Page 55 of Finding Love

After giving Nick access to his laptop and the security footage, he and Brook headed into their room while Nick worked in his office downstairs.

Brook had set her cousin up to sleep in one of the guest rooms on the other side of the house. It was interesting to see Nick’s reaction to the massive place. At first, he’d been shocked, then impressed, then he’d seemed almost proud of Ryder. As if he’d been happy Ryder wasn’t just some beach bum with only a van and a French bulldog to his name.

“Nick has always been extremely scrupulous. Trust me, he’ll get answers,” Brook assured him as they lay in bed.

Sunday morning, the three of them sat out on the patio and ate breakfast in the warm summer sunlight.

Nick ran through a handful of his theories, each with their own proof to back them up. But most of the evidence was weak and didn’t really explain why someone would break in and try and steal his laptop.

“There was this,” Nick finally said after they’d run through all of the ideas. He turned Ryder’s laptop screen towards them. “I found it in an obscure file buried deep in your system files.”

In the middle of a screen was a file labeled Basement.

“What is it?” Ryder asked. Had it been on his laptop? He couldn’t ever remember seeing the file before. Maybe it was something the IT department knew about?

“It’s an encryption file,” Nick answered. “This isn’t really my area of expertise, more Josh’s. If you want, I can shoot him over a copy and see if he can break into it.”

Ryder remembered meeting Josh Williams, founder and owner of Internal Security, on the beach when Brook had taken him out sailing. He had liked the guy and if Nick and Brook trusted him, then there was no reason for Ryder not to.

“Sure, send it.” Ryder nodded, then took Brook’s hand. “My crew has everything ready”—he motioned towards the boat—“and Brook and I were going to head out for a few hours. Care to join us?” he asked Nick.

Nick glanced over the yard at the large boat and then sighed. “I have to be at work at five tomorrow morning and should really be heading back home. I’ll take a raincheck, though.”

“Sounds good,” Ryder agreed.

Nick sent Josh the file, then stood up and hugged Brook and shook Ryder’s hand.

“We’ve all heard you’re closing on the old place on Ocean View tomorrow. How soon are you planning on moving in?” Nick asked.

“We’re going to be heading back soon. We have a meeting with Parker to go over some design ideas he’s sent us before he starts the work,” Ryder answered.

They had discussed the need for them to be there to oversee the work. Brook had been going back and forth with Parker about ideas. He supposed since she’d spent all her life dreaming about living there, she’d been saving them up for years. Every idea that she had shown him, he liked. Then again, interior decorating wasn’t his strong suit.

“As soon as I wrap up a few things here, we’ll head back down there,” he added.

“Good, it’ll be nice to see some love put into that old place.” Nick locked eyes with Ryder. Instantly, Ryder understood what the man was hinting at.

Was it that obvious how he felt about Brook, how they felt about each other? Either way, it was nice getting approval from one member of her family. Nick coming all this way to lend a hand certainly indicated that approval.

“I’ll get out of your way so you can go enjoy the rest of the weekend,” Nick added. “Thanks for the mini vacation.”

After walking Nick out to his car and saying their goodbyes, they made their way towards the water.

He helped Brook onto his father’s yacht and gave her a tour of the massive vessel. He’d thought of selling it many times, but each time, something had come up to distract him. Now he was thankful it was still parked there.

“Tell me about her name,” Brook asked, settling in as the captain slowly steered them away from the dock. “Missing Grace?”

His father had never named the yacht, so Ryder had given it a name after his father’s death. He took a deep breath. “My mother’s name is Grace. She left the picture when I was two. I’ve thought to look for her for years.”

“Why haven’t you?” Brook asked, settling further against his chest.

He shrugged. “I always thought that if she wanted anything to do with me, she would come knocking on my door. After my father’s death was televised around the country, I figured if she came knocking then, it would only be because she wanted another handout. And that was something I couldn’t bear.”

Brook was quiet for a moment before saying, “What do you know about her?”

“Not much. She was more than ten years younger than my father when they married. She’d come from a wealthy family who, according to my father, had stumbled on hard times. Their marriage had been one of… convenience for them. Shortly after my birth, my father pulled away from her for some reason. The divorce didn’t take long to settle. He claimed he gave her and her family everything they wanted to guarantee they would never bother him or me again.”

“And she hasn’t,” Brook said, and he could hear the sadness in her tone.