“Mortifyingly good. I know about your weird thing with true crime podcasts and your inability to remember where you parked.”
“Once,” he protested. “That happened once.”
“Three times,” Jackson said.
Mary laughed, reaching across the table to squeeze Ruby's hand. “Look at you. All grown up and still causing trouble.”
“Hi, Mrs. Norwood. You look exactly the same.” Ruby grinned. “What's your secret? I need to know for when I hit my fifties.”
“Gardening and stubbornness. And it's still Mary, sweetheart. How many times do I have to tell you?”
Ruby had known Mary since she was fifteen, back when her family had moved to Cheyenne Valley for two and a half years. Jackson had befriended her older brother Ronan almost immediately, and by extension, Ruby had been absorbed into their circle. Mary had been the kind of mother who always had cookies in the jar and never asked too many questions when teenagers showed up unannounced.
“How's the garden?” She asked. “Jackson mentioned something about tomatoes?”
“Coming in early this year. I've been making sauce and freezing it. You'll have to take some home with you.”
“I most certainly will.” Ruby accepted the menu from a passing waiter. “What's good here besides everything?”
“The chicken parm,” Jackson said. “But pace yourself. The portions could feed a small army.”
They ordered—Ruby went with the parm, naturally—and she launched into the story of her drive from Chicago. The massive wooden rooster sculpture outside Bloomington. The bartender who'd tried to convince her that Illinois had better barbecue than Texas. The traffic jam caused by a loose cow on Route 55.
“A cow,” Jackson repeated, grinning. “You're making that up.”
“I have photographic evidence. Bessie and I bonded while the farmer chased her with a lasso. Well, it might've been a rope. I'm not great with farm equipment terminology.”
Braden leaned forward. “Did you actually name the cow?”
“She looked like a Bessie. Besides, we were stuck together for forty minutes. It would've been rude not to introduce myself.”
The laughter came easily around the table, thawing something in Ruby's chest that had been solid for months. This was good. Normal. The kind of simple joy she'd been missing. No expectations, no pressure to produce or prove her worth.
She'd always been good at this, at filling silences with stories, at making people laugh. It was easier than letting them ask questions she didn't want to answer.
“Oh,” she said, stabbing a piece of bread. “I ran into Celeste on the way here. Literally almost ran into her.”
“How'd that go?” Braden asked.
“Frosty. Like, polar vortex levels of frosty.” Ruby grinned. “She looked at me like I'd personally offended her entire bloodline. Classic Celeste Russo, serious as a heart attack.”
Except that wasn't entirely fair. Celeste had looked tired, circles under her eyes that makeup couldn't quite hide. And when Ruby had pulled up beside her, there'd been something else in her expression. Not just annoyance. Something deeper, more complicated.
Something that made Ruby want to pull over and ask if she was okay.
And she'd been gorgeous. That was new. Or maybe not new, but Ruby had been seventeen and stupid the last time she'd really looked at Celeste. Now, with the afternoon light catching the auburn tones in her dark hair, the vivid intelligence in her brown eyes…
Ruby had felt something kick within her that had nothing to do with old rivalries.
Well. If Celeste could read minds, she'd probably drive her car off a bridge rather than spend five minutes in the same room as Ruby. Especially given that her ex-husband had just come out as gay. The poor woman was probably questioning every relationship choice she'd ever made.
The last thing she needed was Ruby Langley having inconvenient thoughts about her bone structure and the firm way her hands had gripped the steering wheel.
“She's been through a lot,” Braden said. “The divorce was hard on her, even though it was the right call.”
Ruby nodded, pushing her thoughts aside. “I'm sure. That must've been a hell of a shock.”
“Actually—” Jackson started, but Braden shook his head, and he stopped.
