Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Pixelberry and I claim no ownership of them. Enjoy!
“Are you excited?” Riley turned in her seat next to Drake on the plane.
“I’m very excited.” He smiled wider than ever. “I haven’t been back to the ranch since I was a teenager. It’s been 10 years, give or take. I miss my mom. Savannah, too.”
“I’m sure they miss you, Drake.”
He gave her a half smile and rested his head back onto the seat, almost instantly fell asleep. Between all the traveling they’d been doing, they hadn’t had the chance to catch up. Riley leaned on the wall of the cabin and stared out the window. It wasn’t long before she tired and she was met with a peaceful drowsiness of her own. She held Drake’s hand and dozed off for most of the remainder of the flight.
14 hours after leaving Cordonia, they landed on blistering tarmac in Dallas, Texas. The hot, muggy air made Riley feel like she was walking into a sauna as they left the plane. The saturated air was not much different from the thick dampness that had started enveloping Cordonia as summer set in over the Mediterranean. They went down to baggage claim and waited for their things. While they stood there, a voice called out.
“Drake!” A curvy woman with light brown hair collided with Drake as she threw her arms around him, a gesture he happily returned. “You look so good big brother.” Savannah stepped back and studied him. Riley quickly noticed her eyes were the same warm brown Drake’s were.
“It’s good to see you, sis.” He pulled her in for another hug.
“And you must be Riley!” She turned to Riley and scooped her into a tight embrace. “You’re just as beautiful as Drake said.” Drake blushed and itched the back of his head, looking around the room.
“You talk about me, huh?” Riley grinned at him.
“Oh, you’re practically all he talked about.” Savannah’s southern accent was thicker than Riley had expected. Drake’s Greek accent had never been particularly harsh and was almost nonexistent at times, save for when he got riled up. The same was to be said of most nobles who lived in Cordonia. But when he and Savannah spoke to each other, their voices suddenly sounded drastically different.
“Well color me flattered.”
“Oh! There’s our stuff. I’ll… er… go grab it.” Drake quickly went and retrieved their things from the spinning corral and they headed out the door to Savannah’s waiting SUV.
They pulled up a long dirt driveway to a large, beautiful farm home. The dust was still a thick plume when Riley hopped out to examine the house, which was white with red shutters and a weathered porch wrapped around the entirety of it. Wooden steps creaked under her feet as they walked in. The smell of fresh bread and lemon wafted through the air. It reminded her of the Parisian bakery her and Hana had snuck off to. Riley inhaled deeply and smiled.
“That smells amazing!”
“Mom’s probably making dinner.” Savannah nodded towards the kitchen as she put her purse on an end table.
It was weird being in this house. Before Cordonia, Riley had her small apartment in Brooklyn. The house was certainly quaint compared to a palace. But then again, most places were. It was beautifully decorated in rustic odds and ends. It was the kind of home that wrapped you in warmth the second you stepped in. Riley noticed a family portrait on the mantel. She walked over to take a closer look at little Drake and Savannah positioned in front of their parents, Drake’s dad’s hand resting on his sons shoulder.
“Your dad?” Riley pointed to the picture. As if she had to ask. The similarities between them were striking. Drake looked like a carbon copy of his father, from the color of their hair to the squareness of their jaw. She was even willing to bet they were about the same height. That 6 foot 2 frame certainly did the Walker men an incredible justice. Riley hid a smile as she imagined one day having their own son and him looking just like his dad.
“Yep. That’s Jack.” Drake walked up behind her and placed a hand in the small of her back, studying the photograph with her.
“You look just like him.”
“Mom used to say the same thing.”
“That’s because you do! It’s actually kind of insane. And Savannah, you look just like your mom.”
“It’s almost like we’re the product of them or something.” Drake teased. She playfully punched him in the arm.
Riley had started moving farther down the wall when a woman in a beautiful sun dress came around the corner. She stopped short when she saw Drake. He grinned ear to ear and walked towards her. She wrapped him in a tight hug, tears in her eyes.
“I’ve missed you so much, baby boy.”
“I know. I missed you, too, mom. I’m sorry I didn’t come back sooner.”
Drake’s mom pulled away, wiping a tear from her cheek. Her eyes quickly fell on Riley, who was still standing by the fireplace.
“My, my. This lovely lady must be Riley. I’m so happy to finally meet you, darlin’.” She walked up to Riley and gave her a warm hug.
“You too, Mrs. Walker.” Riley smiled at her.
Riley studied her for a quick moment. Her salt-and-peppered brown hair was pulled back into a neat, low bun. She was beautiful, but looked like she didn’t take shit from anyone. She was what Riley imagined a lot of southern moms were like. You know, the kind that loved making fresh cookies but would swat your hand with a spoon if you tried to stick your grubby little fingers in the batter, only to let you lick it when the confections were in the oven.
“You can just call me Bianca, dear. Y’all must be exhausted from your trip. Dinner is almost done. Come. Sit.” She placed a hand on Riley’s shoulder and guided her to the dining room where the table is set for the four of them.
“You didn’t have to do this, ma.” Drake pulled out Riley’s seat and then took his own.
