Stay (Love In Montana Book 5)

The door was opened by a maid. “Who’s there, Emma?” Asked Anastasia’s voice from the living room inside. 

“Who do you wish to meet, sir?” Asked the maid courteously. 

“Is Anastasia or Anson home?” Asked Ryder eagerly. 

“Anson sir has left for work but Anastasia is here,” informed the maid. “May I know your name sir?” Asked the maid.

“I’m Ryder Wilson,” said Ryder.

The maid excused herself and rushed inside. Ryder peered inside in case he caught Anastasia’s eyes. In a minute, Anastasia came towards the door, panting hard. 

“What a pleasant surprise, Blue! You haven’t informed me that you were arriving today. I just returned from the hospital five minutes back. You’re just on time,” said Anastasia. Ryder smiled following her into the house. 

“Aren’t you happy to see me? I took all the pains to talk to my parents and come here for you,” said Ryder. 

“Of course, I’m happy,” said Anastasia. 

“Then where’s my welcoming hug, Annie? You did not even kiss me,” he reminded her. 

“Shh, don’t say these things here. I don’t want aunt Vida to get another heart attack!” she said in a whisper. Ryder noted the tensed expression on her face. It seemed as if she was more stressed than happy seeing him in her house. 

“Has she been released from hospital?” asked Ryder curiously.

“Yeah, she isn’t doing very well. She’s totally bedridden now,” informed Anastasia. 

“Can I meet her?” asked Ryder. 

“No, please. Not yet. I’ll tell you when the time is right,” said Anastasia, pulling him with her. “Why don’t you freshen up? I’ll show him to your room,” said Anastasia.

“I’m not staying in any other room. I’ll be sleeping with you,” said Ryder stubbornly. They were engaged for God’s sake. Why couldn’t Anastasia be a little bolder? 

“First let us inform aunt Vida first. If she accepts our relationship, you can move in with me,” said Anastasia. Ryder sighed at the delay. He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t meet Vida Slovene now. 

“Is she sleeping? Why can’t I meet her now?” asked Ryder. Anastasia looked horrified and pulled him into a room. With the maids roaming around everywhere, it was very difficult to get any privacy. She closed the door and turned around to face Ryder. 

“I want you to be careful with what you tell aunt Vida. She doesn’t know anything about you. She hates men, marriage and relationships. I don’t know how she would take this news of my engagement. I just don’t want her to get another heart attack. I don’t want to be the cause of her death,” said Anastasia, looking gravely into his eyes. 

“We can’t hide from her forever, Annie. We have to gently give her the news of our relationship. Her thoughts are her personal matter. She cannot dump her thoughts and beliefs upon you. If she hates men that doesn’t mean that you would too. There’s no connection between being a good business woman and marriage. You can give equal attention to both, so how can she object?” Asked Ryder feeling frustrated.

Anastasia sighed looking stressed. She knew that he was right actually. “I know, Blue. Believe me, I hate all this already. If I could, I would have moved away to Fordsville with you,” said Anastasia, moving closer to him and clinging to his neck. Ryder wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She embedded her face into his chest. 

“I want you to be a part and parcel of our baby’s life. I want us to live together like everyone else. Just let Anson return home. I want you to meet aunt Vida in his presence. He can handle aunt Vida’s tantrums very well. He'll handle the situation well if anything goes wrong,” said Anastasia, releasing him and looking into his eyes.

“When is he returning?” asked Ryder eagerly.

“In the evening. He’s handling the business since I’m busy with aunt Vida as well as my pregnancy. I was very nauseous the whole morning, throwing up even water but I had to go to the hospital to speak to aunt Vida’s doctor,” said Anastasia sitting down on the bed, looking haggard. 

“You need to take care of your own health, Annie. I wish you could come away with me. Mom and granny and everyone else at home would take care of you,” said Ryder. “Can’t Anson handle the business till you’re better?” asked Ryder eagerly. 

“Anson is figuring it out. He hasn’t studied Fashion Designing like I have. He’s very intelligent but still requires my help. Aunt Vida and mom gave me hands on training which Anson didn’t have,” said Anastasia. 

“Hmm, quite a complicated situation. So, did you eat anything at all?” he asked her. Anastasia shook her head.

“Just toast and soup for lunch. I don’t have any appetite for food,” said Anastasia. Ryder looked upset and displeased.

