“I think I have the right number but have not been able to reach you. If this is Ruby, your mother told me to find you if something ever happened to her. Call me back.” The message dropped off abruptly, ending the call.
“M-my m-mother?” Ruby stuttered, a stunned expression washing across her paling face.
She’d told me a little about her mother and as far as I was aware the woman had never even spoken to her daughter in her life. I could only imagine the shock.
“Hey, I’m here for you, sweetheart.” I stepped closer to her. She moved into my embrace and burrowed her head into my chest, gripping the t-shirt I’d worn under the sweatshirt I’d given her tight in her palms.
“Why would she have someone call me? Even if something happened? And how did they get my number?”
She shot off question after question and squeezed my shirt tighter.
“I’m not sure, but I can call them back for you if you want me to. Whatever you need, let me help.”
She let go of my shirt and stepped back a bit.
“What if I say I don’t want to call this woman back or if it’s a trick of some kind? My mother has never had a conversation with me so there is no reason to contact me now or to have a stranger do it.”
I couldn’t answer any of the questions she had and that killed me. She was struggling and I didn’t like to see her upset. She also had enough going on and didn’t need more.
“If you don’t want to call her back then you don’t have to, but will you be able to walk away and not know what this lady was calling about or why your mother would have her do so?” I gently fired back a question at her because the last thing I wanted her to do was stew about it.
“Probably not, but I don’t know if I’m ready and I need to go check on Grandpa. I also forgot to tell Jett to lock the door and that he shouldn’t have someone sweet like Patience coming over and walking to and from the car alone.” She nibbled worriedly on her bottom lip. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”
She had a good point but again she had so much pressure on her.
If something didn’t give, I feared she’d break.
“How about you go in and check on your grandpa while I go talk to Jett for you? But we have the system in place so try not to worry as much.” I knew that was easier said than done and hoped I was right but seeing her stressed out was not easy.
“Thank you. You’re too nice to me,” she replied, looking down at the porch.
I put my hand under her chin and lifted her head so she could see my eyes. “That isn’t possible, sweetheart. You deserve to be taken care of.”
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears and I could see she was fighting to hold them back. In order to keep them at bay, she changed the subject.
“Are you coming back in after you talk to Jett?”
I groaned. “I want that more than anything, but if I do, you may never get rid of me. And kissing would turn into a whole lot more.”
Her body shivered from head to toe and I knew it had nothing to do with the cold.
“Maybe that’s what I want.”
“You're killing me, Red. But we'll get there soon because now that I’ve had a taste of you, I’m addicted.”
She blushed a pretty shade of pink. “Me too.”
I leaned into her and placed a quick, gentle kiss on her lips. “I’ll wait until you get inside and lock up.”
As she started to the front door, she glanced back at me. “Will you text me and let me know you got home safely?”
How cute was that? She was worried about me.
“You bet.” I gave her a megawatt smile and then she disappeared into the house.
It was damn hard to leave. The beauty was under my skin and I couldn’t shake the feeling she was meant to be mine. But was it too soon even if we had met some time ago?
Did I know what I was doing after the botched relationship I had in the past?
