AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A few instances of the three of us going to the beach, mom telling me to get excited to see daddy, the two of them fighting and then him disappearing for long periods of time.
There are almost no memories because he was never there. Even before he left, he was never there.
Which can only mean one thing.
“I’m talking about the fact that I was happily married when your mother set her sights on my husband. She did everything she could to tear us apart, but I won’t let something like that happen again, do you hear me? Neither of you are going to be able to sink your claws into our relationship and create pain for us. Not through Ken, not through me, and not through the boys.”
I don’t remember fully what happens next, everything feeling like a muted, slightly blurry dream.
All I know for sure is that I leave. I walk right out of Ken’s fancy-ass home, down the walkway, past the guesthouse, and straight out to the road.
My feet take me on the mile-long walk to Boyd’s house without me even realizing it, as if it’s something I’ve done a thousand times before instead of only a few. I walk up the little woodchip path that leads to the beautiful blue door with the white trim, and I stop before I knock.
Is it too much? For me to show up here like this?
I wipe at my eyes, only just now realizing I’m crying. Then I shake my head, thinking maybe it’s better if I just go back to the guesthouse and hide away until he gets back from his trip with his family. I don’t want to ruin it for him.
But at the same time, I don’t want to be alone.
“Ruby?”
My eyes widen when the door opens and Patty stands on the other side of the screen, looking at me with concern.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” she asks.
Maybe it’s because I miss my mom, but I shake my head, allowing the tears to fall even harder from my eyes.
Patty coos at me, pushing open the screen and stepping over the threshold, wrapping me up in her arms. She snuggles me against her with the kind of love and affection only a really great mom can give.
“Oh, honey. Whatever it is, I promise you’ll figure it out,” she says, rocking us slowly from side to side.
We stay like that for a few minutes, until my self-consciousness takes over and I pull back, wiping at my face and nose with my palm, giving Patty an embarrassed smile.
“Boyd’s out back at the fire pit. You wanna come in and talk to him?”
I weigh it in my mind, wondering if I should just go back the way I came.
Ultimately, I decide to give Boyd the benefit of the doubt. He told me he wants me around all the time, said I should always feel free to tell him what’s on my mind and never apologize for how I’m feeling.
And really, nothing sounds better than getting another hug like I got from Patty, this time from the man I’m slowly falling for.
Patty leads me through the house, past some curious eyes from Boyd’s siblings as they all sit around watching a movie. I studiously ignore them, focusing only on getting outside, getting to Boyd.
She slides the screen door open to get out onto the deck then calls out for him. I can see him sitting at the fire pit with Briar, a beer bottle hanging loosely from his fingers. The minute he sees me, he’s out of his seat and flying across the grass and the deck to get to me.
“What’s wrong?”
I want to tell him, but not right here or right now. Not until I’ve had a minute to get past these tears.
So instead of answering, I just wrap my arms around his middle and tuck myself firmly against him.
The minute I’m in his embrace, the emotions that have been so all over the place feel like they mellow. I can’t imagine him leaving tomorrow to go on a hike for two days, so I spit out the first thing that comes to mind.
“Can I still come on the hike tomorrow?”
“Of course you can,” he says, tucking me in even more tightly. “Absolutely.”
Relief washes over me, both at the fact that I’ll get to be with Boyd and that I won’t risk bumping into Linda or Ken over the next couple of days.
