Invisibility Cloak (18 page)

“Oh, right.” Amanda handed him back the television remote control. “I just wanted to feel the power rush, but it’s over now.”

He lifted his eyebrows. “Power rush?”

“Yeah, you know, that thrilling moment where the science nerd gets the coveted controller over the big, bad, Army Ranger.”

“So now the thrill is gone?” He plucked the control out of her hand and pushed on the menu. “What do you know, there’s a game on right here.” Ryder depressed the channel and smiled.

The familiar sounds of people cheering in the stands and the announcer talking about the batter’s statistics all blared out from her television.
Ah
, he loved those sounds. That giddiness that had swiped through his body at finding a game made him reach for his beer, again.

Did falling in love with a woman even come close to that feeling? Ryder couldn’t hold back the chuckle that erupted out of him. He looked over at Amanda and saw her picking lint off her shirt and pushed the mute button. “You want to watch something else?”

“Nah, the wine I had earlier is making me sleepy anyway.”

Footsteps thudded down the stairs and they both looked up. Sammie appeared with a conciliatory smile.

“Ah, Mom, “Sammie looked hopefully at her mother. “Zoe wants to know if I can spend the night tomorrow after school.”

Amanda’s eyebrows shot up. “Grandma and Grandpa will be here.”

“I know, but I’ll be with them for two whole weeks and I won’t see my friends until after that!”

“Let me think on it.”

“So, that means no.” Sammie’s jaw hardened. Gone was hopeful puppy dog look. “Then I’m going to ask Grandma for some thongs!” She stuck out her tongue and ran up the stairs.

“Man, you are two little peas in a pod. She gets that from you, you know.”

Amanda pressed her mouth together and narrowed her eyes at him. “Does not.”

He smoothed a finger over her clenched jaw. “You are a terrific mother, you know.”

She pulled her brows together as she watched him from the corner of her eye.

“Yeah, must be hard to do this all by yourself. I don’t know how you do it.”

“It’s the only thing in life that doesn’t come with a manual or instructions. And sometimes you need . . . Actually I’m talking about me here. I need all the help I can get,” she finally huffed out.

Ryder just nodded to let her know he was listening.

Amanda grunted and leaned her head on the back of the sofa. “I should probably let her be with her friends. She always pushes me when I say no to something. Nick isn’t like that at all. What works with one, doesn’t with another. And being a parent is a thankless job, but I just love them so much. It’s important to me that they grow up to be good people, you know?”

“They are good kids. I can tell. So what’s it going to be? The sleepover or the . . .” He shook his head. “Or the thong? And why is she so hell bent on getting one of those anyway?”

“Oh, my friend, Kelsey brought one over for me to wear with the dress.”

“What?” Ryder’s pulse picked up. “You were wearing a thong earlier and that’s why Sammie wants one too?”

“Yeah.” She wrinkled her forehead. “They’re just awful. I don’t like them, but according to Kelsey, everyone wears them now.”

“You still got it on?” Thunder pounded in his ears and he scooted closer to her.

“Yes, I’m trying to get used to it.” Amanda scrunched up her nose. “I guess this only proves that I am not ‘with it’. Not like Sophia Edgington, that’s for sure.”

Putting his arm around her he pulled her close. “You don’t want to be like her, Amanda.”

She lowered her lids. “I wouldn’t mind being glamorous and beautiful like her, though.”

“You are beautiful.”

She snuggled into him more. Even though he would’ve liked to have her sleep next to him again on the couch, she needed a good night’s rest.

“Go on up to bed, Amanda.” He rubbed his chin into the top of her head. “Need any help?”

“No, I’m fine. She pushed off the sofa and wobbled to the stairs. “Good night, Ryder. See you in the morning.”

She moved methodically up the stairs. He watched the baseball game on the tube for a while until he heard a door open and close. She was getting settled in for sleep and he was wide-awake. Every part of him was standing at alert. Jumping up from the couch, he ran down to the basement for another beer. May as well, he had a feeling it was going to take him a while before he got any shut-eye.

Chapter 11

A
dull ache throbbed in her head and Amanda opened her eyes.

