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“Uncle Leon, it’s yours. I would never take anything that was yours.” She kissed him again, and Grey saw light leave her and enter Leon.
Leon smiled. “I understand.”
“Good. I am going to see if he is still up.” She produced her phone from her pyjamas. She sent a text message, and it was answered immediately. “I have to pack.”
Grey asked, “What did she do?”
“She gave me peace. She has people who will protect her now, and she is going to them.”
“So soon after dumping Tanner?”
Leon looked at him. “That wasn’t a relationship. That was blackmail or extortion. He wasn’t dumped; he was escaped.”
Leon washed his cocoa cup out and dried it. “I am going to stay in my nest for a while. If you want to grieve or cuddle, you are welcome. One word about Ruby, and you are out.”
Grey watched him leave, and he felt something on his face. He touched his cheeks, and tears had broken free. He stood in the kitchen crying as the door opened and closed, and Ruby left.
* * * *
Leon looked up when Grey came into the nest. He stretched a hand to him and invited him down. They held each other and eventually discussed what had happened that day when their hope turned to ash. By the time dawn came, they felt different. They weren’t healed, but they could see a possible future.
It was a start.
Chapter Seven
Ruby sat in the car and yawned again. Marshall chuckled. “How long do you think you can maintain your schedule?”
“Not long. I think the candy shop is going to be the casualty.”
“What are you looking for for a job?”
“I don’t know. At this point, skate sharpener is foremost in my mind.”
He glided the car into a driveway and parked next to a front walk.
“I can also bake cookies or knit scarves or write little apps that do something silly that people happen to love.” She was trying to unbuckle, but the yawning was taking over.
He got out, grabbed her skates and bag, slung them over one shoulder, and unbuckled and lifted her out of the vehicle.
Ruby leaned against his shoulder, and he closed the car door with his foot before he got to the house door. She heard a hum, and he opened it and pushed inward to enter the house that smelled of Marshall.
“You are going to be tucked in and get some rest. The pyjamas are adorable, by the way.”
She smiled. “Uncle Leon got them for me last year. I get new PJs every year. It’s his go-to for me.”
He walked through the house, up some stairs, and into a bedroom that was clean but still smelled like him. She shivered as she was set on the bed, and he removed her fluffy slippers and tucked her into the sheets. Her phone was set on the bedside table, and her bag was within sight. She breathed in and exhaled deep and slow.
Marshall got into the other side of the bed and turned toward her. She rolled over and extended her hand to him. He held her hand, and she was in a deep and restful sleep.
When the alarms started, she groaned and rolled over, swatting her phone. Marshall walked in with two cups of coffee. “You are a sound sleeper.”
She groaned and rubbed a hand over her face, noting the spill of glittery white hair over her face. “Yeah. Sorry. When I am out, I am out.”
Ruby sat up, and he handed her the coffee. She sipped and sighed happily. She still felt exhausted, but her soul felt lighter. She looked at his rumpled hair and slow smile. She had to ask. “Is this okay for you?”
“Getting you coffee at four in the morning? I can manage it.”
“No. I mean the sexless thing for four weeks.”
