AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The thought entered my mind from seemingly nowhere. Had I ever thought that of any woman? More beautiful than a starry night?
No. I hadn’t.
The words sat at the edge of my lips. Not as gorgeous as you are. I ached to say them, but I feared Ruby wasn’t ready to hear them.
So I swallowed them down, letting them lodge near my heart. Ruby Lee might be the most beautiful creature I’d ever laid eyes on, but I had to leave her alone. God knew what her father had done to her. No wonder she had jumped away every time I tried to touch her.
Suddenly I was aware of her silence, yet it didn’t seem strange. I never really worried about conversation. I was a pretty talkative guy, and so were most women I was with, though whether they were just talking or trying to impress me, I didn’t know. But for some reason, with Ruby, the silence didn’t seem unnatural. In fact, it was kind of peaceful.
“Have you been to the ocean before?” I asked her.
“Honestly, no. This is actually…”
“What?”
“This is kind of embarrassing, but this is the first time I’ve been out of Colorado.”
“And you weren’t afraid to fly?”
“No. I’ve flown between Denver and Grand Junction before, for work. I knew if I could handle those little puddle jumpers, a big jet wouldn’t be an issue.”
“Luckily, it was a pretty easy flight,” I said.
“It was…nice.” She turned and looked straight into my eyes, stopping. “I’m not sure I’ve thanked you enough for the first class upgrade.”
“Of course you have. You hardly stopped mentioning it during the whole flight.”
“I wish I could repay you somehow.”
“A gift doesn’t require repayment.”
She sighed. “That’s what I don’t get. No one’s ever given me anything before.”
I had to stop my jaw from dropping onto the sand. “Never?”
“Well, maybe not never. I get a holiday bonus at work.”
“That doesn’t count,” I said. “I’m sure you earn every penny of it.”
That got a laugh out of her. “No lie. I work my butt off for the department. But I do enjoy it. Most of the time.”
“You’ve never had a friend give you a gift? A coworker?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I try to avoid getting close to people.”
“Why?”
“This is getting a little too personal…”
“You can trust me,” I said. I meant it. My word was as good as gold. The word of any Steel was.
“I’m sure Melanie has told you about my life,” Ruby said.
“No, she hasn’t. Other than who your father is. We can deduce that you didn’t have a great childhood.”
“Melanie is a true friend,” Ruby said. “Honestly, I think she’s the best friend I’ve ever had. I don’t know why I assumed she would tell you anything. I asked her to keep it in confidence.”
“She’s a good therapist,” I said.
