Page 278 of Show Me

“Not happening.”

She smiles. “You sound confident.”

“I’ve got a solid lead right now.”

She laughs again, and the sound settles somewhere permanent inside my chest.

Outside, snow continues falling through the dark. The fire burns low. The tree glows. And Ruby turns to molten heat under my fingertips.

Somewhere between stolen blankets, warm kisses, and watching Ruby shatter into a million pieces…. I’ve stopped waiting for this happiness to disappear.

Epilogue

Ruby

Late March

I sit on the back porch steps with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders while the late afternoon sun dips low behind the trees. The air smells like fresh dirt with the first hints of spring grass.

Samson stands beside the pig pen as if he built it himself. Delilah curls protectively around her newest litter while piglets tumble over each other in the straw.

“Look at them,” I laugh.

Tiny pink bodies with a light coating of black and white hair—little squeals. Absolute chaos. One of the piglets wanders too far from the group. Samson grunts loudly and nudges it right back toward Delilah.

“Overprotective already,” Xavier mutters behind me.

I glance back over my shoulder. He leans against the porch railing with his arms crossed, watching the pigs like he’s coaching a football team.

“You say that like you’re not the same way.”

His head snaps back. “I’m not that bad.”

I stare at him.

“Okay,” he admits. “Maybe a little.”

I laugh and push myself to my feet, brushing a piece of lint off my jeans. My stomach curves visibly now. Not huge, but there’s no hiding it anymore.

Samson grunts proudly again.

“Good job, Dad,” I tell him.

Xavier chuckles. “Come on.” He tips his head toward the garage.

“Where’re we going?”

“Shop.”

Suspicion creeps into my voice. “You’ve been hiding out there for weeks.”

“Working.”

“Suspicious working.”

His mouth twitches. “You studying every night made it pretty easy to hide things.”

I narrow my eyes at him but follow anyway. The old garage that he’s turned into a workshop smells like sawdust and fresh-cut wood. After Xavier flips up the switch, fluorescent lights leave a warm glow across the workbench and rows of tools.