Raising Ryan

Chapter 6 – Just That Good

"Seth? Seth, wake up. Are you hungry? You and Ryan, are you boys hungry?"

Rolling over and peeling his eyes open, "Shh, Grandpa. Don't be so loud. You don't want to wake Ryan up before he's ready to get up. Trust me on this."

Caleb looked at the sleeping lump in the other bed, "It's after nine o'clock. Won't he think I'm playing favorites?"

"Alpha male number three? Nah. I'm gonna assume he'd rather not eat breakfast with you. "

Two hours later, Ryan came downstairs, still dressed in his sleepwear, a t-shirt and sweatpants.

"Morning Ryan. Hungry?" Kirsten greeted. "We saved you some pancakes."

"You…you ate already?"

"It's okay honey, come here."

Following Kirsten into the kitchen, Ryan plopped himself down heavily at the table. He was surprised to find himself feeling disappointed that he'd missed breakfast on the first day of vacation.

"I'm sorry I slept so late," Ryan apologized.

"Oh honey, don't be sorry. This is what a vacation is all about, resting, relaxing and rejuvenating." Walking over to the table, she set a dish down in front of him as well as one in front of herself before sitting down. "Besides, you're not the only one that missed breakfast," she smiled. "I just got up too."

She could see his eyes twinkle with relief. She felt a twinge of sadness for him, sad that something as insignificant as sleeping through breakfast could be considered upsetting to him. It never occurred to her that it would matter. She was determined to pay more attention to the little things the rest of the weekend, especially since it was obvious that Ryan was. He was on a roll with new experiences and positive progress in his life and she wasn't going to let that stop any time soon.

"Dude, hurry up and eat those pancakes, the lake awaits!" Seth encouraged, entering the kitchen.

"I'm done, just let me get dressed," Ryan answered, cramming the last few bites of his breakfast in his mouth as he pushed his chair back and stood up.

"Ryan, slow down, you're gonna choke," Kirsten worried.

"I'm okay," he garbled through his food before dashing back up the stairs.

Within minutes, both boys were on the dock pulling life vests on. Even though both of them knew how to swim, Kirsten wouldn't let them anywhere near the wave runner without them.

Getting on first, Seth waited for Ryan to get on and hold on. "Okay, we'll start out easy. I'll just take you around so you know what areas to avoid and all that boring stuff."

At Ryan's nod, they left the dock and did some light cruising around the lake. Keeping the wave runner at a respectable speed, Seth cruised up and down and back and forth. The lake was mostly empty, giving them free reign.

Seeing his parents on the dock, Seth motored over in their direction before stopping at the dock.

"Hey Seth, let Ryan drive for a while," Sandy suggested.

Jumping up on the pier, Seth made room for Ryan to scoot to the front of the wave runner before climbing on the back.

Sandy looked the boys over for a moment, "This isn't a pontoon boat you know. You guys are still dry."

"That's about to change," Ryan replied.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Seth inquired, leery of Ryan's response.

Smiling, "You forget I used to steal cars for a living…kinda got this thing for speed."

"Ryan…Ryan, I want to get off."

"No."

"Ryan, I'm serious."

"Hey, you keep saying you want an adventure…you're about to get another one for your record. I'd hold the hell on if I were you…"

Without further warning, Ryan gunned the wave runner and it took off from the dock like a bat out of hell with Seth immediately grabbing him around the stomach to hold on.

"Seth is in for one hell of a ride," Kirsten observed.

"I have a feeling Ryan is going to love this," Sandy answered.

They watched Ryan zipping up and down the lake, jumping the wakes of occasional passing boats, still mindful to keep away from the danger zones. Seth's panicked wailing could be heard up and down the lake as Ryan sped along.

"Would you look at the smile on Ryan's face," Sandy beamed. "It's nice to see him acting like a kid for a change."

"Yeah it is," Kirsten agreed, wrapping her arms around Sandy. "We don't get to see him like this too often."

Releasing his grip on the handlebars, Ryan let the runner coast in the water a minute. From the dock, Sandy and Kirsten couldn't hear what they were talking about, all they could see was Ryan gesturing with his hand, pointing ahead and making circle motions with his finger. Immediately after that they could see Seth saying 'no' and Ryan saying 'yes', over and over…this was about to get entertaining.

Squeezing the handlebars again, Ryan set the wave runner in full motion with Seth still screaming on the back end. Choosing just the right moment, Ryan jumped a wake and threw the runner into a turn, causing them to land hard in a giant spray of water. They were drenched. After doing this several more times, a grinning Ryan finally returned to the dock where he found Kirsten and Sandy ready and waiting with a camera.

