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RUBY
“I had the best time,” I sing on the drive home from Grinny’s, hours later. Since we got there mid-afternoon and stayed a long time, it feels later than it really is. “Everyone is so wonderful and the food was amazing...and you get to sleep in tomorrow morning…”
His fingers squeeze mine.
“Weget to sleep in,” he adds. “It was really generous of Hilary and Abby to offer. They claim they want morepractice before we go to Utah, but I think the truth is they’re getting attached to the girls.”
“Who wouldn’t?”
His laugh is low and usually just a simplehmmsound under his breath—it’s rare that he laughs as boisterously as his brothers do—but it never fails to make my heart expand.
“Pack a bag. I’m taking you away for a day or two,” he says.
“Really? Where are we going?”
“I arranged it with Blake, that friend I’ve told you about who owns Tiptop, and his friend Jimbo, who owns several properties in Nesters Park. It’s beautiful there and only two and a half hours away. Enough to feel like we’re getting away, but not so far that we’re doing a ton of driving.”
“I’d love to see more of Colorado. When’s the last time you took a trip?” I ask.
“I travel to Denver and Colorado Springs occasionally, but I haven’t been on a vacation since right after college…alongtime ago,” he says sheepishly.
I poke his gut. “You’re not that old, Grandpa.”
“Compared to you, I am,” he says, lifting a shoulder. “Wait, we went to Vegas for a couple of nights before Theo and Sofie’s wedding—that wasn’t long ago at all.”
“That’s still not much! Do you just prefer to be home?”
“Yes. I love to travel too, but it’s felt too hard. Having Abby and Hilary willing to help this week has made me realize I could’ve done something like this long before now.”
“I know what you mean. I dreamed of traveling in Utah, but it’s hard to make peace with entrusting someone else with your babies…especially when you know they won’t do as good of a job. I don’t mean Hilary and Abby…people who care like they do are invaluable.”
We pull into his driveway and he looks over at me. “Youreally want to do this? Would you rather go somewhere else? It doesn’t have to be so close.”
“How about another time? Tonight I like the idea of us going somewhere close and waking up in a new, beautiful place.”
I can see his teeth shining when he smiles in the dark. He squeezes my hand.
“Okay, that we can do.”
I go to see Dolly until I’m freezing, and she’s too sleepy to visit much longer anyway. Then I stop in the RV to grab a cream sweater dress in case we go somewhere fancy, and a couple of sweaters and jeans I haven’t pulled out yet. I thought I’d circulate my wardrobe before now, but I haven’t minded paring down on everything. The simplicity has been nice.
At the last second, I pull out my boots that match the sweater dress. They go up to my thighs and I’ve only worn them one other time—out with Kess when we shopped for my wedding dress. I needed that extra dose of confidence and they did the trick. Around Callum, I feel sexy in leggings and my emu merch, but I’d like to see his face when I walk out in these. I smile and tuck them into a bag, along with the other clothes.
He’s walking toward the RV when I step out and he helps me down, taking my things from me. Excitement is buzzing through him.
“What’s happening?” I ask.
“Oh, just working on a plan.” As usual, his voice is even and understated, but his eyes are twinkling.
“You look like you’re choking on excitement,” I say, laughing.
He chuckles. “I do, huh?”
“Mm-hmm. It’s a really hot look on you.”
I put my hand on his back as he opens the truck and sets my things inside. His bag is already in there. When he turns around, I lean on my tiptoes and kiss him. He kisses me back, his mouth catching my moans when I feel his erection against me.