Ouch!
There it was again. Scowling at herself, she was positive it was from the healthy glass of wine she had when Kelsey was over last night. Why did everything that was fun almost always have some consequences? Well, okay she could think of some fun things to do that she wouldn’t get a headache from the next day, if she overindulged. The sides of her mouth formed a slow grin.

Sex for one. Ryder’s dark brown eyes and that handsome face materialized in her mind. Where’d his great body go? Ah, here it is . . . his hard, great body was there now, too.

Naked. She swallowed a few times. Great, the throbbing in her head was gone but now she ached somewhere else. She wanted Ryder, but what could she do about it? Her gaze swept over her room. Dust particles floated in front of the stream of light that snuck through her window blind slats.
Metamaterials
drizzled through her thought of consciousness. Just as the light particles danced in front of her eyes, this is what metamaterials theoretically can do.

They guide light around an object, rather than reflect or refract the light. So to the light waves―and the human eye that perceives them―the object might as well not even be there. If light waves can be guided by the metamaterials around the object and back to its original course, the object wouldn't cast a shadow, either.

Way back, she and Wayne were some of the select researchers using metamaterials to manipulate microwaves; the electromagnetic waves used in radar. To effectively manipulate an electromagnetic wavelength of any kind, the metamaterial used has to be smaller than the wavelength. Since microwaves' wavelengths are measured in centimeters, scientists have the technology to create metamaterials small enough to manipulate them, moving waves around an object. The government was extremely interested in their developments, because a stealth bomber or any other aircraft sheathed in the right layer of metamaterials could be invisible to radar. The shield would be visible, but radar wouldn't be able to detect any aircraft.

Wayne knew this and yet . . . his notes turned to microwaves. She blinked a few times and it finally registered in her brain.

He knew
. Wayne was purposefully misleading someone with his microwave direction of invisibility. She glanced at her clock and saw it was five in the morning. Normally she would stay in bed and try to sleep some more, but her thoughts were on Wayne now and no way could she stay still. Amanda sat up and pushed the covers away. Her ex-husband must’ve been caught up in a situation that he couldn’t escape. Biting her bottom lip, the letter the intruder wanted flitted through her head.

A letter. But, they’d never received a letter from Wayne.

Running her hand over her head, she sighed. She should get up and see how Ryder faired last night on the couch. The image of him in his birthday suit floated once again through her mind and she grinned. It was her turn to make him a nice breakfast. What did she have in her refrigerator? Bacon, hopefully Nick hadn’t cooked it up already. She could fry up some bacon, pancakes, or waffles? Yeah, that sounded good, her kids would like a good breakfast to start their last day of finals. Her parents were coming in today, too. What would they think when they saw Ryder here with her?

Just the thought of seeing her parents motivated her and she jumped up to throw on some clothes. After brushing her teeth and making her bed, she walked as quietly as she could down the stairs, so she wouldn’t wake up Ryder. Poor guy, he had to rough it on her sofa and he was probably still sleeping. Midway down the stairs, the salty, pungent smell of bacon frying invaded her nose. Someone was already up? And cooking bacon? Well, she was pretty sure it wasn’t her kids, so that left Ryder. She rounded the corner into the kitchen.

“I cannot believe it! Aren’t you tired?”

Ryder’s back was to her, as he tended to the bacon frying up in the pan. She eyed his black sweatpants and gray T-shirt.

He turned around and grinned. “No ma’am, it’s only oh-five-hundred hours. This is the time I’m usually up, anyway.”

His front looked as good as his back, she thought as she walked over to grab two coffee cups. Her imagination earlier didn’t even compare to how good he looked in person.

“So you get up around this time, every day?” She asked as he speared a few bacon slices with a fork and flipped them in the pan.

Setting the fork down on the counter he said, “Yeah, well.” Then he threw his hand to the back of his neck.

The muscles in his arm jumped while the light gray fabric stretched out the across his chest.

“That’s one of the things I’ve had a hard time adjusting to.”

She swallowed as she waited for him to explain, trying to listen to what he was telling her and not gawk at his body―so openly, anyway. She nodded. “What?”

“Civilian time.” He looked at her sheepishly, lowering his chin. “I still can’t get used to it.”