Laughing out loud, Kirsten snapped a photo of the soaked boys. Ryan's fun with the wave runner apparent on his face while Seth's grief stricken face cowered behind him.

Seeing the dock in close proximity, Seth leaped onto the planks. "Land! Thank God!"

"What are you talkin'?" his Father teased. "That looked like fun!"

"Oh sure, from the dock! Try looking at it from behind Ryan's head!" he wailed.

Still laughing, Sandy turned back to Ryan. "Go ahead kid, go around again."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, absolutely."

"Seth?"

"Noooo way!"

"Come on man, I'll go easy this time," Ryan coaxed.

"Seriously?"

Sighing, "Okay."

With Seth climbing back on, Ryan smirked at Sandy.

"Hey Seth?" Ryan mumbled.

"Hey Ryan…"

"You should've made me promise…"

"Ryan…Ryan! No! Noooooo!"

That evening after dinner, they gathered around the fire pit to relax. Worn out from a full day on the wave runner, Ryan sat sideways in his chair and stared at the flames dancing in the pit. The clinking of metal and Seth's voice knocked him back to reality.

"Now we're talking some serious bonfire rituals. Everyone man your fork," he dictated, handing out long metal sticks to everyone.

"What are we doing?" Ryan asked, frowning at the stick.

"We're making S'mores."

"Some what?"

"You're killing me Ryan!" Seth whined. "You've never had s'mores?"

"No."

"That's it, I'm officially kicking your Mom off the planet! I can't believe she never let you make s'mores!"

Ryan's face got long and his eyes dropped down to the fork as he turned it in his fingers before he frowned at it again. Seth's remark only served as a reminder of yet another thing his childhood in Chino had denied him.

"Seth, that's enough," Sandy whispered, knocking his son with his elbow and nodding at Ryan.

Seth immediately regretted his words. "But hey, not everybody likes s'mores. And this weekend is all about new stuff right? The wave runner, me letting you sleep in until you were ready to get up, right? Now you can add s'mores to that list."

"That's okay. I think I'll pass. Maybe tomorrow. 'Night." Standing up, Ryan disappeared into the darkness in the direction of the house.

After twenty minutes or so, Sandy decided his curiosity needed a fix and he went into the house to check on Ryan. He found him in his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey kid, everything okay?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Now that doesn't sound believable."

"I'm just tired," he yawned. "And I'm starting to get cranky. Figured it was probably best if I turned in."

"Cranky? You're worried about being cranky? You forget we brought Caleb with us!"

Ryan smiled. Caleb was definitely the epitome of cranky.

"You sure there's nothing I can do for you? Make you a s'more to go?"

"Nah. Thanks."

Nodding, Sandy gave his arm a pat. "Okay kid. I'll see you in the morning."

Kirsten was up bright and early the next day, her internal time clock not realizing she was still on vacation. She showered and dressed and headed for the kitchen, more importantly, for her first cup of coffee. After passing the door to the boys' room, she stopped, backed up and peered inside. Seth was still sound asleep but Ryan's bed was not only empty, it was made. A stab of panic went through her given the past with Ryan's disappearances. He promised he wouldn't run again, she reminded herself. He was here. Somewhere. She'd find him.

In the kitchen she was relieved to see the coffee pot was set on a timer and had already brewed the first pot. Filling a mug she snagged from the cupboard, she raised it to her mouth and gazed out the window. Not only was the sunshine a welcome sight for sore eyes, so was the sight of Ryan sitting on the swing at the end of the pier. Grabbing a second mug, she filled it and walked out by him.

As she approached, she saw he had a bottle in his hand.

"Ryan?"

Startled, he whirled around. "Hi." Embarrassed, he held the bottle out to her. "I'm not drunk. I just really wanted one. I only had this one."

Ignoring Ryan's out stretched arm, Kirsten walked past him to set the coffee mugs down on the table. Taking a seat on the swing next to him, she finally reached over and took the bottle away from him, tipping it to see how much was left. He drank most of it, causing her to give him the Motherly eyebrows.

"Sorry."

"Beer, at this hour? Not exactly the breakfast of champions, is it?" she paused. "Okay Ryan, you haven't touched a bottle in months and you're wide awake at six-thirty in the morning…what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered, shrugging it off.

"Okay." Playing dumb, Kirsten reached down for her coffee knowing the silence would wear on Ryan. He could handle yelling any day, all day. Silence drove him nuts.

"My mind is just full right now, that's all."

"With what?"

