CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. Grab onto me, beautiful.” – Preacher

 

 

 

Rita: 4:03 - I can’t do ths anymore, it’s 2 fukn hard. I’m tired. U can have him, he’ll be better off with u anyway. U can have him. U need to come and get the kid NOW! I’m no good for him. I fuk up. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not being a good sister. Pls come 4 him.

The text woke her up. Ruby was one of those people who never switched their phone off, always worried the moment she did she’d miss an important call. She looked at the blurry screen until her tired eyes focused, her mouth parted, her heart pounding out of her chest. Holy shit, here we go again. She sighed. Was she for real? Hitting buttons, she tried to call Rita to ask what the fuck had happened, it dropped directly to voicemail. Goddammit. Four am in the morning, this was not happening. She needed coffee to deal with yet another of Rita’s melodramas. No doubt Dwayne was at the root of this fresh wave of drama, that asshole was always the reason Rita wanted to dump Sebastian on her, in a few hours’ time Rita would call and demand money and all would be conveniently forgotten that she’d basically given her child away without a second thought.

She could hate her sister some days.

Taking a pissed off breath, she climbed out of bed, no sleep would be had now, she wished Preacher was here, then shut that thought down, there was no reason to go crazy, just because she had the feelings for him, she could deal with her family circus herself.

First things first, she padded through to the kitchen, pulling open cabinets to grab a mug and the half can of coffee beans, got the old coffee maker to gurgling and she sent her sister a long-ass text reply, basically asking what the hell had happened and how could she help. Sebastian did not merit being in that environment, but she’d do all she could to help his mom if she could. What else could she do?

Ruby spent the next few hours trying to call her sister.

 

 

 

******

 

 

"Yo, Preach. You saw your girl?" Called out Grinder, his friend walked towards him as he shrugged out of his jacket, tossed it aside and began pulling on work overalls. The shop was full to bursting today with shit needing repairing. Preacher was already making a way through some damn lug nuts on his job.

Arching a brow, he didn't answer Grinder right away, assuming his buddy wanted to gossip, just got on with the bike under his hands before saying "Not today, why? You wanting some fresh ink?"

"I was just over at Otis' picking up some food, I heard him telling that kid who serves how she's had to take some emergency personal time."

This reared up Preacher's head, his eyes focused a million questions on the end of his tongue. He picked the easiest one. "What do you mean?"

"According to Otis, there was a death in the family."

Preacher's face fell into a confused frown, he abandoned the bike, leaving the tools right by it on the floor as he lifted off his knees. Who the fuck had died? Why hadn't she called him? His girl would be crushed, she wore her heart right there on her sleeve for anyone to stomp all over.

He needed to see her, talk to her, make sure she was okay. "Can you take over for me, G?"

"Yeah, sure, not like I don't have five other repairs to do ... "

Preacher didn't catch the sarcasm. He was busy striding across the shop to grab his cell from his jacket pocket. Saw there was no message from her. His forehead got tight. "Yeah, thanks," he told Grinder. Just as he had Ruby's number pulled up the thing shrilled in his hand, like fucking kismet or something sappy like that. Her name right there on the screen. He answered before it could even ring twice. "Ruby?"

"Asher." She was crying, sobbing actually, her voice distorted with emotion. His fucking heart plummeted.

God, not the kid. Please, don't let it be the kid, Ruby would be destroyed.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"I need you, Asher."

She needed him. The words affected him more than any words ever had. He was already stripping out of his work coveralls, dumping them on the floor. "Baby, I'm on my way, where you at?"

"Asher. I don't---I can't---I need you." The sobbing grew harder, the noise terrible to listen to when he was miles away and couldn't pull her into his arms and protect her from harm. Preacher's chest wall caved in hearing that despair.

"I gotta know where you are, Ruby. I'm on my way, okay? Just tell me."

"I'm at home. Rita. Asher ... my sister is gone."

Oh. Fuck.

"The kid?" he asked.

It took her a long beat of a minute to answer, by which time Preacher was already straddled on his bike. "He's okay. My sister. I can't breathe. Please. I don't know what to do ---"

"Baby, I'm coming to you, stay right where you are, I won't be long."

Longest ride ever.

He made good timing all considering, broke a few traffic laws along the way, and found her front door unlocked and Ruby in her sleep shorts and a pink tank top, frantically tossing clothes into a suitcase, her bare face streaked with tears, which only intensified when she saw him bracketed in the doorway, he came to her right away, five heavy steps into her bedroom, he counted, it took him five steps to get over to her, five long fucking steps before he had her in his arms he swept her up, pulled her in, holding her as tightly as he could while his old lady fell apart, she just crumbled, crying with her heart breaking in sobs.

"I'm so sorry, baby."

"She's gone. I don't. I can't---I can't think."

Only when she'd cried herself out did he draw her away, brushed the tears from under her eyes, rimmed red, swollen and overflowing, and she was still the most beautiful women ever. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" his fingers outstretched for her.

 

 

******

 

 

 

They were no slight to pride or self-sufficiency by asking for help, leaning on a person who offered their hand.

