Ava half expectedher mom to be waiting at the school when she picked up Ruby, but she wasn’t there. Cole insisted on riding with her, and Ava was thankful. She had planned to ask him to join her, but he had beaten her to it.
Ruby slid into the backseat with a bright smile on her face. “Hi, Ava. Hi, Cole.”
“Hey, sweetie,” Ava said. “How was school?”
“Good. I was invited to a birthday party.”
“You were? That’s exciting. When is it?”
“In two weeks. Can I go?” Ruby asked.
“Of course. We can make that work.”
Ruby’s face fell. “What if I’m back home by then?”
Ava was driving down the street and was about to pull over to talk to Ruby, but Cole beat her to it. He turned around in his seat and smiled.
“Then we’ll come pick you up and take you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Ava looked over at Cole and smiled gratefully at him. He winked. They pulled up to their house and walked to the front door. She and Cole had set up Ruby’s room before they picked her up from school. They agreed not to say anything and wait for Ruby to notice.
It took only a few minutes before Ruby went to the room to change her clothes. Ava and Cole looked at each other as a scream tore through the air. Cole laughed lightly, and Ava beamed as Ruby came running out of the room and straight into Ava’s arms, hugging her tightly.
“Thank you!”
Ava giggled. “Cole helped me pick it out. He found the butterflies and curtains. Do you like it?”
Ruby ran over to Cole and hugged him next. “I love it so much. Thank you!”
“Anything for my favorite girl.”
Ava damn-near swooned. Ruby giggled and ran back to her room. Things were slowly coming together. All she needed was for the court case to be over, Ava to be in her custody, and for Cole to be her boyfriend. Then perhaps she would have it all.
