Page 41 of Sweet Escape (Whispering Oaks Ranch #1)
Nevertheless, She Persisted
? Man, I feel like a woman - Shania Twain
Wilder
As I’m sprinkling an obscene amount of M&M’s over the top of Liv’s questionable snack for the third week in a row, the front door opens and closes, and my sister comes into view.
“Surprise, big brother!” Ruby squeals, rushing into the kitchen with her arms outstretched.
I wrap her in a hug, her high-heeled boots putting her at eye level for once.
“What are you doing here?” I ask incredulously.
“I’m playing an impromptu concert at The Ridge for a friend’s birthday.”
“Let me guess. Liam called, and you came running?” Someday she’s going to have to come to terms with her feelings for her ex’s brother, and I’ll have to be there to pick up the pieces when she does .
She rolls her eyes. “He did. But it’s for Miles and Maggie,” she says defensively. “Where’s my Loulou?”
“In the living room with Liv.”
My sister bites down on a smile and does a slow turn back the way she came. I snatch Liv’s popcorn off the island and follow close behind, muttering, “Be nice, Ruby. She’s a fan.”
“When am I ever not nice?” She’s got me there. Ruby’s known as the country music darling for a reason. She always goes above and beyond for her fans, and her family is everything to her. Liv is part of that family now.
Ruby stops in the archway, both hands planted in her back pockets, peeking over the threshold toward the sectional.
I peer over her head, catching sight of my girls reading Emmy’s favorite finger puppet board book.
They’re oblivious to the intrusion. Emmy giggles when Liv does a terrible impression of a donkey, and my sister smiles at me over her shoulder with a knowing gleam in her eyes. “They’re cute.”
“Yeah.”
“You care about her.”
“I do.”
“Looks good on you.”
“What does?”
Ruby ignores my questioning glare and walks further into the room. Emmy squeals at the sight of her favorite auntie, running as fast as her little legs will carry her. Ruby crouches down and catches her, pulling her into a tight embrace.
Liv doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak. She sits there with her finger still stuck in the donkey puppet, eyes wide and jaw slack.
“Think that donkey has pink eye?” I ask, plopping myself down on the sectional beside her.
She blinks a few times, a laugh bursting free when she registers my question. “Are we going to ignore the fact that Ruby Lynn Hayes is in your living room? ”
“I was kind of hoping I could distract you with this disgusting snack.”
Liv snatches the bowl from my hands and shovels a handful into her mouth. “It’s delicious,” she mumbles.
Ruby laughs. “Wait, what’s in the bowl?”
“Popcorn with honey and M&M’s.” My lips curl in disgust.
Ruby glances from me to Olivia. “Pregnancy cravings?”
Liv nods, unable to speak around the mouthful of the sugary treat.
“Nice. I’m Ruby, by the way. But I guess you already knew that. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“You been talking about me, Big Guy?”
“Only good things,” Ruby says. “Get out of here, Wilder. We need some girl time. Don’t we, Loulou?”
Liv starts to get up from the sofa, but Ruby stops her. “Nope. You stay. You’re one of the girls now.” She looks over at me expectantly, shooing me away with the flick of her wrist.
I lean over to kiss Liv on the cheek, and Ruby smirks.
“I’m going. Send up a smoke signal if you need rescuing,” I say. “Be nice to my girls, Ruby Lynn Hayes, or I’ll tell everyone about that time I had to rescue you from the creek.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me.”
Olivia
I’m sitting in Wilder’s living room, elbow deep in a bowl of questionable popcorn, with Ruby Lynn Hayes herself staring at me. What is my life?
She’s wearing a pair of bell-bottom jeans and a Dolly Parton tee knotted in the front, enough to show off a sliver of skin along her midriff.
As a fellow curvy girl, I’ve always admired the way she carries hers elf.
She doesn’t try to make herself smaller, no matter how much the media likes to scrutinize her.
That amount of criticism must be hard to withstand, and yet she’s never lashed out.
