“Yes. We talked about it before. The sooner she can get into her permanent environment the better. And she clearly didn't want you to leave.”
“Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I can’t wait to tell everyone, but I understand we have to see how tomorrow goes.”
“Something tells me it will be as good as today,” Janet said. “I will see you tomorrow.”
When the woman headed to her car, I raced down the driveway, needing to get to Lyric as fast as possible. I jumped in and turned to look at him.
“Did you see?” I said, practically weeping again.
Lyric smiled. “Yeah, baby, I saw. I told you she’d love you.”
There was that look again, twinkling in his eyes.
Love.
I never imagined it for me, but it was staring me right in the face.
ChapterSeventeen
LYRIC
Ruby’s gazemet mine from across the room.
Unease flickered across her beautiful features. I was well aware when she agreed to have dinner with my parents that it wouldn’t be easy for her, but my parents were a huge part of my life.
Just as she was.
I wanted them to like each other.
When I told her in the car that everyone loved her, I meant it. I may not have said it to her in the way that I was desperately wanting to, but I wasn’t sure if she was ready for that. Yet somehow, I think she noticed the truth brewing in my eyes. And I watched something change in hers too.
Maybe the time to tell her was right around the corner.
But first, we needed to make it through the evening with my parents. When we arrived for dinner and introductions were made, my mom and dad greeted everyone with an abundance of warmth as if they’d known her, Gramps, and Jett forever. So, while I could see her mind turning, wanting my family to accept her, I knew that would happen before the night was over.
I walked over to Ruby and slipped my hand in hers. It wasn’t a surprise that my mother zeroed in on the union and happiness twinkled in her gaze as she looked at me.
“You have an amazing home,” Ruby told my parents.
The house was a good size and it was nice, but they had only seen the main area where people usually congregated. When they saw some of the rooms, I expected their minds to be blown. Each of them for different reasons. I was rather looking forward to seeing their expressions. My parents were down to earth and they didn’t need fancy, but there were a couple of areas in which they went all out.
“Dinner isn’t quite ready so how about we take the full tour and then it should be time to eat,” my mother said.
Everyone followed as she started walking. We walked through the house, mostly my mom talking and Ruby commenting here and there. But when we got to the office and Gramps caught a load of my father's gun cabinet, I chuckled. I don’t think I’d ever heard him say so much at one time. His eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. We got stuck there for a bit before moving on.
It was when we got to my parent’s bathroom I thought Ruby might shut herself inside and never come out. I knew she would love it and I immediately was running blueprints in my head of a way to give her whatever her dream bathroom would be at her place.
She gasped at the big clawfoot tub and massive, stone walk-in shower with his and her showerheads side by side. When my mom told her about the heated tile floors and the towel warmer, her eyes were huge.
“I think I might stay here tonight and lock myself in.” Ruby giggled and my mother laughed along with her.
The bathroom was my mom’s oasis and it looked the part, with shelves lined with tons of lotions and sprays, a couple of plants, a double sink with waterfall faucets, and even a chandelier. It was a little out of place in their home when you took in the rest of it, but my father would do anything to make his wife happy. While they had a lot of money, most of the time you would never know it. That was until you saw a couple of the rooms in the house where they’d gone all out.
“It’s yours any time you want to use it.” My mother placed her hand on Ruby’s arm and smiled.
Ruby’s hand tightened on mine at the contact. Since her grandmother died she hadn’t had a woman in her life. And while I knew her grandma had been a wonderful lady and as good as any mother could be, Ruby still hurt from her birth mother not wanting her in her life.
I was happy to share mine with her.
