Читать книгу The By Request Collection - Kate Hardy - Страница 56

Eight

Brooks stood shoulder to shoulder with Beau on the steps of the ranch house as a black limo pulled up and parked. His father took a deep breath in anticipation of seeing his other son for the first time. “I’m the better-looking twin,” Brooks said, smiling.

Beau’s chuckle caught in his throat as Graham stepped out of the car. “My God.”

“Yeah, I know.” It was the typical reaction people had when they met the Newport twins for the first time. One face on two very different men. “Graham cut his hair a bit shorter than usual just so you could tell us apart.”

“That’s...smart,” Beau said with a catch in his throat. Then he took off straight toward the limo, and Brooks followed.

Graham was reaching inside the limo to help his fiancée out of the car. It had been a while since Brooks had seen Eve Winchester. Because she was Sutton Winchester’s daughter, she’d been an immediate adversary, and he hadn’t liked her for a time, but Graham was head over heels in love with Eve, and Brooks had finally made his peace with her.

“Welcome, son,” Beau said, trying his best to keep his composure. As Brooks sidled up next to him, he spotted tears glistening in his father’s eyes. “I’ve waited a long time to meet you.”

“So have I.”

The two men embraced, and Brooks gave Eve a smile and a peck on the cheek.

Graham broke away first from the bear hug, taking Eve’s hand and gently tugging her forward.

“Beau, I’d like you to meet Eve. My fiancée,” Graham said.

Beau embraced Eve carefully. Despite the beige leather jacket and blouse underneath, Eve’s baby bump couldn’t be missed on her slender, athletic body. “Pleased you meet you, Eve. Welcome to my home, and congratulations on the little one. I couldn’t be happier about all of this. My two sons, a new soon-to-be daughter and a grandbaby on the way.”

“We’re excited about it, too,” Graham said, and there were smiles all around.

“I’d appreciate it if both of you called me Dad.”

Graham shot Brooks a quick glance as if to say, Finally. We have a dad. “I think we’d both like to do that, right Eve?”

Her green eyes glittered. “Yes, of course.”

Beau’s lips curved up in a wide smile. Then he scratched his head, shifting his gaze from Graham to Brooks. “You two boys are certainly identical. That much can’t be denied.”

“No, but I’ve wanted to deny this guy was my brother a time or two,” Graham said, eyes twinkling. It was meant as a joke, but there was some truth there, too. They’d had their differences, especially lately. Graham hadn’t exactly approved of the tactics Brooks had used to go after Sutton Winchester.

“Is that so?” Beau asked, puzzled.

“But it’s all good now, right Graham?” Brooks was quick to point out.

“Right.” His brother had the good grace to nod and agree. Brooks didn’t want to dredge up the past, not now, when they’d finally found their family. It was all about the future now.

“Graham, I’ve gotten a chance to get to know Brooks, and he’s told me some about the two of you growing up. I can’t wait to get to know more about you and get acquainted with Eve. I have to admit...there was a time when I didn’t t-think this day...would e-ever come.” Beau choked up.

Graham’s eyes watered a little, too. “Well, we’re here now for a few days and we’ll have lots of time to catch up.”

“You’ll stay for the holiday?”

“Of course.”

“I’m happy to have you here for as long as you want. Let’s get out of the weather. Come on inside. I’ll show you to your room.”

The chauffeur brought the bags in behind his family as they entered the house, but Brooks held back. There was something missing, or rather, someone.

He did a quick scan of the grounds, looking for signs of Ruby. Since their conversation two days ago, he hadn’t stopped thinking about her or his reaction to seeing her with Trace Evans. Jealousy had surged as strong as he’d ever felt it, making him stop and assess exactly what was going on between him and Ruby. He’d never met a woman quite like her, and the thought of her going back to her ex put an ache in his gut.

His hands were tied right now. Ruby didn’t want anyone to find out about their affair, and he couldn’t openly date her. But he wanted to. And that surprised him. He’d never let a woman get close to him. He’d dated, but only halfheartedly and without any notion of commitment. He’d been married to his work and, more recently, too obsessed with finding his true parentage to pursue anyone seriously.

