CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Kingston
“Alright now, watch your step.” I plant my hands on Ruby’s hips and help guide her inside. “What do ya think? A lot can happen in a week, huh?”
I observe her, watching her every move and expression. It kills me to know that she’s in constant pain. The last time she stood in this kitchen was probably the most scared she’d ever been and that’s saying a lot.
My girl’s gone through hell and clawed her way out. I can’t promise she won’t ever have to go back, back at least she can bet her fine ass it’ll never be because of that cowardly fucker, Robbie Ward.
“You doing ok? You need to rest?”
She gazes up at me and those baby blues pierce me to my core. “There’s plenty of time for rest. Show me what you’ve been up to.”
We make our way through the house and my insides knot like a damn shoe lace when it’s time to go upstairs. I’ve been waiting on her to bring it up, but I guess there’s not gonna be a perfect time.
I sent the boys out on the boat for the day. Fournette came home four days before Ruby. He’s a tough, old dog. To be honest, I think the nurses were getting tired of being harassed. Regardless, it’s good to have that son of a bitch home.
But even that feeling doesn’t come close to what I feel watching her inch her way up the staircase.
“Wouldn’t it just be easier if I carried ya?”
“You in a hurry for something, Kingston Mercier?” She doesn’t take another step. “I hope you aren’t expecting a welcome home roll in the hay because I don’t have it in me right now. Maybe after a po’boy.” She winks and even though I want to feel her and please her more than anything else in the world, I know this isn’t the time.
“Nothing like that. Come on.” I stop outside Fournette’s bedroom and let her catch her breath, only she doesn’t know that’s what I’m doing. She’d have my ass if I tried to coddle her much more. “You ready?”
A puzzled expression falls across her radiant face. “What are we doing here? I don’t think it’s so safe in there.” She giggles, and it hasn’t lost a single ounce of the power it holds over me.
I twist the knob, fling open the door, and never take my eyes off her face.
I watch as the weight falls, chipping away off her shoulders. She doesn’t blink. She doesn’t breathe. Ruby steps one foot inside and drinks in the remodel.
“I don’t understand.”
“What’s not to understand? We’re having a baby and that baby needs a home. Our home.”
She turns to gaze up at me and tears are already streaming down her sweet, confused face.
“Ruby, I’m a bear for fuck’s sake. I have animal instincts. I knew you were pregnant the moment I smelled your blood on the ground. So, anyway, I went to check on you last night while you were sleeping.”
“But you’d done been up there.”
I smile when I remember the way she was sleeping all snuggled up to her pillows with her lips slightly parted. I counted her breaths for a while before leaving. “Honey, if I wasn’t working on this house, I was in that hospital room. You just didn’t know it. So, when I was leaving, the night nurse told me congratulations on the baby. I played along, asked how you were doing and they said they helped set you up with a baby doctor. That’s when I knew it was the right time.”
I don’t know how I expected her to respond to my surprise, but she doesn’t seem very happy.
“It’s a nursery.”
“Yeah, Fournette’s gonna take the empty room downstairs we use as an office. I went ahead and pulled out the old crib out and I plan on having it refinished. Had someone come in this morning and lay new hardwood. It ain’t nothing fancy and I thought you might wanna do the decorating on your own, but I put out a few keepsakes.”
She skims her fingertips lightly across the lace runner hanging over the cedar trunk.
“We can decide on the other stuff when we find out if it’s a boy or girl.” I don’t know why I’m so nervous, but I move closer.
Her face is twisted, and her stare is heavy. “Kingston, you shouldn’t have done all this.”
“Why the hell not?” I cock one boot out and shove both hands in my pockets.
“Because, you won’t want me here when you find out. You won’t want either of us.”
“Woman, what the hell are you talking about?”
She drops her head in her hands and begins to sob. She drops to the floor and I squat down beside her and tug her into my arms and let her cry.
Ruby inhales before releasing a hard sigh. “It’s not your baby. It’s Robbie’s. I’m so sorry, Kingston. I didn’t know.” Her body trembles from the tears.
“Oh, shit. Is that all? You think I can’t put two and two together? Of course, I know all that, but it’s not important.”
When she looks up at me, I can’t help myself. I trail kisses along her damp eyelids and make my way down her silky cheeks.
“This is our first cub. The specifics don’t matter at this point. You’re mine. I’m yours. And that little peanut is ours. You’d better get ready. I love to count and counting our cubs is gonna be my most favorite thing in the whole world.” I gently place my hand on her tight tummy.
Ruby rests her hand over mine and presses her face into my chest.
She’s home.
THE END
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Kimmie is an International Bestselling author who grew up traveling the country, rarely settling in one place for much longer than a minute. Being no stranger to heartache, she allows her unconventional childhood to fuel her writing.
Being a bisexual woman, Kimmie is a proud activist within the LGBTQ / Rainbow and mental health communities. She is a homeschool momma, southern wife, and pug wrangler. Kimmie is addicted to all things books, wine, cupcakes, and flip-flops.
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Breaking the Bear