“What do you mean?” Amanda reluctantly pulled her eyes away and opened the refrigerator.

“Sleeping. Deeply.” Ryder puffed out a breath. “For most of my twenty years, I’ve had to move out at a moment’s notice. I was so used to sleeping anywhere or any way I could. Sometimes, I even stood up and grabbed a few REM’s.”

She nodded and pulled out the egg carton. “I remember when the kids were little. I never got a full night’s sleep. Nickel slept through the night, but Sammie was a little colicky baby.”

“Didn’t your ex-husband ever get up at night to help you?”

“Ah, no. Wayne was never a hands-on father.”

“He sounds like an ass. Pardon me for saying that.” Ryder pulled off some paper towels and set them on the plate he had on the counter. “I know it’s in poor taste to talk about the dead.” He scooped two slices of bacon onto the plate. “But, Amanda he sounds like a―”

“Please.” She cut him off. “I know at the end he was having a lot of problems, but he wasn’t always like that.”

He nodded. “Beg pardon.”

She smiled slightly. “But, I’m sure getting up at night to feed a newborn isn’t even remotely close to what you had to do for your job. I never should’ve compared the two. I’m sorry.”

“Well, I don’t know about that. Did you always sleep with one eye and ear alert? You know, trying to make sure your babies were okay in their rooms?” He chuckled. “I’ve seen plenty of mothers ready to fall down, but their adrenaline just kept them going.” Ryder turned around to face her. “Were you like that, too? Yeah, I bet you were.” A dark eyebrow shot up.

Amanda stepped into him and laid her hand on his chest. “Oh, don’t be silly. What you did all those years was much more brave and heroic than being a mother and taking care of two children.”

“But I wasn’t alone. I had my unit with me; my men. We were a team. Watched each other’s back.” Ryder reached his hand out and cupped her face in his palm. “Bet you didn’t have that, did you?”

“Oh stop.” Amanda lowered her head and brushed her fingertips down his chest. “We need to discuss more important things.”

“Such as?”

“Pancakes or waffles?” Jerking her head up, she crinkled her forehead. “See, now, it’s your turn.” She held out both hands. “In my left are pancakes.” She lifted her left hand. “And in my right are waffles.” Lifting her right hand, she grinned.

He shut off the burner and scooped the rest of the bacon onto the paper towel he had spread out on one of her plates and turned to her. “Will this be a defining moment in our relationship?”

“Absolutely not.” Amanda slid her arms around his waist. “I like waffles and pancakes equally well.”

He brought his arms around her and pulled her up into his chest. “Will you make some eggs with the pancakes too?”

“Hmmm.” She pursed her mouth before asking, “You mean you don’t like the syrup getting cradled in the nooks and crannies?”

“Well.” He nuzzled his chin on her head. “When you describe it like that. I may just turn into a waffle man.”

She tilted her head up to look at him and he lowered his. They met halfway and their lips touched lightly. “Fried eggs? Or scrambled?”

“Oh, honey,” he murmured. “Anything you make me is fine.” Ryder lowered his head again and gave her a kiss that caused her head to spin.

A nagging thought danced just beyond her reach and she knew it was an important point, but her only notions were of Ryder at that moment. His eyes were that liquid cocoa color.

She cleared her throat. “Uh, Ryder, I better get making those eggs and waffles before I lose my will to cook.” Pushing away, she stepped around him and opened the refrigerator extracting everything she’d need to make eggs, pancakes, and waffles.

When she bent over to get out her waffle maker from a lower kitchen cupboard, he came up behind her and groaned under his breath, “Woman, you can’t do this to me.” He leaned over her body with his and brought his hands up along her side and stopped just short of her breasts.

“Ah.” She grinned as she wiggled her rear and gained another groan from him. “Here, plug this in.” She stood up and shoved the waffle maker into his stomach. “Do something productive with your hands.”

“Honey―” Ryder stopped short of what he was going to say and tilted his head. “Incoming.” Straightening quickly, he plugged in the waffle iron and he grabbed his coffee cup. Leaning his hip against the counter, he took a sip of coffee.

“What do I smell?” Nickel rounded the corner into the kitchen.

