Chapter 40

Ruby

The settlement from my case against Carl Fentress has really done wonders for me. I don’t have to work. Wyatt and I live in a big, lavish home now, and we get to spend hours on end staring into each other’s eyes.

It really is a dream come true. And who would have thought that the stupid little journal I kept while we vacationed would bring us together in this way?

I can certainly say that if I talked to fifteen year old me, she’d say I was bullshitting her. And I can’t blame her there.

My hands sink deep into the soapy water, a plate in one hand and a sponge in the other. I scrub at the plate, getting the remaining food off before putting it in the other basin to be rinsed.

I’m a cute little housewife now. All dressed up in my Etsy-ordered apron, my yellow rubber gloves, and my scarf around my hair. I’m Rosie the Riveter meets Martha Stewart, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

I’m enjoying a taste of the comfortable life now. No more massive stacks of case files to put into a computer from the Jurassic period. No more stale, off-brand coffee, and no more fucking harassment.

I only wish the job had been difficult to complete. It’s a shame that my boss was literally the only reason anything was bad about it. I could have gotten myself so far into law by just climbing a ladder in any firm, especially with my degree.

But I’ll take that settlement check instead. I guess it doesn’t matter that I have the degree if I never have a need to use it to make a living. We’ll be fine for the rest of our lives if we play our cards right, and I think we’re doing a fine job.

Damn.

It really was a glorious moment to sit across from that sick fuck Fentress in the courtroom and hear the judge tell him he needed to pay me literal millions of dollars for my suffering.

I even glanced over at his wife, finally getting to see what she looked like as she scowled at her husband while the judge ruled in my favor. The two of them are a match made in heaven and deserve every bit of each other.

Now because of it, Wyatt and I are set for life, never having to worry about the burden of terrible work environments ever again.

And the lack of stress has such an impact on Wyatt. He hasn’t had a single episode since we started living together. I actually don’t know for sure when they stopped, but he can handle noises, sudden contact…just any surprise really.

It’s incredible to see the improvement first hand. In fact, I’m so moved by his progress that it still brings tears to my eyes.

I wash a few more plates before I take a break.

Phew, I’m exhausted.

I pull the rubber gloves from my hands, one at a time. I lean back and am startled. A familiar stubbly face presses into my neck, kissing gently as I crane it for him.

“Mm,” I moan. “Hello there, babe.”

“Hey there, little mama,” he says, being cute. I love the little pet names we have for each other. They’re so fun and adorable.

“How’s the engine coming along on this one?” I ask.

He’d just come in from toying with a new car we bought a couple of weeks ago to fix up just for fun. He’s always been such a car enthusiast. Why not let him make a real hobby of it?

“It’s almost done. I just need to mount it back into place,” he replies.

He says it like it’s an easy task, but I know just as well as he does that it’s going to take a while. But I let him play it off.

“Well good. But don’t be too late out there. Dinner is almost ready,” I tell him.

“Ooh, what are we having?” he asks. His ears perk up at the mention of food.

“Rockfish,” I answer. “I spent all day battering it and frying it. Jake dropped by with some while you were napping.”

“Aw, babe. Well, I’ll finish up and come right in,” he assures me.

Before he goes back out, he reaches his arms around my waist and puts a hand over my growing belly. I feel a little kick from Wyatt Lawrence Junior push against his hand.

Wyatt gasps. “Was that a kick?”

“Yes, daddy. It was a kick,” I reply. “And it was all for you.”

“Oh my god, Ruby. I still can’t believe it,” he says to me. “It’s like it all just happened, and now he’s kicking. Pretty soon, we’ll get to hold him.”

“Oh, I know. I really can’t wait.”

And I mean it. I have the father of my healthy baby boy standing before me, a beautiful home to raise him in, and not a care in the entire fucking world.

Life is a fucking dream come true, and it’s all because of Wyatt Lawrence.