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“Okay.” Ruby says with a smile. “Thank you for understanding I need more time. I shouldn’t, but I do want to spend time with you. I have to admit my feelings were a little hurt when you didn’t show last week. It actually shocked me at how much I was looking forward to seeing you.” Ruby’s face flushes with her confession. Tank is feeling pretty pleased with himself at her confession.
“I was very disappointed I couldn’t see you, also,” Tank confesses his feelings, too. “I just kept kicking myself for not telling you what I did for a living. I knew you would think I just ghosted you. I should have asked Abigail to tell you where I was, but I didn’t want her to have to explain what Straw and I do. After we were out of country, I had second thoughts and really wished I had asked her to tell you.” Ruby stares at him with surprise on her face. She looks thoughtful as if she’s working something out in her mind.
“I didn’t put it together,” Ruby says. Tank frowns not understanding what she’s talking about. “I had a conversation with Abigail the next morning. She said she doesn’t sleep well when Robert is out of town, but I didn’t understand who she was referencing. She was talking about Straw, right?”
“Yeah, Straw’s his nickname,” Tank explains. Ruby grins at him.
“Like yours is Tank?” Her face alight with amusement.
“Yeah, babe,” Tank replies. “My given name is Tucker, but everyone calls me Tank. Well, everyone except for my Grammy. She refuses to call me Tank.” Ruby laughs and it’s the best sound Tank’s ever heard.
“Grammy is a stickler for your real name,” Ruby says normally. “I like it. She treats you as her grandson, not the badass Marine.” Tank nods with a smile, because Ruby has hit the nail on the head. His Grammy definitely keeps him grounded in his roots. She doesn’t let him forget he’s her grandson first, Marine special operator second.
“I need to get back to work,” Ruby says. “My lunch break is over.” Tank leans in to place a kiss on her cheek.
“Don’t work too hard, beautiful.” Tank has his arm around her shoulders and gives a gentle squeeze. “I have some errands to run, but when I’m done, I’d like to come back here. Will it be all right if I hang out here until your shift is over? I don’t want to go home until much later.” Ruby frowns, and Tank grins. “Straw and I share a house. He and Abigail will be…indisposed until time for Ellie, Abigail’s daughter to get out of school. I don’t relish hearing their reunion.” Ruby’s face flushes a cute shade of red. She licks her lips and swallows uncomfortably.
“Yeah,” Ruby whispers. “It’ll be fine. But, I have to go.” Ruby stands, loading their empty plates and trash onto her tray. “If you need something else, just let me know.” Tank nods and smiles at her. He watches her head off into the kitchen. His mind drifts back to their conversation about his Grammy.
Tank sometimes wishes Grammy wasn’t such a stickler about using his given name and her insistence on keeping the family together. Mostly he doesn’t like it, because she doesn’t let him hide his continued grief over losing his family. She makes him interact with his older sister Serena. If his grandmother hadn’t insisted that they stay in touch, Tank would have allowed his relationship with Serena to fade away after he joined the Marines.
Tank understands it isn’t Serena’s fault their parents died like they did, but part of him resents her for not being in the car with them, even recognizing she might’ve died also. If they hadn’t stayed at their grandparent’s house as long as they had that night arguing with Serena about spending the night, they might not have gotten into the accident. They would’ve already been at home when the drunk driver was out on the road. Tank had come to this conclusion in his teen years. After all, he’d only been a child at the time of the accident. He’d been injured badly in the accident. He’d spent weeks in the hospital and had undergone intensive physical therapy for months.
For a long time, he hadn’t had any memory of the accident or even of several days before it. The worse part during those years had been his survivor’s guilt. Why was he the only survivor? Why hadn’t Jillian’s car seat kept her safe? The stress from worrying over those questions has led him to make some bad decisions. He’d become reckless in his teen years. He’d drank too much, gotten into fights at school, and pretty much given his poor grandparents hell, but they never gave up on him. Neither had Straw. If it hadn’t been for Straw, Tank might not have survived that time in his life. He kept Tank from going too far with his reckless behavior.
Tank’s grandparents had taken him to a therapist and a psychiatrist when he’d begun acting out. During those sessions, all the repressed memories he had of the accident had been brought to the surface and with the memories came his anger. As a result, he blamed Serena for his parents’ and Jillian’s deaths. He isn’t proud of how he’d handled it nor how he’d treated Serena during that time. It had taken years of therapy to work through all his issues and even after all these years, he still has times when he’s angry over their deaths and at Serena and her perceived role, at least in his mind, in their deaths.