That man and his hearing
. “I’m making pancakes, waffles, and eggs, honey. Want some juice?”

“Yeah.” Nickel opened the refrigerator and pulled out the orange juice. “You stay here again, Ryder?”

“Yeah, I did, Nick.” Ryder motioned with his arm. “Your couch is just about as comfortable as my bed at home.”

Nick’s shoulders sagged. “Thanks.” He nodded at Ryder.

“No problem, buddy.” Ryder extended the hand that wasn’t wrapped around his coffee mug and pounded it with Nick’s fist.

Amanda snorted. “Is this man moment over?” Both Ryder and Nickel’s eyes darted over to hers and she instantly felt bad. She shouldn’t have said that. “You ready to eat, Nick?”

“’Yeah.”

Whipping up waffle and pancake batter she made a few of each while she fried the eggs. Her and Ryder bumped derrieres as they moved around her kitchen getting breakfast ready.

“Oops, sorry about that.” He grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “I need to become invisible so I don’t bump into you, don’t I?”

Invisible . . .

Invisibility . . .

Aha!
She snapped her fingers. “Ryder, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Now?” He was already sitting at the kitchen table ready to eat. Nickel had that same look as Ryder did on his face. It was that―
Oh what does she want now?
―look.

Pressing her lips together, she decided to tell him later. “It’s nothing that can’t wait.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, just remind me to tell you later, okay?”

Nodding, Ryder stood and walked to her. “Let me help at least.”

“Okay, you can pour the juice,” she told him. “But it’s my turn to serve you breakfast.”

Yes, the way to a man’s heart is food she lamented silently as she dished out the pancakes, eggs and bacon. As Ryder and Nick wolfed down their breakfast, Sammie wandered down the stairs.

She must’ve smelled the waffles.

All four of them sat at the dinner table eating breakfast. And she loved it. They all talked about the day and their plans. She quickly shoved down the feelings of contentment, because this was just a temporary situation. Amanda was washing the pans when Ryder leaned behind her and said softly in her ear. “I’m going to make sure the kids get to school, okay.” He nuzzled his nose along her throat. “Be right back.”

Amanda nodded, thinking this would be the perfect time to hop in the shower. So much was going on today. Her physical therapy appointment was later and she was going to start wearing her brace after therapy; that is. She’d shoved the horrid contraption in her closet when she brought it home on Friday, mortified at how ugly it was. It was all Ryder’s fault.

This new-found connection to Ryder Stevenson had made her more conscientious of her looks. She’d never thought about that stuff before she met him. What was happening to her? And what exactly was this “thing” with Ryder? It seemed like she’d known him forever. They joked around in a comfort level she’d never experienced with a man before, even Wayne.

After her shower, she pulled on her black workout pants, sports bra and tank. Her workouts at the gym had always left her exhausted and hot, so no brace she rationalized with herself. Plus it would definitely show under her black tight-fitting pants, since her gym pants had Lycra and the fabric clung to her like glue. Amanda rolled her eyes at her vanity. Usually she wore a T-shirt over her tank, for modesty more than any other reason. Her teeth nibbled on her bottom lip, knowing for practical reasons, she really should put the brace on. But she just couldn’t bring herself to strap it on. Instead, she convinced herself that she’d wear the brace to work, under loose fitting slacks. The garage door rumbled open. Ryder?

My, my. He sure was resourceful.

He must’ve grabbed the garage door opener from her car. Yet, that uncanny comfort level was there with him. It simply didn’t bother her that he took it out of her car and it was something she couldn’t explain.

Slowly navigating down her staircase, he walked toward her after he came in through the garage.

“All okay?” Hoping nothing weird had happened to her two kids on the way to school, but his serious expression had her holding her breath. “Ryder?”

He cupped her elbows. “Everything’s fine. Look, I still want to follow them on the way home.” He looked around. “What time do you need to go to therapy?”

“Actually, now.” Amanda grabbed her purse and walked out to the garage.

“I’ll drive, hop in.”

“Are you sure? Because Ryder, I’m sure you have to be busy today.” Amanda hesitated before she opened the passenger door. “I could just drive over myself, if you don’t mind me driving your car that is.”