Читать книгу The By Request Collection - Kate Hardy - Страница 55

Seven

Ruby stood at the gates of the Cool Springs Christmas Carnival on the outskirts of town. She used to barrel race at these fairgrounds as a young girl. Ruby smiled at the memories. Oh, how she’d always loved it when the carnival came to town. With her father looking on, she’d put her horse through the paces, leaning and reining and guiding those sharp turns, feeling at one with the animal. She’d brought home a few trophies in her day, but once her papa had passed on, Ruby turned to something she loved even more: training horses. It was his legacy that she now carried on at Look Away.

Strings of twinkling lights crisscrossed the carnival grounds. There were giant holly wreaths as well as red-and-green banners announcing the holiday. The chatter of fun-seeking crowds, children’s laughter and shouts from hawkers selling cotton candy and funnel cakes brought it all home. Ruby smiled.

It was here that Trace Evans first kissed her, back behind the shack that now sold hot chocolate and coffee. Her heart warmed despite the brisk December night as she stood there taking it all in.

And then she saw him.

Trace.

Approaching from inside the gates, his smile was as broad and sure as she remembered. His polished snakeskin boots leaving dust behind, the six-foot-tall hunk of man worked his way through the crowd as if all the others surrounding him didn’t exist, his deep, dark eyes set only on her.

Just like it used to be.

All the worries she’d been plagued with in coming here vanished the instant she laid eyes on him. Seeing Trace, tall in his Stetson, broad in a black-and-white snap-down plaid shirt and giving her a megawatt smile, flooded her senses, and a shiver of warmth ran down her body. Crap. She was here only to put him off. To tell him they were officially over, so that they could both move on with their lives.

She needed to do this face-to-face.

But his face was filled with genuine joy. “Ruby,” he said, his voice husky and laced with that down-home drawl. “It’s good to see you.”

She stood there immobilized as he paid for her ticket and tugged her through the gate. She realized he held her hand, and when she tried to pull away, he drew her up close, bent his head and gave her a quick kiss. “Sorry,” he said, dipping his head in that charming way he had. “I’ve been dreamin’ about doing that ever since you agreed to meet me here. Gawd, you look good, Ruby. I’ve missed you, honey.”

“Trace.” She put force in her words, ignoring the crazy, mixed-up stirrings in her heart. “I’m here only to—”

“I know, I know. You’re not happy with me right now. I get that. How about we enjoy the evening a little before we get all serious? Look over there. Funnel cakes. I’m dying for one. I bet you are, too.”

“I, uh...”

“Don’t you remember how much we used to crave those things? With all the fixin’s, too. Strawberries and whipped cream, the more powdered sugar the better. You game? Come on,” he said, taking her hand again. “I’m about to die of starvation.”

She rolled her eyes, but a big smile emerged regardless of the company she was in. She was craving a funnel cake, too. They were available only once a year, at this carnival. This was her chance to indulge in a gooey, deep-fried concoction with all the heart-stopping extras. “Okay, sounds good.”

“Delicious is a better word, sweetheart.”

She wasn’t his sweetheart and she was ready to tell him, but a few young women and two school-age boys butted into the line, asking Trace for his autograph. He seemed genuinely delighted, giving them each individual attention as he took their names and signed their tickets, flyers, whatever paper article they could produce. Trace had made a name for himself in the field of bull riding. As far as rodeo champions went, he was equivalent to a soap opera star rather than an Academy Award winner, but to the folks around these parts, he was a local hero. Trace ate up all the attention.

“Sorry about that, Ruby,” he said, guiding her toward a two-seater café table.

“Do you get that a lot?” she asked, curious now.

“Some,” he said, trying for humble, though his grin gave him away. “More and more.”

Then his grin faded as his gaze roamed her face, and he sighed from deep in his chest. “I’m sure glad to see you. I’ve been lonely for you, honey.”

“Last I checked, you broke up with me, Trace.”

