Page 104 of On the Rocks
She rolled her eyes. “Well, I knowthat— at least, now I do. But I don’t understand how, or when.”
“She wrote me a letter,” I explained. “Slipped it under my screen door while I was at work.”
“How in the world did she get away from the nursing home… and did shewalkto your house? How did she even know where you live?”
“She said something about havinga little helper,” I offered.
Recognition lit up in her eyes, then. “Annie.”
“Maybe,” I said. “Anyway, she — orthey— left it the night before the wedding. Otherwise, I would have come a lot sooner.”
“Why do I have a feeling she did that on purpose,” Ruby Grace said, smirking as she shook her head. “That woman lives for the movie-like drama.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, well, she got some today.”
“That she did.” Ruby Grace was still smiling, but it slipped as another moment passed between us, her fingers trailing up and down my chest. “I wish I could tell you all the hell I’ve been through these past three weeks, from the moment my mother told me about my father’s debt. I know it probably doesn’t make any sense to you, but… I felt this obligation to my family, to my father. I couldn’t abandon them, couldn’t walk out on them when it seemed I was the only way we could save our home, our possessions, our reputation, our… everything.” She sighed. “I feel foolish saying it out loud, but, it’s who I’ve always been. It’s the way I was raised.”
“Hey,” I said, tapping her chin until she looked at me. “I understand. I promise, I really do.”
“How can you, when I don’t even understand myself?”
“That’s easy,” I offered with a shrug. “I would have done the same for my family.”
Her brows rose. “You would have?”
“I understand that family tie. Blood is thicker than anything. And no matter what knucklehead in my family gets in trouble, we all rally behind them to make it okay again. There is no judgment, no pointed fingers — only love and understanding and, like you demonstrated, sacrifice.”
She smiled. “I’m thankful you understand… but I think you and I both know what my parents did goes a little past what’s acceptable.”
I swallowed. “Yeah… it does.” I paused, heart stopping on my next question. “Do you think you could have really gone through with it? Marrying him?”
“No,” she answered immediately. “I thought I could. I had the decision made, solidified, and I was walking to the grave of what I thought my life could be as I walked down that aisle. But when I saw you… I knew I couldn’t. I knew there was no path I could take that didn’t lead to you in the end.” Ruby Grace bit her lip. “And, honestly, I knew even before I saw you. I was walking down that aisle in a fog, trying to figure out what to say, when to say it, how to get myself out of that church and that dress and that whole situation. When I saw you… well, it was just the last kick of courage I needed.”
I smoothed my knuckles down her cheek, over her jaw. “You surprised the shit out of me when you came barreling back down that aisle.”
She chuckled. “I think I surprisedeveryone. Well, except for maybe Betty, who seemed to be plotting it this entire time.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe she stood up like that and offered to pay part of my father’s debt.”
“She loves you,” I explained. “Plus, according to the letter she wrote me, she insisted that she couldn’t take it with her when she goes, anyway. And she doesn’t have any kids… other than you.” I smiled when Ruby Grace’s brows bent together. “Those were her exact words.”
She frowned. “Wait… so you were both talking about paying off my father’s debt even before today?”
I shrugged. “We didn’t have a plan or anything… but, I think both of us knew we would do anything to keep you from having to be responsible for a debt that wasn’t yours. Like I said, Betty loves you.” I paused, eyes searching hers. “And so do I.”
Ruby Grace melted into me, and my heart galloped and stuttered as she swept a hand through my hair, wiggling her way up my chest until her face hovered over mine.
“I never said it back,” she whispered, hazel eyes dancing in the light from the makeshift stars. “And I’m sorry I didn’t. Because you were right, when you said it the first night you brought me here. I love you, too.”
Her eyes watered as I swallowed down the lump in my throat.
“I do, Noah,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m so sorry it took all this for me to admit it out loud. I was scared. I was…lost. As much as the wedding planning and pressure from my family was smothering me, I chose to hide under that rubble instead of trying to break free. I think a part of me was worried about what I’d find on the other side…”
I nodded, understanding completely. I knew what it was like to have the town talk about you, to have your entire life uprooted in one single day. And I was sure that if I’d had a choice in the matter, I would have avoided it at all costs.
“But, that worry was unfounded,” she continued, her plump lips spreading into a gentle smile. “Because I should have known from the very start that as long as it was you, as long as it wasus, together?” She shook her head again. “There’s no way life could be anything but perfect.”
I smirked, capturing her chin in my hand. “It’s okay,” I whispered. “I’d be embarrassed to love me, too.”
That earned me a laugh and a swat on the chest, but I killed her laughter when I pressed my lips to hers.