In the back of his mind, he’d always thought that if he met the right woman, all things would fall into place. That had never happened.

With Ruby, it wasn’t just about sex. He’d figured that out straightaway. It wasn’t even that she was forbidden in every sense of the word. Although that had been dangerously exciting. Everything about her seemed to turn him on. Her independence. Her spunk. The way she never gave in or gave up.

But love and romance had taken a backseat in his life lately, and he couldn’t trust what he was feeling. He was out of his element here on Look Away and more vulnerable than he’d ever been before. Yet the more comfortable he was becoming on the ranch, the more he could begin to see himself with Ruby Lopez.

That’s why he’d picked up the phone yesterday and placed a call to Roman Slater to find out more about Trace Evans. A secret little investigation from his friend, a top-notch PI, seemed in order. Brooks had a feeling Trace wasn’t what he seemed. Beau didn’t have a good opinion of the guy, either, and the last thing Brooks wanted was for Ruby to get hurt again.

Then his gaze hit upon the beautiful raven-haired Latina approaching the barn some distance away, and just seeing her again sent his pulse racing. Dressed in a black quilted vest, skin-tight jeans and tall riding boots, she was a vision in her work clothes. He couldn’t believe how badly he wanted to be there when she met his brother. He wanted to be the one to introduce them.

“Ruby,” he called out as he began to take long strides in her direction.

She’d finally spotted him and stopped in her tracks, staring at him from just outside the barn.

“Ruby,” he said again, more softly this time, as he finally came face-to-face with her.

“Hi, Brooks.” Her almond-shaped eyes widened in a curious stare, waiting for him to speak.

“Hi.” He smiled like an idiot. He couldn’t even pretend to be cool around her anymore. “Good seeing you.”

She nodded but said nothing more. Yet the question in her eyes gave him pause.

“Are you working this afternoon?” he asked.

“Yeah, I was planning on taking Spirit out. Why?”

“My brother’s here with his fiancée. They just arrived. I wanted to introduce you.”

“Right now?”

He shrugged. He felt like an ass. And Ruby was trying not to look at him as if he’d lost his mind. Beau had invited everyone for dinner tonight to meet Eve and Graham, and as far as Brooks knew, all of the half brothers and Ruby were coming. “Well, yeah. I want you to meet Graham and Eve right now.”

Ruby’s brows drew together. “It’s important to you?”

“It’ll take only a minute or two, and yeah, it’s important to me.” Ruby was becoming important to him, more and more. It had taken seeing her with her ex to make him realize it. He was having some heavy-duty trepidation about his relationship with her and where it was going. Or not going. He’d grown up in a small family, without a father figure to look up to and sharing this part of himself with her meant a great deal to him.

Ruby eyed him for a short while, making up her mind, and then nodded. “I can do that.”

“Okay, great.” He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her senseless right there on the spot. He wanted to tell her she was more than a fling to him, more than a secret affair. She was beginning to fill up the voids inside him that he hadn’t even known were there. But now was not the time to tell her.

“I’ll just go to my place and change.”

“Change? Good God, Ruby.” He took in that shining sheet of black hair, those incredible cocoa eyes, the way her clothes hugged her body. “You don’t need to change a thing. You’re perfect just the way you are.” He put out his hand. “Come with me?”

She flushed pink at his compliment. “Galahad. You do have a way about you.”

And when Ruby put her hand in his, a sense of peace settled over him.

* * *

The introductions had gone well yesterday and Brooks was glad of it. Who knew Eve and Ruby would hit it off so well? The pretty green-eyed president of Elite Industries, soon to be his new sister-in-law, and Ruby, horse trainer extraordinaire, had talked fashion, country rock music, Cool Springs versus Chicago, and football, of all things. And because Graham and his fiancée were anxious to see some local Texas color, he and Ruby had brought them to the C’mon Inn for drinks tonight.

Now, as the Newport brothers nursed their whiskeys at the very place Brooks first set eyes on Ruby, the girls chatted and filled the corner booth with bright laughter. Both women were beyond pretty. Both were strong-willed and determined and accomplished.

