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“I have. Born and raised. Nolan was the one who got out, but not me. Someone had to stay and look after the ranch.”
“Does that bother you? That you stayed and he took off?”
Just thinking about Nolan’s departure made him sad. They were only eighteen at the time, and Heath already knew the ranch was his life. “It bothered me a lot when he first left. I was furious because he took off without warning. I couldn’t understand how he could leave or why he wanted to. But we’ve talked a fair amount since he came back to town. I think I get it now.” He drew in a deep breath. “You know, even though we’re twins, we can be very different. I always felt like the one who had to be responsible for everything. I love the ranch, but there was always the pressure of making it into a success because I knew my dad was counting on me to look after everything and everyone.”
“So when Nolan left, it felt like your fate was sealed?”
Heath drew his fingers up and down Ruby’s spine. “I suppose I did. I definitely felt like a door closed.” Had feeling stuck fueled his quest against the Grandin and Lattimore families? Had it given him too much time to think? Ruby made him ask himself these questions, but he kept it all to himself.
“I’m glad you stayed here. We might not have met otherwise. And I can’t wait to see the ranch.”
“I’ll gladly give you a tour.” The thought filled him with even more optimism. It was one more thing to look forward to, spending time with her and showing off the product of his hard work.
“I’d like that. I’d like to learn more about you, too.”
Heath pulled her closer. “What are you going to do for your birthday?”
Ruby reared her head back. “How did you know my birthday was coming?”
“You told me the day I came to your house.”
“I did?”
“Yes. Remember when I was trying to explain how I thought you might be older than you are?”
Ruby laughed quietly. “Oh, right. I forgot about that.”
“Good. I keep playing that moment over in my head, hating myself for making the mistake.”
“To answer your question, I don’t have any plans. I honestly haven’t done anything for three years. My brother tried to convince me to visit last year, but I just wasn’t in the mood for celebrating.”
“Would it be okay if you and I celebrated? I think it’s a good idea.” He wondered if he was pushing her too hard. He knew how much he disliked it when someone pressured him about anything.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Whatever you want. It’s your birthday.”
“Maybe dinner?”
“Of course. Where would you like to go?”
“Sheen? Is that too much to ask?”
Heath hesitated for a moment, because he knew exactly what going to Sheen involved. It was the hippest restaurant in all of Royal and, because of that, immensely popular. He’d been a few times, and it’d been packed to the rafters on every occasion. Would he receive the same treatment he’d just endured at the TCC? Would someone like Vic decide to take issue with him? Every passing day made it more likely. It wouldn’t be long before the Grandin and Lattimore families would receive the letter from his lawyer, and then it would be their turn to put up or shut up. “Nothing is too much to ask. I’d love to take you to Sheen. I’ll make a call and get a reservation.”
Eight
Ruby was finally starting her last house project, a complete rework of the closet in her bedroom. Closets in older homes were notoriously tiny, and hers was bursting at the seams. The hanging clothes were so jam-packed that it took an extraordinary amount of upper body strength to pull a single hanger off the rod. The shoes were even worse—the entire floor was littered with a mountain of cowboy boots, sneakers, sandals and heels. Starting the project had created its own mess. Ruby’s entire wardrobe was piled on the sofa in the living room to keep it away from the construction dust.
Her first task was to remove the drywall at the back of her closet, which gave her access to the same space in the guest room. It wasn’t a load-bearing wall, so she planned to knock down the framing between and double the square footage for her wardrobe. It was a big undertaking, but completing it would mean that she was done with transforming her house. Unless she thought of a new project. There was always something that could be done to improve things. And on some days, like today, she simply needed to stay busy. It was her birthday, and although Heath was taking her out tonight, it was still going to be a difficult day. Lucas had always gone the extra yard for her birthday.
When she’d first started working on this little cottage, it was a way to keep herself busy while she mourned Lucas’s death. She’d needed something truly immersive, and it had to be physical. There was a lot of cathartic release to be had from smashing down walls with a sledgehammer and ripping up floorboards with a crowbar. Of course, she’d been sobbing through a lot of it, an actual sea of tears. She’d never known it was possible to cry so much. She kept waiting for the day when her grief would finally dry up and go away. But that was the biggest lesson she had waiting for her—it didn’t work like that. The struggle didn’t travel a straight line. It was a roller coaster. A string of good days would be followed by an unexpected descent back into sadness. Then the sun would come up and she’d heal for a few days. Maybe a few weeks. Then the cycle would start again.
Sometimes it was prompted by a memory, like of planning her wedding with Lucas. She’d thought her whole life was ahead of her then. She’d had no idea it was about to feel like it had come to an end. Right after Lucas was gone, she used to sleep with one of his shirts and the wedding planner notebook she’d been using to stay organized. A few months in, she’d realized how much she was torturing herself, and so she’d tucked away the notebook in the buffet. And she made the shirt into a pillow, but she put it on the bed in the guest room. It was a comfort to know that it was there if she needed it.
She kept an eye on the clock as she swept up the mess from the drywall and readied herself to start cutting two-by-fours for the framing. She was supposed to be at Heath’s at five o’clock. Their dinner reservations for Sheen were at seven. He was adorable for having remembered that she’d mentioned it the first time he’d come to her house. He was even more adorable for insisting he take her out. He really was a generous person, and she couldn’t see why others didn’t see that in him. Maybe it was because he was so good at hiding it. He definitely wouldn’t go out of his way to take or receive credit for anything. She had to admire that. Most people had too big an ego to not get every bit of credit they felt they deserved. But not Heath. People were free to take him or leave him. He didn’t seem to care too much either way.
Around three thirty, she decided she’d better knock off for the day and hop in the shower. But before she could do that, her phone rang with a call from Heath. “Hey,” she said. “I was just thinking about you. What’s up?”
