Page 19 of Deception and New Direction (Ranger Shield Security #3)

JACK

I woke up to a high-pitched whining, which was followed by a pitiful whimper and small paws stepping on my legs.

“Okay, hold on Dash ,” Ruthie murmured next to me.

I opened my eyes to look over at Ruthie sitting up from the bed. She was still naked, so I took in the sight of her gorgeous body, even though her back was to me.

“Hey Jack ,” she said.

“Yeah, babe?”

“Can you go get my crutches for me? I would do it, but I honestly don’t remember where I left them, and don’t want to be hobbling all over the house.”

The way she asked, I knew she struggled asking for this favor. If there was one thing I’d learned about Ruthie , it was that she hated feeling helpless or needing favors from other people, so I tried not to make a big deal out of it.

“No problem. I need to get up and hit the toilet anyway. I’ll let Dash out and grab your crutches.”

I walked to the back door, let Dash out, and grabbed Ruthie’s crutches. When I got to the doorway of my bedroom it was to see her sitting on the edge with the sheet covering up her body. I found it slightly funny that she felt the need to cover up.

“No need to cover that incredible body, sweetheart. I’ve already seen every inch of it.” I winked at her, letting her know I noticed she had covered up.

“It just felt weird sitting here like this waiting,” she responded. “ Plus , I don’t want to traipse through your house without clothes on.”

“Why? I just did.”

I never understood why women felt weird about walking around their own places naked. My house was private, so it wasn’t like random people could see her.

“You’re such a guy,” she said, her lip twitching with a slight bit of humor.

“Yes, and last night you seemed to appreciate that fact,” I said, giving her my best grin, and watched her roll her eyes at me. I also noticed her pale skin turning slightly pink at my comment as well.

“Can I borrow a T -shirt or a towel or something?”

“Sure,” I told her, grabbing a tee from my top drawer and handing it to her.

She was almost swallowed whole by it, but damn if some primal male satisfaction didn’t kick in at the sight of her in my shirt.

She slid the crutches under her arms and began to make her way out of the room. I watched her go the whole time, controlling my inner urge to grab her and throw her back on my bed and fuck her senseless with my shirt still on.

I opted to just take care of business in the shower instead.

After I cleaned up and made my way out into the kitchen for food, Dash sprinted in and landed at my feet, clearly hoping I’d throw him some food.

“I just fed him, so don’t fall for his tricks,” Ruthie said as she came into the room. “ Also , can you drop me off at my granddad’s today at two o’clock? His attorney friend Ronald is coming over. I figured you could just drop me off if you have more errands to run.”

“Not a problem,” I replied. “ I’d like to be there too if you don’t mind. I’ve got some questions of my own with regards to access for your dad.”

She paused a moment and then replied softly, “ Okay .”

As much as I wanted to be there, I also didn’t want to intervene if it made her terribly uncomfortable. “ I can just drop you off if you don’t want me there.”

“Honestly, it would be nice to have you there,” she said. “ Vince is the best tracker, Axel is our tech guru, but your specialty is the finances, so it would be nice to have someone who understands numbers to be there if I have questions.”

I had always liked math and numbers and was quite good at it.

When we all talked about starting our own business, I was the one to run the numbers and figure out the best way to finance everything and keep our accounting in check.

Hell , Wade often came to me with the accounting stuff for the Watering Hole as well when he couldn’t get stuff to line up.

Ruthie and I ate breakfast, got a few things done around the house, and then made our way to her grandfather’s house with Dash in tow.

Ruthie was quiet on the way over, and I knew it was because she was mulling everything over. I let her be in her thoughts. She liked to rationalize her way through most things, so hopefully once we talked with this guy, it would ease most of her concerns.

After we pulled up, I walked around to grab her crutches out of the back seat and helped her out of the car. As we walked up the stairs, Hank and another man walked out onto the porch.

“Good to see you, darlin’,” Hank said to Ruthie , giving her a hug.

He turned and pointed to the man next to him. “ This man here is Ronald O’Reilly , the attorney I told ya about.”

“You look just like your mama,” Ronald said to her.

“Thanks. It’s nice to meet you,” Ruthie replied. “ This is my chauffeur, Jack .”

I smiled at her introduction of me and shook Ronald’s hand.

“Everybody come on in. I’ve got sweet tea out,” Hank announced and opened the door.

Ronald looked to be about ten, maybe fifteen, years younger than Hank , but he also used a cane, so it was hard to tell exactly. Bald with a potbelly, but he appeared to still have his wits about him.

“Maybe I need to switch to crutches like you,” Ronald said to Ruthie . “ You seem to move a bit more swiftly than I do with the cane.”

