Chapter 21

twenty-one

. . .

River

It had beena week since I’d seen Ruby, and I was going out of my fucking mind. She’d made it clear that she wanted space, and damn if the woman didn’t stick to it. I thought she’d break.

Expected a booty call text after the night we’d shared.

But she’d gone radio silent.

And I sure as hell wasn’t going to beg her to talk to me. The ball was in her court.

If only her brother wasn’t such a clingy motherfucker. I couldn’t shake this guy. He’d texted me every day, and I was running out of odd jobs for the bastard. He’d been the laziest guy on the planet before I’d agreed to help him out, and now he was suddenly the most reliable dude on the planet.

So, I’d made up a bullshit job and asked him to stain my dock today while I was at the office. It was a large dock, and it was a shitty job, so I figured he’d be a no-show for this one. I’d left the stain and the brushes on the back porch and texted him that it was there if he wanted to get started. A part of me hoped he’d flake because I didn’t have much more for him to do.

I pulled up at my house, and his car wasn’t there.

Finally. I’d given him more than he could handle.

I walked around to the backyard and saw Rico lying in the middle of the grass with the hose beside him, and I’d be damned if the dock wasn’t rocking a new coat of stain and completely finished.

“Wow. You did the whole thing?” I asked.

He sprung forward and held up a hand. “Yep. All done.”

“What’s with the hose?”

“It’s hot out here, and I didn’t have any water. So, I’m drinking Magnolia Falls’ finest.”

“You didn’t bring water? Where’s your car?”

“My battery is dead, and I need to get it fixed.” They lived out a ways, so that had to be about a two-mile walk.

Rico was full of surprises.

“Come inside and get a Gatorade and something to eat. Have you been out here all day?”

“Yep. Got here around eight a.m.”

I led him inside and handed him a bottle of blue sugar water and a banana. I didn’t know when I became a babysitter, but Rico had definitely attached himself to me.

“The dock looks really good. Thank you. I didn’t expect you to do it all today.” I pulled out my wallet and handed him the cash. I paid him a lot more than usual because he’d done a hell of a job.

“Well, Romeo needs me at the gym the next few days, so I didn’t want to leave you hanging with a half-finished dock.”

Damn. Romeo was doing that all on his own now. This wasn’t a favor anymore; Rico had actually proven he could be reliable.

I glanced down at my watch. I’d promised my grandmother I’d be by to see her in an hour.

“Give me five minutes to change clothes, and I’ll give you a ride home on my way to my appointment.”

“You got it, River. I’ll be here, staring at my good-looking stain job.”

I made my way down the hall and changed clothes quickly before we got in the car.

“How’s your sister doing?” I couldn’t help but ask. I’d missed her at the hospital, and I hadn’t been by the bar because I’d wanted her to come to me, but I couldn’t get her out of my fucking head.

“You know Ruby, she’s always good. It’s just who she is.” He shrugged, and I took a minute to process his words.

“No one is always good. I think she just hides it well.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m trying to get my shit together because, I don’t know, I think she’s tired of me being a pain in the ass. She deals with everyone else’s crap, you know? The least I could do is not add to it.”

It was about fucking time someone got on board and had her back.

“It’s a good thing to get your shit together. You’re not a kid anymore. Time to grow up.” I pulled in front of the trailer just as Ruby came walking outside.

“Speak of the devil,” Rico said with a laugh as he pushed out of the car. “What’s up, sis?”

I didn’t miss the way her eyes widened and her lips turned up the slightest bit as I stepped out of the car.

I had a feeling she’d missed me as much as I’d missed her.

“Hey. Where are you two coming from?”

“Your brother just stained my entire dock, so I figured the least I could do was give him a ride home.”

A genuine smile spread across her face. “Really? That’s amazing, Rico.”

“Thanks. What are you doing here?”

“Mom needed some groceries, and I cleaned up a little. She’s wallowing again.” Ruby shrugged, but her eyes never left mine.

