Chapter 14
Skinny Dipping in the Creek
? Muscle Memory - Kelsea Ballerini
Liam
With Ruby’s hand in mine on the middle console, I push my truck to seventy in a fifty-five. The windows are down, and as she glances at me, the wind blows in her hair. It’s like seeing her for the first time all over again.
One of Ruby’s favorite songs, Pretty When You Lied by Ellie Miles, comes over the radio, and I crank the dial. With one hand on her cowboy hat, she throws her head back and laughs. She’s singing along at the top of her lungs, effortlessly harmonizing with the track, and I’m completely captivated.
Ruby is always beautiful, but this version, untethered and wild, is my favorite. Seeing her like this is a privilege I don’t deserve, but there’s one thing I know for damn sure: I’m gonna enjoy every minute of this while I have her with me.
When the song ends, I bring her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles before placing it on my thigh.
“Turn here,” she says almost frantically.
The truck tires screech at the sudden change of direction, and there’s a slight jerk as we go from smooth pavement to dirt road. “Gonna tell me where we’re headed?”
“Nope. Just keep driving.”
I shake my head in exasperation, but the truth is, I’d follow her anywhere—to the ends of the earth or the depths of hell if she asked. I’d do it without hesitation. Ruby Lynn Hayes is all or nothing, and I’d take it all before I ever give this up.
The road curves slightly, and I follow it down until it comes to a dead end. She points to a small clearing. “Pull over there.”
I put the truck in park, and Ruby steps outside into the early autumn air.
“You coming?” she calls through the open window, tossing her hat onto the passenger seat.
With a resigned sigh, I hop out of the truck and follow behind her down a narrow path. A few feet in, there’s a rushing of water. I stumble over my feet as Ruby strips off her tank top, tossing it down in the dirt.
“What are you doing?”
She glances back over her shoulder as she unhooks her bra and tosses it.
The next to go are her jeans and underwear until she’s stark naked, standing at the side of a creek bed.
She wades in up to her knees and plunges forward on her stomach, submerging herself to her neck near the middle of the stream.
“Ready or not,” she says, goading me.
“Somebody could catch us.”
“Not likely. This is ranch property. Only one way in, and your truck is blocking it now.”
I hesitate with my hands in my pockets, watching her golden hair fan out in the water. This scene is eerily familiar, only this time I get the pleasure of full daylight and Ruby stark naked.
“Come on, Grumpy,” she says. “Live a little.”
“I’ve lived plenty without ever going skinny dipping.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
“Doesn’t have to be.”
She splashes some water toward the shore, soaking my jeans, and she repeats the motion, moving closer.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but you’re getting wet one way or another.
You might as well enjoy the view.” She rises to the surface so her gorgeous tits are floating above the water.
I throw my head back and groan.
Ruby kicks back and floats, putting her whole body on display. The last of my resolve crumbles, and I strip naked right then and there, rushing into the water like I’ve been wading through the desert and Ruby is my oasis.
When she rights herself, I’m almost fully submerged.
I tug her against me. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“I did promise I’d get you naked,” she murmurs, her lips hovering close to mine.
“You didn’t have to get me into freezing cold water for that.”
“Maybe not, but it’s much more fun this way.
” She slips her arms around my waist, her hand inadvertently tracing over the tattoo she hasn’t seen yet, and it sends a chill up my spine.
She pulls me deeper into the water until her feet don’t touch the bottom anymore and wraps her legs around me.
I grip her ass and haul her higher so she’s not hovering over my rapidly hardening cock.
With a curious expression, she skates her fingertips over the faint scar near my eyebrow. “What’s this from?”
I draw in a slow breath through my nose as the memories assault me.
“I didn’t mean to pry. You don’t have to tell me.”
She gazes at me tenderly, and it makes me want to open up to her. There’s a sincerity to Ruby, an innate gentleness about her that I know deep down I don’t deserve. I soak it all in anyway.
“Our second foster home wasn’t a great situation,” I say. “They fed us one meal a day and kept us locked in our bedroom for hours on end. One night, Connor snuck out to get a snack from the kitchen. Our foster father caught him, and I stepped in the way of his fist. Took a boot to the ribs, too.”
Tears gather along her bottom lashes, and she palms my face. “Oh, Liam. I’m so sorry.”
I press a kiss to her shoulder. “It was a long time ago.”
“Time doesn’t always heal.” Her lips graze against the faint scar on my temple. “Did you tell anyone?”
“I didn’t have to. Social services came by for a check-in the next day and they removed us from the home as soon as they saw the damage.”
