The Promise of Forgiveness (20 page)

Joe rubbed his knuckles against Ruby's cheek, and she shivered when his finger brushed her mouth. “I know you can take care of yourself, but if you didn't work at the Possum Belly, you could spend more time with Mia and Hank.” His finger moved back and forth over her lower lip. “And me.”

“You haven't been acting like you want me around.”

“I'm sorry.” His brown eyes darkened, but he didn't look away. “I got scared.”

“We can take things slow.” Slow was good. “We should just enjoy being with each other.” And not think. Thinking too much led her down the path of self-doubt.

Joe's mouth closed over hers, but he ended the kiss too soon. “Will you let me give you a ride to and from the bar?”

She could take care of herself, but after he'd lost his son, she could understand Joe's need to protect her. If they were going to be together, she couldn't call all the shots like she'd done in her previous relationships. “Okay, you can play chauffeur.”

“Good.” He rewarded her with a real kiss.

“Mom!” Mia waltzed into the yard. “Hey, you guys were kissing.”

Ruby smiled at Joe.

“Come see the trick I taught Poke. Hurry.” Mia ran back to the corral.

“Wait.” Ruby clutched Joe's arm when he made a move to stand. “Are you going to accept Randall's invite to play softball tonight?” She didn't want to push him to be around families with little boys, but she knew Mia would appreciate the chance to socialize with other kids.

“Sure. It'll be fun.”

Hand in hand they walked to the backyard. With a final squeeze, Joe released her fingers and veered toward the barn. Ruby joined Hank and Friend at the corral.

“What did the deputy want?” Hank asked.

“He invited us to the ballpark in Guymon for a Little League fund-raiser.”

“He had to ask you that in private?”

She ignored his frown. “There will be other kids at the park. Mia might like the chance to hang out with someone her own age.”

“Joe can take you gals. I'll stay here.”

Ruby had figured Hank would want to remain at home rather than sit on uncomfortable metal bleachers in the hot sun. “We don't have to go if you'd rather we stay.” She recalled meeting Hank for the first time and her determination not to care about him. Now look at her—she was worried about leaving him alone at the ranch.

“I'll be fine. You all go without me.” He nodded to Mia. “She taught Poke this move all by herself.”

“Mia never told me she was teaching him tricks.”

“She wanted to surprise you.”

That her daughter wanted to impress Ruby warmed her heart. It didn't always seem like it, but she and Mia were taking tiny steps forward together.

“Ready, Mom?”

“Ready!”

Mia guided Poke across the corral. Then she dropped the reins and stood in front of the horse. Poke's attention remained on Mia, the animal's gaze never wandering. After a few seconds Mia raised her arms above her head and Poke stood on his hind legs. Then Mia turned in a slow circle and Poke did the same before lowering his front hooves onto the ground.

Ruby clapped. “I can't believe you taught him that trick in such a short time.”

Mia jogged over to Ruby. “Grandpa thinks Poke was once a circus pony.”

“Circus pony or not, you've got the magic touch with horses.”

Mia's smile lit up her face. Ruby made a mental note to praise her daughter more often.

After Mia walked off, Ruby said, “Sure I can't change your mind about the baseball game tonight?”

He shook his head.

“I'll see what I can scrounge up for your supper.”

“I can make my own food.”

“I know.” She took a step toward the back porch, but Hank's voice stopped her.

“Ruby.”

“What?”

“I asked Charles to search for Cora.”

The enormity of his statement took a moment to sink in. He'd lived for three decades not knowing where Cora had gone, all the while holding on to the hope that one day she'd return to him. “You didn't have to ask Charles to look for her.”

“I didn't do it for me. I did it for you.”

Ruby went into the house carrying his revelation with her. Hank believed she deserved to know what had happened to her birth mother. Maybe this was his way of saying he was sorry.

How many times would he have to apologize before she allowed her heart to love him?

