AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Look at you,” I marvel, softly. “Alive.”
Alive. She’s alive.
The thought rocks me to my very core.
My chant. My refrain.
My miracle of a wife.
Every reasonIam fucking alive right now is standing in that ocean.
“C’mon, Cowboy!” Ruby shouts, peeling off her sundress.
I catch sight of her breasts before she disappears into another wave.
Thank Christ the beach is private.
I go to tug off my boots but freeze as the chime of my phone fills the air.
“Goddamn it,” I groan, seeing Davis’s name on my caller ID. The last thing I want to do is answer, but I need to talk to him. He’s been avoiding my call for the last three days.
“How’s California?” Davis says when I pick up. “Avocados change your world?
I roll my eyes. “Dickhead,” I mutter.
Every one of my brothers ragged on me relentlessly for setting foot in California, but they understand I have to do this.
Wherever Ruby goes, I go.
Davis chuckles. “I bet beach Charlie is a vibe.”
“Won’t get me outta my boots for long.”
“Congratulations, by the way.” Davis goes on. “Mama is talkin’ about it like it’s the end times. You elopin’ and all.”
“Thanks.” I glance down at the band of gold on my left hand. Last week, Ruby and I were married in a small ceremony at the Resurrection courthouse. Wyatt was my best man. We had a small reception at the Neon Grizzly, and the next day, we hopped in my truck and took off for California.
Didn’t want to waste another minute.
Sunflower days for the rest of our lives and we take them all.
We’re spending our honeymoon at a small beach house on the California coast. In two weeks, Ruby will undergo a clinical trial at Stanford. It keeps us in California until Christmas, puts us back at the ranch early next year, but if there’s anything that can make her heart get stronger, I’ll make it happen.
“Listen,” I tell my brother in a low voice. “I gotta make this fast. I’m on the beach with Ruby and she’s about to bounce into the Pacific.” I keep my eyes on Ruby’s slender silhouette, daring the waves to take her away from me. “Valiante. Where is he, Davis?”
A long silence. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about.”
“Bullshit,” I growl.
He released the photo months ago, creating a shitstorm for Valiante. His campaign, his marriage, his career over. But last week, Valiante never came home from an out-of-town business trip.
Missing, the news proclaimed.
I spear my fingers through my hair. “What’s the fucking rule? If you’re in it, I’m in it. No matter what.”
“Not this time,” Davis says evenly. “You don’t need to know, brother. Start your life with Ruby. Forget about it. I got you.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, processing what he’s telling me.
