Wild Embrace (Wilder Irish #11) - Mari Carr Page 0,2

me know in no uncertain terms that I’d hurt her by trying to push her away. It was then I knew she was meant to be mine, and I vowed to never fail to appreciate the gift I’d been given. Sunday had given me her whole heart and I accepted the value of that priceless treasure, vowing to keep it safe. Sunday was worth more than all the riches on Earth. As are you, my lass. Never give up on your heart’s true love. Never settle for a man who doesn’t realize exactly how special, how extraordinary you are.”

“I won’t,” she said. “I promise.”

He smiled and gave her a kiss on the brow. “Do that, and I promise you will find everything you want. Happiness, romance, and true love.”

Chapter One

Darcy stood up when she heard a car door slam, the sound of voices coming from outside the house. Drifting to the front window, she saw Ryder Hagen emerging from the back of a car, thanking the driver. She spotted the familiar logo of a rideshare company emblazoned on a side window.

She couldn’t understand why Ryder was getting a cab home. He’d clearly driven his car to work this morning, given the fact it wasn’t in its usual spot in the driveway.

Maybe it broke down?

Then she watched him stumble slightly on the sidewalk, and the light went on. Ryder was drunk. While she’d only babysat for him a dozen or so times in the past year, she’d never seen him drunk.

She listened to him struggle to get his key in the lock for a moment before she realized he needed help. She walked over and threw the dead bolt for him, opening the door.

“Oh, hey, Darcy.” He peered over her shoulder but didn’t walk into the house. “Boys asleep?”

She nodded. “Yeah. For a couple hours now.”

“Good. Don’t want them to see me like this.”

She grinned, stepping aside as he entered. The two of them had a standard end-of-night routine that all took place in the front foyer of the house. He’d offer her money, she’d reject it, he’d insist, calling it beer money for college, and then she’d take it and head home.

So she was surprised when he walked right by her and straight to the family room.

Darcy paused for a moment, wondering if she should follow or leave. She really didn’t need or even want to be paid to take care of the boys. She’d do it for free, something she’d told Ryder over and over again. They were amazing kids, and she enjoyed spending time with them. She could simply call out good night, grab her coat, and be on her merry way. However, the Collins’ curiosity gene won out in the end, so she shut the door, following in his wake.

Ryder had dropped down into the recliner, and she suspected he was only a few minutes away from passing out. She’d recently moved into the apartment above her family’s business, Pat’s Irish Pub, so she was pretty familiar with the stages of intoxication, having witnessed all of them in some form or another in the patrons.

“Do you need anything?” she asked. “Water? Coffee?” She started to include aspirin on her list because she had a feeling his head was going to hurt like hell in the morning, but she didn’t necessarily want to point out she could tell he was wasted.

Ryder glanced over, frowning, and she got the sense he hadn’t remembered she was there. He shook his head. “No. Nothing to do but sleep it off. How were the boys?”

“Good as gold, as always. Clint had a little bit of a stomachache after dinner, but I gave him some ginger ale and rubbed his tummy and it passed quickly.”

She grinned, completely aware that Clint was faking the stomachache. It was something he’d done quite a few times when she was here.

“His mom always used to rub his stomach when he was sick.”

Darcy had come to that same conclusion, which was why she never questioned Clint’s illnesses, and instead gave him as much motherly love as she could. “My mom did the same for me.”

Ryder closed his eyes briefly. “He misses her,” he mumbled.

“That’s only natural.”

His only response was a grunt.

“I started reading Harry Potter to them, but they informed me that your British accent was better than mine.”

His eyelids lifted, and she sensed he was trying to focus on her and her comment. “I used to read that to…”

Ryder didn’t finish his thought, but he didn’t have