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Chapter 31 – Thank you
Ruby
First thing Thursday morning, I checked my email for the test results. Of course, they weren’t there. It was still early, and Thursday was an estimate at best.
While I showered, I negotiated with myself over how often I would check my email. I decided once after the lunch rush, once after Jace got let out of school, and again before closing for the day. There was no point checking any more than that.
I pulled on my clothes and stuffed my cell phone into my pocket, then immediately pulled it back out. There was no harm checking before going downstairs. Jace didn’t know the test results were coming today. I’d better not check before seeing him for breakfast. I tucked my phone back into my pocket, made it halfway down the hall before stopping and pulling it out again.
No email.
Okay. Deep breath, Ruby.
This was going to be a long day.
Thankfully, a steady stream of customers kept me busy, which wasn’t unusual for a Thursday. Minty and the girls came in for lunch. Yanni picked up an order for himself and Elisavet after the initial rush, standing and chatting with me at the counter, until Elisavet stuck her head in my door and berated him for taking too long.
I cleaned the front counter and had just reached for my phone to check for the email when the front door swung open. Resigning myself to waiting another few minutes, I lifted my head.
Vander stood just inside the door, watching me. “Are you okay?”
“Uhh…” Why was he here? Did the results come in? Why wouldn’t I be okay? Okay that he is Jace’s father? Okay that he’s not?
“Are they in?” I whispered.
He nodded and moved closer, I spun around and paced away.
“Ruby.” He said firmly.
“Give me a moment.”
Now that the time had come, I wasn’t sure I was ready for the disappointment if Jace wasn’t Vander’s. I never wanted to reject any part of my son, and surely, wishing away his paternity fell under that category?
“Ruby.”
I waved him off while I stumbled through my mental gymnastics. Whatever the results, Jace was my son and that was enough. If Vander stayed true to his word, Jace would have a stepdad the same way George did, and that was good, right?
“Ruby.” Vander’s hands landed firmly on my shoulders and turned me around. I slowly lifted my eyes to his, wondering if I’d find the answer there.
Vander cupped my face in his hands and rested his forehead on mine. “We have a son, Ruby-mine,” he murmured.
I froze, momentarily awestruck, and then my knees buckled beneath me.
Vander wrapped his arms around my waist, pulled me close, and tucked his face into my neck, bending me backwards. Emotion rolled off him in waves and threatened to suck me under. I clung to his broad shoulders, tense with his overwhelming emotions.
I ran my hands over him gently, soothing him, coming to terms with the beautiful reality that the wish that secretly haunted my dreams all these years came true.
I tunneled my fingers through Vander’s thick hair, and he pulled me up to my toes, wrapped up tight in his love. He felt solid beneath my hands, solid and present and real.
A half sob, half laugh broke from my throat. “He was made by love, Vander. He was made by our love.”
“Yes, baby,” he muttered brokenly, his hands running up and down my back as he set me on my feet and tucked my head against his chest while I embraced him.
He sniffed and pulled in a shuddering breath, then tipped his head down to rest his forehead on mine.
“Thank you, Ruby.”
The memory of Gus bending over Amber, his forehead pressed to hers, the fragile proof of their love lying between them, popped into my mind. I smiled at the fact that I, too, got my tender moment.
