“Pancakes with a side of sausage and a fried egg, please. Lots of syrup. And…and egg white omelet with…spinach and tomato, right?” He glanced at Ryder.
“Yes, Sir. That’s for my brother. He’ll be down in a bit.” Ryder offered the server a warm smile, and she beamed at him.
“I’m on it.” The server turned around and he was pretty sure he heard her say, “I love this time of year.”
Ryder’s chuckles were soft and amused. “Me too. I get to show off who I used to be.”
“Not right now. Now, you’re showing off who you are.” Charles reached across the table and touched his fingers.
Ryder blinked at him, cheeks going bright pink, beaming over. “I—that sounds good.”
Charles nodded to him. He didn’t want to cause a scene while they ate so he did pull his hand back, but only for now, and only because they were expecting Roper. “You should be proud of who you are, always. Who you were is part of that, but it’s not everything.”
“I’m learning that. It’s one hell of a lesson, but I am learning it.”
“Then I will have to remind you often.” He added cream to his coffee and picked it up to take a sip. “Not exactly gourmet, but it will serve its purpose.”
“Coffee is good; good coffee is better?” Ryder winked and sweetened his cup.
“Indeed.” His stomach growled, and he reached for another biscuit. “What time is the show tonight?”
“Starts at seven. Then Sunday starts at two p.m.”
“Good. That gives us lots of time to wander and relax. We must try different adult milkshakes tonight.” He was starting to wonder if Roper really was going to join them, or if he’d found something better to do with his time. Not that he intended to ask Ryder.
“Waffles?” A young man with arms full of food stopped next to their table.
He pointed to Ryder. “Right there. Pancakes here.”
“And the egg whites are mine. Sorry, y’all. I was putting on my smell good. Hey, Ry. How goes?”
“Good. Good, have a sit.”
“Good morning. Excellent timing, Roper.” He took another sip of his coffee wondering what it must be like to be someone like Roper.
“It’s a knack. Morning glories. Did y’all have a good night?”
Ryder blushed and smiled. “We did. You?”
“Had some whiskey at the afterparty, fell into bed, and crashed like a good little cowboy.” Those eyes were wicked, challenging, so unlike Ryder’s.
“You’ll appreciate a little food in your stomach then, I’d imagine.” He was hungry, and although he felt badly eating a full meal when Roper was restricted, it wasn’t enough to prevent him from diving right in.
“Yeah. Man, give me a bite of waffle?” Roper turned those eyes on Ryder, and Ryder forked up a bite immediately.
He could see how Roper might have depended on Ryder when they rode together. No wonder Ryder got such satisfaction out of looking after him. It did seem like Roper had figured it out on his own, but the men did look happy together.
His first bite of pancakes only made him more hungry. They were sweet and spongy, very well cooked, but he probably would have eaten them even if they’d tasted like cardboard with syrup on them.
“So…you left early…”
“I told you. I’m fine. It’s weird not pulling your rope,” Ryder answered, and Roper shook his head.
“No. What if you fell? What if you hit your head? No.”
He didn’t hear the twin telepathy part of the conversation, but he didn’t need to. He understood. “Your brother is right,” he offered, and picked up his coffee. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t indicated which brother he was speaking to either. They understood. He expected that to be the end of that.
Ryder sighed softly, but he nodded. Roper shot him a grateful smile, digging into his eggs.