Page 18 of Cursed by Death (Ruby Jane #1)

I ’d woken up with a massive hangover almost every single day for a week straight and I was thinking that perhaps it might be time to sort my shit out and get it together.

The problem was, I wasn’t quite sure how to do that. Oh well. Maybe I’d just become an alcoholic and live my life like that. It’s not like I had a job or anything that required me to function properly from day to day.

How sad was that?

The furniture for the guest house arrived in the early afternoon. I also put in my grocery order and a large one for everything that I thought Ginger might need. They’d be delivered to my house later in the day. I didn’t think I’d ever actually gone to the grocery store and shopped for food once before in my adult life. I’d always bought it online and then had it delivered.

Rally texted me in the afternoon to tell me that Hunter was bringing Ginger and Tray by, he also wanted to remind me that I promised to be at his place at nightfall tomorrow for his challenge.

I didn’t need the reminder. Like I could possibly forget.

Detective Rowans texted me to tell me Bane and Roan came into the station to give him all the details they knew about Thomas’s murderer. Apparently, Thomas hadn't been the only victim.

I was curious but I didn’t ask any more questions. If it were something he wanted me to know he would have told me. I also knew there were going to be parts of his job that he wouldn’t be able to discuss with me.

I didn’t know how I felt about the twins going to the police station to speak with him. There was a big part of me that felt incredibly jealous, though I tried to fight it. It did me no good and the stupid feeling lingered long after I read the text.

Hunter didn’t just drop Ginger and the baby off and then leave like I was expecting him to. He got out of the truck, got the baby out of the car seat, and then acted like he was the father and the family were here for a nice little afternoon visit.

Hmm…

I couldn’t tell if he was simply being his normal friendly self or if he maybe had a crush on Ginger. He seemed harmless enough but I’d have to keep an eye on him.

Ginger acted like it was completely normal for him to have taken her baby and was carting it around for her. Maybe it was just some shifter thing and they were all just one big happy family. What the hell did I know?

I was very relieved when no one tried to offer me the baby. I didn’t think I’d ever actually held a baby before and I wasn’t so sure today was the day I wanted to try it out.

I led them back to the guest house and let them inside so they could look around on their own without me hovering over them.

I got the Jeep out of the garage and parked it out front, leaving the keys in the ignition.

A quick glance through the vehicle was all it took to affirm that I had no personal belongings in there. There wasn’t even a water bottle or a hair tie. And it was as clean as it had been when I first bought it.

After driving the Bentley yesterday, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was not going to miss the Jeep in the slightest. I was happy I had found a good home for it to go to.

Thomas would likely be very proud of me and he’d be so happy that I had somehow managed to surround myself with good people after all this time.

Even though I had never met the woman, I had a feeling my grandmother would not care. For someone who had left me all of her money and possessions she still came off as a very selfish person to me. No amount of money in this world would ever make me change my mind.

I waited for them by the Jeep. I considered hooking up the car seat in there but I was concerned I wouldn't do it correctly and somehow end up endangering the child,

They came out ten minutes later and it just happened to be when the groceries were delivered. Hunter wordlessly gave the baby to Ginger and after I tipped the driver Hunter and I carried all of the groceries into my house. We placed them on the island in my kitchen and it took us three trips to get them all. I might have overdone it and ordered too much stuff.

Ginger looked at everything with wide eyes. “How many people live here with you again?”

My cheeks actually flushed and I began going through the bags. I put my things away and put the things I got for her back into the bags.

“Umm… it’s just me who lives here actually. When I ordered my groceries this morning I just went ahead and ordered some things that I could put in the guest house for you.” I shrugged like it was no big deal, because to me it wasn’t, but I could tell by the look on Ginger’s face that it wasn’t a small deal to her.

Shit.

I hoped she didn’t cry again. I didn’t think I’d be able to handle that two days in a row.

Hunter started laughing. “You and Rally are going to make quite the couple. He’d give the shirt off his back if one of his people needed it. You two together are going to be serious power couple goals amongst the supernatural community. Word has already gotten out about you. Everyone is going to be there tomorrow and they aren’t coming to watch Rally fight. They’re coming to get a look at you.”

“Fucking great,” I muttered sarcastically under my breath, making Hunter laugh again.

“It’s not a bad thing, Ruby,” Ginger told me. “They’re all going to love you.”