“I’ll take it from here.” Rico kissed her cheek. “You working tonight?”

“No. I’m actually taking the night off. I’m going to take the kayak out and relax a little.”

“Not to be a total pain in the ass, but my car isn’t working. Any chance I could use yours to take Panda to dinner? I’ll bring it by in the morning, and I promise to fill it with gas.”

She reached into her pocket and tossed him her keys. “Sure. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thanks. I’ll text you later in the week, River, and see if you have anything for me. I’ll be busy at the gym for the next few days.”

“Yeah. No problem. Thanks for doing the dock.” I held up a hand, and he walked into the trailer.

Ruby strode toward me. “Hey.”

“Hey, Queenie. Long time no see.”

“Yeah. You haven’t been by the bar in a while,” she said.

“Ah, is this your way of telling me you missed me?”

She rolled her eyes. “No. Just an observation.”

“You want a ride home?”

“I can walk,” she said, clearing her throat.

I moved closer, my hand grazing hers. “I didn’t ask if you were capable of walking. I know how capable you are. I asked if you wanted a ride.”

“Is this your way of telling me you missed me?” she mimicked my words back to me. And for whatever reason, I didn’t hold back.

“Yeah. I fucking missed you.”

Her eyes widened with surprise. “Well, if you missed me, I guess the least I can do is take the ride and grace you with my presence.”

I chuckled and walked around to the passenger door and opened it as she slipped inside. Why the fuck was I so happy? She’d agreed to a goddamn ride home, nothing more.

Once I settled into the driver’s seat, I turned to look at her. “You want to go somewhere with me?”

“Can you be more specific? Are you taking me to a cult meeting? A gunfight? Swimming with sharks? How can I agree with no information?”

I barked out a laugh because she was funny as hell, and we just sort of got one another. “I’m going to see my grandmother, and she’d probably like to see a pretty face.”

She smiled. A genuine, real smile. That was the second one I’d seen today. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Wild River. Sure. I’ll go with you to see your grandmother. She was always my favorite.”

“Yeah? You said you knew her from the library?” I pulled out of the trailer park and made my way toward Magnolia Haven.

“Yep.”

“You used to spend a lot of time there?” I asked, glancing over at her when I stopped at the light.

“Yeah. The lake was always my favorite place, but the library was a close second.”

“I always hated the library.”

She laughed as I took the final turn and pulled into a parking spot. I turned the car off and shifted so I was facing her. “I wasn’t lying when I said I’d missed you.”

“Yet you’ve avoided the bar for a week?”

“I was trying to give you your space. I thought you’d realize that you missed me.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

Her hand was beside mine on the center console, and her pinky finger wrapped around mine. “Didn’t take you for such a sap, Wild River.”

“Never been sappy before.” I started to pull my hand away to get out of the car, but she wrapped her hand around mine and stopped me.

“I missed you. I was disappointed you didn’t come by the bar the first day, but after a week, well, I’ve been—unhappy.”

“The evil queen has feelings?” I teased, leaning closer to her and nipping at her bottom lip.

“If you tell anyone, I’ll torture you slowly.”

“I’m down for being tortured slowly by you any time.” I pulled back to look at her.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“What isn’t a good idea?”

“You and me.” Her voice was just above a whisper, and I fucking loved the vulnerable side of this woman.

“Listen. I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t know what this is. But I’ve missed you. So, make of it what you want. Your time here in Magnolia Falls is temporary, so how about we just take it one day at a time and hang out when we feel like hanging out?”

“I’m not sleeping with you again,” she said, her teeth sinking into that juicy bottom lip.

“Because it was so good, you’re terrified to do it again and actually enjoy yourself?” I teased.

“Something like that. Let’s go.”

I’d never brought a woman with me to see my grandmother. But I didn’t think twice about bringing Ruby.

Because everything about this girl was different.