“I love you.”
My eyes closed and I let the words sink in. I remembered back to the time when I thought someday she may complete me.
That time had come.
I opened my eyes, my pulse pounded, and my heart beat faster than a race running to the finish line. I’d been thinking about telling her how I felt, but she beat me to it.
It was perfect.
She was perfect.
“I love you too, Red.”
Tears of happiness slid down her cheeks.
“Let me show you just how much I love you.”
“Yes, please,” she whispered.
I rolled her onto her back and got to work.
And before the morning sun had risen, she knew exactly how much I loved her.
ChapterTwenty
RUBY
We’d gotten into a rhythm.
Within a few weeks, we managed to work well around our very different schedules. Lyric had officially moved in and I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around it. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say it made me giddy as a kid on Christmas morning. I wasn’t the only one who loved having him there, everyone in the house did.
I was, however, struggling with being back at work and having to leave Autumn. She seemed to be doing better than I was with the arrangement and enjoyed not only spending time with Gramps but also the ladies and their children who insisted on helping whenever we needed someone. Not only had they been helping with my sister, but they were helping with Patience’s little guy too.
My friends were the type of people everyone needed in their lives. They were in a class of their own and I was part of the group. I couldn’t be more thankful for everyone that was part of my life and my family’s too.
They were heaven-sent, wanting to help us as we maneuvered through the next few months of getting Jett and Patience through graduation, Autumn adjusted to her new home, and all the other changes in our lives. Our friends were worth more than gold.
As my workday had gone on, I couldn’t stop thinking about my sister and I’d called to check in on her multiple times. I tried talking to her, which ended up just being her listening to me since she still hadn’t uttered a word. But she smiled more, was more animated, and managed to tell us what she needed or felt without words. She’d been checked out when CPS took her in and it seemed to be voluntary due to possible fear and trauma.
The idea of my precious sister going through anything that would cause her turmoil, made my heart weep. For now, we were giving her time, patience, and love while she settled in with her family.
“Hey, Ruby,” I heard someone call out, startling me out of my spinning thoughts.
I turned to see one of the other nurses on duty walking toward me as I came out of the employee lounge.
“There was a guy at the check-in desk asking about you a few minutes ago,” Emily said.
“Who was it? Is he still there?” My heart raced thinking maybe Lyric came by.
God, I missed seeing him. After we had time off, it was hard to go back to both of us having two jobs and less time together. Lyric was feeling the same way but I wasn’t sure what he could do about that, both his jobs were important and such a big part of him. But for me, I only had one big modeling job lined up, my last for a while so I could focus on my family. I wouldn’t even do that one but I’d already signed the contract for it.
Emily reached me with an odd look on her face. “That’s just it. He asked if you were working. When I said that you were and did he need me to page you, he said no and walked off. It was very strange.”
A chill swept through me.
Nobody that I knew would do that. Unease filled me, replacing the exhilaration I’d felt moments before at the notion it could be my guy stopping in to see me.
“What did he look like?”
