Chapter 7

Ruby drove to the Piggly Wiggly first and grabbed a shopping cart as she entered the store. She went straight for the paper towel aisle, tossed in a couple of rolls, then moved to the toilet paper display. Doing these tasks felt so normal that she’d almost forgotten her appearance until she heard someone gasp. She had a moment of panic and then set her jaw as she turned around.

Precious Peters was standing a few feet away with a look of horror on her face.

Ruby sighed. And here we go.

“Morning, Precious. How are things at the travel agency?”

“Oh my God, Ruby. Your face.”

Ruby waved her hand as if it were nothing. “Black eyes and three stitches in my lip? You should see the other guy.”

Precious blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“That means my kidnapper looks worse,” Ruby said. “Have you had many trips to book this winter?”

Precious couldn’t focus enough to follow the change of subject. “Uh… I…”

“Really?” Ruby said. “I would have thought there would be more. Well, gotta hustle. Don’t want to be late meeting Peanut for lunch. Later.”

She tossed in some toilet paper, and then headed for the soda aisle. Of all the people to see next, they were the three women she’d banned from her beauty shop for maligning Mercy Dane before Mercy and Lon Pittman were married. The fact that they’d finally made amends to Mercy and were back on the reservation books at Ruby’s salon was beside the point. They were perennial busybodies.

She saw the shock on their faces and braced herself and went for the old “best defense is a good offense.”

“Hi, Betina. Molly, I see your roots. You need to make an appointment to get your color done. Angel…have you been cutting your own bangs again?”

Molly grabbed at the top of her head as Angel covered her forehead with her hands. Betina just stared.

“You look…”

“Careful what you say to me. I’m not feeling kindly toward idiots today. Never saw so many shocked looks over a pair of black eyes in my life.”

Betina paled, trying to imagine the pain of getting stitches in her lip, then sighed and hugged Ruby.

“Really glad to see you. We all prayed.”

“Then I thank you, because I needed all the help I could get to stay alive.”

Angel started crying. “I’m sorry he hurt you,” she sobbed.

Ruby grinned. “You’re not half as sorry as he is.”

Molly gasped. “What do you mean?”

“I have three little stitches in my lower lip. I quit counting how many they put in him.”

“You did that…to him?”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Well, yes. Wouldn’t you try to save your own life? Listen, I need to hurry. The girls at the shop are waiting for me, so I should finish my errands.” Then she pointed at Molly and Angel. “I’ll be back to work in a few days. Make an appointment.”

“Yes, we will,” they echoed.

Ruby pushed past them to the end of the aisle where the six-packs of sodas were shelved and picked up three different brands, then headed to checkout. The lines were long and people were staring, so she lifted her chin and went to the self-checkout. By the time she got the purchases inside her car, it was five minutes to eleven—just enough time to go through the drive-through at the bank for change.

The line at the drive-through was short. Ruby put the car in park then pulled out the twenty-dollar bills and left them in her lap.

One car drove away, and now there were only two ahead of her. Buzz Higdon in his old pickup had just pulled up to the window. She grinned. Buzz had yet to master the speaker and yelled loud enough throughout his transactions that she could hear him shouting two cars back with her windows rolled up.

Then Buzz drove away, and there was only one car between her and the window. She wasn’t paying much attention until she realized people were gathering inside the teller cage, looking at her and pointing.

She waved.

They scattered like quail after a gunshot.

The car ahead of her moved, and she pulled up to the teller’s window and waited for the drawer to open.

When it did, she put the money in the drawer.

“Hi, Randall. I need some change for the shop. A bundle of ones, and the rest in fives or tens.”

“Yes, ma’am. Right away,” he said.

Randall Meeks shifted the knot in his tie and made himself look away as he reached for the bills to complete the transaction.

Ruby looked past him to the tellers standing about five feet away, all staring at her.

She waved again.

They waved back, then ducked their heads and went back to work.

She sighed. This wasn’t nearly as hard as she’d imagined. When Randall opened the drawer with her change, she removed the envelope.

“Can I do anything else for you, Ruby?” Randall asked.