Sitting beside his fiancée, Graham reached for Eve’s hand, claiming the woman as his, while Brooks looked on, wishing he could do the same with Ruby. His brother kept his eyes on Ruby and him, and that twin thing happened. Graham had figured out something was up. Brooks would be hearing about it later. Graham wasn’t one to keep his thoughts to himself.

The conversation turned to the feud between the Winchesters and the Newports, and Eve was trying to put things as delicately as she could. “So, you see, Brooks had this vendetta against my father and dug up some dirt—that proved not to be true, by the way—and went to the media to reveal the whole sordid scandal.”

Ruby’s gaze fell solidly on him. “That doesn’t sound like Brooks.”

“How well do you know my brother?” Graham was teasing, but the comment fell flat.

“I thought I knew him well enough,” she answered.

“It’s a long story and the bottom line is, we’ve resolved those differences,” Brooks said in his own defense. “Haven’t we, Eve?”

The uncertain look in Ruby’s eyes was knifing through his gut. What she thought of him mattered, and he didn’t want to lose his Galahad status with her. At the time, he’d had good reason to go after Winchester, but that was over and done with, and he’d made his peace with his brother’s fiancée.

Eve was cordial enough to agree. “Yes. Thanks to Graham. He took back all the allegations and, well, stole my heart in the process. But I will confess that Brooks thought he was justified in going after my father. For a time, it was thought that my dad, Sutton, could’ve fathered the twins, since he and their mother had been in love. And Brooks thought Sutton was hiding something.”

“As it turned out, Sutton is our younger brother’s father,” Graham said. “But our mom hid that pregnancy from Sutton and moved on with her life. He only recently found out Carson was his son.”

Brooks sipped whiskey. The entire mess that was his life these past few years was coming to light. He wasn’t ashamed of his actions—he’d thought he had good reason—but if he had to do it over again, he might’ve done some things differently.

His obsession with Sutton Winchester was coming to a close. The man was dying, and there’d been enough grief and heartache already over the mistakes and actions of the many people involved. It wasn’t just Sutton. Brooks’s mother wasn’t entirely faultless. Nor was his Grandma Gerty. There was enough blame to go around.

“Well,” Graham said. “It all turned out okay since I now have Eve and a baby on the way. So something wonderful came of all of it.”

Brooks raised his glass. “I’ll drink to that.”

Graham brought his tumbler up, and the women raised their iced tea glasses.

“To family,” Brooks said, staring into Ruby’s eyes.

“To family,” they all parroted, and then clinked glasses and sipped their drinks.

“Ruby, would you like something stronger?” Brooks asked.

“No thanks. I think I’ll lay off tonight. I ate too much of Lupe’s tamale pie at dinner.”

“Gosh, me, too. It was delicious,” Graham said, patting his stomach. “I hear you’re a pretty good pool player, Ruby.”

“She’s a hustler,” Brooks said, grinning.

“Is that right? Eve’s pretty good, too.”

The women exchanged glances.

“Want to?” Ruby asked.

“Sounds like fun,” Eve replied.

“This I gotta see.” Graham rose from his seat to let Eve scoot out.

Brooks did the same, and Ruby’s exotic flowery scent wafted to his nose as she brushed by him. His lust had to give way to decorum. He and Ruby were in a standoff right now, and he doubted she’d be inviting him into her bed anytime soon.

The women headed to the pool table at the back of the room, secured pool sticks and cued up as Brooks and his brother leaned against the far wall. “Go easy on her, Ruby,” Brooks called. “She’s a guest in Cool Springs.”

“Go easy, nothing,” Eve countered, the fierceness in her eyes indicating she was ready for battle. “Don’t hold back, Ruby. I can handle it.”

Graham chuckled and said quietly, “She can. She’s pretty amazing.”

“It’s good to see you happy, bro.”

“Yeah, I am. I managed not to blow it with Eve. Thank God for that. And meeting Beau was pretty great, too. I wasn’t sure about any of this, coming here to Texas and being brought into a whole new family. But Beau’s made it real easy. He’s a good man, and there was no awkwardness between us.”

“Because I paved the way,” Brooks said, giving his brother grief. “As usual.”

