Page 69 of Royal Desire

“Thank you,” Blake says with a relieved smile. He follows the receptionist who leads the way.

But Ruby doesn’t follow. She turns to me and points a finger in my chest. “Don’t think you’re off the hook for telling me about that phone call. I’m holding you to that, Payne.”

I want to grab her face and kiss her.

Alice is awake.

Ruby isn’t crying any longer.

And she’s not pulling away from me at every turn.

“I’ll tell you. As soon as you talk to Alice and let her boss you around for the next decade.”

She exhales a relieved breath. “I’m counting on it.”

Ruby

“Iwas disoriented. I couldn’t find the door.” I’m not sure I’ve ever seen our grandmother this mad, and she doesn’t hide her feelings about anything. “And it’s not because I’m weak or old. I know my house. The smoke was too thick.”

Blake is being Blake, which means he’s the best thing that’s hit God’s earth since he was born. “It’s okay, Grandma. It doesn’t matter. All we care about is that you’re okay. You’re here and will make a full recovery.”

I reach out and take her hand. “He’s right. At least you found a window and broke it open with a meat tenderizer. You’re a badass.”

“But I couldn’t get out of the window. It was too high.” It’s like she’s mad she was only able to half save herself.

“The smoke was too thick, and the window was over the kitchen sink. The firefighters found you because they saw the broken window. Stop beating yourself up,” Blake says.

I force a smile on my face and focus on being grateful that she’s okay. “You got to be carried out by the burly firefighter. What’s not to love about that?”

Grandma rolls her eyes. “I was barely conscious for the event.”

“You’re a legend. If you ask nicely, I bet he’ll reenact it for you,” I say.

“I’m not sure how that will happen since we don’t have a house anymore.” For the first time, Grandma doesn’t sound mad. Fear and uncertainty bleed through her tone. “I don’t know where we’re gonna go. Francis from Bible study has that big, old house, but she’s a nag. I think I’d rather live in the back of Blake’s truck than have to listen to her hem and haw about putting things back in the right spot. I guess there’s the room in the basement of the library, but there’s barely enough space for a mouse, let alone the three of us.”

Blake throws me a worried glance, and I can tell we’re all thinking the same thing.

Where will we live?

I pull in a deep breath. “Blake and I will figure that out. There are places to rent. We just need to figure out what’s available.”

There’s a knock at the threshold of the open doorway announcing his arrival, and he enters uninvited. “You don’t have to worry about a place to live. I’ve taken care of that.”

I whip my head around at the sound of Payne’s voice that’s become a constant in my life again. If I’m being honest with myself—which I rarely am since I live in a constant state of semi-denial about my reality—I’m obsessed with his presence.

He strides into the room looking like a dream, even though his clothes are dirty and wrinkled from the night’s drama. His thick, perfectly overgrown hair is tousled, and he has ash sprinkled on his black dress shirt. He didn’t join Blake and me when we were allowed to come back and see Grandma. He said he was going to call Dean and would catch up with us.

That was over an hour ago.

“What do you mean, you have that taken care of?” I ask.

His gaze hangs on me long enough it makes my insides clench with anticipation before he comes to a stop at the foot of Grandma’s hospital bed. “You look better than the last time I saw you, Ms. Sinclair. How are you feeling?”

Grandma proves she’s not over some things and crosses her arms where she’s propped up with pillows with oxygen pushing through her nose. “Other than my hair, I’m as good as new. If diabetes and a fire can’t kill me, I may live to haunt you forever.”

“Grandma, be nice,” I mutter under my breath.

Payne doesn’t find that funny, but not because of her threat. He looks guarded, like he’s holding back. “I’d say anything is an improvement after watching them carry your limp body out of that house. How long will you be in the hospital?”