She grinned. “Just tell your coworkers I’m fine.”

He flushed. “Yes, ma’am, and glad to hear it.”

She drove back to the shop, unloaded the bags, and was returning the money to the drawer when Mabel Jean came in the back door.

She broke into a big grin when she saw Ruby and came running to give her a hug.

“You don’t know how good it is to see you back here where you belong!” Mabel Jean said.

Ruby hugged her back. “It’s good to be here, honey. How’s it going?”

“Oh good, good. I had a dentist appointment this morning, and I feel like I’m drooling.”

Ruby laughed and didn’t mind one bit when her stitches pulled.

“Bless your heart. You’re numb, and I’m sore. We could go on the road with that show, right?”

Mabel Jean giggled, and then went to hang up her coat while Ruby strolled back to the work area.

Vesta was coloring Sue Beamon’s hair her usual shade of pale lilac. No matter how many times the stylists had politely recommended a different color for Sue’s hair, she was steadfast in her choice of what Vera called “old lady purple.”

Vera was on break, waiting for her next appointment to arrive.

“Want a cookie, Ruby?” Vera asked, as she held out a container with homemade cookies. “Oatmeal raisin.”

“Ummm, sounds good, but I’m having lunch with Peanut shortly so I don’t want to ruin my appetite.”

Vera grinned. “Oh, I sure wouldn’t want to ruin anything between the two of you.”

“You are so bad,” Ruby said, grinning.

Vera waggled her eyebrows and took another bite of her cookie as Ruby left.

Ruby got back in her car and sent Peanut a text.

On my way to Granny’s. I’ll save you a seat.

Then she drove away.

* * *

Peanut sighed with relief when the text finally came, and he headed for the car in long strides. He was proud of Ruby for having the guts to do this. If someone was rude to her in front of him, all bets were off. Then he saw her the moment he walked into Granny’s and let out a sigh of relief.

Lovey was sitting beside her in the booth in typical Lovey style, talking more with her hands than her mouth. He grinned. Lovey always said if anyone ever tied her up, she wouldn’t be able to speak.

The room was already filling up, and no one was even pretending not to stare, which didn’t sit well with him. He decided to give them something to look at and shifted into jury mode as he walked into the room, purposefully walking between them and Ruby to break their stares. The moment they glanced up, he gave them a hard look and kept moving.

Lovey got up after he reached the booth.

“Meatloaf on special today. I know it’s one of your favorites.”

“My favorite is sitting right there,” Peanut said, and pointed at Ruby.

Lovey giggled.

Peanut leaned over and kissed Ruby full on the lips, and then took the seat across from her.

“Hello, darlin’,” he said. “Have you had a good morning?”

Ruby’s whole body had gone into relax mode the moment she’d seen him enter.

“Yes, I have. I’ll tell you all about it when we get home.”

And that’s how the rest of Blessings found out that Peanut and Ruby were a thing. He’d kissed her in front of God and everybody, and then she’d admitted she was staying at his house. Her face had suddenly taken a big back seat to her love life.

Peanut winked.

Ruby grinned.

“I’m having meatloaf and mashed potatoes,” Ruby said. “Easy to eat.”

“I’m having the same thing,” Peanut said. “That and some of Mercy’s heavenly biscuits.”

“Ummm, dripping in butter,” Ruby added.

One of Lovey’s waitresses was out today. Wendy and Lila were the only ones on duty and having to hustle to keep up. When Wendy saw Ruby and Peanut were in her area, she caught Peanut’s attention and called out from a couple of tables away, “I’ll be right with you.”

Myra Franklin, who owned the flower shop, was a table away and across the aisle with her back to their booth, but that obviously hadn’t interfered with her hearing.

“They just want meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and some of Mercy’s biscuits,” Myra said, and then the minute she said it, she realized she’d let everyone know she’d been eavesdropping. She blushed as the customers exploded with laughter.

Everyone laughed, but Ruby and Peanut laughed the most, and when Peanut gave Wendy a thumbs-up to indicate Myra was right, they laughed again.