“I never did. Not officially. I, uh, like I told you on the phone, I had to focus on my career, and that meant blocking out everything else.”

“That’s not exactly comforting, Trace.”

She’d felt fully and totally dumped, and there was no way he could salvage what happened between them by using phony excuses.

“Only because being with you was so damn distracting. When we were together, you were all I could ever think about.”

He was talking like a man still in love, and if Ruby was that same gullible girl he’d left behind, she might have swallowed that line again. “When you care for someone, you call. You want to know how they’re doing. You—”

“I made mistakes. I’m not denying it.” He played with his fork but didn’t dig into the funnel cake he craved. “But I’m home now, for good.”

“What does that mean, for good?”

“It means I’m gonna stay on in Cool Springs.”

“You quit the rodeo?”

He smiled sadly. “I think it quit me, Rube. I’m not cut out for the life. I’m never gonna make it big. Not like I wanted. I gave eight years of my life to the rodeo.”

“But you love bull riding.” He’d been nineteen when he won his first local rodeo, and the entire town had gotten behind him. Some small businesses in the area sponsored him so he could pursue his dream. It seemed strange to her that he would give it up now. Yes, it was a young man’s sport, but he still had years left in him.

“I did. I loved it, but it didn’t love me back, Ruby. I gave it my all, and I hope I didn’t lose you as a result of my pursuit. I just never got where I wanted to go, and I’m done with all of it. So I’ll be home now, just like we’d planned. If I’m lucky enough to win you back, I’m staying put right here.”

For her equilibrium’s sake, she had to ignore the winning-you-back part. This was all too much to take in. She straightened in her seat to keep from showing her total surprise. “So, what will you do?”

He shrugged. “Dad’s getting on in years. He wants me to take over the ranch full-time.”

It didn’t sound like Trace. He’d always had big plans, and none of them included becoming a local rancher. He was Texan through and through, but Ruby had begun to believe his true heart was elsewhere.

“I saw you on television the other night. Homestead Hills?”

“Oh, that. Yeah, I did that on a whim. Met some casting guy at the rodeo who said I’d be perfect in the role. I gave it a try, is all.”

“A try?” From what she’d heard, people busted their butts and did all sorts of crazy things to win a role in a hit TV series.

“Nothing much came of it,” he said dismissively.

“You haven’t touched your funnel cake,” she said, finally raising her fork and digging in. The airy pastry, all sugared up, got her taste buds going. When she finally swallowed, a burst of deliciousness slid down her throat. “Mmm, it’s good. I shouldn’t, but I think I’m going to eat every last bite.”

Trace smiled, his gaze focused on her mouth for several beats, and suddenly her insides quaked and her belly quivered. Those familiar yearnings returned. She couldn’t believe that one year ago, they’d been doing this very thing: eating funnel cakes and talking about their future.

“Soon as I start,” he said, lifting his fork and gazing into her eyes, “this here dessert is gonna be history.”

True to his word, Trace demolished his funnel cake.

Ruby wound up leaving half of hers behind. Her stomach was tied in knots once everything Trace had said to her finally sank in. She’d been raised to forgive with an open heart. But would she be a fool to do so?

As they rode the Ferris wheel, circling to the highest point, sitting hip to hip, their legs brushing, they took in the nighttime view of all of Cool Springs, the moon and stars appearing close enough to touch. Trace took her hand, entwining their fingers, and gave her a slight squeeze. In that moment, she saw a glimpse of what life with Trace could be like again.

And a few moments later, Trace set his money down at a gaming booth and wasn’t satisfied until he hit the bull’s-eye target with a dart gun to win her an adorable stuffed reindeer. “Here you go, miss,” he said, bowing and presenting her with the toy.

He used to be her hero.

Could he be again?

She was as confused as ever, with the Trace she remembered returning to her and saying all the right things, making her feel like she mattered to him. She was a long way from forgiving him...and then there was Brooks.

A sigh blew from her lips, and Trace turned to her. “What?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. I should go.”