“Smart-ass. So what’s with you and Ruby? And don’t tell me nothing’s going on. I can practically see the steam rising between the two of you from across the booth. Have you fallen for her?”

Brooks drew oxygen into his lungs and kept his voice low. The women were preoccupied; Eve was about to make the first shot. “I’m in the process, I think.” What the hell kind of answer was that? He was in the process of falling for her? While trying to keep things light with Ruby, it had gotten hot and heavy real fast. “It’s complicated.”

“I hear you. Couldn’t be more complicated than me falling for Winchester’s daughter, now, could it?”

“I don’t know about that. Ruby’s like a daughter to Beau, and if I hurt her, there’ll be hell to pay. Not exactly the impression I want to make on our father.”

“Hell, man. Make it a priority not to hurt her, then.”

Brooks stared at his brother, letting his words sink in. Was it that easy? Did he want Ruby? He darted a glance at her. She was taking aim, her hot body stretched across the pool table, her eyes laser-focused, her kissable mouth pursed tight as she drew back the stick and clack, the cue ball sailed across the table and hit its mark. The striped ball dropped into the side pocket.

Hell yeah, he wanted Ruby. From the moment he’d first laid eyes on her right here at the C’mon Inn, he’d been drawn to her. She had substance and class and a sassy mouth that made him smile, even when that sass was aimed at him. He admired her passion and knowledge of horses and her open method of teaching that came straight from the heart. He couldn’t imagine not seeing her day in and day out. Not speaking to her and not laughing with her. Up until this moment, he hadn’t thought about the time when he’d have to go back to Chicago for good.

He’d never been really serious about a woman before. For one, he’d been preoccupied with work, striving for and finally attaining the financial independence he’d craved ever since the more humble days of his youth. He’d worked hard building the Newport Corporation and didn’t have time to play much. As a result, women had come and gone in his life. Rightfully so. He hadn’t been ready for a strong commitment. He had only so much to give, and getting serious with the opposite sex had taken a backseat to all else. More recently, he’d been too caught up in meeting his father after years of searching to let his mind go anywhere else. But now that he was faced with the possibility of losing Ruby to her ex-boyfriend, he had to make a stand.

Sooner rather than later.

But first, there was something he had to do.

And he wanted Ruby by his side.

* * *

Hutchinson’s Nursing Home, twenty miles outside Cool Springs, sat nestled inside brick walls and a set of wrought iron gates. The grounds were groomed carefully. Right now, the cold Texas weather prevented any flowers from blooming in the beds next to the long, sweeping veranda, but Ruby could picture them thriving there in the spring, their color cheering up the dementia patients who would sit in patio chairs outside to get a little air.

Brooks rested his arms on the steering wheel, staring at the large mansion-like brick home with its pretty white shutters. He sighed. “This is it.”

It wasn’t going to be a loving homecoming, this much Ruby knew. But she understood his need to come here for closure, while his brother Graham had no desire to meet his grandfather. The twins may have looked exactly alike, but they were two very different men in the way they dealt with life.

Ruby reached for Brooks’s hand and squeezed. “We can make this quick,” she said. “And I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“Thanks.” Brooks rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a solemn look. “I don’t think I could do this without you.” His blue eyes melted her heart. She felt honored and a little awed that Brooks had counted on her so much. That he needed her.

It was one thing to be wanted.

But to be needed by such a strong man was something else entirely.

“I’m here, Brooks. Let’s go meet your grandfather.”

Once they were inside a few minutes later, a nurse escorted them to the visitors’ room, where they were told to stand just inside the doorway. The woman walked over to a man with a shock of pearl-gray hair seated by a window and spoke a few words to him. He barely acknowledged her, but he turned his head slightly to the door, his expression blank but for a sliver of light entering his eyes.

Ruby felt Brooks freeze up, his body stiffening. He closed his eyes, and she tightened her hold on his hand. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he said quietly, but he hesitated.

The nurse waved them over and placed two chairs by the window to face the old man, who was slumped over in his seat.

“Ready?” Ruby asked.

Brooks nodded. She was by his side as they walked over and sat down.

“Hello,” Ruby said first. “I’m Ruby.”

