“I’m not good for you. I can’t be what you need.”
“All I need is you,” she says, her eyes shining with unspoken emotion.
“I have to consider how this will affect Aiden. He comes first. I can’t let this thing between us cause him any more pain.”
She looks right through me, like she’s not even seeing me anymore. I know it’s wrong to use my son against her, but it’s the only way I can think of to get Ruby to stop fighting me.
“Right. So… should I pack my shit and go now? Or can I wait until morning?”
There she is. Strong as hell. I’m so goddamn proud, but I won’t give in. “Goldie…”
“No. Don’t.” Her bottom lip trembles almost imperceptibly, but the fire in her eyes never dims.
After a moment, she nods, spins on her heel, and rushes out the door. Her clipped footsteps fade down the stairs, carrying the ashes of my heart right along with her.
No goodbye. No longing glance. She’s just… gone, and I made the biggest goddamn mistake of my life.
When the truck door slams, I rush after her, stepping outside in time to see her headlights disappear around the corner as the first flash of lightning illuminates the sky. I don’t stop to think; I rush back inside the house and snatch my keys off the hook.
I drive for several long minutes as the rain pelts down on the windshield. Halfway to the ranch, self-doubt creeps in, and my determination wanes.
Part of me wants to get on my knees and beg for forgiveness, but a much larger part—the protector, the savior—is telling me to let her go. I have two choices: I could be a good man or a selfish one. I’m locked in a stalemate with no way out. In all of the indecision, my conscience is nowhere to be found.
I’ve always been the one to do the right thing. I put others before myself when faced with difficult choices, except where Ruby is concerned. With her, the line between right and wrong has always been blurry. I’ve toed that line too many times to count.
Uncertainty wins out, and I swiftly change directions, heading back the way I came, only I don’t head home. Instead, I turn down that familiar side road.
I glance at the passenger seat, my mind conjuring images of a carefree Ruby with her hair whipping in the wind and a smile across her sun-kissed cheeks. The image fades faster than it came, replaced by the version of Ruby that stormed out of my house and disappeared into the night.
Another flash of lightning illuminates the sky as I pull up to the muddy bank of Ruby’s creek. I need time to think—time to sort through the confusing mess of emotions.
My mind travels back in time of its own accord, conjuring memories I thought I’d buried with time and distance.
Liam, 21 years old
I twirl my house keys around my finger, eager to tell Ruby about the new place. She broke up with Connor for good over the summer, and she’s been distant, but as soon as I signed on the dotted line, there was only one person I wanted to tell.
The house is a fixer-upper near the lake, but it’s mine. I worked my ass off to afford it, and with my mom’s insurance payout, I finally have a place to call my own. Somewhere stable where I can build a life for myself and keep an eye on Connor.
I pull up outside the creek with the waterfall and check my phone. She told me to meet her here at seven o’clock, and I still have five minutes to spare. I glance at her guitar in the passenger seat—it’s past time I get it back to her. Now that Connor is out of the picture, I don’t want to let her go, but we can’t be anything other than friends. It’s a fine line—one I’m not willing to cross, even if she tempts me like no one ever has.
A shock of blonde hair comes into view in the mirror, and I turn to see Ruby on horseback, galloping into the small clearing. She looks wild and untamed, and so goddamn beautiful it hurts. There’s something lighter about her now that she doesn’t have my brother weighing her down.
I step out of the truck as she ties the horse to the hitching post nearby. When she turns around, I momentarily forget how to breathe. It’s been too long since I’ve set eyes on her, and she looks more gorgeous than ever. I pop open the tailgate and climb into the back. She joins me without hesitation.
“Hey, Grumpy,” she says with a smile.
My mouth curves up at one corner. “Why do you call me that?”
She laughs. “The first time Connor brought me to the apartment, you spent the whole night scowling at me.”
I remember that night. They’d been together almost a year by that point. I’d seen pictures of her, but I was so busy between school and my part-time job that I hadn’t officially met her yet. Connor walked in with this curvy blonde on his arm. She had the most gorgeous blue eyes I’d ever seen, and when she smiled, it felt like my heart might beat out of my chest. Nobody had ever smiled at me like that.
“I wasn’t scowling at you.”
“You were.”
“No. I wasn’t. I was trying to figure out how the fuck I was going to survive dinner with my brother and his girlfriend when she’s the most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen. I wasn’t grumpy, I was jealous.” The words are out before I can stop them, but even if I could take them back, I don’t think I would.