“And the next one? Were they kind?”
“They were probably the best home we ever had. It’s where I learned to play piano and guitar, and Connor got really into dinosaurs. We were only there for a year.”
“What happened?”
“They found out she was pregnant, and they didn’t want us anymore.”
She rests her forehead against mine. “You’ve been through so much. You could’ve let it harden you, but here you are, the kindest man I know.”
“You give me too much credit. I’m not an easy man, Ruby. You see a different side of me because you’re you.”
“I don’t think that’s true. You practically raised Connor, and I see how you are with the people you care about: your friends.
Aiden. You could’ve turned him away when Breanna showed up out of the blue, but that’s not who you are.
Everything you went through has molded you into the amazing person you are today. ”
“And who is that?”
“The best man I’ve ever known. Strong. Protective. Compassionate. Caring. The man I…” She swallows thickly.
With my heart in my throat, I wait for her to finish.
Say love, Ruby. Tell me you love me, and I’ll give you everything I have.
“The man I turn to when things get hard,” she says.
In an attempt to mask my disappointment, I sweep her damp hair away from her neck and kiss her collarbone. “You can always count on me. I promise.”
“I know.”
Ruby
We stay like that for a while, floating in the middle of the secluded creek with our bodies intertwined. He glances around the area with a curious expression.
“Why didn’t you take us back to the waterfall from prom night?” he asks.
The question conjures images of a much younger Liam standing with his back to his truck, with his arms crossed over his chest as he watches a teenage Ruby plunge headlong into the water in full glam. I must’ve been quite a sight.
I smile wistfully. It’s one of my favorite memories. “Less likely to run into one of my brothers over here.”
“Makes sense. Wouldn’t want to be caught with my pants down around their baby sister.”
I jab my pointer finger into his nose. “You scared of the big bad Hayes boys, Grumpy?”
He nips and says, “One at a time? No. All three at once? You bet your ass I am.”
My laughter fills the quiet of our peaceful hollow, and Liam tilts his head as he looks at me. He doesn’t say anything, staring like he’s trying to memorize my face. If it were anybody else, I’d shrink under the scrutiny, but Liam makes me feel beautiful and cherished.
A short while later, we dry off with a couple of extra blankets he keeps tucked in the back of his truck and make our way back down the dirt road.
“Now you can’t say you’ve never been skinny dipping,” I say.
“Do you make a habit of getting into random bodies of water completely naked?”
“Would you believe me if I said no?”
“Probably not.”
My phone rings in the pocket of my jeans, and I tug it out to see Adam’s name on the display. “I need to take this. Hello?”
Never one for small talk, Adam responds succinctly, “I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news.”
“What’s the good news?”
“We have a court date,” he says, his tone enthusiastic.
“And the bad news?”
“We have a court date,” he repeats, injecting his voice with concern this time.
I let out a humorless laugh. “When do I need to be there?”
“One month from today, 8:00 a.m.”
With a resigned sigh, I rest my head back against the seat. “Great. I guess I’ll see you then.”
There’s the sound of footsteps on the other end of the line, and a door snicks closed. “We’re going to win this, Ruby.”
Liam glances at me from the driver's seat and takes my left hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze.
I glance down at where he’s skating his thumb along my palm, hoping to steal some strength from his gentle touch. “I’m not so sure.”
“I am, and Abby agrees with me. We have a strong case.”
“Ok. I, um… I gotta go. I need time to process.”
More movement comes through the speaker. It sounds like someone else is in the room with him. “I’ll have Abby set up a conference call later this week, and we can debrief.”
“Thanks, Adam. I appreciate it.”
“Just doing my job. Take care of yourself.”
“I will. Bye.”
“Everything ok?” Liam asks.
His first instinct has always been to take care of me, and that hasn’t changed, even while I was away.
He’d text me every few days, checking in.
Apart from my family, he’s been the only constant in my life for the last ten years, but their care and concern are different—like an obligation.
Liam could’ve walked away at any time. For better or worse, he stays.
“That was my lawyer,” I say. “I have a court date in Nashville. One month from today. I’ll have to take a few days off.”
“Aiden will be on his fall break. I can come with you… if you want. I’m sure Ivy wouldn’t mind keeping him for me.”
“Won’t you have to work?”
He shrugs. “I can ask for a few extra days. I’ve already done my fair share of overtime.”
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to prevent you from meeting your cat rescue quota.”
“Cheese Wiz will be fine without me.”
“Ok, but you’re driving, and I want full control of the playlist.”
“Yes, ma’am.