“You’re a pretty thing,” the old man said in a childlike voice. “I don’t know you, do I?”

Ruby shook her head. “No.”

He blinked and seemed to stare straight through her.

The nurse put her hand on Bill Turner’s shoulder. “Mr. Turner, this is your grandson, Brooks.”

“My grandson?” Bill stared blankly at Brooks. “I don’t have a grandson.”

“You have two grandsons,” Brooks said. “Twins. I have a brother named Graham.”

As the nurse walked off, the man began shaking his head.

“They are your daughter Mary Jo’s children,” Ruby offered.

At the mention of Mary Jo, Bill Turner’s eyes switched on. “My daughter? She sits by the fireplace and reads. She likes to read. Quiet little girl. Where is Mary Jo? Is she coming?”

“No, she’s not coming today,” Brooks said, moisture pooling in his eyes.

Ruby ached inside as she watched Brooks swipe at his tears.

“Maybe she’ll come another day,” the old man said. “I would like to see her.”

“Maybe she will,” Ruby said. “How do you like it here, Mr. Turner?”

He shrugged. “I guess I like it fine.”

“The people seem nice.”

“Where’s Mary Jo?” He looked toward the doorway. “She likes to read. Her nose is always in a book. She’s a smart girl.”

“She is a smart girl,” Brooks managed to answer. “And s-she loves to read.”

“Do I know you?” Bill Turner’s brows gathered. The wrinkles and blankness on his face hid the handsome man he’d once been. “I don’t think I know you.”

“No,” Brooks said, his gaze turning Ruby’s way, hopelessness in his expression. He tried again. “You don’t know me. But I’m your grandson. Mary Jo was my mother. You are my grandfather.”

He shot Brooks another blank stare. “I’m your grandfather?”

Brooks nodded. “Yes.”

Bill Turner looked out the window, focusing on a bird hopping on the ground beside a mesquite tree just a few yards away.

“Mr. Turner?” Ruby put her hand on his arm.

He swiveled his head slowly back to them. “I used to build things, you know. I built my own house. This is not my house. I didn’t build this.”

“No, but it’s your home now, Mr. Turner,” Ruby said quietly.

“Yes. It’s my home now.” The light in his eyes dimmed. Then he popped his head up, in search of the nurse. “I think it’s time for lunch.”

Brooks stared at him for several heartbeats, then sighed and rose from the chair. Ruby witnessed a depth of sadness and pain in his eyes she’d never seen before. “We have to go now, Mr. Turner,” he said, taking Ruby’s hand again. “Have a good lunch.”

They exited without saying another word, and Brooks stopped as they reached his parked car. “It’s so damn unfair.”

“What?” Her stomach churned. She could guess what Brooks was about to say.

“He’s like a child. He doesn’t remember his abuse. He doesn’t remember hurting his family. He’s blacked out the bad times.”

“You’re angry,” Ruby said.

“I’m...yeah, I guess I’m pretty pissed. I wanted to meet the son of a bitch and lay into him about my mother. Someone needed to defend her and look out for her. Someone had to stand up to him. Even though I’m years late, I had it in my head I’d come here and tell the old guy off.” He fisted his hands. “But he’s in a world of his own. Nothing I’d say to him would sink in.”

“Probably not, Brooks. That’s the sad thing about dementia. He’s trapped in his own head,” Ruby said.

Brooks dropped his gaze to the ground, shaking his head.

Ruby stepped closer and stared into his handsome face, which was tightly lined in raw pain. He was fighting to keep the tears away. “It’s okay to feel all the things you’re feeling. Coming here will give you closure, trust me. It will. When you get back home and think about this, you’ll feel better. You’ll begin to feel whole again.”

Brooks slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her closer. She laid her head on his chest. His heart was beating so fast she placed her hand there to calm him, to give him the balm he needed right now. Nestled in his embrace, she waited for the beats to slow to a normal pace.

“How come you know me so well, Ruby?” He brushed the top of her head with a kiss.

“I just do, I guess.”

He tightened his hold, locking her against his body as they swayed ever so slightly together to the music. Electricity sizzled. It always did when they were this close. “You feel so damn good in my arms.”