Stalling long enough to get his own cup from the table, "I don't know. It's like this weekend is making me see all of these things that I've missed. Seth brags on the girls I've been with or the parties I've been to or about me stealing things but…he had a childhood. I didn't have that. Some day when he has kids he'll have all these things to teach them, stories to tell them. What am I going to do? Teach my son how to bypass a car alarm?"

"It's never too late to make memories Ryan. Matter of fact, you'll spend your entire life making memories. Besides, I'm sure if you ask Seth, he'll tell you about the one hundred and one things we do wrong as parents and how he's going to change it when he has his own kids some day. Everyone is always striving for better and you always want your kids to have better than you had. It's natural evolution."

"Yeah I guess."

There was silence for a few minutes as they stared at an early morning boater passing by, both silently considering the fact that Dawn didn't strive to do better for her kids. No natural evolution there at all.

"Why do I get the feeling there's more than what you're telling me?" Kirsten finally prompted. She noticed Ryan shift uncomfortably in his seat. "It's okay Ryan. What's on your mind?"

"It's nothin'. It's stupid."

"What? What's stupid?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes, of course."

Setting his coffee down, Ryan reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of green paper that had been folded several times. "Really, we don't have to…"

"Ryan, let me see that."

Hesitantly, Ryan handed the paper to Kirsten. She noticed a look of heavy anticipation on his face, as if he was holding his breath. Opening the folds revealed a flyer from the school…for soccer tryouts.

She felt her mouth drop open. "Ryan…" she breathed, and that was all it took to send him back pedaling.

"I know, I know. I told you, it's dumb. I'm not a 'team' type of guy." Shoving his hands in his pockets, he returned to staring at the lake.

"Ryan, that's not what I meant. I think this is wonderful! I think you should do it! Why didn't you say something sooner?"

Hemming and hawing, "Because it costs money. Money I don't have and I feel funny…"

"Not another word. It's done. You're going to tryouts!" Continuing to scan the flyer, "Ryan, tryouts are the day after tomorrow!"

"I know."

"Well, we have to head home early, there's things you're going to need..."

"No. You can't do that! You Dad will hate me even more if his trip to the lake is cut short because of me."

"He doesn't hate you Ryan, and he just came back from two months in Italy! He'll get over it! Come on! We have to go tell everyone!"

"Kirsten, wait!" he yelled, pulling her back. 'I mean, don't you think you should talk to Sandy first? About the money? What if he says no? What if…"

A serious cast took over Kirsten's face as another reality from Ryan's old life crept in. "That's why you've been avoiding certain things, isn't it? You're afraid Sandy will get angry with you. Sandy's the head of the household…you're afraid of him and that's why you always come to me…"

"I'm not afraid, exactly." Off Kirsten's look, "Maybe a little. It's just, you've given me money in the past. I've never asked him for money. AJ would never give me money."

Taking Ryan's arm in hers, "I promise you, this news is going to make Sandy extremely happy and I will take care of the money. I'll talk to him. Okay? I want you to trust me Ryan."

It took a moment before Ryan nodded.

"Now will you admit to me that you really want to play soccer?" Kirsten pressed.

Clucking his tongue sheepishly, "I'd like to. I still have to make it through try-outs though."

"Are you kidding me? You're as good as on the team. Come on, let's go tell everyone the news."

The kitchen erupted with cheers when Kirsten shared the news. Well, everyone but Caleb was overjoyed. Ryan found him sitting in the sun porch a short while later.

"So you want to play soccer," Caleb greeted without looking up from his Forbes magazine.

Cautiously, Ryan made his way into the room, careful to keep a safe distance from Caleb. "You don't have to leave the lake early because of me. You brought your own car."

"We came here as a family, we'll leave here as a family," Caleb acknowledged, much to Ryan's surprise. "Besides, it's probably a good idea that you get some sort of hobby that doesn't involve breaking and entering."

"Too bad they don't have a club for that at Harbor, I'd be President."

"People who boast about their skills are not usually as good at what they do as they claim they are."

Eyeing Caleb, "So then, you're not the monster mogul behind Newport?"

"No one likes a smartass Ryan…except maybe me."

Disrupting their banter, Sandy entered. "Ready guys?

"Where are we going?" Ryan asked.

Tossing his magazine down, Caleb stood up, "I've made reservations at Port Edwards for lunch, for all of us. It's the best steak and seafood restaurant in the area. I'll drive."

Heading out to the cars, it didn't take long before a change in plans had Caleb throwing a fit.

"I can't believe this! Of all times! I don't have time for this right now!"

"Dad, what's the matter?" Kirsten asked.

