Chapter Twenty-Three
Ruby
Later that Night
“I quit.” I tuck the phone between my shoulder and ear as I nudge the front door closed with my hip.
“Okay. Start from the top,” Emily says, calm and steady, though there’s a hint of shock in her tone.
I twist the lock into place, then check it again before moving deeper into the house.
“You know how I told you that Greg has been acting weird.” I stride through the living room to the kitchen. “Not yelling. Not anything I can point to and say, ‘That’s it.’”
“Right. You said he’d been acting differently.”
“He’s been changing things. Watching everything. Acting like I need permission to breathe.”
At the sink, I grab a glass, fill it with water, and take a sip I don’t need before heading on.
“And the other stuff? The notes. The flowers. You don’t think it’s him, do you?”
“I don’t know. It could be him. He’s been that kind of off lately, but I’m hedging my bets on Brent. He’s been creeping around the gym.” I press my palm flat to the counter. “Xavier offered the opening at his dad’s office. And called his dad, saying he’d found someone.”
There’s silence for a moment too long, and then. “You said yes?”
“I implied yes, but I might change my mind.” Doubtful. Unlikely. He’s right. I sigh. I’ve already decided to work for him, for his dad. There’s likely not a difference.
“And what do you think?” Emily’s voice is softer as she asks the question.
I look around the kitchen at the half-finished trim, the dust, the quiet that settles when the day is done. “I think it was the right call to leave. I don’t know about the rest.”
“Because it’s him?”
“Because it’s him.” I echo her question with a statement as I push off the counter. There’s no reason for either of us to clarify who I’m talking about. It’s Xavier. It’s always been Xavier. “I’ve always had feelings for him, Em. That doesn’t just… go away for no reason.”
After passing by the pigs, I turn the lock for the back door and survey the empty driveway. Nothing. No movement. No unexpected visitors. My shoulders tense in frustration. I hate being on guard.
“And you think working for him is going to make that worse.”
“Yes. I don’t want to make it awkward. I don’t want to ruin whatever this is. He doesn’t see me that way.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I huff a breath. “He’s Xavier. He samples. He doesn’t stick.”
“People change.” Her tone is optimistic. I love that she’s in my corner, but neither one of us needs to get our hopes up.
“People rarely change that much.” I’m not willing to risk my heart by believing he could settle down with one person. With me.
“Fine. You’re probably right,” she sighs loudly, as if she doesn’t want to agree with me but knows the truth. “I think you should try it anyway.”
I pause near the straw and watch the piglets shift in a soft, squeaking cluster.
Delilah lifts her head, then settles when she realizes I’m not bringing food. Samson stays on his feet, eyes tracking the edges of the room like he’s cataloging every shadow.
“If it gets complicated,” Emily continues, “you leave. If it doesn’t work, you find something else. But right now? Your safety matters more.”
I lean against the wall. The yard is dark beyond the backdoor. “More important than my heart?”
“Yes,” she says, without hesitation. “In this case, it is.”
I roll my eyes even though she can’t see me. “You’re being dramatic.”
“No. You are.”
I step closer to the pigs and crouch to check the piglets. One noses at my boot, tiny and determined.
“I left more because of how Greg was acting than some secret admirer hassling me.” I bite my bottom lip and frown. “He was getting…. I’m not sure what word to use. Controlling? Possessive? Dismissive? They all kind of blended together.”
“And the notes?” she asks.
“I’ll handle it.”
“Handling it includes not putting yourself in a position where someone has access to you. A new job solves that, and Xavier’s office is a more controlled space with less customer contact.”
She’s right. Not that I didn’t already know it. Xavier knew I’d already agreed to the position before he rang his father. I stand, brushing my hands on my jeans. “Two weeks. That’s what I gave him.”
“Good.”
I move through the house, turning off lights as I go. My footsteps echo a little too loudly in the quiet.
“Are you alone?”
“Yeah.” I hesitate. “I mean…. Yeah.”
I open my mouth to tell her that Xavier just left, but I snap it back shut.
Revealing that would raise a bunch of other questions I’m not ready to explore, like why Xavier keeps stopping by, why he’s helping, and why he offered me the job in the first place.
I’m too tired to delve into that tonight.
“Okay. Keep it that way tonight.”
I force a smile she can’t see. “Bossy.”
“Concerned.”
I reach for the last light switch near the back wall…. and stop. There’s a tape measure on the counter. Not mine. I stare at it longer than I should. Black casing. Worn edges. Xavier’s. He must’ve left it earlier.
After I snatch it up, I turn it over in my hand, thumb brushing the nick along the side.
“Ruby?”
“Yeah?” I set it down a little more carefully than necessary. “I’m here.”
“You still with me?”
“Yeah.”
“If it gets complicated….”
“I’ll leave.” I’m not surprised that she knew I was thinking about Xavier again.
I stand there a second longer, listening. The house creaks, settling. The wind brushes against the siding. A piglet squeals, then quiets. Normal sounds.
“Text me when you’re in bed.”
“I’m not twelve.”
“Text me anyway.”
I shake my head, a small smile tugging at my mouth. “Fine. I will.”
After I hang up, I check the back door one more time, which feels like a ridiculous amount of overkill. It is, sadly, something I can’t stop doing.
When something hits the window, I screech and jump backward. My heart skips a beat, followed by a frantic fluttering against my ribs. I glance down at the floor deck and shake my head. It was only a branch that broke free from the tree closest to the back porch and landed against the glass.
Clearly, I’m more spooked than I’m willing to admit.