“Humph.”

“I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know how you meant it, Brooks.” He welcomed her comfort. He needed her here, and she wouldn’t want it any other way. “I’m just giving you jazz.”

“Because that’s what you do.”

“Yeah, that’s what I do.”

“Don’t ever stop doing that,” he whispered into her ear.

Something fierce and protective crackled and snapped inside her. And in that moment, Ruby knew she never wanted to stop giving him anything. She’d fallen in love with him. She loved him so much, she wanted to take away his pain, absorb it and tuck it away in some deep, dark place, never to return. She loved Brooks Newport.

But did she still love Trace, too?

Right now, in Brooks’s arms, she was giving him all he needed. She wouldn’t think about the future and the fact that Brooks would be leaving after the holidays.

He had a home in Chicago.

A thriving business there.

And none of it included her.

* * *

The next day, Ruby licked around her cone of dark chocolate fudge ice cream, enjoying every second of her indulgence. Sitting beside her at the Fudge You Ice Cream Factory, Eve was doing the same, digging into her chocolate cone, and Serena, who was happy to join them today, sat across the booth, devouring a dish of French vanilla scoops topped with caramel sauce.

“Yum,” Eve said, crunching down on the sugar cone. “I can’t remember the last time I had ice cream.”

“You don’t crave ice cream?” Serena asked. “Isn’t that the go-to craving when you’re pregnant?”

“That’s what I hear. But for me it’s more potato chips and dip. Give me salt and I’m happy. But I’d never turn down good ice cream. If I don’t watch it, I’ll be floating away like a balloon soon.”

“Eve, you look fantastic. You don’t have to watch anything,” Ruby said, hiding the fact that it was her craving for ice cream and not Eve’s that had brought them here today.

Eve chuckled. “Thanks for that. The ice cream is amazing. And so is the company.” Eve smiled at both of them.

“It’s your reward for beating me at pool,” Ruby added. “I told you if you won, I’d have something fun in store for you.” Fun and indulgent. Ruby needed that, too, now more than ever. Coming here with Eve and Serena was much better than suffering alone at her cottage and digging into a pint or two of decadent ice cream in front of the television set, pining over the state of her love life.

How could one man make her so happy and so sad at the same time?

Brooks had been hurting yesterday and it was only natural for her to comfort him, to allow him time to grieve over his grandfather...because that’s exactly what he had done. He’d met Bill Turner for the first time and said farewell to the old man, probably never to see him again, all in one afternoon. The ordeal had shaken Brooks, and seeing him that way had sent her own wobbly emotions out of whack.

“Actually, it’s really sweet of you to entertain me today while Graham and Brooks are out riding with Beau,” Eve said. “Graham couldn’t wait to ride on one of his dad’s Thoroughbreds.”

Ruby turned her attention back to the girls. “Are you kidding? My stomach is doing somersaults right now. It’s been too long since I’ve had Fudge You ice cream. I’m happy to do it.”

“This does beat eating lunch,” Serena said. “I’m glad I’m on winter break right now so I could join you.”

“Serena is the new principal of Cool Springs High School,” Ruby explained to Eve. “The kids love her over there. She’s made going to the principal’s office a cool thing.”

“Oh, really? How so?” Eve asked, her brows lifting as she turned to Serena.

“Well, there are still times it sucks getting summoned to the principal’s office,” Serena said, “but now, if students do something remarkable like helping a fellow student out of a jam or achieving higher grades than expected because of hard work, I reward them.”

“She takes them to lunch,” Ruby said, “or lets them skip gym for a week, or gives them a season pass to the football games.”

“Among other things,” Serena said. “It gives the kids an incentive to do well. They seem to like it.”

“They sure do,” Ruby said, praising her friend. “And they like Serena a whole helluva lot more than we cared for Mr. Hale, our principal back in the day. That man never cracked a smile.”

“I like your creative approach,” Eve said. “I can see why the kids adore you.”

Ruby gobbled up her cone before the girls were halfway through theirs. She gazed longingly at the mounds of ice cream under the glass case, wishing she could have another cone or maybe a sundae with whipped cream and cherries on top. What was wrong with her? Even with the Trace-and-Brooks-induced stomachache she’d had lately, her appetite was voracious.

