lecture. Jo had heard college got more interesting after you finished your gen ed classes, but unfortunately, it was mostly gen ed your first year. But maybe college gen ed would be better than high school gen ed. She supposed in an hour or so she'd have a better idea.

When they got to the building, Ryker waited for her to get settled before setting her coffee on the little table next to the chair she was in. "Go, I'm good," she said, shooing him away. He had maybe three minutes to get to class, he was cutting it close.

"Okay," he said, still hesitating as he looked at her doubtfully. Jo crossed her arms and he got the hint, smiling for a second before turning away. He held up his hand in a wave as he walked down the hall and Jo couldn't seem to help the smile that dashed across her face for a moment. She sighed and shook her head. No, she was not going there. That was not the plan when she moved here. Distance, that's what she came here for. No personal connections.