“A
pril and I are gonna hang out on the swings.” Mia took off with the redheaded fourteen-year-old she'd met when they'd first arrived at the ballpark. Ruby watched the pair for a few minutes, glad Deputy Randall had invited them to the game. It was reassuring to hear Mia's laughter—maybe her daughter hadn't lost all of her innocence when she'd slept with Kevin.

Ruby escaped to the shade of an oak tree and watched the men warm up on the field. Joe played catch with the deputy and a man wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a plunger on the front and A
CE
P
LUMBING:
C
ALL
THE
B
EST,
F
LUSH THE
R
EST
written on the back.

Several women close to Ruby's age had introduced themselves and chatted with her. They'd teased her about living near Unforgiven and encouraged her to find a place in Guymon, where there were more activities for kids and better shopping. The idea had merit. If she and Mia made their home in Guymon, they'd have a chance to make friends and become part of the community yet still be close by to keep an eye on Hank.

“Hello, Ruby.” Leona Carlyle joined her by the tree.

The woman was the same height as Ruby but runway-model slender. Her perfectly styled bob sat on her head like a shiny brunette helmet. Strappy sandals showed off her pedicure—bloodred nails with a white flower on each big toe. Her beige linen slacks and blue sleeveless blouse had been pressed to perfection, and the silver bangles on her wrist jingled when she swatted at a fly buzzing near her head. Not your usual picnic attire.

“Paul said he talked to you.” Leona had whispered even though they stood twenty yards away from the nearest pair of ears.

“He mentioned that you two grew up together,” Ruby said.

“We were in the same grade in school.”

“It's really none of my business what you and Randall do, but you might want to be a little more discreet about it.”

Leona's gaze shifted to the sheriff, who joined Randall, Joe, and Mr. Plumber's throwing circle. She waved at the group, but only her husband acknowledged her with a smile. “I've always had a crush on Paul.”

“People have affairs for all kinds of reasons.” Ruby didn't care why the pair was screwing around.

“I wish we were having an affair.” Leona watched Randall walk to the dugout, where he traded his ball cap for a batting helmet.

“I don't get it. Your husband is a hell of a lot better-looking than the deputy.” Ruby shrugged. “Looks aside, Randall's an ass.”

“I wanted to date Paul in high school, but he ran with a wild crowd and my parents would have locked me in my bedroom until I turned eighteen if they'd suspected I was interested in him.” A dreamy, faraway look filled Leona's eyes. “I went away to college. Dated other guys. After I graduated, I moved back home, hoping Paul and I would get together.” She forced a smile. “He wasn't interested, and instead he introduced me to Mike. We hit it off well enough and got married.” Leona had settled for the sheriff.

Ruby considered her situation with Joe. He was a complicated man. She was a complicated woman. If they met in the middle, maybe neither of them would have to settle.

“What can I do to convince you to keep what you saw the other day to yourself?”

Ruby had no intention of shouting Leona's infidelity to the masses, but she'd be stupid not to take the woman up on her offer. “Find out why your husband is turning a blind eye to Roy Sandoval's shenanigans. Hank's neighbor is behind the vandalism at the Devil's Wind.”

“Roy's a nice man. He wouldn't harass Hank.”

“There's bad blood between the men. I'm guessing you've heard the stories about my mother having an affair with Roy.”

“I'll speak to Mike.” Leona motioned to the bleachers. “I'm tired of standing. Let's sit down.”

The game lasted a little less than two hours. Mia joined Ruby and Leona when Joe's team was up at bat. Joe acted as if he was having fun, joking with the other men in the dugout and high-fiving the first-base coach when he hit a single to left field. But she imagined everything about tonight—kids chasing one another, the smell of grilled hot dogs, women sitting in groups gossiping—reminded him of the life he'd once lived.

