Page 28 of Recklessly Rogue

That’s one way to describe what I did, I suppose. I nod when Elliot looks at me.

“You did?” he asks.

I tuck my hands into my pockets and rock back on my heels, working on looking at ease. “Yep. He’s gone now, and he won’t be back.” I need the kid to understand he’s safe here from all the loud, angry men, father or not.

“That’s good,” Elliot says. Then he descends the steps and comes to stand in front of me. “Want to see the new toys Ruby sent me?”

“I really do,” I tell him.

He takes my hand, startling me, and I look up at his mom. But April is just watching us with a mix of relief and obvious fatigue.

She says to Ruby, “You really didn’t have to doallof this for us. The toys and pajamas and pizza. It was too much.”

Ruby shoots me a look. I just wink at her as Elliot leads me into the living room. Taking care of people is never too much. Someday, Ruby will understand that.

I settle at the coffee table with Elliot and he starts explaining how he and his mom got to Ruby’s house and found all the packages on the front porch with their names on them.

I grin. I love that I was able to surprise them. I had to pay the shopper from Columbus a ridiculous amount to make out gift tags, go to so many stores, and then come all the way over to Emerald, but it had to be done.

I look around the living room, feeling a familiar sense of comfort being here. Ruby inherited the house from her stepfather, and the classic two-story farmhouse style boasts walnut woodwork throughout, including real wood floors on the first floor. But I’m guessing Ruby and her sister and niece are responsible for the buttery yellow color of the walls.

I take in the multicolored throw pillows, blankets on the blue sofa, and matching armchairs that are so different from the carefully coordinated color schemes in the palace and that the professional decorator gave to the house we remodeled in Autre, Louisiana, when we moved there. Ruby’s bedroom is similar. The duvet on the bed is pink, her pillows are green, and her sheets are blue. Not because she’s chaotic or just loves bursts of colors, but because she simply buys whatever she needs at the moment, likely on sale, without thought to things like color coordinating or aesthetics.

I’d be willing to bet very good money that all of the furniture in this room was Brian’s and left over, or is hand-me-down, or was bought from friends or people in town at garage sales.

Ruby and Scarlett don’t do excess. They don’t do extravagant. They don’t do over-the-top.

Marrying a prince is by far the most over-the-top thing Scarlett Gale has ever done or will ever do and I know it’s going to take her a long time to fully adjust to her new lifestyle.

Leaving her sister and niece to pursue a law degree in another state is as extravagant as Ruby Gale will ever get.

And that shouldn’t be something that’s extreme in someone’s life.

The urge to kidnap her and force her to let me take care of her gets stronger every time I’m with her, I swear.

I listen to Elliot happily babble about the toys, pleased that he’s so excited.

“I gotplanes.” Elliot moves around the coffee table and pushes the LEGO airplanes he put together earlier toward me.

“Iloveplanes,” I tell him honestly.

I’m very happy to see the toys. I ordered them, but I haven’tseenthem. I love LEGOs, especially airplane sets. Cian doesn’t like all the instructions and steps that go into sets like this and prefers to just dive in and start sticking things together, whichnever works, of course. There’s a reason step one comes before step two. Jonah, Saoirse, and Fiona don’t like to sit that long. Torin will do them with me sometimes but I’m usually on my own with building sets, puzzles, and things like that.

When Scarlett told me Elliot was into planes and rockets and not into sports or many “outdoorsy” activities, I took a chance on quieter things like coloring books and age-appropriate LEGOs.

“Wow, these look great,” I tell him of the three planes he’s put together on the coffee table.

Elliot giggles. I like hearing that. He doesn’t seem withdrawn or scared, at least at this moment. I assume he knows Ruby at least well enough to be comfortable staying in her house, and I’m apparently acceptable because I’m with her.

Elliot goes to another box and starts to open it but April protests from the living room doorway. “Oh, not another one tonight, buddy. It’s bedtime.”

She looks exhausted.

I jump in before Elliot can protest. I yawn and stretch. “I’msotired,” I tell him. “Ruby is, too.”

We both look at her, and she also fakes a big yawn. “Reallytired,” she says.

He looks so disappointed.

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