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“She is.”
“I heard she’s been staying at your place; is that right?”
“I work nights, so yeah.”
I knew this was a fishing expedition. Everyone in town wanted to know what was going on with Ruby and me. I wish I had something to tell them. The truth was, what we shared was basically no better than two one-night stands. It hadn’t meant anything.
Mrs. Reed was called over by Dixie Porter, and Hudson moved on to speak to his brother Hayden.
One of the Turner triplets walked up to me and smiled widely. It took me a second to place her as Melody, who had a mole above her right eyebrow. She and Sam had dated off and on for a few years before she called it quits for good.
“Did you realize this is the fourteenth wedding that we’ve been to in the past five years?”
I hadn’t been keeping count, but that seemed like the right number. Wyatt was the final Briggs sibling to tie the knot. All seven of his brothers and his sister Harmony, had all gone down the aisle. Hudson and both his brothers, Hayden and Holden, had all gotten hitched. And two of Melody’s sisters had gotten married; Delilah married the eldest Briggs, and Maisy married Bentley Calhoun.
“I heard my sister stopped by the other night.”
“She did.” Guilt caused my shoulders to tense. The truth was, I’d used Maddie’s visit to get some space from Ruby. I’d broken my golden rule and sat out on the porch, chatting with her for half an hour, just because I hadn’t trusted myself to be inside the house.
The closer it got to her leaving, the harder I found it to be around her and not say things I shouldn’t say. Things like; I wanted her to stay. That I loved her. That this summer had been the happiest of my life. That she belonged with me, with Harper. But that wouldn’t be fair to her. That would be selfish. She deserved better than me and my dreams. She deserved her dreams to come true.
I shifted uncomfortably, knowing that Melody was here to get information as to whether or not I was interested in her sister. Which I wasn’t. That thirty-minute porch convo was exactly why I never did anything that could be misconstrued as interest. I knew I only had myself to blame.
“Daddy!” Harper called out as she raced toward me. Ruby was right behind her. Her long blonde hair fell in waves over her shoulders. She had an ethereal glow, like the angel she was.
“Hi, Miss Melody.” Harp waved, as she joined us.
“Hey, sweetie pie! You look so pretty. I love your dress.”
“Thank you!” Harper swayed back and forth, and the material swooshed around her legs.
We all began to file out of the church as Melody and Ruby talked about what a beautiful wedding it was and how beautiful the bride looked as we filtered out into the parking lot.
“See you at the farm.” Melody clicked the fob to her car but turned and looked over her shoulder before opening the door. “Oh, Ruby, have you given any more thought to my offer?”
Ruby nodded. “Yeah. I have.”
“Okay, well, no presh, but just let me know as soon as you make a decision.”
“I will, and thank you again for considering me.”
“We’d be lucky to have you.”
Lucky to have her? What was she talking about?
“Daddy, when you get married, will I be a flower girl?” Harper asked the same question she had after every wedding she’d attended with me as my plus one. I held the door open for her and Ruby and she climbed into the backseat to her booster.
“Of course!”
“Are you gonna have flower girls when you get married?” she asked as she buckled herself in, and Ruby took my hand as she stepped up on the running board.
Ruby froze, and her eyes met mine. It was just for a brief moment, but something passed between us before she climbed in and let go of my hand.
Once she was sitting down, she said, “I don’t know, maybe.”
I closed the door and went around to the driver’s side. I wasn’t sure what had just transpired in unspoken words, but it felt…significant.
No, I shook my head, dismissing that thought.
