Ruby
“This might sound weird to both of you, but what in the hell happened to our family?” Jett asked his two sisters, Dani and Harper, as all four of us sat together in the living room of the vacation home Jett had rented in Rocky Springs, Colorado.
I’d really wanted to back away so Jett could have a heart-to-heart with his sisters alone, but he’d asked me to stay, so I remained silent, sitting next to him on the couch.
Jett needed to have this conversation with all his family. Unfortunately, neither of his brothers had shown up yet, so he’d decided to talk to his sisters first.
We’d been in Rocky Springs for a couple of days, and I couldn’t ask for nicer people to hang out with than the Colters and Jett’s sisters. Everybody had been so welcoming, and Harper and Dani had included me in everything they were doing.
The more I conversed on a grown-up level with people, the more comfortable I became. I was realizing I wasn’t at all anti-social. In fact, I was just the opposite. I’d just never had much opportunity to learn adult social skills.
“It’s not weird,” Dani told Jett. “Harper and I have been trying to figure it out, too. It’s like our family dissolved because Mom and Dad weren’t there anymore to keep us together. But we were all so close. I don’t know how we drifted apart.”
“It actually makes more sense for you two,” Jett mused. “You and Harper weren’t physically together, and didn’t see us in Seattle very much. But Carter, Mason, and I were in the same city, working the same damn business. And we didn’t stay close. We pretty much only see each other at business meetings. It’s like we were so obsessed with building on our momentum with Lawson Technologies that we forgot to be family. And none of us really had a personal life because we were working all the time.”
“I think all of us handled Mom and Dad’s deaths differently,” Harper said thoughtfully. “Instead of pulling together to deal with it, we all tried to cover up our pain with distractions or obsessions.”
“I want it to be different,” Jett informed them sadly. “But I’m not sure how to fix it.”
“I think we all want our family back again,” Dani told Jett in a gentle tone. “It’s not that we don’t all love each other. I think we just need to move on and learn how to be a family without Mom and Dad. They’ve been gone for a long time.”
“I still miss them,” Harper said with a sigh. “But I know that the last thing both of them would have wanted is for their kids to stop being a family because they’re gone. If anything, they’d want us to pull together.”
Dani nodded, her eyes bright with tears. “I miss them, too. I’m sure I always will. But I miss my brothers, too.”
I tried to fight back my own tears as I watched Jett, Harper, and Dani talk about how they could mend the breach that had happened in their family.
Honestly, I was absolutely no help to them because I didn’t even know what it was like to have a real family, and I was an only child.
But it didn’t keep me from hurting right along with the three of them because they’d all lost something they cared about so much.
Jett needed this, even though I knew it wasn’t easy for him to confront. His accident had brought about a lot of challenges and sadness for him. I sensed that he needed closure on some things to be completely whole again.
Since he’d gone back to his office, I’d watched his self-confidence rise, and he seemed pretty comfortable in his own skin—or maybe I should say his custom power suits.
Jett’s orthopedic doctor had finally given him clearance to return to all normal activities—of course he didn’t know that Jett already had. Jett knew he wasn’t ever going to run any marathons, but he seemed to accept his limitations better every day.
Jett rose to his feet as his sisters came barreling toward him from their chairs.
I brushed back a few tears as I watched his face as he caught each of his sisters with a powerful arm, holding them close with an expression of both relief and joy on his face.
Once they were all seated again, Dani said excitedly, “So catch us up on everything. When did you and Ruby realize that you wanted to be together?”
Jett answered. “Pretty much from the time she put me in the hospital,” he joked.
“What?” Dani said with alarm.
Jett held up a hand. “Long story, and both of us were okay. But it happened pretty quickly.”
I remained silent as he recounted the way we met, and what had happened afterward while we were in Miami.
“Why didn’t you tell Marcus?” Dani asked. “Or me?”
“Because I wasn’t ready,” Jett stated. “However much I wanted us to be together from the moment I saw her, Ruby had a lot of things to work out, and so did I.”
“A lot of it was me,” I informed them in a guilty voice. “I didn’t want to be a charity case to him. And I didn’t want him to assume that I just wanted his money.”
The women nodded their heads like they understood, while Jett grumbled, “I hate it when you say that, Ruby.”
“I know. But it’s true.”
“So how are you doing now?” Harper asked. “I can only imagine what it was like to be all alone on the streets. And you did it for years.”
“I’m doing good,” I answered them with a smile. “I’m in counseling, and I’m taking things one day at a time.”
“She’s doing great,” Jett corrected. “And she’s starting her own pastry business in Seattle that I’m already certain will be a success because I’m her personal taste tester,” he said playfully. “I’ve sampled the goods, and they’re honestly unlike anything I’ve ever had.”
