LYRIC
The house wasan explosion of noise and laughter.
All the ladies had burst into action setting up a room Patience and her infant could use once she picked out where she wanted to stay. It wasn’t lost on me that it was upstairs next to Jett’s room. It was clear that she felt safe with him and trusted him immensely.
Patience couldn’t stop the tears that kept streaming down her face as she watched in stunned appreciation at everything being done for her and the baby. I could tell she wanted to object at times because she felt bad, but all the ladies made it clear that this was what family did for one another.
The young mother had a family and that is not what they had done. Maybe for a short time but I don’t think it ever was easy and it had a date stamp on it the moment she’d turned eighteen. They had a new family now. Something Ruby had told her multiple times throughout the night.
Ruby truly was a gem.
Her grandfather once told me that was his and his wife’s first thought, along with her red hair and fiery personality at only a few days old, so they’d given her the name accordingly.
Now she was my gem. A very precious one. And a priceless one too.
“Can you believe all this,” Ruby said, her voice animated with wonder as she came up beside me.
“Actually I can. I have seen this group in action a few times. It’s pretty remarkable, isn’t it?” I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her into my side.
“Well I have got a glimpse into what they do but God, Lyric, this is crazy. And so wonderful.”
I turned her in my arms so I could look at her. Something I could do all day and night.
“Did you see Autumn's face when all the kids and babies trickled in? Summer told her that they were her cousins. The look of joy on her face almost brought me to my knees.”
I’d been there so I saw the look she was talking about and it was not something I’d have wanted to miss. But hearing Ruby explain it with so much zest in her tone put a whole new spin on it. She was waving her arms around in the air with animation and her voice was raised with elation.
“And all the gifts. They brought even more stuff for Autumn and Lord, the things they got for Patience and her child. A crib, changing table, clothes, toys, diapers, the list goes on, and not only stuff for the baby but for Patience too.”
Ruby’s body bristled with excitement.
“It’s great,” I told her.
“Don’t let him fool you. We all chipped in, but this guy,” Kace said, slapping me on the back. “He was the mastermind behind it all and paid for a lot of it.”
Dropping one of my arms from Ruby I nailed Kace in the gut with my elbow. I didn’t mind her knowing I helped but I also didn’t want her worrying more than I knew she already did about how much I did. After hearing her in the bedroom before we went to Seattle I was just going to lay low and do it behind the scenes.
Kace let out an Oof at the contact.
“Big mouth,” I told him.
“You didn’t want me to know?” Ruby asked, curiously.
“That’s my cue to leave,” Kace said, chuckling as he walked away.
Serious eyes met mine and waited for my response. Placing my hand back on her hip, I drug her closer again.
“I don’t mind you knowing. What I didn’t want was you worrying about it.” Even though there was a room full of people, I couldn’t resist kissing her but tried to do it quickly.
But I wasn’t fast enough.
“Get a room.”
My jaw dropped and Ruby’s eyes widened with shock as we turned to the culprit who was ribbing us.
“Embry Marie Hart,” her mother’s voice scolded.
The little one turned to her mother. “What Mama? Daddy and the uncles say it all the time. I can’t get in trouble unless all of them do too,” she said, pointing a finger at her dad and then at all the guys in the room including me.