That set the tone for the room, and it never changed. Ruby was still Ruby, but with black eyes and a boyfriend.

Life in Blessings was moving on.

* * *

Melissa came out of the Curl Up and Dye with a dark-chocolate mocha color on hair that Vesta had cut into a shoulder-length bob. The thick, shiny strands swung as she walked, and the makeup, compliments of Mabel Jean, gave her the confidence she so needed.

She went straight to Kitty Carlton’s Unique Boutique and came out with one outfit in a zipper bag. She was going to wear it to the reading of the will in honor of Elmer and then spend the rest of that day applying for new jobs.

She already knew jobs these days were mostly applied for online, but this was Blessings, where face-to-face still sold the hire. Since she’d been making deposits and keeping books for the hardware store for years, she was going to apply first at both banks.

Heads were turning as she walked to her car, and Melissa knew most of them didn’t know who she was. She grinned. She should have done this years ago. Unwilling to go home and waste the look, she stopped at the pharmacy to buy a lipstick, then decided to spend a bit more and treat herself to a piece of Mercy Pittman’s pie at Granny’s.

She walked in just as Peanut and Ruby were being served, then looked around for a place to sit. Ruby saw her and gave her a thumbs-up.

“You look amazing, Melissa! Good choice!”

Melissa grinned, and then saw a friend from church sitting alone on the other side of the room and started toward her.

The looks of shock and surprise were worth a lot to Melissa’s ego, but worth even more for the gossips to share around town. Ruby Dye had a boyfriend, and Melissa Dean had gotten herself a makeover.

The single men in that room suddenly took notice, a few even sucking in their gut as she passed them.

One man even winked. “Looking good, Melissa,” he said.

“Oh, shut up, Roscoe. You’ve been looking at me in the hardware store for years and never even said hello. And you’re married. Eat your lunch,” she muttered.

Roscoe grinned and flushed while his friends at the table began teasing him about the put-down.

“Hey, Jane, mind if I join you?” Melissa asked.

Jane Farris looked up, her eyes widening as she realized who was talking to her.

“Melissa? My word! Yes, sit, sit. I don’t have to be back at Before and After until time for school to be out.”

Melissa sat. She was looking for jobs, but she sure didn’t want to run a day care like Jane.

Jane grinned as she leaned across the table and patted Melissa’s hand. “Tell me everything! What prompted all of this?” she asked.

“I’m job hunting. Fred let me go yesterday.”

Jane gasped, as did people at neighboring tables, but Melissa didn’t care. Fred was the one who should be ashamed.

“Why?” Jane asked.

“He needed a job for his nephew. It happens.” Then she pointed at Jane’s dessert. “That looks so good. What kind is it?”

“Oh, coconut cream,” Jane said. “It’s my favorite, and Mercy makes the best pie crust I ever ate in my life. I can’t believe a woman that young is such an amazing baker, you know?”

Melissa grinned. “Everyone has a gift, but in Mercy’s case, I think she has several. She is something special, isn’t she?”

Jane nodded. “Want a bite of my pie?”

“No way! I want a piece of my own,” Melissa said, and flagged down a passing waitress. “A piece of coconut cream pie and a glass of sweet iced tea, when you get a chance.”

Wendy gave her a grin and a thumbs-up as she disappeared into the kitchen.

“I’m sorry about your job, and I’m sure sorry about Elmer Mathis’s passing. I know how close you two were.”

“Thank you,” Melissa said. “I knew it was inevitable, and I’m glad he’s no longer trapped by the Alzheimer’s he was suffering, but I sure will miss him.”

“Do you know anything about a service?” Jane asked.

“I know he’s not having one. He didn’t want anything but to be laid to rest beside his wife, Cora.”

“I understand that,” Jane said, and then Wendy came out with a piece of pie and set it at Melissa’s place.

“Iced tea coming up, and you look like a million bucks,” she said, and winked.

Melissa dug into her pie, happy to be sharing food with a friend. She stayed, visiting with Jane after her pie was gone, then realized she had nowhere else to go. She intended to pick up some job applications, so she might as well do that right now.