“You sure? We haven’t gone into Santa’s Village yet.”

“I’m sure.”

Disappointment dimmed the gleam in his eyes. “Okay, I’ll walk you to your car.”

He took hold of her hand again. She didn’t want to make a fuss by pulling free of him, so they walked hand in hand into the parking lot.

Now’s your chance. Tell him you’re not taking him back. Tell him he hurt you and...

The words didn’t come. She couldn’t yank them out of her throat. Not when he was being so dang sweet and trying so hard to impress her.

When they reached her car, she hoped to make a quick getaway. Launching into her handbag for her key fob, she moved away from him, breaking their connection. “Good night, Trace. Thanks for the funnel cake,” she said, opening the car door.

He glanced at her hand on the door handle and knew enough not to press her tonight. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She should tell him no. There was no point. “Okay.”

Before he could say anything more, she slid into the seat and pressed the ignition button.

The car didn’t rev right up. In fact, nothing happened. She pressed the button again, giving the engine gas.

Again nothing.

Shoot. Trace walked over. He had a keen sense of cars, and judging by the expression on his face, this couldn’t be good. After fiddling with the ignition button, he spent a few minutes under the hood and came up looking bleak. “You want the good news or the bad news?”

“Bad.”

“The car’s not going anywhere tonight. Not without a tow.”

Ruby silently cursed under her breath.

“The good news is, I can give you a lift home.”

* * *

Parked in front of her cottage now, Ruby slid across the pristine leather seat, angling for the truck’s door handle. “Thanks for the ride, Trace.” Her head was spinning from spending time with him tonight. It was almost too much to take in. What they had once was pretty darn remarkable. Being with him tonight at the carnival had brought back memories of the good times they’d shared when Trace had loved her.

Before he’d had second thoughts.

Before he’d turned into a jerk.

“Hold up a sec, Ruby.” The urgency in his voice stilled her. He climbed out of his truck and spun around the hood to open the door for her. He offered his hand, and she fitted her palm inside his as she stepped out. Now that they were alone under beautiful moonlight, she waited for the butterflies to attack her stomach, but nothing seemed to happen. No flip-flops. No queasy feeling. No little bursts of excitement.

That was a good thing, right?

As soon as her boots landed on Preston soil, she pulled her hand free, grabbing for her purse, ready to end this night. Earlier, rather than have her wait for a tow, Trace had insisted on taking her home. His good buddy Randy over at Cool Springs Auto promised to tow her car to the shop and take a look at it first thing in the morning. Ruby couldn’t argue with that logic. She would’ve had to do the same thing, and Trace had effortlessly taken care of everything for her.

Ruby had always thought of herself as an independent woman. She could fend for herself, but having Trace take over the reins tonight and deal with her car issues was nice for a change.

“I’ll walk you to your door,” he said.

She didn’t like the prospect of Trace giving her a good-night kiss, one more potent than the one he’d given her at the festival. He’d been her first love, and the splinters of his betrayal were still stabbing her. The pain wasn’t as strong as it had once been, but it left behind scars that had yet to heal. She couldn’t be a fool twice. “There’s no need, Trace.” Her door was ten feet away, and having him walk her there implied much more than she was willing to concede right now.

“Okay. But before you go, Ruby, I, uh...”

Brisk night breezes put a chill in her bones as she faced him, her back against the bed of the truck. He stepped closer and removed his hat, hesitating as if searching for the right words. Whatever he had to say had to be important for him to stumble this way. Usually confident, he rubbed at the back of his neck and inhaled from deep in his chest. She’d never seen him quite like this, and she almost wanted to put a hand on his arm to steady him. Almost.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry...deeply sorry for the way I treated you. I should’ve realized what we had was special, and now that I’m home to stay, I want to make it up to you. I want to start fresh. You and me, we were good together. I want that—”

The sound of footsteps crunching gravel came from the road behind them. She swiveled her head as a figure came out of the shadows and into the ring of moonlight surrounding them.

