Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
AMARI
SAME PAGE
Ruby’s lips were pillowy soft, bringing out emotions I buried after my divorce.
Although I’d dated several women casually, no one tugged at my heartstrings like Ruby Starks.
In the darkness, her curves filled my hands as her soft hair tickled my cheek.
Everything in me wanted to loosen it and run my fingers through it before picking her up and wrapping my arms around her.
I would hold her until she relinquished the hurt that kept her bound.
She stepped back and reached behind her.
I remained still and pulled out my cell phone, turning on my flashlight app.
Ruby continued her snail-like trek, using boxes to guide her until she reached a drawer in a worn wooden chest. She opened the middle drawer and pulled out several glass candles and a long lighter.
After she set them on the chest, Ruby lit each one and set the lighter to the right of the larger candle.
I closed the distance between us again and rested my hand on Ruby’s back as she shivered.
The scent of the apple cinnamon candle reminded me of the holidays and times long gone.
It wasn’t lost on me that my time with Ruby made me feel déjà vu.
I had this budding hope once, but it fled with the loss of my marriage. Could I have the real thing this time?
“We’ll have to use these candles and my flashlight until the lights come back on. Let’s go upstairs. Do you have extra blankets you can wrap yourself in?”
“Yes, in my bedroom on the second floor.”
I swallowed, imagining Ruby cocooned in a blanket. In an ideal world, my naked body would be pressed against hers as she wrapped her arms around me. We would comfort each other as we released our mutual pain.
“You can use my shower if you want to clean up.” She bit her juicy lips and stared at my chest.
Before I could answer, Ruby picked up the lighter and one of the candles, dipping her head toward the other one.
“Grab that candle, and I’ll get the other one along with our drink tray.”
“I’ll bring it up with my tools.”
Ruby’s fiery eyes met mine.
“My bedroom is the first door on the right.”
Her words were exact yet coded.
What did she want from me? Could it be more than an invitation to get clean? The familiar ping of being a savior overtook me. I couldn’t stop moving like that as much as I could stop myself from taking my next breath.
“I’ll be there soon.”
After Ruby left, I gathered my tools and carefully left the dark basement.
The winds outside shook the frame of the house, reminding me to check the door seals before going upstairs.
Shadows met my eyes as the reflection of the bright snow illuminated fixtures in the kitchen and furniture in the living room.
I opened the drapes on the kitchen window and took in the wintry wonderland outside.
This storm moved quicker than anyone predicted. The wind that swirled blinding snow high and fast would make visibility impossible for anyone on the roads. I hoped everyone was home by now. The last thing our town needed before the holiday was deaths.
A mix of Ruby’s sweet fragrance and her apple cinnamon candle lingered in the air as I moved to the stairway leading to the second floor.
I dropped my toolbox to the left of the stairway and carefully rested my weight on each step.
Although the creaking of these stairs wasn’t as loud as the basement, they needed attention too.
I carefully placed my socked foot on each step. One. Two. Three. I counted until I reached the thirteenth one. I made a mental note that the third step from the top was loose.
This job at Ruby’s was much bigger than I estimated. I could work every day for a month, and this house would still need lots of TLC.
Subtle light met my eyes from the door Ruby directed me to. As I approached it, gradual warmth met me. Once inside, my eyes adjusted to the darkness again as a fire filled the small fireplace.
“It’s cozy in here.”
Ruby lay horizontally on a long love seat with a beige chenille throw covering her body from the waist down. She was picture perfect as the light from the fire flickered and cast shadows on her serene face.
“Join me before you shower. I’ve already laid everything out that you’ll need.” She gestured toward the closed door to her right.
Her soft voice lassoed me and drew me to her like a magnet. She wasn’t overly suggestive and caressed a part of my soul that yearned for softness. That gentleness pricked my heart, reminding me that I hadn’t received this kind of attention from an attractive woman in years, hell, maybe ever.
I lifted a matching large brown chenille throw from the back of her couch before sitting and covering my lap with it.
I scooted closer to Ruby, whose eyes landed on my chest for the umpteenth time.
Although we were only a few feet apart, the body heat we shared was intimate, too much so for people who weren’t in a relationship, yet I didn’t resist extending my long arm and placing my hands on Ruby’s leg over her soft throw.
“Do you want to talk? I’d love to pick up where we left off.”
Ruby shifted her body away from me, closer to the other end of the couch.
She lifted her elbow to the couch’s arm and propped her head on her closed fist, tilting her head at an angle that made me want to stroke her rosy cheek.
As my eyes searched her face, her features remained calm.
She pursed her lips tightly in a gesture that wasn’t overly appealing or offensive.
I waited for her to make the next move. She straightened her body, pulled the throw tighter over her chest, and took a big breath.
“My daughter’s name was LaRue. She was born on Christmas Day. She and Aspen would have been around the same age.” Ruby’s eyes drooped.
She hunched her shoulders and shifted her legs and torso until her body was almost in a ball. Her cold demeanor made sense to me now. Christmas reminded her of what she lost.
“Larenz lives in Atlanta with his wife and family,” she whispered so softly I barely heard her.
“Your ex remarried?”
Ruby shook her head.
“He was married when we got married.”
What in the world? Ruby didn’t look like a woman who would break up a marriage. As I tried to find the right words to ask, she leaned my way and reached for my hand before squeezing it tightly.
“I promise I didn’t know he had another family when we married.” Her voice cracked.
I nodded and placed my free hand over hers. I knew her look well. She was vulnerable and needy. Within seconds, she’d transformed into a hurt little girl before my eyes.