Emmy toddles over to her toy box, passively ignoring us in favor of a rainbow stacking toy.
“Ok. Hand it over.” Ruby plops beside me on the couch and holds out her palm, flapping her fingers twice before flattening them again.
My brows draw together. “Huh?”
“Give me your phone so we can take a selfie. I’ll sign your ass if you want, then we can skip to the part where I adopt you as my honorary sister. Lord knows I could use the estrogen boost around these big, broody cowboys.”
I blink rapidly, trying to make sense of what she said. Laughter bursts free, and I dissolve into a fit of giggles, only coming up for air long enough to ask, “My ass? Really?”
She shrugs and digs her hand into the bowl. “You wouldn’t be the first.”
“That’s—”
“Insane? Yeah.” She tosses some of the sugary treat into her mouth, and I watch as her face morphs from curiosity to surprise. “This shit is good !”
“I tried to tell your brother, but he doesn’t believe me.” My fingers collide with hers as we both go for another bite. I let her grab some first and ask, “So… were they nice asses, at least?”
She frowns, her eyes darting to the side and back. “You know what? I think they were.”
“Small victories, I guess. Or big ones. I suppose you’d have to judge on a case-by-case basis.”
“You’re funny, Liv. I like you.”
“Enough to sign my ass? Or would you prefer a boob? Oh, I know! Let’s do a tramp stamp! I can get it tattooed. ”
“So my brother can look at it every time he’s got you bent over the side of his bed? No, thank you.”
“Oh… my God.” My cheeks flame, and I cover my face with my hands.
“What? Did you forget how that happened?” She gestures to my belly.
“Technically speaking, I wasn’t bent over at the time,” I deadpan.
“ Ok . Some things are TMI… even for me.”
I dig my tongue between my back molars, working out an irritating popcorn kernel that’s lodged in my teeth.
Ruby cocks her head to one side, studying my face. “What’s your story?”
“What do you mean?”
“Orphan? Stalker ex-boyfriend? Tortured past? Scorned lover? The Hayes siblings have a history of falling for broken things.”
“In chronological order… my twin brother died in childbirth, I got catfished on a dating app, my ex-boyfriend of three years cheated on me with my best friend on my birthday, I got knocked up within five hours of meeting your brother, and I’m pretty sure I’m halfway in love with a man who can never love me back.
Take your pick. I’m basically the lost and found bin of emotional trauma at this point. ”
“Nevertheless, she persisted.” She fist pumps the air. “For what it’s worth, I saw the way Wilder looked at you earlier. If he’s not already halfway in love with you, I’ll let you sign my ass.”
“Are you always this straightforward?”
“Only when I’m at home. I can’t afford to be this version of Ruby in the public eye. My management team would lose their minds.”
“That can’t be easy. Filtering yourself, I mean.”
“I’m used to it. ”
For the first time since we met, I notice a crack in her perfectly curated exterior, and I wonder if maybe Ruby is right there with me in the lost and found.
Her expression sobers as she watches Emmy play, a soft smile tugging at her lips.
“I’m playing an impromptu concert at The Ridge tomorrow. You should come.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. Wouldn’t it be weird for a pregnant girl to be hanging out at a bar?”
“You don’t have to drink, and Wilder can be a buffer between you and any of the judgmental cunts who try to come for you. Come on,” she whines. “It’ll be so much fun!”
“Ok fine. I’ll go.”
“Hell yes! Just one more thing.” Ruby smirks and pulls out her phone, and I watch over her shoulder as she exchanges a string of text messages with her brother.
Ruby: I’m kidnapping your baby and your baby mama.
Wilder: Against their will?
Ruby: We’re going shopping.
Wilder: Come by the barn and get my card first. And make sure you stop at the baby store. Tell Olivia to pick out whatever she wants for the baby. If she refuses, do it for her.
Ruby: You’re a good egg, Wilder Hayes.
She stows the phone in her back pocket. “Let’s go, girls.”