“Toast and soup the whole day? Really? You’ll faint in no time. C’mon, I’ll make you some dinner,” said Ryder, shaking his head. 

“No, no, you don’t need to. We have a chef and his team to make meals for us,” informed Anastasia.

“Despite that you’re going hungry. I’ll make something that you can eat, normal home cooked nutritious food. You won’t throw up at all. Trust me,” he said, opening the door and walking out. Anastasia felt dizzy but she somehow led him to the huge, luxurious kitchen. Just as she had mentioned, the head chef and his team of uniformed workers were busy preparing something. They looked up with surprise seeing Ryder and Anastasia. Anastasia cleared her throat.

“Dean, this is Ryder. He wants to make something for dinner,” she said awkwardly, making the chef’s mouth hang open as he took in Ryder’s easy country charm. 

“Excuse me? What exactly are we doing here then?” asked the man called Dean, taking offense immediately. 

“I just want to make something for my fiancée since she’s pregnant and hasn’t eaten anything the whole day apart from soup and toast. I have no idea what you’re doing here,” said Ryder in a calm voice. The chef glared at Ryder, sizing him up like he had lost his mind. 

“Who gave you the audacity to talk to me in that manner? Go back to your horses, this place isn’t for the likes of you. Fiancée? Which fiancée are you talking about?” asked the chef with a sarcastic laugh while all his assistants joined in. They all eyed the pregnant maid vacuuming the dining area. 

“He’s talking about me, Dean. The lunch you prepared was so spicy as always that I couldn’t even have a bite. Ryder has every right to order around each and everyone here. If you have a problem, you can resign right away. Aunt Vida cannot have your food and neither can I,” said Anastasia, sternly. Dean went reddish fury and immediately stormed out of the kitchen. 

“I’ll email you my resignation. Please clear my dues. I’m leaving with my team,” he yelled over his  shoulder, gesturing towards his team to follow him out. All the men followed him out while Anastasia stood with a grim expression on her face. The rest of the maids also stood by watching the drama. 

Ryder walked into the kitchen after they left. “I’ll clean up the place before you start, sir,” said one of the maids.

 “I’ll make whatever dinner you want me to make, sir,” offered another. 

“Relax, I’ve got this. Just help me clean up the place,” said Ryder. Anastasia’s head swooned and she clutched at the counter. Ryder rushed forward and picked her up in his arms while all the maids gasped with shock. 

“Where’s your room? You need to lie down. I’ll make something for you and bring it over,” said Ryder.

“Blue, everyone is staring at us,” she whispered. Ryder grinned and looked around. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll treat you all to dinner when we get married,” he said with a grin. The maids smiled excitedly and congratulated him sincerely. Anastasia gaped at them all. How could he win them over in a matter of seconds? 

“Emma, please help Ryder with dinner,” she said, laying her head on his broad shoulder, feeling relaxed to have him around. 

“Yes, ma’am. Please take care. We will all help him,” ensured Emma. Ryder laid Anastasia on her bed and kissed her forehead. 

“Wait for your food. Don’t doze off. I’ll be right back,” he said, jogging towards the kitchen. 

“Ryder sir, even Madame Slovene needs a bland dinner. She hasn’t been able to eat much and Dean never listened to me,” said Emma as he entered the kitchen.

“Sure, I’ll make something for her. Can you get me her food chart?” asked Ryder. When one of the maids handed him the dietary restrictions and food chart, Ryder read through it intently. The next few minutes, a few of the maids helped him while the others stared at what he was making with interest. Ryder remembered his aunt Kathy make chicken and lemon casserole and he went ahead with it. Next he made a delicious yet light Carrot and Coriander soup and some soft rice. 

“This looks delicious, dude,” said Anson as he strode into the kitchen on his way into the house. “When did you arrive?” asked Anson. 

“In the evening,” smiled Ryder, both of them giving each other a small hug. 

“Who’s food is that?” he asked Ryder with interest. 

“That’s Annie’s,” he said, as one of the maids carried it towards Anastasia’s room.

“The other one is for aunt Vida,” said Ryder as Emma carried it towards her room. 

“Did you meet her?” asked Anson. Ryder shook his head. “Then come along. I’ll introduce you to her,” he added, pulling Ryder along with him towards aunt Vida’s room.