Ruby; the caregiver, the caretaker, it was a strange sensation in her mind to be the one asking, but she didn’t give it a second thought as she watched him stride across the room, his face taut and sympathetic.

Without second guessing herself, she reached out and let Preacher take her hand, feeling that rough calloused warmth enfold around her fingers and she let the sobs come, tears curtaining her vision. All her walls crumbled, left with no defense system in place, too broken to fashion a wall, her heart was torn to shreds to pretend she wasn’t feeling anything, she was feeling everything and it was killing her. What did she do now? What would happen to Sebastian? Her sister was gone. The police officer on the other end of the phone had said so, she believed him and yet didn’t believe him. How could it be true?

Her heart sped up. She pressed harder into Preacher’s chest, his hand so strong on her back coasted up and down.

It was okay to lean on him.

And she began to gorge on the care he was giving.

“Will you help me, Asher, please? I don’t know what to do.” Plastered to his chest, he held her there, stroking her spine. And just like that, he replied softly. “Of course, I will, beautiful. Anything. Just tell me what you need.”

She’d never known asking for help was so simple and yet so terrifying. Vulnerable. She showed him all her pain and he held it in his hands.

The worse thing about being so strong is no one ever asked how you were. Ruby had gotten used to it, somehow desensitized, but Preacher asked like he really wanted to know and cared for her answer.

“I don’t even know.” She hiccupped scraping a hand over her eyes. “She sent me a weird text, her usual, how she can’t cope with Seb and was giving him to me.”

“Hold up. She said she was letting you have her son?”

“Yeah.” She sighed leaning into his side, their fingers locked around each other. She took his strength. “It’s something she does once a month. If I thought she meant it … I couldn’t get hold of her, her phone was off. I thought she was pushing me for more money, Asher.” Her voice cracked. Maybe if she’d talked to Rita sooner instead of thinking the worst of her. "And then ...Then a detective called me an hour ago, I’m her next of kin. There was a small house fire, thank god Sebastian was in his bedroom, I don’t know what I’d do-----the neighbors broke in and got him out but it was ---it was too late for Rita.” She dissolved into a fresh bout of crying. "I just don't understand any of it."

It didn’t matter how frustrated she’d been over the years with Rita, they were sisters, the grief felt unmanageable.

It swallowed her whole while her man brought her into his body and allowed her the silence to just hold her. “I don’t understand it, Asher. How did she send me that text, and then the house catch fire?”

“There will be an investigation, beautiful. The first thing we need to do is get to Nebraska so you can see for yourself the kid is okay. And then talk to whoever is in charge.”

“Yes. Yes, please. I have to go---”  

“Have you talked to the douche boyfriend?”

“No. He’s not answering his phone, either. I asked the detective who called, he said no one else was at the house, and no sign of Seb’s dad, the CPS had to take him.”

“Let’s get you packed.”

“I don’t think my car will get me there.” Looking down at the case, she didn’t even recall throwing anything in there, but it now had jeans and shirts. She went over to her bureau and pulled out underwear.

“I want to help getting you there, will you let me, Ruby?” It took no thought at all to nod her head. “Please,” she said.

Preacher stood and pulled out his phone, putting it on speaker-phone when she heard the gravel voice on the other end “Lawless, it’s me.”

“Yo, holy man, you good?”

“Yeah, buddy, fine. Look, I need you to do me a favor, I need two plane tickets to Nebraska ASAP.”

“We’re going on a vacation? I take it the other ticket is for your girl?”

“Yeah, Ruby. You can use my card, It’s----”

Lawless laughed. “Don’t insult me.  I can get it. Give me two minutes and I’ll get back to you with the check in details.”

“Thanks, brother.”

They hung up. “Lawless knows his way around computers, he’ll get the earliest flights out of Springs airport.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” He was beside her a moment later, Ruby sank into all his energy, soaking it in, allowing herself to lean on someone else, her bones too heavy to hold her up, her mind a riot of thoughts she couldn’t sift through without wanting to die alongside Rita.

It was unreal. Maybe they’d made a mistake? The sooner she got to Nebraska so she could lay eyes on Sebastian the better. That’s all that was keeping her upright.

Keep strong. Keep going.

Preacher’s hands on her back stroked slowly, soothing her shattered nerves. She leaned into him a little more.

Ten minutes liked he’d promise Preacher’s club brother called back and their plane tickets were waiting to be collected.

They flew out of Colorado that night and arrived in Nebraska One hour eighteen minutes after that. Ruby wished she could have enjoyed her first flight, could have enjoyed being cuddled up with Preacher, could have laughed at him with his knees practically smashed into his chest, she was numb inside, relying on fumes to get her to move one foot in front of the other, choosing to hold onto his hand as tightly as she could, the warmness of Preacher soaking into her coldness. “I got you, beautiful,” he told her quietly as the plane taxied to the runway, her stomach churning, she had no idea what her heart was doing other than it hurt so badly. She tried to smile at him. Their eyes clashed and held. “I’m with you all the way.”  

She prayed silently for the little boy she was desperately trying to reach. Dear, Heavenly Father. This is Ruby. Please take care of my sister.