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“Say hi, Mommy! You’re on speaker,” I quickly informed her.
The last thing I needed was Harper repeating something that Taylor said to me when she was giving me shit. Me giving Ruby a ride home was already aboard the Wishing Well gossip train, and I didn’t want Harper to add any coal to the engine.
“Hey, Peanut! How was your sleepover?” Tay asked.
“Good! Last night we watched a movie and had popcorn, and this morning we had donuts, and then we all got to go swimming.”
“Wow, that sounds like fun.”
“And what about you, Daddy? How was your sleepover?” Amusement tinged Tay’s voice.
She was such a brat.
“You had a sleepover, Daddy?!” Harper exclaimed.
“No,” I lied. “I didn’t. Your mommy was kidding.”
“Yeah, I was just teasing Daddy.”
Thankfully, Harper dropped the sleepover conversation and started telling her mom about the summer day camp that she was signed up for. I told Tay that I was starting nights again tomorrow and that Kenna and her aunt were going to help out until I found someone full-time.
“I wish I was there,” she said as we pulled into the parking space at Sunset Acres. “I’m sorry you’re dealing with all this alone.”
“I’m not.” Even if Kenna and Aunt Marcy hadn’t been able to help out, I did have an entire community of people who would be there if I needed them. That was sort of the trade-off of everyone being in your business; you never had to go through anything alone. “And you’ll be home soon.”
“Yeah, I will. Okay, give Grandad my love!”
“We will,” I said.
“I’ll call you tonight, Peanut,” Tay assured our daughter. “Love you and miss you, miss you and love you.”
“Love you and miss you, miss you and love you!” Harper called out from the back.
When I cut the engine, ended the call, and stepped out of the truck, I noticed the time on my Apple Watch. It was 2:00 p.m. Ruby would be boarding her ship by now. Before she fell asleep last night, she mentioned that they were getting underway at 3:00 p.m.
Ruby was gone. I was starting nights tomorrow, and I was going to have to find someone to live in my house. Today was not going well.
As Harper and I walked into the senior center, I couldn’t help the melancholy cloud that followed me. It had been a little over a week since I’d seen Ruby at the gas station, but it felt like a lifetime ago. I missed her, which was ridiculous and not something I was used to feeling. It had been less than eight hours since I’d seen her, since she’d fallen asleep in my arms, and I ached for her. I literally felt like I was coming down with the flu.
“Hey there!” Judy beamed as she looked up from the front desk. “How was your sleepover, little lady?”
“Good!” Harper was enthused and then proceeded to regale Judy about the movie, popcorn, and morning swim.
“And how was your night, Officer Kane?” Judy’s hazel eyes glinted with amusement behind her wire-rimmed glasses. “I heard you gave Ruby a ride.”
It was clear she was insinuating that the ride I’d given had nothing to do with transportation. The past week that Ruby had been in town had been exhibit A, B, C, D, E, and F of why I never casually dated. How could I? I had zero privacy in this town. With her gone, my only hope was that this entire thing would blow over before Remi got wind of it.
I wasn’t sure how many people he still spoke to in town. I didn’t think it was very many besides his mom, and she had never seemed to show much interest in either Ruby or Remi, so I doubted she would pass the information along even if she did overhear it.
In the back of my mind, I knew I should feel guilty about what happened. Remi had asked me to look out for his little sister because he trusted me. But I didn’t feel even an ounce of guilt or regret for being with Ruby.
Last night reminded me that I was alive. That I was a man who could love a woman. It reminded me of what it felt like to be connected to someone else. It reminded me that my life wasn’t just about work and fatherhood.
For years, I’d ignored my needs and put them on the back burner. But after last night, I knew more than ever that I wanted to find a partner. A person to share not only my bed with but my life with.
I wanted to have what Sara Beth and Jimmy had—a house filled with kids, laughter, music, and chaos. It was all I’d ever wanted. The only problem was that the only person I could picture having those things with was sailing away with no plans of returning.
“It was fine.” I answered with as little emotion as possible before asking, “Is Grandad in the garden?”