Trace saw him, too. “Who in hell is that?” he asked none too quietly.

Ruby tried not to react. “Beau’s son.”

Now that Brooks was upon them, his brows arched as his inquisitive glance went from her to Trace and back again. “Evenin’,” he said. He was picking up a Texas drawl, probably from spending time with Beau. She almost chuckled, except seeing her ex-boyfriend meet up with her current lover wasn’t a laughing matter.

“Hi, Brooks.” There was cheery lightness in her voice worthy of a big Hollywood award.

“Ruby.”

“Oh, um, Brooks, I’d like you to meet Trace Evans. Trace, this is one of Beau’s twin sons, Brooks. He’s visiting here from Chicago, getting to know the family.”

Trace sized Brooks up as he put out his hand. “Nice meetin’ ya.”

“Same here,” Brooks said without much enthusiasm as the two pumped hands.

“So, you’re one of the lost boys Beau’s been searching for. I heard about you. Not from Ruby, though. She didn’t say a word about you all night, but word spreads quickly when someone new shows up in Cool Springs.”

“I met Trace at the Christmas carnival in town,” she was quick to explain. “My car broke down and Trace offered me a lift home.”

Trace took a place beside Ruby against the truck. “Yeah, just like old times. Ruby and I go back a ways. Don’t know if she told you about us, but I’m back in town now.” He gave Brooks a smile. Was he warning Brooks off or simply making conversation? Trace had no reason to suspect anything, not that it mattered anyway. He didn’t have a claim on her anymore. “So, how are you liking Cool Springs so far?” he asked.

“I’m liking it just fine.” Brooks said the words slowly, giving nothing away by his tone. Yet his gaze shifted to her every so often as if puzzling out what was happening. “I’m beginning to feel right at home here at Look Away.”

Ruby edged away from Trace. If he put his arm around her to haul her closer, she’d cringe.

“Must be, if you’re out taking a walk this time of night in the cool air.”

“I’m used to cold weather. Chicago winters can be brutal. Actually, I wasn’t out walking for the sake of walking. I came to ask Ruby a favor. Is all,” he added.

Ruby kept her lips buttoned. Brooks playing the country bumpkin was enough to make her laugh. But she didn’t dare.

“That so?” Trace asked.

“Yeah.”

“Ruby and I were in the middle of a conversation,” Trace announced, as if that wasn’t obvious.

“Was I interrupting?” A choir boy couldn’t have appeared more innocent.

“You were, actually,” Trace replied, his chest expanding as he stood a bit taller.

This was not going well, and it was clear Brooks wasn’t going to back down.

“Don’t let me stop you,” Trace said, gesturing with a royal sweep of his arm. “Go ahead and ask Ruby your favor.”

“Actually Trace, I’m not up for this conversation tonight,” Ruby said. “It’s been a long day, and I’m tired. Brooks, can your question wait until tomorrow?”

He glanced at Trace, eyeing him for a second before nodding. “Sure thing. It can wait.”

“Okay, then. We’ll talk tomorrow. And Trace, thanks again for the lift.”

“You’re welcome. I enjoyed our date, honey.”

It wouldn’t do any good denying it was date. Trace had it in his head it was.

Both men stood like statues, refusing to move.

“Well, good night, then.” She made her way past Trace and rolled her eyes at Brooks as she brushed by him. His lips twitched in amusement, and for that split second, devilish images of tossing him over her shoulder played out in her head.

She left them both standing there and walked to her door. Curiosity had her turning around briefly to see Trace waiting until Brooks was well on his way before getting into his truck and starting the engine.

Men.

* * *

“So what’s with your ex showing up?” Brooks wasted no time with pleasantries, yet his tone coming through her cell phone was more curious than accusatory.

“Where are you?” It hadn’t been but ten minutes since he’d left her. Cozy in her pajamas and tucked into bed already, she really was unusually tired tonight and...confused. She hadn’t expected the man she’d banked all her dreams on once to show up with apologies and promises.

Promises that she’d waited so long to hear.

