Chapter One Hundred Twelve
Xavier
The pigs start screaming for breakfast before the sun is fully up. I’m already awake. Have been for hours. Sleep hasn’t been worth much since the attack. Every time I close my eyes, I see Ruby bleeding beside the fence. Or hear her telling me she’s not mine to worry about.
I drag on my boots and head outside. The pigs crowd the fence while I fill the troughs, automatically separating the piglets before Samson can steal everything. Ruby’s routine. I haven’t heard her voice in almost two weeks.
Jake, Bella, and Emily keep telling me she’s safe. Recovering. That should be enough. It isn’t.
Emily’s SUV crunches into the driveway. She gets out carrying feed and takes one look at me. “You look terrible.”
“Thanks.”
She quirks an eyebrow while adjusting the sack against her chest. “You sleeping?”
“Some.”
“Eating?”
I glare at her.
“That bad, huh?”
She has the audacity to look at me with pity. I hate pity. Especially since it’s self-induced. “I’m fine.”
“She’s okay, Xavier.”
My hand tightens around the bucket. “Then where is she?”
Her face hardens as she marches toward me. “We’re not doing this again.”
“She’s been gone almost two weeks, and I don’t need feed, I already bought it.”
“And she asked for space.” Emily ignores my words, dropping the sack next to my feet with a thump.
“I know.”
Knowing hasn’t stopped me from driving half the county after work. Past the gym. Brent’s place. Roads I know won’t lead to her.
Emily studies me like she knows that too. “She’s getting better. Most of the concussion symptoms are gone.”
Relief loosens something in my chest. “She got hurt because I wasn’t here to protect her.”
“No. She got hurt because someone attacked her.”
Doesn’t feel different.
Emily checks her phone. “I have to go.” She starts toward her SUV, then stops. “She misses the pigs.”
My head comes up. But she’s already climbing inside. I stare after her. Then at Ruby’s empty house. I can’t stay here anymore.
*****
Fifteen Minutes Later
Dad takes one look at me when I walk into the office. “You eat?”
“No.” Great. Another 20 questions.
He slides his glasses down to the tip of his nose. “Sleep?”
“Some.” I toss my keys onto the counter while rotating my head to ease the tension between my shoulders. It feels like someone shoved a butcher knife in the middle of my back.
“So no.”
The office feels wrong without Ruby behind the desk. The temp looks up when I pass, then quickly finds something interesting on her computer.
Dad follows me into the supply room. “You planning to scare this receptionist off too?”
“I’m working.”
“You’re miserable.”
“Thank you for the update.”
He folds his arms. “You want Ruby here.”
I stop. Don't need the office manager back. Not miss having her around. Ruby. “Yes.”
Dad actually looks surprised.
I scrub a hand over my face. “I want Ruby.” Saying it out loud hurts like hell.
“You know she’s safe?”
“Yeah. I trust Jake and the girls.”
“Then give her the space she asked for.”
My jaw tightens.
Dad studies me. “And maybe stop driving around town checking on every man you think might've hurt her.”
I look at him.
His eyebrows rise. “You think I don't know my own son?”
Shit.
“Jesus, Xavier.” His expression shifts. “You’re gone over that girl.”
I grab my keys again. “I need to get to the job site.”
“That's not a denial.”
No. It isn't. And I don't bother giving him one.