24. Ruby
Chapter 24
Ruby
I ’ve never seen Henry this laid-back. All of our time together has been spent in Emerald or in Cara. Both places where there has been more than a little chaos surrounding Cian. And more recently, chaos surrounding me. Here in Autre, Henry seems lighter, happier. It’s obvious he’s completely comfortable here, and I love this.
We walk up the dirt road past the Boys of the Bayou buildings and across to the building on the other side. There are several cars and trucks in the gravel-covered parking lot, but there are no signs indicating what this place is until we get closer to the door.
Then there is a simple sidewalk sign that says Menu Today: whatever Ellie feels like making (and gumbo, of course).
“Okay, so who is Ellie?” I ask.
Henry grins as he reaches for the door. “That is actually a hard question to answer,” he says. “The easy answer is the owner of the bar. And the grandmother to most of the Landrys I know.”
“So what makes the question hard?”
“She’s just so much more than that,” he says. He nudges me through the door. “I think you’ll see what I mean.”
It takes me a minute for my eyes to adjust from the bright sunlight to the darker interior of the bar. My nose is actually the first thing to adjust. The air is scented with a tantalizing combination of spices, beer, and old wood.
Henry leads me toward the enormous bar that runs the length of one side of the building, which really just appears to be one big room.
As I take in the details, I note that none of the chairs and tables seem to match and the hodge-podge of styles and colors extends to the stools that line the bar. The eclectic mix of ages and styles also seems to extend to the clientele.
There’s a big man leaning on the bar as we approach and when he sees Henry, he straightens with a huge grin. I realize immediately he is Zander’s identical twin brother. I feel even more at home here.
“Henry, holy shit. What are you doing here?” the man asks, extending his hand for a shake.
Henry takes his hand, but they move in for a bro-hug.
“Just a quick visit. Came to New Orleans to find Ruby a new apartment and couldn’t stay there when you all are right down the road,” Henry tells him.
The man’s gaze lands on me. “Damn right. I’m Zeke.” He sticks his enormous hand out toward me.
I take it. “Ruby.”
“You look familiar. Have you been here before?”
“This is Scarlett’s sister,” a woman’s voice says.
I look across the bar to find an older woman with long gray hair lying in a braid over one shoulder. She’s in a T-shirt that reads No Is A Complete Sentence and she’s wiping her hands on a towel.
“Ruby, this is Ellie,” Henry says.” Ellie, you’ve already figured out who this is. Didn’t think for even a second it was Scarlett?”
“I’ve been around my share of twins,” she tells him, her gaze going to Zeke and then back to Henry. “Zeke and Zander and then, of course, his baby girls. Twins might look alike, but they feel different.”
Henry looks at me and grins. “They feel different?”
“Of course. They’re two different people. They take up space differently, move through the world differently,” Ellie says.
“Thank you,” I tell her. “A lot of people don’t really understand that. Twins get lumped together a lot. A lot of people assume that Scarlett and I like the same foods, the same music, the same books.” I look up at Henry. “The same men.”
“A lot of people are jackasses,” Ellie says matter-of-factly.
I can’t argue with that.
“Do you like gumbo?” she asks.
I decide Ellie Landry is not only someone I don’t want to lie to, but she’s someone who can tell if I do. “It’s okay. I’ve had some that’s good, but it’s often too spicy for me. I prefer jambalaya,” I say. “My favorite New Orleans staple is red beans and rice, actually.”
She studies me. “With sausage?”
“Definitely.”
“Okay then.”
I smile. I feel like I passed some test.
“Ellie makes excellent gumbo,” Henry says.
“Oh, Brit,” Ellie says with a laugh. “I know you’ve been strugglin’ with my gumbo since you first set foot in here.”
He looks alarmed. “I…do like it.”
“It’s a bit much for you, admit it.” She plants a hand on her hip.
I was right. Ellie Landry would rather hear the truth that is slightly insulting than a compliment that’s a lie.
“Fine. It’s a bit much for me,” Henry says. “But I’ve been building up my tolerance.”
“Eating it as fast as you can and then diving headfirst into a dish of bread pudding isn’t building up a tolerance,” Ellie informs him.
