Page 108 of On the Rocks

“Will do,” Ruby Grace assured her, and with one last wave from each of them, my Mom and brothers went back inside, leaving just the two of us on the porch.

Ruby Grace turned to me with a sad smile. “I guess this is it, huh?”

“I guess so.”

My heart squeezed violently in my chest as I reached for her hand, walking with her in silence off the porch and out to her car. It was loaded up with boxes and piles of clothes still on the hanger. I didn’t think she’d be able to fit everything she wanted in that little convertible, but she’d surprised me.

We both stopped next to her driver side door, and tears flooded Ruby Grace’s eyes as soon as she faced me.

“Hey,” I said, pretending like I wasn’t on the verge of crying myself as I pulled her into me. I wrapped my arms around her tight, resting my chin on her head as I felt her tears dampen my long-sleeve shirt. “None of that now. It’s not permanent, okay? Plus, this is your dream, this is what you’ve wanted forsolong. You’re doing it, Ruby Grace,” I said, pulling back to look into her shining eyes. “You’re going toAmeriCorps.”

“I know,” she whispered, sniffing back more tears. “But, I’m leavingyouin the process.”

“Just for a little while,” I reminded her. “I’ll come visit for Christmas, and every other chance I get.”

“And I’ll be back after the summer.”

“Exactly.”

“And then?”

I smiled. “And then, we find some poor sucker willing to let us on their sailboat for a month.”

Ruby Grace laughed through her tears, burying her face in my chest again with a little whimper. “I’m going to miss you so much, Noah.” She lifted her head again. “I love you. You know that?”

I chucked her chin. “I do. And I love you. You know that?”

“I do.”

Silence fell over us, and for a while, I just held her there in that quiet space, the sun above breaking through the crisp fall air.

“So, any other stops on your way out of town?”

She shook her head. “Nope. My family did our dinner last night, and I can’t go through Mom holding me in a vise grip and sobbing all over me again,” she joked, but I didn’t miss the underlying stress in her voice.

She and her parents had been working on their relationship since the not-wedding day, but I knew she was still far from forgiving and forgetting.

“And I said goodbye to Annie, Travis, and baby Bethany earlier this week.”

“I bet they’re all going to miss you.”

“They will,” she agreed. “And I’ll miss all of them. But, I’m ready.” A genuine smile bloomed on my favorite strawberry smoothie lips, then. “This is it, isn’t it? I’m going. I’m really going.”

I returned her smile. “You’re really going, Legs.” I pulled her closer, sweeping her hair from her face before lowering my voice to a whisper. “I am so proud of you.”

My fingertips found her chin, and I tilted it up, pressing my lips to hers. It was a kiss I never wanted to end, one that was slow and easy and felt like the most natural thing in the world. That’s how it had been for us since that night in the treehouse — effortless.

“Don’t find another girl while I’m gone,” she said when we finally broke the kiss.

“Yeah, right. More like you finding a hot AmeriCorps hippie with long hair and hemp clothes.”

She snorted. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And you’re amazing.” I framed her face, kissing her again. “This isn’t goodbye. It’s see you soon. Okay?”

Her eyes glossed again. “Okay,” she whispered.

I could have held her forever, kissed her over and over and over until she missed her check-in time for her new job in Utah. But, I forced a heavy sigh, breaking away from her hold and opening the driver side door for her to climb inside. Once she was seated, she rolled the window down, leaning out of it and pulling my mouth to hers once more.