AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Then we took a drive into town to deliver a dozen tables to the event organizers for the festival, eventually swinging by One Stop when we were done.
Andy gave us a little tour of how things are going with the construction of the addition. The roof is up, the walls are enclosed, and the wiring is done. Basically, the construction part is over, leaving just the interior finishes to complete.
I’ve been trying to keep her distracted and it’s mostly working, but I can still see the moments when her mind wants to focus on the shitty stuff.
“IDs.”
I pull my wallet out. “Really? You’ve known me since the day I was born.”
Sheriff Perry smiles at me. “I ask for IDs from everyone, no exceptions Mr. Mitchell.” When I’m done, he takes a look at Ruby’s. “Well, looky here. Did you bring home a lady friend to meet the family?” he says, giving her a wink. “I’ve been hearing about a pretty brunette coming and going from the Mitchell guesthouse over the past few days, but I assumed it was a friend of one of the girls.”
Ruby giggles, taking her ID back.
“Sheriff Perry, this is Ruby. She’s my more than a friend. Ruby, this is Sheriff Don Perry. He’s one of my dad’s best friends.”
“One of!?” he exclaims, slamming a hand against his chest. “What did you just say?”
“Sorry, sorry, sorry. He’s my dad’s only and most superior best friend,” I correct myself.
The sheriff smiles at me. “Much better.” Then his eyes pop over to Ruby’s and back to mine. “And don’t think I didn’t catch that little more than a friend comment. In my day, we used to say going steady.”
“Well, things are a little more complicated now,” Ruby offers, though the smile is still dominating her face.
Sheriff Perry rolls his eyes. “Oh I know, trust me. I have two sons, and my youngest likes to let me know on a regular basis how different things are nowadays when it comes to dating.” He chuckles as he wraps each of our wrists with a bracelet then sticks his hand out to take Bellamy’s ID. “You guys have fun and be safe.”
I nod, taking Ruby’s hand and leading her away from the bracelet line and over to the actual garden.
It’s a bunch of ten-foot lattices in a massive square, the walls interwoven with fake plants and fairy lights hung from side to side across the top. It’s usually stifling during the day, but it gets a little breezier in the evening, the night sky and little lights filling the space with ambiance.
I’ll have to make sure we come back at the end of the day so Ruby can see it then.
After we grab our beers, we post up at one of the high-top tables along the wall, each of us sipping on a plastic cup of Rusty’s bestselling beer.
“This is really good,” Ruby says, passing me her cup once she’s tasted it.
I laugh. “Just one sip?”
She returns my grin. “I can drink more if you want me to fall asleep before you have time to get a second one.”
Bellamy and Bishop sidle up next to us, and the four of us fall into easy conversation, the earlier tension in Ruby’s expressions and body language falling to the wayside.
I enjoy watching her interact with my siblings. It makes me think of things in the future, like holidays and other trips, like the really wonderful possibility that I could end up with a woman who so easily clicks with my family.
“Boyd!”
My head turns when I see Rusty in the distance, waving me over.
“I’ll be right back, guys,” I say, stepping away from the table, chuckling when I hear Bishop call out from behind me, “You better bring some back for us!”
“Seems like he knows what’s going on,” Rusty says, slapping my back and leading me out of the beer garden and around to the side, where he has two people in charge of a station that manages the beers going in and out.
“I told him I had a new beer hookup,” I say, rubbing my hands together. “And Bishop considers himself to be a beer aficionado, so he’ll be peeved if I don’t let him try it.”
“Well, here you go,” he says, pointing at a tray on a little table. “Grab a few and take ’em back to your table.”
“Boyd?”
My eyes flick behind Rusty, and I see Corinne standing a few feet away.