Too soon, all the cones were history, and Serena was rising from her seat. “Sorry to dash out, but I’ve got an errand list a mile long for this afternoon. It was nice meeting you, Eve. I hope to see you again.”

“Same here, Serena,” Eve said. “I’m glad you joined us.”

“Serena’s coming to Look Away for our Christmas party, so you’ll see her again,” Ruby said.

“That’s great,” Eve said. “Well then, I’ll see you in a few days.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Bye girls.” Serena exited the shop.

“She’s nice,” Eve said. “You’ve been friends a long time?”

“We have. Serena’s like a sister to me.”

“And Beau’s like a father.”

“He is. He’s a good man. I’m fortunate to have the Prestons. We’re pretty tight.”

Eve sipped water and smiled. “I can see that. It’s really refreshing. My family...well, we’ve had our differences. But my sisters and I are close. You know, in a sense, you and I will be sisters, too. In-laws, but sisters.”

“Yeah, I’m happy about that.”

“So am I,” Eve said. And then, suddenly she gripped her belly, and the blood drained from her face. “Oh.”

“What’s wrong?” Ruby rose halfway out of her seat.

Eve waved her off. “Nothing. Just a bout of queasiness. I get that sometimes. But I’m... I’m okay.”

Ruby sat down, relieved.

Seconds ticked by before the color returned to Eve’s face. “Pregnancy sometimes knocks you for a loop, you know.”

Ruby didn’t know. None of her friends had children yet, so she didn’t have any firsthand knowledge of the subject. She knew how mares gave birth and had pulled foals on the ranch under the supervision of her father, but the whole human pregnancy thing was new to her. “How do you mean?”

“Well, first off, you get all these weird sensations. In the beginning, you’re hungry all the time and feel like you can’t get enough food in you. One day, and I’m ashamed to admit this, I consumed two omelets for breakfast and a thick foot-long sandwich for lunch, and I still had room for a barbeque chicken dinner with chocolate cake for dessert. I inhaled food in those early weeks. I couldn’t believe it.”

“Eating for two?”

“More like an army,” Eve said, her eyes twinkling. “But that’s passed. Now I’m sensitive all over.” She pointed to her chest. “I’m full and tender here all the time.”

Ruby froze up, holding her breath tight in her throat. The only thing moving were her eyes. And they were blinking rapidly. She’d been feeling those very sensations lately, too. If she put her bra on too hastily, her nipples would tingle and actually hurt. The pain was foreign to her, and it would take a while before it disappeared. She hadn’t thought much of it, but now, as she took another glance at the mountain of ice cream sitting in the refrigerator case, her stomach grumbled. She was still hungry. She could do major damage to those big cartons. Chocolate. Strawberry. Vanilla. And every other flavor.

Good God. Had she missed her period this month?

“Ruby?”

She tried to calculate back in her mind.

“Ruby, you’re turning green right before my eyes. Are you okay?”

Ruby stopped blinking and focused on what Eve was saying. She forced herself to recover from the shock and shoved her doubts to the back of her mind. “I’m fine. Um, are you ready to see the best Cool Springs has to offer by way of shopping? It’s no Rodeo Drive, but there’s a shopping district that has some pretty neat boutiques.”

Eve’s brows knit together as she subtly scrutinized her, making Ruby wonder if she’d actually fooled her. “Sure, I’d love to. We can walk off the ice cream calories.” Eve reached across the table to touch her hand. “Thanks for making me feel welcome in Cool Springs. I think of us as friends already.” There was a flicker in Eve’s eyes that said she was willing to listen if Ruby needed to talk.

“I feel the same way,” she replied genuinely.

Astute as Eve was, Ruby suspected she had already guessed about her involvement with Brooks. But admitting it would make it all too real, and there would be questions she couldn’t answer. And feelings she’d have to face. About Trace. About Brooks. And the wrinkle that she might be carrying a child even though she’d been very careful, was all too much for her right now.

It was better to put her head in the sand and let the world keep on turning for a while.