“Rally and I aren’t a couple,” I said in an attempt to change the subject. “I’m a free bird and that’s how I like it.”

“Yeah, so, about that,” Hunter said, all traces of laughter now gone. “I saw how tight you and the Detective seemed to be. What’s up with that? Are you sleeping with him?”

“Hunter!” Ginger exclaimed. “You can’t go around asking people who they’re sleeping with. Especially not our Prince’s mate.”

I actually didn’t mind Hunter’s questions. Only for Ginger’s sake would I refrain from returning the favor and asking him point blank if he wanted to sleep with her.

“I’m not sleeping with Detective Rowans,” I answered him. “Yet. But I want to. I kind of want to sleep with Rally too, though. Hell, I’d even fuck them both at the same time. I love me a good sandwich.”

They both gaped at me. Okay, so maybe that had been too much information.

“Can anyone tell me what exactly one should wear to a challenge?” I asked them, changing the subject in order to make them less uncomfortable. “Have either of you ever been to one of these things before?”

Ginger recovered first. “I’ve been to two of them before and I went with my husband. Just dress how you would normally dress, so long as that’s not like the dress and heels you wore to the funeral. We shifters aren’t fancy people.”

I could do that, just so long as no one had a problem with me wearing all black I’d be just fine.

“People challenge Rally often because he’s so nice and friendly to everyone. He likes to treat all of us the same, no matter our rank, family, or gender. Not everyone likes that. So, he gets challenged often. He always wins.”

Fuck.

I didn’t like the sound of him being challenged all the time. “Challenges are just until someone submits, right?”

“Not always,” Hunter told me. “They can also be to the death but our Prince doesn’t kill them. He just teaches them a much-needed lesson. However, I highly doubt that if someone beats him they’d let him live.”

That sounded terrifying. If Rally were smart he’d kill every single one of the people who challenged him. I bet it would make for a lot less people challenging him.

“I’m gonna go and put these groceries away really quick,” Hunter said. “I’ll leave you two here for a little bit of girl talk.”

As soon as he was gone I turned to Ginger. “So, when are you moving in?”

“It’ll take me a couple of days to pack and then we’re moving in. I love it here already.”

I grinned at her, happy with her answer. “Excellent news. I’m so glad you like it. Now, tell me, are you going to be there tomorrow?”

“I wish, but I have no one to babysit. I’d love to be there for Rally though, to support him.”

“Are children not welcome at these things?” I asked her curiously. I mean, it would make perfect sense to me if they weren’t but I thought I’d ask just to be sure. “Because of the violence?”

Surprising me, she shook her head, no. “No, people will bring kids, some of them anyway. And, besides, Trey’s too young to know what’s going on. We’re shifters and we learn from a very young age how things work between us. And more people feel comfortable with bringing their kids because Rally doesn’t kill anyone.”

Okay, so none of that’s really bad to hear. What was I missing here? “So, you’re not going, why exactly then? You said you didn’t have a babysitter and then said children were welcome. What gives?”

She sighed heavily and I almost wished I hadn’t asked. Almost. “A lot of people look at me with pity and I don’t like the way that feels. But, you know there are quite a bit more males than there are females, right?”

Actually, I hadn’t known that. It made sense when I thought about it because there had been more men at the funeral than there had been women. At the time I hadn’t thought about it, though.

“Ooookayyyy,” I said, drawing out the word. “And?”

“And I don’t have a man anymore. And I don’t want one either.”

Ahh.

It clicked in my head like a lightbulb turning on.

I definitely wouldn’t be asking Hunter about his little would be crush on her anytime soon.

“If you come with me I will make sure people leave you alone,” I promised her.

Hunter was suddenly back in the kitchen. “I’ll go with you girls and make sure no one bothers either of you.”

Damn.

I’d forgotten about his hearing. He’d probably heard most of our conversation, if not all of it.

I nodded at him. It had been decided. Not that I needed a man to back me up. I didn’t tell him that because I didn’t want to hurt his precious male ego when he was just looking out for me.

Ginger reluctantly agreed, but she still looked uncertain.

When they left I pulled Hunter aside and gave him some cash. He agreed to pick up a stroller and another car seat, I doubted Ginger had spares.

They agreed to meet me back here tomorrow and we said our goodbyes.

I watched Ginger drive off in her Jeep and I couldn’t help but smile.