“Oh, my God. Are you really a pastry chef?” Dani asked excitedly. “Mine just backed out on the cake and the desserts for the wedding, and we’re scrambling to find somebody. Marcus’s mom can help, but she can’t make the wedding cake. Can you do it for me?”
“Dani, I’ve never been professionally trained.”
“Does it matter if you’re great at what you do?” she questioned. “If Jett says you’re good, then I know you are. And we don’t exactly have somebody who can handle the job here in Rocky Springs. It’s a resort, not a wedding destination. Most of the businesses cater to tourists.”
“I just don’t want to disappoint you,” I confessed.
Really, I knew I could handle doing the cake. I think it was time for me to stop denying that I wasn’t capable of making things because I hadn’t had the schooling. I’d been under the tutelage of an incredible pastry chef for years, even though I’d been young at the time. And I’d soaked up everything she’d ever taught me and now I’d even added my own twist.
Maybe I didn’t know the business part of being a pastry chef, but I sure as hell could bake just about anything Dani wanted, even a huge wedding cake. My mother and I had done plenty of them.
“Please, Ruby,” Dani cajoled.
I wanted to repay her kindness to me. And this seemed so small compared to what she’d done for me.
I nodded. “I can do it. Did you do a tasting? Did you decide on the flavors you want?”
“We did,” she said excitedly. “Or actually, Harper and I did. Marcus said he didn’t care what kind of cake I got as long as I liked it. My husband-to-be likes to pretend that he doesn’t like sweets, but he actually loves them. I don’t think he really has a favorite. He pretty much swipes any kind of ice cream I have.”
“Do you have a bigger kitchen I can use? I can let you try my version of your flavors and see if you’re okay with them. Or we could even try a few varieties you haven’t tried.”
“Do we have time to do it?” Dani said excitedly. “You can help yourself to the catering kitchen at Mom’s resort.”
I grinned at Dani and Harper. “Then we’re in business. I can start early in the morning and have some stuff ready for you to try by the afternoon. My mother owned a catering business back in Ohio. I’m used to working under pressure. In fact, I’m pretty sure I thrive on it.”
I never felt better than when I was juggling multiple projects around in a kitchen. For some reason, I loved to experience creativity in the middle of chaos.
“You’re on. But Ruby, I’d like to pay you,” Dani ventured carefully.
“Absolutely not,” I answered firmly. “Dani, you saved my life. And even though this will never repay what you did for me, I’d like you to let me do this for you as a token of my gratitude. And as a friend who wants to give you a wedding gift.”
Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she replied tearfully, “As a friend, I accept, but only because I know you have a boyfriend who’s loaded. You don’t owe me any gratitude, Ruby. You’re an incredible woman. You’ve faced some pretty shitty odds, and still come out on top. I don’t know the whole story, but what I do know makes me proud to have you as my friend.”
Her words touched me, and I felt a door open in my soul.
I didn’t have to be loaded with money or things to see myself as a good person anymore.
I could accept my talent as something special and not something that I needed to explain.
I deserved friends who would treat me with respect.
And I could love Jett for exactly what he was…an extraordinary guy who just happened to be one of the richest men in the world.
“Thank you,” I answered after a few moments of hesitation. “That means a lot to me.”
Dani stood, and the rest of us got to our feet. “Is she pretty solvent right now?” she asked Jett. “Because if she is, Harper and I are going shopping, and we’re going to help her pick the perfect dress for the wedding.”
“I have some things,” I objected.
Harper shot me a smile. “Unless it’s something that’s ridiculously indulgent, and brand-new, we’re on our way to Denver.”
“It’s not new,” I admitted. I’d planned on wearing the dress that I’d bought when I’d done my first makeover. “But it’s fine.”
“Fine isn’t going to cut it, sister,” Dani said as she punched my arm playfully. “Jett is going to be in a tux because he’s in the wedding. You need something amazingly sexy.”
Strangely, that idea appealed to me a lot.
“Nothing too sexy,” Jett grumbled. “I don’t like other guys checking her out.”
“Caveman much?” Harper teased.
Dani wriggled her eyebrows at me. “Don’t worry. Harper and I have a couple of Neanderthals ourselves.”
I laughed as Harper and Dani grabbed my hands and started to pull me toward the door.
“Wait!” Jett demanded.
We all hesitated while he strode over and gave me a toe-curling kiss, and then said, “Don’t let these two get you into trouble. If you need more money, just text me and I’ll make a transfer.”
“I have almost two million dollars in my accounts,” I gasped. “Nobody can spend that much money in one day.”
He caught my chin and tipped my head up. Our eyes met for a moment and my stomach actually fluttered at the intensity of his gaze.
“Have fun,” he said strongly. “I don’t care how much money you spend.”
“Okay,” I said, shooting him a smile that I hoped expressed just how much I appreciated having a man like him in my life.
His sisters urged me out of the house after I’d quickly grabbed my purse and a pair of comfortable shoes I was pretty sure I was going to need to keep up.