At the end of the game, Leona went off with the sheriff while Randall and Mr. Plumber carried a five-gallon orange Igloo cooler through the crowd, soliciting donations for the Little League program. When they stopped in front of Ruby, she opened her purse and dumped two days' worth of tips into the cooler. The deputy's eyes widened, but all he said was “Thanks” before he moved on.

She met Joe by the dugout. “You were awesome.” Not just because he'd caught two fly balls but because he'd been brave enough to come tonight and battle memories of playing catch with Aaron.

Ruby signaled Mia, and she ran over from the playground. “Do we have to go? They're gonna set off fireworks.”

“We've been here almost four hours,” Ruby said.

Mia looked longingly at the kids congregating near a picnic table. “I guess we'd better check on Grandpa.”

Although she appreciated her daughter's devotion to Hank, Ruby knew when the day came to say goodbye to the old man, Mia would need more than her mother and the horses to lean on—she was going to need friends.

•   •   •

“
Mom?”

“I'm awake.” Ruby tossed back the top sheet, and Mia slid beneath the cover. “Don't tell me Friend is hogging your pillow again.”

“He's sleeping on the rug in Grandpa's bedroom.” She yawned. “Who was the pretty lady you sat with at the baseball game?”

“That was the sheriff's wife, Leona.”

“Oh. Did Joe have a good time?”

“He did. How about you and April? Was it fun to hang around someone your age for a change?”

“April's really nice. She asked if I was going to school in Guymon this fall.”

“What did you tell her?”

“That I might.”

“Would you consider living in Guymon instead of at the ranch?” Ruby asked.

“Why would we live there when Grandpa and Joe are here?”

“I'm glad you like Joe, but if we end up together, I want it to be different this time.” She held Mia's hand. It didn't seem so long ago when her daughter's whole fist fit in Ruby's palm. “I need to be sure about my feelings for Joe.” Her feelings weren't the issue—her fear was. She didn't want to panic at the first sign of trouble and send Joe packing. “I want to get it right this time, Mia, because I don't want you to get hurt again.”

“I won't get hurt. Grandpa will always be there for me.”

If only that were true.

“Are you reading Grandma Baxter's diary?”

“Yes.” Hank had twisted Ruby's arm.

“What does it say?”

“I learned how I came by my name.”

“How?”

Ruby lifted the gemstone resting against her neck. “Your grandparents gave this necklace to me on my thirteenth birthday. I thought it was from them.”

“But it wasn't?”

“It belonged to Cora. She left it in my hospital bassinet before she ran away. When your grandparents adopted me, the social worker gave them the necklace. It was Grandpa Baxter who said I should be named Ruby so that I'd know my birth mother had loved me.”

“If Cora loved you, she wouldn't have left you behind.”

Mia's words jarred Ruby. One day her daughter would have a child and understand that a mother could do horrible things yet still love her offspring. Ruby was a perfect example—she'd made bad decisions that her daughter had unfortunately paid the price for. “No one's perfect, honey.”

“Does Grandpa know Cora left you the necklace?”

“He recognized it when we first arrived at the ranch.”

“What happened to Cora?”

“No one knows. Hank asked his lawyer to search for her.”

“What are you gonna do if she's still alive?”

“I'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.” Ruby was more worried how Hank would take the news if Cora was alive and hadn't bothered to contact him all those years.

“If Cora married some other man and had kids with him, you'd have half brothers and sisters and maybe I'd have cousins.”

“We'll have to wait and see.” Ruby was still getting used to the idea of her, Mia, and Hank becoming a family—and maybe Joe. She didn't want to invite anyone else into the circle.

“Do you have to work tomorrow?”

“Stony doesn't return from Dallas until Wednesday.”

Mia hopped off the bed. “If we stay at the ranch, I'm gonna need a computer to do homework when school starts. And Grandpa's gonna have to get the Internet.”

“I know. 'Night, honey.”

It was a long time before Ruby fell into a restless sleep. Then she dreamed of a happy-ever-after with Joe and woke feeling hopeful for the first time in a long while.