“We eloped in Vegas and lived in a condo in Atlanta. I got pregnant on my honeymoon. My baby was born on Christmas and died from meningitis ten days later. At LaRue’s funeral, Larenz’s wife showed up with their three children in tow.
She popped her evil ass up and told everyone in attendance that my husband’s real kids were sitting in the pews and that his illegitimate bastard was dead in that casket. ”
“Damn. I’m so sorry.”
She jerked up and straightened her spine.
“That bitch was lucky. I got up to slap the shit out of her, but my brother got to me first. She still had her children with my man, yet she showed her Black ass at my baby’s service.
If I had a gun that day, I promise on everything real and true that I would have shot her right between the eyes.
” Ruby formed a gun with her index finger and thumb and pointed toward the fireplace as if shooting a bullet.
The bitterness in Ruby’s voice sent a chill down my spine, but I understood her. Children were precious gifts from God. If anyone didn’t respect my Aspen, I’d be livid too.
I reached for her and lowered her hand slowly as if her hand was a real gun and I didn’t want anybody to get hurt.
“Thank God for your brother. Otherwise, you might be in somebody’s prison right now.”
Ruby turned her head to me as if my voice pulled her from her flashback. In her eyes, I saw the depth of her pain on so many levels.
“If I were so great, why did the man I love treat me so bad? He humiliated me. I couldn’t come back here and let anyone know I’d been played like that. I didn’t even have my baby to comfort me anymore.”
Tears fell fast from Ruby’s face. Within seconds, her body shook as she released her pain. I moved to her and rocked with her in my arms until her breathing steadied.
“Larenz died with my baby. That’s why I tell everybody he’s dead. Because he is.”
I continued to rock with Ruby and pressed her head against my chest.
“He’s dead.” She repeated those words several times.
“He’s whatever you need him to be. That’s your business. He won’t hurt you again.”
I meant what I said. If Larenz Starks ever set foot in Farmerton, I’d be the first person to take him into the backwoods and make sure he never made it out.
As Ruby’s body stilled and nestled comfortably into mine, I stared at the fireplace.
I released her and lifted her chin. Her parted lips called out to me, but I held back.
Instead, I wiped streaks of water from her tear-stained cheeks and searched her eyes.
In them, I saw only goodness and someone who deserved to be worshipped for her grace and poise.
The unspoken yearning in Ruby’s red eyes made me want to suck all the hurt from her body. She’d fought an unexpected war of the heart and was a casualty of an attack from a man with poor character. Ruby Starks deserved rest.
“He wasn’t a real man ’cause real men don’t disrespect women like that.”
Ruby shrugged.
“I guess.”
I kissed Ruby’s hand and held it, looking in her eyes to share my heart.
“You did nothing wrong and have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Tell that to the people around here pointing their fingers at me in judgment. And tell that to LaRue. She deserved all the good things I was supposed to give her as her mother.” Ruby closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip hard.
This side of Ruby didn’t match who I had pictured her to be. Teacher Ruby was calm with a sweet smile that could melt butter. Ruby the mother was heartbroken and tender. Both versions of her deserved empathy and grace.
“None of them matters. Forget them and forgive yourself for being human.”
“I wish it were that easy.” Ruby looked at me and sniffled.
“It is, sweetheart. Forgive yourself because you’re worthy of love.” I spoke the words softly.
When she stared at me, I wondered if I’d overstepped by using a term of endearment.
“Thank you.”
For the first time since I entered her bedroom, the cheerful version of Ruby that first drew me to her showed up. Her soft joy made me feel as if she shared a precious gift with me. I didn’t want anyone else to receive that light.
“Of course. You don’t need judgment. I know firsthand from losing Army buddies that grief isn’t linear. One day you’re mad, and another day, you’re crying because of a memory or a regret. And no one expects to bury their child.”
Ruby rested her hands on her knees and nodded, staring into the fireplace.
“You’re a good man, Amari Snowden. The woman who left you was a damn fool, but her loss is my gain.” She smiled at me before returning her eyes to the fireplace.
It was my turn to be flattered. Although working hard and making a living made me feel manly, there was nothing like being complimented about my character by a woman whose strength I admired.
We sat in silence for a while, watching the leaping flames of the fire rise and fall as the soft crackle of the burning wood cut through the cool air.
The moment was as warm as the fire before us, intimate but not erotic.
I extended my hand to Ruby. She stared at it for a few moments this time before accepting it in hers.
I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it.
“You’ll be okay.”
“I receive that. Thank you. You too. Are you ready for your shower?” She lifted her eyes with an endearing look.
“Are you ready for my shower?”
Ruby extended her nail and raked it down my chest.
“Take off your shirt again, and I’ll let you know.”
I slowly unbuttoned my shirt and took it off. I placed it on the arm of the couch and rested my hands in my lap, waiting for Ruby to make the next move.
“Yes, I’m ready.” Ruby circled my nipple with her nail, causing the most delicious sensation to flow through me.
I sucked in a breath quickly as she bit her lip.
Although Ruby remained silent, I sensed her anticipation and courage.
I respected and understood her story now.
She was valuable, compassionate, and thoughtful, a woman hiding behind a hard exterior to mask deep pain.
Ruby was sweet and giving and was meant to blossom fully after darkness enveloped her for so long.
She deserved vindication, but more than that, she deserved redemption.
I wasn’t going to let her ride her wave of grief alone. I was sent here for a reason. Ruby was meant to hold her head high and with hope for the future.
A future with me.