Henry puts a hand on his heart. “I would eat vats of spicy gumbo if I had to in order to get to eat your bread pudding, Ellie.”
She scoffs, but she’s smiling. “Mine’s not even spicy gumbo.”
Henry gives her a horrified look. Probably the same one he wore when he visited Leo’s fishing cabin.
I giggle. I might have to find more things to put that look on his face. Henry Dean has moved through this world far too in charge and comfortable for the past several years, I think.
“It was the British accent that did it for you, wasn’t it?” Ellie asks me.
I grin and nod. “At first, that was a big part of it, yeah.”
She shakes her head. “You’ve gotta watch the accents. These Cajun boys have been using them for evil for decades. And these Irishmen…whew.”
I laugh. “Yes, I’ve met one of those Irishmen. He definitely gets away with a lot.”
“Ruby’s moving back to New Orleans soon,” Henry says. “I brought her here so that she’d have some people around in case she needs anything. But I think maybe I’ll just introduce her to Naomi. She’s sweet. Or Jordan. Jordan is really nice. And she already knows Fiona. You can just steer clear of Ellie.”
Ellie waves her hand as if to say, “don’t listen to him”. “Everything those girls know, they learned from me,” she says. “You might as well come straight to the top if you need something.”
I already feel like Ellie could make just about anything better. It’s not exactly a “motherly” vibe. It’s more of a I’ve got a shovel and I don’t need the details, let’s just get rid of the body before it starts to smell vibe. Sometimes you need that on your side more than you need chicken soup or a hug.
Then again, Ellie Landry could probably bury a body, feed you the best soup you’ve ever had, and give you a hug to end all hugs, all in the same thirty-minute period.
I think I’m going to have to try her gumbo. Maybe I’ve just had the wrong gumbo all this time.
“Here’s what you can come down here for,” Ellie tells me, leaning onto her bar. “Great food. Shenanigans. A few laughs. A cute animal fix. To kill time. Book recs. An alibi. To borrow tools, cooking implements, any kind of vehicle, or any type of clothing. To learn to do anything from deep fry something to fixing a transmission. Just bein’ around people who will accept you however you are. People who will listen to you rant and then say ‘those assholes’ about whoever you’re mad at. Or just to flirt with some good-lookin’ boys who will treat you like gentlemen should.” She pauses, then winks. “Unless you don’t want them to.”
I literally snort at that last one.
“Um, no,” Henry says. “Not that last bit. Not at all.”
Ellie gives him an oh really? look. “Of course she can come here for that. I’ll keep the assholes and the married ones away from her.”
“She’s with me .”
“Well, then it’s up to you to keep her from needin’ that, isn’t it?” She gives me another wink. “If you show up wantin’ that, I’m not asking questions.”
I giggle.
“I thought we were friends, El,” Henry tells her.
“We were, until you did something to my friend Ruby to make her come flirtin’ with the bayou boys.”
With that, Henry steers me away from the bar and toward the big table at the back of the room where there is a huge group gathered.
“Nice to meet you, Ruby!” Ellie calls after us, laughing. “See you whenever!”
“Thanks, Ellie!” I call back.
“I’ve changed my mind,” Henry says. “You can’t come back here.”
I laugh. “Oh, I want to come here all the time now.”
“You’ll hate it. The gumbo is terrible. Way too spicy. And there are no other British accents.”
“I’ll be okay. She said I can eat red beans and rice. And the Louisiana accent is also very?—”
He stops, turns, and cups my face, bringing me in for a long, deep kiss.
When he lets me go, everyone at the back table is watching.
He points at them.
“All of those bayou boys are married,” Henry says. “Now they know you’re mine, and they will keep an eye on you, so your sweet smiles and flirty eyes and panty-less ass are for me , and only me . Got it?”
God, I love when he gets possessive.
I love that he’s bringing me into this world that means so much to him.
I love these people already because of how happy they make him.
I love him .
I nod. “Only yours,” I say softly.
He was expecting a sassy, teasing retort, and he blinks at me in surprise for a moment. Then he smiles. “That’s right. Mine.”
I’m going to miss him so damned much.
At least now I have a whole assed bar to come hang out in and drown my sorrows.
And bread pudding.
It won’t fix my lonely heart, but bread pudding never made anything worse.