Connor’s head swivels back to me, and he shrugs. “So, it’s official? ‘Bout time.”
“Quit fucking deflecting.” I grip his shoulder and spin him toward the back door, giving him a gentle shove forward. “Come on, let’s have a drink, and you can tell me what it is you’ve confided in mygirlfriend.”
“Youreallylike that word,” he says, voice laced with amusement.
On the way through the kitchen, I grab a Guinness from the fridge along with one of Connor’s godawful hard ciders. “Can’t believe you still drink this garbage. As a bar owner, you should have better taste.”
“As an Irishman, you should be less cliché, but here we are.” Connor joins me out back on the porch, elbow propped on the railing.
I mirror his position on the opposite side and take a long pull of my beer while we stand in uncomfortable silence. I miss the days when he used to tell me everything without hesitation. That’s changed now, and I feel guilty for how everything went down. Maybe someday we’ll get back to that, but for now it seems he’s still keeping secrets.
I won’t lie and say it doesn’t hurt that he confided in Ruby before me, but I can’t say I blame him. She’s always so open and honest with her feelings. She’s the perfect person to confide in. Or maybe she’s perfect in general—in my eyes at least.
“I sold the bar,” he says, matter-of-factly.
I stare at him, brows drawn together as I wait for him to elaborate.
“I’m leaving Lexington. Exploring other opportunities. I want to be closer to you and Aiden. Make up for lost time, as the saying goes.”
“You didn’t think to discuss this with me before you up and changed your life again? Did you learn nothing from the last time you pulled this shit?”
“I was hoping to have a plan in place before I had to bring it up. My lawyers are looking into a place in Nashville, but it’s going to take some time. Willow Valley is an option, too.”
“And in the meantime, you’re living with me?”
“Yep. So, you can let Ruby out of her nanny duties.”
I don’t like the sound of that. We’re just getting started, and I don’t want to give her any more reason to leave. If I don’t need her to take care of Aiden anymore, will she stay? Or will that be enough of a reason for her to leave again?
Connor smirks and his eyes crinkle, reminding me so much of our mom. I don’t have a lot of memories of her, but I’ll never forget her smile. “You could just tell her, you know?”
I take a sip of my beer and shift my attention to the tree line.“I’m not about to take relationship advice from the guy who fumbled Ruby Lynn Hayes.”
“Fair, but at least my past didn’t come back to bite me in the ass all because I was trying to escape the only woman I’ve ever given a damn about by getting with a new one that I could only barely tolerate.”
I exhale a long breath. “It got me Aiden. What happened between me and Bree back then, for better or worse, I wouldn’t change it if I could.”
Connor taps the railing twice and points his cider at me like a threat. “Gonna call it a night. Go tell my ex you love her.”
“You mean mygirlfriend.”
“Potato,potato.”
Ruby
I sink into the plush rug beneath the Victrola table, sitting crisscross in front of the neatly lined shelves of vinyl records. In all the hours I’ve spent in this room, I never touched any of it. I was always so busy writing my own album, I never got a chance to enjoy the space for what it is.
I start at the top row, sifting through everything from classic rock and nineties country to jazz and classical. It’s obvious Liam takes good care of his collection, but I can still pick out his favorites based on the overall wear and tear of the jackets. I stop briefly on the yellow cover with “Jolene” written on the top, smiling before moving down to the bottom row.
The first record is one I recognize instantly. It’s my very first single, “Anywhere But Here.” The cover photo is one of my favorites to this day, with my hair teased to high heaven and my denim bell-bottom jumpsuit. I’m sitting in the back of Dolly with my acoustic guitar somewhere on the outskirts of Nashville in a field of wildflowers.
The next record is another one of mine, my first full-length album. As I continue down the line, I see every one of my vinyls from EPs and LPs to the special edition monochromatic in every color available.
At the end of the shelf, there’s a thick, black leather-bound album. It has space for a photo, but instead, the little frame holds a pink glitter guitar pick with a distinctive R etched in the plastic, and a handful of paper confetti. A gasp escapes my lips, and I drop the album to the floor. Time seems to slow as I try to make sense of it.
It’s a shrine to my career—enough to rival any collector, and I’m utterly speechless. My mind travels back to all those months ago in the grocery aisle, Liam’s words replaying like it was yesterday. “I was the first Ruby Lynn Hayes Fan.”
I shake my head in disbelief.
