Then it would be over.
The thought settled like a stone behind my ribs—cold and heavy.
Inside, I stripped off my coat and stood by the dying fire. Added wood mechanically, watching flames catch and build. The cabin was too quiet. Too empty despite Ruby being down the hall behind a closed door.
I could see the strip of light under it.
Not locked. Just like last night.
But tonight I knew better. Patience wasn't the problem.
The problem was something she was hiding. Something that had her so terrified she'd rather destroy this—destroy us—than risk being honest.
And until she was ready to face that, ready to trust me with whatever truth she was carrying...
We were done.
I went to my room, closed the door firmly, and lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
Tomorrow, everything would break.
Chapter Five
Ruby
SUNDAY MORNING—-VALENTINE'SDay—-and I'd already been awake for hours.
Four a.m. found me staring at the guest room ceiling, my mind circling the same impossible truth: I had real feelings for the man I'd planned to destroy.
The files I'd found in Gil's office yesterday kept playing through my head. His handwritten notes about preserving the fireplace. The offer letter showing he'd tried to give Danny more money. Everything I'd believed—-wrong.
And Gil had made me dinner last night when I'd been shaky and overwhelmed. Simple comfort food, no questions asked, just quiet care.
I couldn't face him without knowing Danny's truth first. Without hearing it directly from him. My assumptions about him being diminished, humiliated, forced to work for the man who'd taken our home—-I needed to test those against reality.
Because if I was wrong about Danny, I was wrong about all of it.
I pulled on jeans and a sweater in the dark, worked my hair into a braid. My phone showed 4:47 a.m. Too early to show up at his cabin unannounced, but I could text.
Need to talk. Can you meet me at your office at 7? It's important. -R
The reply came within minutes.
Ruby-girl. Yes. I'll be there. -D
