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Maybe his brother was right. Maybe he needed to find a way to look ahead. Ruby sure made him want to. “Okay. Can we talk about the foundation, then?”
“We can definitely talk about it. Not now, though. Chelsea and I are about to go for a walk in the snow.”
“Well...when, then? Don’t put me off on this.”
“And don’t get surly with me. Chelsea and I are newlyweds. We’re entitled to spend time together, especially over the holidays.”
Heath felt like a heel. This was another example of him getting too wrapped up in his own head. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”
“It’s okay. I understand. Maybe we can get together. What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?”
“Nothing.”
Nolan laughed. “Why does that not surprise me?”
“I never do anything on New Year’s. I don’t see the point. So we flip the calendar? It’s just another day to me.”
Nolan let out a dismissive tut. “Chelsea and I are going to the party at the Cattleman’s Club. I think you should join us. There will be music and dancing and amazing food. And I think you should bring a date. It’d be good for you to have some female companionship, Heath. I worry about you all alone in that big house, working harder than any person needs to and stewing in your own juices about Mom and Ashley.”
“I don’t know. I’m not big on parties.” And frankly, going to the Texas Cattleman’s Club was a minefield in waiting. He’d been a member forever, but there was a good-sized chunk of the membership that was not a fan of his at the moment. Many people had sided with the Grandin and Lattimore families in the dispute.
“Then do it for me. I want you and Chelsea to spend more time together. My twin brother and my wife should know each other better. We didn’t even get to see you at Christmas.”
“I know.” On paper, he welcomed the idea of being closer to Nolan and finally returning to a true family dynamic after so many years of being apart. But what was Heath supposed to talk about with Chelsea? He sure as hell couldn’t ask how her family was doing.
“Then come to the party. Do you have someone you can ask?”
Heath cleared his throat. “I have an idea of someone. Yes.”
“Who is it?”
“A woman. A woman I know. Or actually, a woman I know who I just met for the first time in person.”
“You’re talking in circles. She must be something.”
Heath couldn’t keep his eyes off Ruby. She was laughing as she talked to the two men, who were clearly enthralled with her. That came as no surprise. She was mesmerizing. “You could say that.”
“Who is she?”
“I told you a few minutes ago. Ruby Rose Bennett.”
“The surveyor? You want to bring a surveyor to a New Year’s Eve party?”
“Hey. What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. I’m just not really envisioning someone who wants to put on a cocktail dress and drink champagne.”
Heath had no earthly idea what Ruby might wear. He’d only seen her in jeans and a sweater, but he was a huge fan of what he saw. He’d also seen a little bit more, and he would have been lying if he said he didn’t want to see all of her. “For the record, she’s stunning.”
At the end of the driveway, one of the men closed up the back of the truck while the other climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. The warm exhaust billowed in clouds from the tailpipe. That loudbeep beep beepsounded as he backed up the vehicle to turn it around.
“Where are you? It sounds like a garbage truck.”
“I’m at Ruby’s. A tree fell across her driveway from the storm. The public works guys are here to haul it away.”
“Hold on a minute. What time did you meet with her? And where?”
Dammit.Heath shouldn’t have divulged where he was. His brother was going to give him a hard time about this. “I came over around four or five yesterday.”