“I had no idea what time it was. I should be going. Thanks for the company, Jane. I’ll see you in church,” Melissa said. She left a tip on the table and paid for her pie on the way out.

Once she was in the car, she refreshed her lipstick, then drove straight to the bank, secretly delighting in the double-takes she was getting.

She stopped at the first desk.

“Could I have a job application, please?”

The woman looked up. “Melissa?”

She grinned. “Yes, it’s me. Uh, the job application?”

“You don’t work at the hardware store anymore?”

“Nope. Fred let me go.”

The woman gasped. “But why?”

“His nephew has my job.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry.” She opened a drawer and pulled out an application. “Bring it back to me when you’re done.”

“Thank you so much,” Melissa said, and walked out as abruptly as she’d come in.

But she knew Blessings. It would be all over town by dark that Fred Bloomer had fired her because of nepotism, and she was looking for a job. It was self-preservation. She wasn’t hiding Fred’s bad behavior at the expense of her own well-being. She had to work to survive.

She stopped in at the other bank and repeated the process, then decided to go home. A job at either of these banks would be her first choice, so she decided to wait on any more job applications to see if either bank offered her a job.

Melissa went home with more optimism than when she’d left and settled in with a cup of hot tea and the applications. She filled in her name, and then stopped. It had been such a long time since she’d done this. Right after Andy died. And now she was having to start over.

Crossroads.

Life was always full of crossroads.

* * *

Ruby ate until she was too full to swallow another bite, then pushed her plate aside.

“Aren’t you going to eat that?” Peanut asked.

“No. Help yourself,” she said, and then laughed when he did. “Do you ever get full?”

Peanut shrugged, as he scooped up the mashed potatoes and leftover meatloaf and transferred them to his plate.

“Can’t remember it, if I have,” he said, and grinned.

Ruby couldn’t help thinking she was just beginning to live again, and that all the years she’d spent here had been the time she’d needed to heal and trust.

“Want some pie?” Peanut asked.

“Too full, but you have some. I’m in no hurry since no one is waiting for me at the salon.”

Wendy came by to refill their glasses. “Anybody want dessert?” she asked.

Peanut held up his hand. “What kind of cobblers did Mercy make today?” he asked.

“Apple and peach.”

“Peach, please, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.”

“You got it. Anything for you, Miss Ruby?”

“I’m having a bite of his,” Ruby said.

“Then you better bring a couple of spoons with that cobbler. I’m thinking one bite won’t be enough,” Peanut said.

“Coming up,” Wendy said, and off she went to turn in the order.

Ruby leaned across the table and lowered her voice. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Peanut leaned forward. “For sharing dessert?”

“For loving me,” Ruby whispered, then saw a gleam in his eyes.

He lowered his voice. “You haven’t even scratched the surface of my passion, Ruby Dye.”

Her face was still flushed and her heart still racing when Wendy came back with dessert.

* * *

Gary Dye didn’t own a gun, but he knew people who did. One phone call, and a guy he did work for showed up with a burner, asking two hundred dollars for it.

Gary handed it over. “This never happened, understand?”

“Well, hell, man. Do I look like I advertise my business?”

Gary never cracked a smile. “Just so you know,” he said.

The man put the money in his wallet and drove off as Gary locked the gun up in his safe. He wasn’t sure when he’d have time to get away, but he wanted to make sure he was prepared to leave when the opportunity arose.

After a quick glance at the clock, he went back to work. He should have this job finished by this evening. A couple more welding jobs were already booked, but after that, he was heading to Georgia.

* * *

Peanut and Ruby parted ways at Granny’s. He went to check in at the office, and Ruby decided to drive by her house to pick up the mail. But as she came up the street toward her house, she saw a car in the drive, then realized it was Laurel Lorde’s.

God bless Peanut. Laurel was cleaning her house, but Ruby wasn’t going in. The next time she set foot in that house, she wanted every vestige of Jarrod Dye’s existence removed.

