CHAPTER THREE
Ruby
Listening to the rain beat against the roof has always been one of my favorite pastimes. And now that I live on my own, not at my parents’ house and not at a dorm full of loud roommates, I can be lazy and listen to it whenever I want to.
On mornings like this, I think. And since I’m thinking, I’m rehashing everything that happened last night in my mind. To me, life has never been lived in hours. It’s been lived in moments, goals, achievements, and special occasions. Hours though, hours mean a lot too. Take roughly ten hours ago.
If Caleb hadn’t been there to save me last night, who knows where I’d be at this hour. I could be lying in this bed hurting, contemplating an entirely different trip today. It might be one to the ER, instead of a few counties over. It could be spent making police reports, rather than trying to decide what I want to wear. Last night I was taught a valuable lesson. I’ll never take hours for granted again.
Throwing my covers off, I shiver at the chill in the room. This fall has been colder than most, and if I remember correctly, it’s not supposed to get above fifty today. Perfect book weather, if you were to ask me. Getting up and doing my daily business is exciting because I know I’m going to get to spend at least part of my day with Caleb. As I’m brushing my teeth, I hear my phone go off on my night stand.
When I’m done, I rush over, wondering which of my friends is texting me on a Saturday morning. When I see that it’s Caleb’s number, I get both excited and worried. What if he’s canceling on me?
C: Just wanted to make sure we’re still on for today and give you an update. They denied bail because Seth had warrants in three other counties. He’s actually going to be extradited. You dodged a bullet, Ruby.
I feel how lucky I am, know how fortunate I was that people were watching out for me last night, and grateful to live in the small town I do.
R: Thanks for letting me know. Kinda makes me feel better, knowing he’s not around anymore. And of course we’re still on!
C: Understandable. I’ll be by to pick you up in about thirty minutes. I just have to drop my little sister off at a friend’s house. She’s having a sleepover tonight.
Caleb has a little sister? Immediately I’m wondering how much younger she is than him, and I decide since he appears at least a few years older than me, she’s probably a teenager.
Thirty minutes doesn’t give me much time, but I spring into action, doing the best I can with what I have. Putting on a little bit of makeup, I run my fingers through my naturally curly hair. Because it’s raining, it goes every which way, and I know the only way I’m going to be able to tame it is by putting it in a braid. Which makes me look all of ten years old.
It can’t be helped; I think I’ll always look young for my age. Even now, having my own classroom, people assume I’m a student and not a teacher. Swiping a little mascara on my lashes, I put my pearl studs in my ears, and opt for a deep plum lip stain. At least maybe he’ll be drawn to my lips for most of the day. With my golden blonde hair, it makes a striking contrast. Besides full lips and big eyes, about the only thing I have to work is my ample chest, which nobody will be able to see underneath my rain coat today, but that’s okay. I’ll tuck it away for a surprise, in case we go out on another date. Glancing out the window as I go for my rain boots, I see him.
The Rubicon, which I’d found so sexy the night before, pulls up into my drive. He doesn’t turn it off, but he bails out, running to my front porch. And the brief glimpse I get of him is enough to send my pulse racing. Caleb wears a very worn pair of jeans, a t-shirt with a flannel unbuttoned over it, rolled up those forearms of his, with a hat pulled low over his eyes.
The knock that announces he’s here is enough to set me on edge.
Calming myself, I open the door, as I’m slipping my rain jacket on. “Hey,” I greet him, not able to wipe the smile off my face at seeing him again. It’s crazy, we met last night, but I’ve never had a connection with someone the way I have a connection with him.
“Hey.” He grins back. “Sorry about the weather. I ordered sunshine with a high of seventy. Instead I got this.” He shrugs. “We can make the best of it, right?”
“How dare mother nature not listen to you?” I grab my cross-body bag, slinging it over my chest.
“That’s what I’m saying.” He plays along, his voice playful. “I mean doesn’t she know I’m trying to impress you?”
He takes my elbow as we descend the porch, then he walks me over to the passenger side of the Jeep where he helps me in, before he jogs around the front. The inside is nice and warm, a familiar rock song plays on the radio, and the gentle thump of the windshield wipers cocoon me in a feeling of rightness like I’ve never had before.
“You don’t have to try, Caleb, you’re already impressing me pretty hardcore.” I buckle up as he checks his blind spot and then begins backing out. “The guy last night honked the horn. He didn’t even come to my door.”
“Fuck that,” he says the words like they taste bad. “My dad would have my ass if I didn’t go get a woman at her door. He’s chivalrous like that. Any kid who ever wants to date my sister will have to go through both of us,” he preaches as he turns toward Calvert City.
“She’s lucky to have a brother like you.” I think of my own brother.
Cruise
“Nah, I’m lucky to have a little sister like her. I waited a long time for one,” I admit as I turn onto the county highway that will take us to Calvert City.
I’m usually not a talker. Typically I have to get to know someone before I start belting out my life story, but there’s something about this girl. Since I saw her sitting there last night, so stoic, so unsure of the situation she was in, I’ve wanted to talk to her. I’ve wanted to tell her everything will be okay and explain to her that even though things might seem a little scary now, they won’t always.
“You ever been out here?” I change the subject from my family. For people who don’t know where I come from, it’s a little difficult to explain.
“I’m assuming we’re going to The Hen Lays The Egg?” She mentions the name of the most popular breakfast joint in these parts.
“Is there any other place to go?” I question.
“The Café.” She giggles as she slides her gaze over at me.
“Oh, you got jokes? I see how it is.” I adjust my seat to make it a little more comfortable with my long legs and then sit back to enjoy the ride. “I go there all the time.”
“I do too, I can’t believe I’ve never seen you there before.” She looks like she might be trying to place me. “But I do feel like maybe I have seen you before last night.”