Ruthie chuckled and offered to teach him as we all sat down.

“Right,” Ronald said, clapping his hands. “ I understand you go by Ruthie now. Since everything was done legally through your cop friend, it won’t affect the validity of you claiming the trust money when you hit your twenty-fourth birthday next week.”

I hadn’t thought that was going to be an issue, but I was glad he brought it up.

“Hank tells me you are worried about your dad getting ahold of it, but there’s just simply no way he can unless you give it to him.

Your mama made it very clear in her will that the money goes to you and only you, at your twenty-fourth birthday or if you get married—whichever happens first—and I told your dad that. ”

“You talked to my dad?” she asked, seemingly shocked.

“Your father called me about it shortly after your mother died,” Ronald said. “ Asked all kinds of questions about how you would get the money. I informed him the money was airtight until you turned twenty-four or got married—no exceptions.”

Ronald shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

“ Never heard from him again until five years later. He called my office when you were… I guess around nineteen or twenty, saying you had fallen in love with some man and you were getting married soon. He called wanting to know all the details about the trust again, but with marriage.”

“What?” Ruthie shrieked. “ That’s absurd! I’ve never dated a man long enough to even consider getting married, let alone actually got engaged. What is he talking about?”

“Did he mention the name of the man she was marrying by chance?” I asked.

Ronald sighed. “ Probably , but that was several years ago and my memory isn’t what it used to be. Sorry .”

“This is insane,” Ruthie mumbled, mostly to herself, as if she didn’t believe what she was hearing. “ Ronald , can I just donate the whole thing? Or are there stipulations to what I can do with the money?”

“Once that money is in your hands, you can do whatever you want with it,” Ronald continued.

“ I’m guessin’ your dad was hopin’ you’d just give him some out of the kindness of your heart, which is the only way he’d get any.

I would caution you against donating the whole thing though, only because your mom and grandmother would have wanted you to have it in case you needed it.

However , if that’s what you want to do, I can help you find the easiest way to just transfer the money straight over, which will also be easier with taxes. ”

She nodded and took in everything he was saying. I found myself looking over at Hank occasionally to see if his reaction gave anything away, but so far, nothing.

“I understand you work at a security company,” Ronald brought up.

“ Did they happen to put up some cameras at your apartment? If not, it might be a good idea for them to do so just to be on the safe side, just in case your dad or brother or a friend of theirs are behind the flower delivery Hank mentioned you got.”

“She’s living with me right now because of her cast, but we can try to add some cameras to the inside of her place next week,” I told him. “ We’re limited on what we can put outside because her complex has strict rules, but we can figure something out.”

“Okay, that’s good.” Ronald nodded and released a breath he had obviously been holding in. “ I’m glad she’s staying with you.”

We chatted with them both a little longer. Ronald told Ruthie he’d call her later this week to arrange for her to come to his office after her twenty-fourth birthday to sign paperwork and begin the transfer of the money to wherever she wanted it to go.

After Ronald left, we stayed for a bit to hang out with Hank before taking off ourselves.

We walked back to my SUV , and I opened the door for Ruthie . As she turned to set her crutches in, I put my hand on her waist.

“Hey,” I said softly, putting my other hand to the side of her face and using my thumb to stroke her cheek. “ I know your mind is whirling right now, but we’ve got this. I know it’s easier said than done, but try not to worry.”

She nodded at me. “ I know. I’ll get there. It’s just a lot to take in right now.”

“That’s my girl,” I told her and then leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

She clearly hadn’t expected that and just stared up at me, then down at my lips.

“You keep staring at my lips darlin’, and we’ll end up giving Hank a show he didn’t ask to see,” I told her.

Her eyes widened and then leaned to look over my shoulder before she ducked her head into my chest. “ Oh my God , he just waved from the front door. He totally saw that.”

“Good,” I replied. “ Maybe now he’ll finally lay off you about dating Archer .”

She leaned her head back to look at me and smiled. “ Actually , if he knows it bothers you, he’ll keep it up for that reason alone.”

“Of course he would,” I grumbled, shaking my head. “ Alright , get in the car before I give him a real show.”

She complied, but I didn’t miss the heat that popped into her eyes at my comment. Good to know she still had those lustful thoughts after last night.

“We’re going out to dinner,” I said as I backed out of the driveway. “ That conversation with Ronald was a lot to take in, so I don’t want to add to your plate by having you cook. And for the safety of both of us, I shouldn’t cook either.”

She snorted and just shook her head, but I saw the little grin on her face, which made it all worth it. I reached over and grabbed her hand, resting them intertwined on her leg, while I drove with my left hand. She didn’t pull back, so I took that as a good sign.