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Hanging freestyle in mid-air for the few seconds before she felt other hands grab for them, she prayed her strength would be enough to hold onto the wriggling body.
When they were saved, she finally sent up her prayer of thanks and let her crew take over. Once on the ground, she opened her arms to Hector, and he clung until they pried him free and put him on the gurney to check him out. His mother, with Ellie in her arms, rushed over.
After she removed her gear, she approached the delighted group. Smiling at his crying mom, she leaned over and kissed Hector’s forehead. “You’re my brave hero, Superman. Don’t ever forget it. Good luck.”
He’d grinned, his blackened face wreathed in smiles of adoration. God, she loved her work. Especially on the days when they won their battle against the monster.
After her shift, she’d needed to calm herself and without thinking, she’d headed to the local bar only to remember she couldn’t drink alcohol, or her stomach would react adversely. Besides the fact that babies and alcohol weren’t considered a good combination, she’d have given her bank account for one dripping-cold bottle of beer.
While waiting to get her ginger ale, she’d noticed the same Chinese fellow who’d appeared so often over the last few days, she felt as if she was being stalked. She didn’t like the creepy sensation that happened every time she saw him watching. His searching gaze had left her feeling violated, and she had no intention of giving him any encouragement.
Guess she was more spooked than she realized. Instinctively, she’d reacted and left her poor victim speechless with a kiss meant to throw off her pursuer. It had worked. Once she’d unglued her lips from the man she’d basically attacked, thankfully, her follower had vanished.
It made sense that in the heat of the moment – perfect word to describe a kiss that should have meant nothing – she’d become so flustered; she’d forgotten to pick up her phone.
She’d have to activate her GPS later with her mom’s cell and see if she could prove her theory about leaving the blasted thing at the bar. In the meantime, she had her mother to deal with. This woman believed in getting straight answers to her questions… answers that Ruby couldn’t give her.
***
An hour later, she’d headed straight to Jill’s restaurant, plunked down at her favorite table near the kitchen, and waited for her mom to find her and start her interrogation. She’d been on Ruby for weeks to go to the doctor about her sickness.
In fact, she’d been the one to make the appointment and had insisted that if she couldn’t go with her, at the very least, Ruby had to promise to come to the restaurant directly after she finished work. Other than the quick stop at the bar for a cold drink to quench her thirst and soothe her sore throat, Ruby had done as she’d promised. Now she felt like a firing squad would be soon sitting next to her, taking aim.
Expecting there to be a small problem that was making her feel unlike herself, she’d agreed to the cross-examination. After hearing the awful news, she knew she couldn’t break her word. Jill would have been incensed, and she couldn’t blame her. Now… faced with having to tell the truth, she regretted succumbing to the obvious blackmail, but it was too late to back out. Hell, at the time, she’d have agreed to anything just to get Jill to stop harping. Damned if her words hadn’t come back to bite her in the ass.
Shit!
How the hell was she going to explain something unexplainable?
When her mother, Jill, approached with a bottle of Lambrusco, their favorite celebratory sparkling red wine, and a platter of fancy crackers, cheeses, grapes, and meats, she started to laugh.
The problem emerged when she couldn’t stop. That’s when her mother dropped her tray on the table and rushed to her side. Gathering Ruby into her arms, she held on tight and whispered the same words she’d used during the worst moments in Ruby’s life. “I’ve got you precious. You’re safe. Don’t worry, I’m here.”
Ruby battled for composure and finally won. Years had passed since she’d let herself get into this kind of slump. Last time it had happened was when a terrible fire had taken her dad’s life. Their hero… he’d saved one of the young men who’d worked for him, and then against all sense, rushed back into the inferno to try and rescue a child.
Always aware of the possibility of danger, no one ever expected death to capture their loved one. When it did, both she and Jill had sheltered in despair for months. But they’d eventually worked their way through the grief, doing it together.
The next big obstacle had been when Ruby admitted to Jill that she would be following in her father’s footsteps. She was to begin her training as a firefighter in a few days, and she needed her mother’s blessing.
It had taken a lot of convincing and hard work to get Jill to finally accept the unchangeable, and so they’d moved on. Now, she had another battle on her hands, and she would need all the help and support she could get.
“I’m okay, Mom. Really, you can let me go now. I’m fine.” Ruby twisted out of her mother’s grasp and put her hand on Jill’s face. “It’s okay, Mom. Don’t be scared.”
“Are you a raving lunatic? Don’t be scared? You walk in here like you’ve seen a ghost, have a meltdown after a doctor’s appointment, and I’m supposed to be calm. Have you completely lost your mind from all that blasted smoke you inhale?” Still ranting, she added her oft-used lament that they both ignored. “Truly, is it really too late to sign you over to an adoption agency?”
Appreciating her mother’s usual threats of wanting to trade her in when she’d misbehaved, Ruby grinned, her pale face breaking out of its previous rigid expression. “Fraid so. They don’t take thirty-year-olds.”
Seeing as how Ruby had settled down now, Jill did too. Relaxing into the booth next to Ruby, she poured two flutes of their specialty wine, took a huge gulp out of her portion, and passed the other goblet over to Ruby.
“I’m ready. Give me the bad news.” While Jill composed herself with extreme willpower, her shaking hands lifted to smooth back wisps of hair that floated loose around her upsweep.
Not really knowing how to tell her what the doctor found yet understanding that her mother’s worry wasn’t to be trifled with, she said the stark words for the first time, even to herself. Hearing them out loud made the reality sink in. “I’m pregnant.”
Jills eyes widened. She clutched her heart and took in a huge breath. Before Ruby understood her intention, Jill reached out and slapped her hand away from where it had wandered to her glass. Without a second’s hesitation, Jill pulled the object back toward her side of the table, lifted it to her mouth, and swallowed it as if it had been a shooter and she a drinker. All the while, her eyes filled with excited tears.
Before Jill could break down completely, Ruby spoke. “It’s not mine.”
As if hit by a pole, Jill backed away. “Excuse me?”