“I’m at my place. Sitting here wondering what’s going on with you. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. It wasn’t really a date, Brooks. Trace wanted to talk to me and apologize, I guess. I agreed to meet him at the Christmas carnival.”

“So, are you forgiving him?”

“I don’t know what I am at the moment, Brooks.”

The line went silent. A moment ticked by, and then a sigh came through. “Is it none of my business?”

Now, that also was unexpected. Brooks had a way of getting to the heart of the matter. “It may be your business, a little, since we’ve been seeing each other.”

She hadn’t had to deal with the reality of their relationship until now. But it was evident Brooks had made her no promises and he was bound to leave for Chicago after the holidays, while Trace was offering her something that she’d always wanted. “I want to continue seeing you, Ruby.”

“I, uh, I just don’t know, Brooks.” Could she be blunt and tell him she couldn’t afford to get her heart broken again if she gave in to her feelings for him and he left town? Could she tell him that he hadn’t offered her the sun, the moon and the stars the way Trace once had? It was silly to think Brooks would. They’d known each other only a couple of weeks. Though things had been humming along very smoothly until Trace showed up. “I can’t be pressured right now.”

“I don’t want to pressure you, Ruby. But this guy’s hurt you once, and I wouldn’t want to see that happen again. I care about you.”

“I care about you, too, Brooks. But we both know...” She hesitated, biting her lip, searching for a way to put it that wouldn’t seem callous or crude. The truth was, they were hot for each other. They’d had a chance meeting in a bar—the cliché hook-up—and it would’ve ended there if Brooks hadn’t turned out to be a Preston. Now they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other.

“What do we know?” he asked.

“We’ve been thrown together under strange circumstances, wouldn’t you say?”

“I suppose. When I first met you, I never once thought you’d be a part of the Preston family. Shoot, it blew my mind when you walked into the barn that day. But I’m not sorry you did. Are you?”

The truth was, no. She wasn’t sorry she’d met Brooks. She liked him, and maybe her feelings went much deeper than that, but she wouldn’t face them. She couldn’t. It wasn’t just because he was Beau’s son. Or because of all of the secrecy and guilt involved in seeing Brooks. No, she couldn’t face deeper feelings because her heart wasn’t healed enough to let another man inside. So even though she’d slept with Brooks, readily giving him her body, she’d held a small part of herself back. She couldn’t give herself wholly to him, and at this point, he hadn’t asked that of her, either. “No, I’m not sorry.” Enough said for now on the subject. And because her curiosity was tapped, she asked, “Did you really come by to ask me a favor, or was that a little fib?”

“No fib. Although I’ll admit, I wanted to see you tonight.” His voice turned husky, and whenever it deepened like that, she melted a little inside.

“Did you want to go out for another ride tomorrow or something?”

“I’d love to. But that’s not the favor. The truth is, I’ve been thinking about my grandfather. I need to make my peace about him, and I’ve been putting off a visit to his nursing home. I’m not sure I’m ready to go it alone and face him. That man caused my family a lot of grief, and I don’t know how I’m going to react. But I need to put it behind me so I can move on.”

“Would you like me to go with you, Brooks?”

His relief came in the way of a quick sigh. “Would you?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll go with you whenever you want.”

“Really? That’s great. I’m... I’m thinking I’ll arrange an appointment sometime before the holiday party this weekend. I want to—”

“I’ll clear my calendar whenever you can arrange it.”

“Okay,” he said, his voice cracking a little. As if he was barely holding it together, as if this visit to his grandfather had been festering in his mind. “It means a lot.” Breath whooshed out of his lungs. “Thank you, Ruby.”

“Of course.”

Sadness swept through her when she heard the pain in Brooks’s voice. It only served to prove how much she cared about him. If she could do anything to bring him some peace and sense of closure, she was right on it. But it was more than that. She wanted to be by Brooks’s side, to give him the support and encouragement he might need to make that visit easier for him.

He was her friend, at the very least.