Page 17 of Wild Card
“How far from here is it?” I push for more.
“About thirty minutes, you take the first left off Main Street and follow that road till you get to the old stable yard. It’s down a dirt track just off there, Brett’s gonna get a proper road laid out eventually but–”
“Thanks,” I interrupt her, already backing out the door.
EIGHT
Ruby
“Thanks for agreeing to see me.” Brett looks across at me as he drives out of town. I have no idea where he’s taking me, but he promises that when we get there, we can talk, so I’m going with it. What happened last night was a one-off and completely out of character for him. He was hurt and angry, but I can’t believe that he meant to hurt me. My brain won’t let me.
“We have a lot to talk about,” I remind him, one-off or not, I don’t intend to let him get away with his behaviour.
I start to wonder where he’s heading when he pulls off the road at the old stable yard. It’s a real shame the owners had to sell up; I spent a few summers when I first came to town working there, and the Mullens were good people.
“We have,” Brett agrees, smiling at me as if he knows something I don’t. I hate that it makes me feel so on edge. I used to feel so comfortable around him; being with Brett always made me feel safe. Now I’m questioning everything.
“I have to get back before twelve-thirty to open up the bar,” I remind him. We’re at least a half hour from town now, and it’s already nearly eleven.
“I spoke to Earl before we left, and he’s got it covered,” he tells me, taking another left turn, this time down a dirt track that I’m pretty sure leads to the Donalson ranch.
“Brett, where are we going?” I suddenly wonder what the hell I’m doing here with him. What he did last night was unforgivable, and it doesn’t matter how many hours I’ve spent trying to convince myself. Things will never be the same between us again.
“I told you, sweetie, it’s a surprise.” He grins at me, and it makes me want to remind him of the last surprise he gave me. But I don’t have to, it's sticking on my face for everyone to see, and I’m kinda pissed that he hasn’t asked me how it is yet.
Last night, despite all his anger, Ash was surprisingly tentative in the way he cared for me. It’s insane to think that I was shown more kindness by a stranger than I was from my own boyfriend, the man who did this to me.
I think about the way Ash’s fingers touched my skin so delicately, and that kiss. The kiss I didn’t just allow to happen, but actually initiated. I haven’t stopped thinking about it. And every time I do, it causes a happy dance in my panties, which I really have to ignore right now.
“Here we are.” Brett stops the car outside a huge, wood-framed house. It must have only just been built because the plastic is still on the windows, and there's no sign of the Donalson ranch here anymore.
“What is this place?” I ask, looking up at it through the windshield.
“This… is our home, baby.” He leans across the console and kisses my cheek, as if what happened last night never happened. “Come and check it out.” He jumps out of the car before I can say anything, racing round the hood and opening my door so he can take my hand and drag me out.
“It still needs finishing on the inside. I told the interior designer that you’d want to pick out your own style of kitchen, but even with that still to do, she thinks we could be moved in by Christmas.” He leads me to the door, as I try to take in everything he’s telling me. “I spoke to Dad this morning, and we can have the wedding at the county club. It’s gonna take some hard work, but we could have the wedding right before we move in.”
“Before Christmas?” I check I’m hearing him right.
“Sure, I figured we’d want to get started on making that family we’re gonna have, straight away. This place has four extra rooms.” He smiles as he continues heading for the door.
“A family…? Brett, you're going far too fast.” I slam the brakes on before he opens the huge, solid oak door into ourfamilyhome.
I can feel the engagement ring he forced on my finger last night burning a hole in the back of my denim shorts, and the split on my lip suddenly seems to be throbbing more painfully.
“This is about last night, isn’t it?” He lowers his eyes to the ground and sighs deeply, showing how disappointed in himself he is.
“Brett, you struck me. Look at my face,” I remind him, my voice coming out all weak. How could he bring me here and act like everything's normal?
“Don’t you think I feel bad enough about that, Ruby? I fucked up and I let you down, and Iswearto you I will never let that happen again.” He takes my hand in his and brings it to his lips so he can kiss it. It doesn’t give me the reassurance I need; all it does is make me shudder. “This here is our future. I built this house for you, and I want us to be happy here.” He keeps hold of my hand as he drags me through the door into the foyer.
“This is the entrance hall. Do you like the staircase?” He gestures to it proudly. It’s oak, like the front door and beams inthe apex ceiling, and it splits two ways at the top onto an open landing.
“It’s beautiful,” I admit. “But I’m not ready for any of this. I’m not ready for marriage or kids. Maybe–”
“You think that because you're mad at me.” Brett steps up and takes my face in his hands, tipping it up so I’m looking at him. “Are you really gonna give up our entire future together and all I give you because of one silly mistake?” he asks me with a boyish grin on his face.
“It’s not just about what happened last night, Brett. You're asking too much of me right now.”
