Page 117 of Heart & Hope

But Mack leavin’ always has me down for days. It’s hard saying goodbye, not knowing if this is the last time I will see him. And this is the first time I have ever had someone around after he waves off at the airport. That counts. More than she knows.

Ruby is everything.

And there is no way in hell I’m letting her down tonight. Not a fucking chance. I hold the passenger door open in the airport parking lot as she smiles at me with sad eyes and climbs on up.

My heart is heavy, but it’s also full.

Some fucking contradiction that is.

I slide into the driver’s seat and fire her up. The rumble makes me feel a little better. Stupid as it is, this truck has always been my safe space. Somewhere I can be myself and free. Nothin’ like the purr of idling V8 engine and soft leather to lull you back to comfort.

I lay back, closing my eyes for a heartbeat, letting my heart rate steady. And I count my blessings. The biggest one sits next to me, whose stare is warm on my face. I smile, eyes still closed.

“Rude to stare, beautiful.”

“I know.” Her voice is strained.

I snap my eyes open and find hers. Her jaw is clenched, hands tight around her phone, breaths shallow.

I cant my head, narrowing my gaze. “What is it?”

“No, today is about Mack.”

“I can handle it. Please, baby, tell me.”

She breaks eye contact and stares through the windshield vacantly. “Your groupies are suing for harassment.”

I ignore the phrasemy groupies, even though it eats at me. Dropping my focus to the seat between us, I run my hands through my hair. “Fuck, please say it’s the both of us?”

“Just me.”

“Sweet Jesus, Rubes,” I utter. “Don’t give them a thing. Harry will know someone.”

She gives me an incredulous face. “My lawyer is already on it. But technically, I did. So, there’s that.”

“ButIthrew them out of the Thanksgiving party.”

“Yeah, well, apparently it’s me they hate, not the Great Reed Rawlins.”

Her face slackens as the last words leave her lips, like she didn’t mean to say it. Like it’s not what she wanted to say.

I drift my focus to the steering wheel. “We will fix this, we make it through tonight, and then get busy figuring out a solution for this mess.”

She doesn’t respond, eyes glued to her phone in her hands, not really seeing.

“Ruby? We will sort this out.”

I move closer and turn her face with one hand. Her eyes are lined with silver. Fuck me. An iron grip closes around my heart, a stone forming in my airways.

“Hey, it will be alright, baby.” I pull her into me, and she sobs. Her fingers tangle in the opening of my polo shirt. Rubes is the toughest woman I have ever met; this stress is eating her up. It’s fucking unacceptable.

The event.

The fake marriage.

The harassment bullshit.

The past few months of nonstop planning and work.

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