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Because everything about this girl was different.
twenty-two
. . .
Ruby
We’d spentthe last hour with Pearl Pierce, and the comfort with her was unexplainable. I remember feeling it when I was young. At a time in my life when I didn’t trust easily, and not that it had changed a whole lot, but I was wiser now, at least I hoped I was.
But back then, I was even more cautious of people.
Maybe it was just fear or some form of self-preservation. My mom had broken marriages and burned a lot of bridges in this town, and I’d always been aware of that. Felt some of the judgment fall onto me being the daughter of Wendy.
But Pearl had always been different.
Warm and kind and genuine.
I’d had no hesitation when I’d spend time talking about books with her.
And today had been no different.
From the second I’d walked through the door, her face had lit up.
“I’m so proud of all that you’ve accomplished. Not surprised at all. I always saw big things for you, Ruby,” she said as she squeezed my hand.
“Thank you. You were always so encouraging to me.” I cleared my throat and glanced over to see River watching us before I turned my attention back to the lovely woman sitting in front of me. “It meant a lot.”
“I know good people when I see them.” She smiled. “Do you ever get to read for pleasure now? I know you’ve been in school for so long, but now that you’re done, maybe you can get lost in some fiction?”
I chuckled. “Funny you should say that. Demi, Peyton, and Saylor just had me add several romance books to my Kindle library. I guess I’m going to dabble in a little fiction.”
“Oh, I love romance. It’s my favorite genre,” she said, as she clapped her hands together once.
“Really? Well, it sounds like I’ve been missing out,” I said. “I think I’ll start one tonight.”
“You will be addicted. And let me tell you, my husband appreciated me reading all those sexy books.” She waggled her brows, and River groaned.
“Hey, what’s wrong with reading romance?” I said, narrowing my gaze at him.
“Nothing. I just don’t want to hear my grandmother talking about sexy books and my grandfather’s appreciation of them.”
My head fell back in laughter, and I added a few of her recommendations to my growing library on my Kindle app.
“Don’t be a baby. Gramps gave you the birds and the bees talk a long time ago.” Pearl smiled at her grandson as he walked over, wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and sat beside her on the bed.
“He did. I love you. We’re going to head out.” He kissed her cheek.
I pushed to my feet and hugged her goodbye, promising to come back and visit her soon.
When we were back in the car, he told me he was taking me to his house because he had a larger kayak, so apparently, we were now kayaking together.
The thought made me happy, so I wasn’t going to overthink it.
“I love your grandmother.”
“Yeah, she’s one of the good ones.”
“When you were in the bathroom, she mentioned something about you going to speak at the juvenile detention center later this week. Is that something you do often?”
