She rests her forehead against mine. “You’ve been through so much. You could’ve let it harden you, but here you are, the kindest man I know.”
“You give me too much credit. I’m not an easy man, Ruby. You see a different side of me because you’re you.”
“I don’t think that’s true. You practically raised Connor, and I see how you are with the people you care about: your friends. Aiden. You could’ve turned him away when Breanna showed up out of the blue, but that’s not who you are. Everything you went through has molded you into the amazing person you are today.”
“And who is that?”
“The best man I’ve ever known. Strong. Protective. Compassionate. Caring. The man I…” She swallows thickly.
With my heart in my throat, I wait for her to finish.
Say love, Ruby. Tell me you love me, and I’ll give you everything I have.
“The man I turn to when things get hard,” she says.
In an attempt to mask my disappointment, I sweep her damp hair away from her neck and kiss her collarbone. “You can always count on me. I promise.”
“I know.”
Ruby
We stay like that for a while, floating in the middle of the secluded creek with our bodies intertwined. He glances around the area with a curious expression.
“Why didn’t you take us back to the waterfall from prom night?” he asks.
The question conjures images of a much younger Liam standing with his back to his truck, with his arms crossed over his chest as he watches a teenage Ruby plunge headlong into the water in full glam. I must’ve been quite a sight.
I smile wistfully. It’s one of my favorite memories. “Less likely to run into one of my brothers over here.”
“Makes sense. Wouldn’t want to be caught with my pants down around their baby sister.”
I jab my pointer finger into his nose. “You scared of the big bad Hayes boys, Grumpy?”
He nips and says, “One at a time? No. All three at once? You bet your ass I am.”
My laughter fills the quiet of our peaceful hollow, and Liam tilts his head as he looks at me. He doesn’t say anything, staring like he’s trying to memorize my face. If it were anybodyelse, I’d shrink under the scrutiny, but Liam makes me feel beautiful and cherished.
A short while later, we dry off with a couple of extra blankets he keeps tucked in the back of his truck and make our way back down the dirt road.
“Now you can’t say you’ve never been skinny dipping,” I say.
“Do you make a habit of getting into random bodies of water completely naked?”
“Would you believe me if I said no?”
“Probably not.”
My phone rings in the pocket of my jeans, and I tug it out to see Adam’s name on the display. “I need to take this. Hello?”
Never one for small talk, Adam responds succinctly, “I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news.”
“What’s the good news?”
“We have a court date,” he says, his tone enthusiastic.
“And the bad news?”
“We have a court date,” he repeats, injecting his voice with concern this time.