Rationally he comprehends Serena isn’t to blame. The drunk driver who caused the accident is to blame. His choice to get behind the wheel after drinking too much is what changed all those lives so many years ago. Tank is coming to learn things happen the way they’re supposed to. If he’s learned anything over the last few years as he’s watched his closest friends find love, it’s that destiny has a way of putting people in the right place at the right time. As hard as it’s been to accept, Tank feels his life has been preparing him for this time in his life. The time when he would find Ruby and be the man she needs to take care of her.
Tank downs the rest of his soda. He sees Becky coming out of the kitchen and waves her over. “Will you bring me the check for mine and Ruby’s lunch?” he asks when Becky stops at the table. She nods and walks over to the counter counting up the tab. Ruby exits the kitchen just as Becky is bring him the check.
“What’s going on?” Ruby asks glancing back and forth between Tank and Becky.
“He’s paying for your lunch,” Becky replies, laying the paper down on the table. Ruby reaches for it, but Tank is faster, just barely snatching it out of Ruby’s grasp. She glares at him, but Tank isn’t deterred. Ruby works hard at this diner. He isn’t going to let her pay for their meal even if the owner would have given her a discount. It’s just not in his nature to allow it. He slides out of the booth, towering over a miffed Ruby.
“Get that scowl off your beautiful face,” Tank demands, but he isn’t really upset with her. If anything, she’s turning him on. He likes it when her claws come out, and she argues with him. He can’t wait until they are a real couple, and he can piss her off just to have some great make up sex. He shakes his head. It isn’t the time to be thinking about make up sex with Ruby. He has to get past the walls she’s built around herself before he can contemplate sex of any sort with the lovely Ruby. “I’ve never let a woman pay for my meal, and I’m not starting now.” Ruby rolls her eyes at him and huffs but then gives him a smile.
“Fine,” Ruby grumbles. “Knock yourself out big guy, I won’t stop you.” He grabs her around the waist and pulls her into his side. He holds her close for a moment, kissing her temple.
“I’ll be back in a little while.” She glances up at him. Tank can tell she’s remembering him saying the same to her last week, but this time, nothing will stop him from returning, barring his death. “I promise I’ll be back. We have the weekend off, so I don’t have to worry about getting called up…unless there’s some major world disaster, but you have your phone so I can let you call or text you if something like that happens.” She nods. She has wrapped her arms around his waist as he held her. She gives him a tight squeeze before releasing him.
“Be safe out on the road.” Ruby’s voice is soft. “I’ll be here when you get back.” She turns and heads out into the dining room, checking on her tables. Tank hands Becky the money for their food, and he drops a nice tip on the table for Ruby before he heads out to complete his errands for the day.
19
RUBY
A couple of weeks later, on a Friday afternoon, Ruby can’t keep the smile off her face. Tank has become a fixture in her life over the last two weeks. He texts her every morning and every night before he goes to sleep. They’ve spent several evenings together sharing a meal, going to the movies, and even enjoying a walk through the Lejeune Memorial Gardens. Tank had shared how the team had helped Ace propose to his wife, Daisy there. It was a really romantic story.
Today she’s working at the diner. Tank texts to tell her he’ll be by in a few minutes to see her. Ruby can’t wait to see him. She knows she shouldn’t be getting attached to him, but he’s making it impossible for her to keep from falling for him. A jingle from the door draws her attention. He’s here. The sexy beast in all his camouflaged glory. His friend Straw is with him. Straw is handsome, too, but not nearly as handsome as Tank and definitely can’t match Tank’s size.
Ruby watches as he scans the room looking for her. Their eyes meet, and she can feel the heat between them. It’s like an electrical connection drawing them toward each other. She is mesmerized as he stalks across the room in her direction. His large strides eat up the distance between them. His thigh muscles flexing as he moves. He’s filling out his clothes nicely today. His t-shirt straining from his huge pectoral muscles. Ruby’s mouth dries. Her pulse spikes, and she can feel her nipples tighten as desire hits her. Even though they’ve been spending quite a bit of time together, he’s not taking things any further than holding hands. It’s beginning to get frustrating, but at the same time, she loves that he’s willing to take things slow. She needs to be extra careful. She can feel herself falling in love with him.
“Hi beautiful.” Tank’s voice is husky, and Ruby wonders if he’s having similar thoughts to hers. “I’ve finished for the day at base. Ellie will be getting out of school any minute now, so Straw and I are going to pick her up. I’m going to head home for a little bit. I need to shower and spend some time with the little munchkin, but I’ll be back. What time will you be finished with work?”
“I should be ready by six,” Ruby tells him. “I’m working an earlier shift today, so I don’t have to close up.”
“Do you work this weekend?” Tank asks with his brow raised. Ruby shakes her head to the negative. His face lights up in a sensual smile. “What do you say we continue working on the getting to know each other?”