She jumped out to get the mail from the mailbox on the porch. Even though the front door was closed, she could smell lemon oil and Pine-Sol, scents that made her happy. She grabbed the two days’ worth of mail and then drove back to Peanut’s.

The wind was picking up as she got out, which made her realize she hadn’t been paying attention to the weather. A quick glance up at the sky showed dark, gathering clouds, which were a sure sign it was likely to rain.

Ruby parked under the far side of the portico, leaving plenty of room for Peanut’s car next to the house, then grabbed her things as she ran toward the house. The wind gave a final tug at her hair as she opened the door, but the moment she was inside, the feeling of sanctuary returned.

She loved his house.

It felt like him—safe and strong.

Ruby took off her jacket and then tossed the mail on the counter. Another gust of wind rattled a window, which made her frown. Must be a loose pane of glass. She needed to mention it to Peanut when he got home.

The thought of a hot cup of coffee sounded good, so she started a pot brewing and then began opening her mail. Setting aside the envelopes with bills to be paid, she unfolded a flyer. As she read, her eyes widened in delight. There was a picture of a tall, skinny boy standing beside a big bloodhound in the middle of the page, both as solemn as a photo on a wanted poster.

LOST SUMTHIN’?

FOR TWENTY-FIVE BUCKS, BOOGER CAN FIND IT.

I’M CHARLIE.

CALL ME.

A phone number was handwritten below the block letters.

Ruby laughed out loud.

She’d never seen the boy before, but he was adorable.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and then carried her mail to the table to finish going through it, leaving the flyer out to show Peanut.

When he came home about an hour later, she met him at the back door.

“I went by the house to pick up my mail. Laurel was cleaning. Thank you for following up on that for me.”

Peanut was happy to see her so upbeat. “You’re more than welcome.”

Then she took him by the hand.

“You have to see this,” she said as she led him toward the table, then handed him the flyer.

He stared at the picture, but he wasn’t laughing like Ruby had. He was frowning.

“I know this boy from somewhere.”

“Does he go to school here? I’ve never seen him in town.”

“I can’t remember. Maybe I’ll think of it later,” he said, and then laid the flyer aside and rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them. “Feels like it’s going to rain,” he said.

“You need to warm up. I made coffee,” Ruby said.

Peanut turned around to pour himself a cup and then stopped, turned back around, and looked at the photo again.

“Oh man…this might be Marty Conroy’s boy.”

“Who?”

“Uh, a man I represented in court once.”

“Where is he now?” Ruby asked.

“Dead. Blew himself up making meth. I wonder what this kid is doing down here trying to drum up business in Blessings. I’ll need to look into this,” Peanut said.

Ruby picked the flyer back up.

“It’s a pretty good slogan and one heck of a dog’s name,” she said, smiling. “‘For twenty-five bucks, Booger can find it.’”

Peanut grinned.

“Of that I have no doubt. Bloodhounds can find anything or anybody if they have a trail to follow.” He picked up the flyer. “Mind if I keep this? I’m going to call this number later.”

“Sure, keep it,” Ruby said. “I won’t be needing it. I know where I am.”

Peanut swooped her up into his arms. “You’re with me, that’s where,” he said, and then he kissed her.

The kiss went from playful to still, then softly searching before Peanut pulled back.

“Did that hurt you?” he asked, gently rubbing a thumb below her lower lip.

“Not enough that I was needing you to stop.”

He sighed. “Patience is not my best virtue.”

The wind blew hard against the window, rattling it again.

“There’s a loose pane somewhere in that window,” Ruby said.

“I hear it, but I’ll deal with it later,” he said, and gently cupped the side of her cheek. “Want to lie down and rest before dinner?”

“I want to lie down,” Ruby said, “but I’m not tired.”

Peanut’s eyes narrowed, thinking about making love but at the same time afraid of hurting her.

“What if I hurt you?”

“What if you don’t?” Ruby whispered.

“Then I’d say we would make magic.”

Ruby held out her hand. “I haven’t made love before. I’ve had sex. They’re two different things. If you can pretend my two black eyes are something sexier, like a Mardi Gras mask, then abracadabra, my love.”