"I've locked my keys in my car!"

"Grandpa, do you have an extra set of keys?" Seth inquired.

"Of course, but they're at home. Lot of good that's doing me there."

"So we'll take the Rover and deal with the keys later," Sandy offered.

"I'll have to call the auto club. Go on ahead without me, I'll catch up."

Ryan stood back quietly, watching Caleb pace the driveway along with retrying the door handle every so often as if his pacing was going to somehow, magically, pop the door lock.

When Ryan couldn't stand it any longer, "Alright already, move." Walking up to the car, he put his hand up and peered in the window.

"And just what do you think you're going to do about this?" Caleb barked.

With his hands on his hips, Ryan turned to Caleb and stated the obvious. "Sometimes it pays to have a car thief in the family."

Disgusted, Caleb crossed his arms over his chest as Ryan laid down on the pavement on his back to look under the front end of the car. Reaching under with his arm, Ryan stared at the sky while he felt around under the fender.

"Dude, are you seriously going to break into my Grandfather's car?" Seth gleamed with excitement.

"Yep," Ryan admitted confidently.

"Cool!"

Sandy and Kirsten exchanged a look of curiosity.

"Oh this is ridiculous!" Caleb whined. "The door is over here and the keys are inside. Some car thief he is!"

"You know old man, that's exactly where your weakness lies…you have a habit of underestimating your enemies."

Absolutely annoyed with Ryan, Caleb only glared at him.

"See, right here is the wire that runs your car alarm," Ryan explained, still groping around under the car. "And that runs back to…a box…right here. The box controls your remote for your door locks and what not."

Caleb's mouth was slightly agape considering this delinquent actually appeared to know what he was talking about.

"A quick snip of a wire or two and your alarm and your remote would be disabled. Now, you've got a pretty good alarm on your car. Your box is sealed, so I can't get in this way. We have to go old school."

"You going to bust his window?" Seth asked hopefully, wringing his hands.

Chuckling, "No Seth." Turning to Caleb, "I don't suppose you might have a blood pressure cuff, do you?"

"Are you insane?"

"You keep asking me that…you want to make your reservation or not? A successful businessman like yourself is under a lot of pressure I'm sure…not to mention I saw your bottle of pills on the kitchen table this morning. Surely you're monitoring your condition, per doctor's orders of course."

Grinding his teeth, "It's on my night table," Caleb replied.

"I'll get it."

With that, Seth took off running into the house and returned within minutes with the necessary item.

"Dude, what can you possibly use this for?"

"You'll see…"

Now even Kirsten was up near the car, curious. She wanted to see this.

Folding the cuff in half, Ryan wedged it behind the corner of the driver's door. Holding it in place, he squeezed the bulb, inflating the cuff. As the door pulled away from it's frame tediously slow, Ryan would stop every now and adjust the cuff deeper into the door jam. He continued to inflate the cuff until he was happy with the size opening he'd created.

"Seth, hold this just like this for a minute. Don't let go, don't move."

"Got it."

Walking over to the rose bushes, Ryan pulled out a long iron rod that was holding up one of the vines. Back at the car, he delicately slipped the rod through the open crack, aimed it at the power lock button, gave it a tap and popped the lock right open. Withdrawing the rod from the window, Ryan tossed it on the ground, took hold of the blood pressure cuff, grabbed the door handle and opened the door.

"I'll be damned," Kirsten muttered quietly.

"That was like, so simple," Seth acknowledged, amazed at Ryan's handy work.

"Another minute, minute and a half and I'd be on my way down the road in a working car…problem is, I don't know where the restaurant is," Ryan bragged. "Sometimes people really are just that good at what they do."

Caleb was speechless. The look on his face was priceless and Ryan made a point of absorbing every second of it. Who knew when he'd be able to trump the old man again.

Walking up to the car, Caleb gave it a quick inspection. "There's not a scratch on it," he finally offered.

"Nope. A car is worth more to the chop shops if there's no damage on it. I guess you could say a pro knows how to take her gently."

"I suppose a thank you is in order," Caleb grumbled, refusing to look at Ryan. He hated that this kid for showing him up.

"You owe me one." Off Caleb's glare, "Us rugrats from Chino, we like to keep score. We're going to be late," Ryan muttered, putting one foot in the back seat. "Oh, and you're alarm is broke. It should have gone off since I didn't disable it. You should get that looked at."

TBC…

A/N – I realize in RL Ryan played soccer in the Fall at Harbor but…for the sake of my A/U story, I needed him to play in the Spring…so, he's playing in the Spring. : D