“Nonsense. How often do I get to cook for you? And when did you turn into such a gentleman?” Bianca winked at Riley before retreating back into the kitchen. A short time later she came out with a tray of food. A whole chicken, warm bread rolls, fresh mashed potatoes, green beans and a still steaming apple pie.
“This looks incredible, Mrs. Wa-” Bianca raised an eyebrow at her. “…Bianca.” Riley quickly corrected herself. Bianca gave her a small smile and a nod.
“Killed the bird myself this morning!” She announced proudly. “And, well, I might not be good at a lot of things, but feeding my babies was never a problem.” Bianca pinched Drake’s cheek and he scrunched up his face at her. Riley loved seeing this side of him. He was never comfortable socializing outside of their time alone together or with their friends. Watching Drake cut loose was like watching a dog walk on it’s hind legs – you know it happens, but you’re still impressed.
“That’s right, mama.” Savannah nodded.
They had all started eating when Riley turned to Bianca.
“So, what was Drake like as a child?”
“Truthfully?” Bianca looked at her. Riley nodded. “He was a total pain in the ass.” She pointed her fork at him.
Drake pulled a napkin to his mouth and nodded, hiding a smile behind it.
“God, you got into so much trouble.” Savannah smiled fondly and shook her head.
“I did.”
“One time, when we were visiting my parents, he and a couple of neighbor boys had run off. He was, oh, maybe eight or nine. I thought they were out in the pasture. Turns out they’d gone into the woods behind Turnbull’s house and gotten lost. We searched for hours until we heard the boys yellin’ their little heads off.” Bianca laughed.
“And that’s when I got my first compass and learned how to navigate myself. I hated that feeling of being lost.” Drake tapped his fork on the edge of his plate.
“Makes sense. You found your way to me, so I think you did okay, Walker.” Riley winked at him. The corner of his lips turned up into a small smile as he took a bite of potatoes.
After dinner and dessert, Bianca and Savannah retired to their room for the night. The sun was just starting to set when Drake and Riley went out onto the back patio. Drake stacked some wood in a burn pit and lit it on fire. He sat next to Riley and threw an arm around her, a glass of whiskey in his hand resting on the arm of the swing. She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. It was so quiet. It seemed like they were in a completely different universe. The only sounds she heard were horses neighing in the distance and the strong rhythm of Drake’s heartbeat.
“You like it here.” She said quietly, afraid if she spoke too loud it’d cause some sort of shift in the calm around her.
“I do.”
Comfortable silence passed between them for what felt like hours before Riley spoke again.
“What if I told Liam I didn’t want Valtoria?”
Drake sat up straighter and looked down at her. Riley lifted her head to meet his gaze.
“Why would you do that?”
“Well you said you missed your family. Cordonia might be your physical home, but I can tell your heart is here, with your mom and Savannah.”
“What does that have to do with you leaving Valtoria?”
“If you wanted to move here, I’d like to think I’m your family, too.” The corners of her mouth rose in a tender smile. “I’d come if you asked me to.”
“Johnson, that would be a lot of me to ask of you.” He shook his head. “I know things seem kind of tense right now, but it’ll get better.”
“I wouldn’t have said anything if I wasn’t thinking about it, too. Don’t get me wrong, I know things aren’t great for us in Cordonia right now, but there’s nothing stopping us from picking up and leaving anymore. We aren’t part of the court, at least not officially yet. We could still get out if we want to. Just throw me over your shoulder, toss me in your truck and-” Riley moved her hand flatly through the air, mimicking a plane taking off, “all our wildest dreams come true.”
“It’s a different world here, huh?” Drake took a drink of his whiskey, gazing out over the lush green yard behind the house, the sun dipping just below the horizon casting a warm, gentle glow on his face.
“It really is. There’s no one giving me lessons about etiquette. No one asking me questions or taking my picture. I feel like for the first time in months I can actually breath.”
“I know what you mean.” He pressed a kiss on her forehead and thought about how many nights he wished for a moment just like this one; moments without secrets and anxiety strangling him.
“You just seem so different here. More comfortable. I know you haven’t been here in a while, but it’s like you’ve been here forever. It’s like you never left.”
“I’m not going to bullshit you, Johnson. It feels… right.”
“I know.” She smiled at him.
“You wanna trade a tiara for a cowgirl hat?” He chuckled.
“I just might, Walker.”
Riley kissed him softly. He smiled against her lips.
“Hey, have you checked your phone since we got here? My battery died on the plane and I haven’t bothered to charge it. It’s been nice to disconnect.” He rested his head back and closed his eyes.
“Actually, no. It’s in my bag. I probably should, though.”
Riley went inside and grabbed her phone, turning it on. She returned to her seat next to Drake and waited for it to fully wake up.
“I hope we aren’t too missed.” He jested. She could tell by his tone he was dangerously close to nodding off. The exhaustion of the day had worn them both thin. She was about to kiss him again when her phone lit up with a ping. Then another. And another.
“Have you seen this?!” Maxwell texted her. An attachment was sent in another text. His last one read: “This is crazy, Blossom. CRAZY!”
Riley opened it and gasped.
“Oh my god!”