She reminds me of myself. The fighter underneath all that fear and exhaustion.
My phone buzzes again. This time it's Tank.
**Heard you got into it with some civilians. Everything okay?**
How the hell does Tank already know? Then I remember. Blackwater Falls is a small town. Word spreads fast.
**Yeah. Just helping a neighbor. All handled.**
**King wants details at the meeting.**
Of course he does. King doesn't like surprises, and a prospect getting into a fight with civilians definitely counts as a surprise.
**I'll explain tonight.**
I pocket the phone and try to focus on something else. Anything else. But my mind keeps drifting back to Ruby. To the way she felt in my arms when she hugged me. Small and fragile but strong underneath.
To the way my body responded to having her close.
Fuck.
No. Absolutely not. I'm not doing this. I don't do relationships. I don't do the whole protective boyfriend thing. I saw what love did to my parents. It turned them into bitter, angry people who blamed each other for everything wrong in their lives.
Ruby's a neighbor. A neighbor who needed help. That's all this is. That's all this can be. But even as I tell myself that, I'm already planning how to check on her later. How to make sure she has enough food. How to watch for her asshole ex or parents coming back.
I'm in trouble.
Deep, deep trouble.
And the worst part? I'm not sure I want to get out of it.
Chapter 4 - Ruby
I'm going to be late.
The thought circles my mind like a vulture as I struggle to get Liam's jacket on while he squirms and giggles, treating this like a game. My hands shake as I try to zip it up, but the damn zipper catches on the fabric.
"Liam, baby, please hold still," I plead, my voice tight with stress.
"No!" He shouts gleefully, twisting away from me.
Deep breath. I force myself to take a deep breath. He's two. He doesn't understand that today is my first day at the flower shop, that this job is literally the reason we came to Blackwater Falls, that Mrs. Henderson was kind enough to hire me despite my patchy work history and let me bring Liam along because I can't afford childcare.
He doesn't understand that if I'm late on my first day, she might change her mind about all of it.
I finally manage to get the zipper up and grab our bag packed with diapers, snacks, juice boxes, and Liam's favorite stuffed rabbit. My own jacket is somewhere. I scan the small living room, spotting it draped over the back of the couch.
The clock on the microwave reads 8:47. I'm supposed to be there at nine, and it's a fifteen-minute walk. Shit.
"Come on, baby." I scoop Liam up, grab the bag, and rush toward the door.
The second I step outside, wind slams into me. My short hair whips around my face, and Liam makes a startled sound, burying his face against my neck.
"Windy!" he declares, his voice muffled.
"Yeah, baby. Very windy." I adjust my grip on him and start down the porch steps, fighting against the gusts that seem determined to push me back inside.
Dead leaves skitter across the yard. A trash can somewhere down the street has tipped over, its contents scattered across the road. The sky is gray and threatening, heavy clouds moving fast overhead.