As a cop, especially as a member of the MTF, I’m recognized a lot. We’re required to be at many functions, some of them are attended by the whole town, some by a certain population. Either way, we’re seen a lot. “Probably in one of my official capacities.”
“I don’t think so.” She shakes her head, her lips pursed, eyebrows together. “I’ve been trying to put my finger on it since I saw you last night. You’re a member of the Moonshine Task Force, right?”
“Yup.” No one will ever know how proud I am to carry on the tradition my dad started. When I’d been offered a contract in the draft to play pro ball, he’d argued with me for days about what I was giving up. The truth is, I’ve never wanted to do anything other than follow in his footsteps. The things I’ve aspired to do are to make a difference in my community, get alcohol off the streets, and not to let kids be in the same position I was in as a teenager. All of those things mean something to me. They mean something ball never did. Football gave me opportunities, but it wasn’t my one true love.
“My co-worker has a husband who’s on the Moonshine Task Force. You’d probably know him.”
“Considering there’s six of us? I’m almost positive I do.” I chuckle as I think about who she could possibly know. We never discussed her job last night.
“Karina Harrison is a teacher at the same school as me.”
I laugh as I look across the console into the passenger’s seat. “No shit, huh?” I can’t stop the laugh. Reaching into the cup holder, I grab my phone and show her my lock screen.
“She’s your sister-in-law? That’s awesome, she’s such a nice lady. She’s helped me so much in figuring out what I need to do.”
I’ve never known anyone who truly knew Kari, so this should be interesting when I drop this bomb on her. “No, she’s not my sister-in-law. She’s married to my dad, but I call her Mom.”
Ruby’s mouth slams shut. She looks at me, looks at the road, looks at me again, opens her mouth, and then closes it. Her eyebrows come together in confusion, she opens her mouth, shuts it, then reaches into the cup holder, grabs the phone and looks at the lock screen again. “No way.” She shakes her head. Looks at it again, and then shakes it again. “No way.”
“It’s true.” I make a cross motion over my chest.
“There’s no way that’s your dad.” She glances at the picture again. “Brother maybe, but not dad.”
“I swear to God,” I say with a laugh. She’s cute in her confusion. “You wanna see my birth certificate? He’s my dad.”
“Did he have you at like fourteen?”
“Sixteen,” I correct her. “Dad had me at sixteen and raised me by himself after my biological mom left. Kari and Dad got married almost eleven years ago. She got pregnant with my sister within a month of them getting married, while I was in my freshman year of college.”
“Shut the front door. Are you shitting me?”
“I’m totally not, you can ask Kari next time you see her at work. In fact, it’s probably where you’ve seen me. Sometimes I pick Kelsea up and take her to the school so Mom doesn’t have to make more than one trip,” I explain as I pass a slower moving car once we come to a passing spot in the road.
“You call her Mom?”
“I call her Kari sometimes, but mostly Mom. I used to not, but then Kelsea got old enough to where I was afraid she’d question it. And to be honest with you, Kari did more for me than my real mom ever did. If there was a woman who earned the title, it’s her.”
“I can see that.” She glances out the window, gazing at the scenery as it passes by. “She does have a way about her. She makes everyone want to be her friend, everyone tells her their secrets, and if you ever need a shoulder to cry on or someone to tell you all the good things about yourself, she’s the person to go to.”
“Yes, exactly. Her and my dad, they have the type of marriage I want one day.”
“I’ve seen them together.” Her smile is huge, almost as if she’s relieving a memory. “He came to work not long ago to bring her a coffee after school had let out. We were doing parent/teacher conferences and it was a really long night. He brought me one too, because I work in the same module as her. When he walked into the room, she lit up. I’ve never seen a couple so freaking happy to see one another before.”
“That’s them.” I shake my head. “Kind of so sweet it’s sickening. Back when I was in college, it used to embarrass me, but as I’ve gotten older, I realize how lucky they are to have it. My dad didn’t have anything for a lot of years, and he hit the lottery with her. Hell, I did too.”
“She told me once, when she was talking about her family, that she not only fell in love with her husband, but with her husband’s son too. I thought she was talking about some little kid.” She giggles.
“Nope, totally me.” If I could strut, I would. I like when she says good things about me, and it makes it even better that it hopefully impressed Ruby. Kari and I, we have a special relationship. “I had the flu and she took care of me. From that point on, I never had to wonder if anyone besides my dad cared about me.”
“That’s a sweet story, Caleb. You’re blessed to be able to call her Mom.”
As we enter Calvert City proper, I reflect on her words. I know she’s right. But I’m also blessed that this woman was somehow dropped into my life. Call it a sixth sense, maybe obsession, or a premonition. Call it anything you want, but I know this day is going to be the start of something good, and if I can stay the course, maybe I will have a relationship like my parents. Maybe I won’t be the one member of the MTF who seems to be cursed when it comes to the women in his life.
“Looks like we’ll have to park along the side streets and walk down. That okay with you?” The rain hasn’t let up, and I worry for a second that she’s a girlie girl who can’t stand for her hair to get wet, who’s worried about her makeup running, and her clothes getting damp.
“Nope, I figured we might, that’s why I dressed the way I did. You don’t have to worry about me, Caleb. I’m not gonna melt because I got a little wet.”
Immediately those words go to a place they probably shouldn’t, but I’m a guy and it’s been awhile since I got laid. I tell my dick that she didn’t mean it the way it sounded, but as she turns to get out of the Jeep and her ass is framed by a tight pair of jeans, I take a minute to thank my own lucky stars that this woman came with me today. After her scare last night, she could have told me to fuck off, but she didn’t, and if I’m smart, I’ll keep my body under control and my thoughts in safe places.
As I get out, I adjust my package, and pray nobody can tell just how much I want this woman.