Chapter One Hundred Forty-Four
Ruby
Later That Day
The late afternoon air carries the sharp bite of December, cold enough that every breath hangs white before disappearing.
Squirt nudges my calf with an impatient grunt.
“I know.” I scratch behind his ears before tipping another scoop of feed into the trough. The piglets swarm it. “You guys have life figured out.”
Samson ambles over a second later, slower than the others, shouldering one of the piglets aside with a grunt that sounds suspiciously offended.
“You always think somebody’s taking yours.”
He ignores me. Typical. The familiar routine settles something inside me.
For days I’ve walked out here expecting to find another note. Another gift. Another reminder that someone was watching.
Now.... It’s just pigs. Hungry. Loud. Perfectly ordinary.
The fence catches my attention as I make my way toward the gate. Straight. Solid. The new boards stand out against the weathered ones.
I trail my fingers across the smooth wood. He fixed it. Just like he said he would. Just like he fixed the porch light. The cameras. The kitchen. The broken window. Every time something fell apart.... He showed up.
Not because I asked. Because he was already there.
My hand drifts unconsciously to my stomach. A slow breath leaves me.
“It’s okay,” I whisper, though I’m not sure whether I’m talking to the baby… or myself.
The truth settles. Lindsey lied. She wanted me to believe Xavier would leave, that he wasn’t capable of loving anyone long enough to stay.
I believed her. Not because she convinced me. Because I was already afraid it was true.
But every day since then.... He’s done exactly the opposite. Fed my pigs. Rebuilt my kitchen. Slept on my couch. Held my hair while I threw up. Researched pregnancy symptoms in the middle of the night.
He showed up. Again. And again. And again. Not because he had to. Because he chose to. He never proved he wanted us with one grand gesture. He proved it a hundred ordinary ways.
“He’s all in.” The words come out, so I barely hear them myself.
When I open my eyes again.... I’m smiling. Because, for the first time since everything fell apart.... I believe him. Really believe him.
Before I can think myself out of it, I pull my phone from my pocket and press on his name.
He answers before the second ring. “Hey.”
“I...” I hadn’t planned what I was going to say.
“I’m on my way.”
The line goes dead. I stare at my phone and shake my head. “Of course you are.”
I slip the phone into my pocket and glance toward the driveway. Five minutes. Maybe six. It should take longer, but this is Xavier. It won’t.
This time, I don’t question if he’ll come. I know he will.