🗝️Detective Ryker Viltarin must uncover dark secrets before he loses not only his heart but also his life.🗝️
You're on your own, far from home
The wind is blowing in the top of the pines
A gloomy sky where the sun never shines
Deep...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Congratulations on having your store!" Eve and Ryker had barely opened the door to the cottage.
With a loud pop, Riona and little Liam set off the party poppers in their hands. Confetti and small streamers shot out of the cylindrical, colorful ones and scattered over Eve and Ryker as soon as they stepped through the doorway.
Ri and Liam were both wearing colorful cardboard hats and had even hung a banner in the kitchen that read 'Congratulations! There was no mistaking that Liam had been busy helping out, as there were colorful handprints all over the decoration.
Ryker's face behind Eve inevitably grimaced as bitterly as if a lemon had been shoved into his mouth without warning, and he slapped his hand over his face.
Eve, meanwhile, would have preferred to sink into the floor or turn on her heel. Her shoulders sank instantly, and her smile fell as quickly as an overripe apple from a tree. Suddenly, her face looked as blank as a dust-free pane of glass.
"I ... Sorry ... Maybe I should change my clothes," the young woman pressed out in a rough voice, stroking Liam's mop of hair as she passed and hurried to the stairs that led to the upper floor.
By now, Riona had also picked up the ball and pursed her lips. "Oh damn," she gasped, and her gaze fixed on Ryker, finding in his shake of the head the confirmation she had gleaned from the reaction.
"Aunt Ri...?" Liam asked, and the boy looked up uncomprehendingly at Riona, who was now also moaning and wiping her face. Then she pushed the party hat off her head and squatted down to turn Liam towards her.
"Your mommy didn't get the store, sweetheart," she explained quietly and saw Liam slumping his shoulders.
"Mommy doesn't have to be sad. It's no big deal. As long as we have each other, it's all good." The boy turned his head towards the stairs, and a surprisingly grown-up expression graced his childish features. "I'm going to comfort Mommy," he explained but didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he pulled his hat off his head and was on the first step shortly afterward.
"Are you sure she doesn't need a moment to herself?" Ryker asked thoughtfully, but Ri shook his head.
"I don't think anyone could comfort her better than Liam. I mean, let's be honest, who doesn't he make smile?" Ri said and patted Ryker's shoulder meaningfully. Her gaze wandered thoughtfully to the stairs and then to the door. "Hm... I'm just going into town. We don't have anything to drink in the house and ..."
