The By Request Collection. Kate HardyЧитать онлайн книгу.
again, giving the engine gas.
Again nothing.
Shoot. Trace walked over. He had a keen sense of cars, and judging by the expression on his face, this couldn’t be good. After fiddling with the ignition button, he spent a few minutes under the hood and came up looking bleak. “You want the good news or the bad news?”
“Bad.”
“The car’s not going anywhere tonight. Not without a tow.”
Ruby silently cursed under her breath.
“The good news is, I can give you a lift home.”
* * *
Parked in front of her cottage now, Ruby slid across the pristine leather seat, angling for the truck’s door handle. “Thanks for the ride, Trace.” Her head was spinning from spending time with him tonight. It was almost too much to take in. What they had once was pretty darn remarkable. Being with him tonight at the carnival had brought back memories of the good times they’d shared when Trace had loved her.
Before he’d had second thoughts.
Before he’d turned into a jerk.
“Hold up a sec, Ruby.” The urgency in his voice stilled her. He climbed out of his truck and spun around the hood to open the door for her. He offered his hand, and she fitted her palm inside his as she stepped out. Now that they were alone under beautiful moonlight, she waited for the butterflies to attack her stomach, but nothing seemed to happen. No flip-flops. No queasy feeling. No little bursts of excitement.
That was a good thing, right?
As soon as her boots landed on Preston soil, she pulled her hand free, grabbing for her purse, ready to end this night. Earlier, rather than have her wait for a tow, Trace had insisted on taking her home. His good buddy Randy over at Cool Springs Auto promised to tow her car to the shop and take a look at it first thing in the morning. Ruby couldn’t argue with that logic. She would’ve had to do the same thing, and Trace had effortlessly taken care of everything for her.
Ruby had always thought of herself as an independent woman. She could fend for herself, but having Trace take over the reins tonight and deal with her car issues was nice for a change.
“I’ll walk you to your door,” he said.
She didn’t like the prospect of Trace giving her a good-night kiss, one more potent than the one he’d given her at the festival. He’d been her first love, and the splinters of his betrayal were still stabbing her. The pain wasn’t as strong as it had once been, but it left behind scars that had yet to heal. She couldn’t be a fool twice. “There’s no need, Trace.” Her door was ten feet away, and having him walk her there implied much more than she was willing to concede right now.
“Okay. But before you go, Ruby, I, uh...”
Brisk night breezes put a chill in her bones as she faced him, her back against the bed of the truck. He stepped closer and removed his hat, hesitating as if searching for the right words. Whatever he had to say had to be important for him to stumble this way. Usually confident, he rubbed at the back of his neck and inhaled from deep in his chest. She’d never seen him quite like this, and she almost wanted to put a hand on his arm to steady him. Almost.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry...deeply sorry for the way I treated you. I should’ve realized what we had was special, and now that I’m home to stay, I want to make it up to you. I want to start fresh. You and me, we were good together. I want that—”
The sound of footsteps crunching gravel came from the road behind them. She swiveled her head as a figure came out of the shadows and into the ring of moonlight surrounding them.
Trace saw him, too. “Who in hell is that?” he asked none too quietly.
Ruby tried not to react. “Beau’s son.”
Now that Brooks was upon them, his brows arched as his inquisitive glance went from her to Trace and back again. “Evenin’,” he said. He was picking up a Texas drawl, probably from spending time with Beau. She almost chuckled, except seeing her ex-boyfriend meet up with her current lover wasn’t a laughing matter.
“Hi, Brooks.” There was cheery lightness in her voice worthy of a big Hollywood award.
“Ruby.”
“Oh, um, Brooks, I’d like you to meet Trace Evans. Trace, this is one of Beau’s twin sons, Brooks. He’s visiting here from Chicago, getting to know the family.”
Trace sized Brooks up as he put out his hand. “Nice meetin’ ya.”
“Same here,” Brooks said without much enthusiasm as the two pumped hands.
“So, you’re one of the lost boys Beau’s been searching for. I heard about you. Not from Ruby, though. She didn’t say a word about you all night, but word spreads quickly when someone new shows up in Cool Springs.”
“I met Trace at the Christmas carnival in town,” she was quick to explain. “My car broke down and Trace offered me a lift home.”
Trace took a place beside Ruby against the truck. “Yeah, just like old times. Ruby and I go back a ways. Don’t know if she told you about us, but I’m back in town now.” He gave Brooks a smile. Was he warning Brooks off or simply making conversation? Trace had no reason to suspect anything, not that it mattered anyway. He didn’t have a claim on her anymore. “So, how are you liking Cool Springs so far?” he asked.
“I’m liking it just fine.” Brooks said the words slowly, giving nothing away by his tone. Yet his gaze shifted to her every so often as if puzzling out what was happening. “I’m beginning to feel right at home here at Look Away.”
Ruby edged away from Trace. If he put his arm around her to haul her closer, she’d cringe.
“Must be, if you’re out taking a walk this time of night in the cool air.”
“I’m used to cold weather. Chicago winters can be brutal. Actually, I wasn’t out walking for the sake of walking. I came to ask Ruby a favor. Is all,” he added.
Ruby kept her lips buttoned. Brooks playing the country bumpkin was enough to make her laugh. But she didn’t dare.
“That so?” Trace asked.
“Yeah.”
“Ruby and I were in the middle of a conversation,” Trace announced, as if that wasn’t obvious.
“Was I interrupting?” A choir boy couldn’t have appeared more innocent.
“You were, actually,” Trace replied, his chest expanding as he stood a bit taller.
This was not going well, and it was clear Brooks wasn’t going to back down.
“Don’t let me stop you,” Trace said, gesturing with a royal sweep of his arm. “Go ahead and ask Ruby your favor.”
“Actually Trace, I’m not up for this conversation tonight,” Ruby said. “It’s been a long day, and I’m tired. Brooks, can your question wait until tomorrow?”
He glanced at Trace, eyeing him for a second before nodding. “Sure thing. It can wait.”
“Okay, then. We’ll talk tomorrow. And Trace, thanks again for the lift.”
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed our date, honey.”
It wouldn’t do any good denying it was date. Trace had it in his head it was.
Both men stood like statues, refusing to move.
“Well, good night, then.” She made her way past Trace and rolled her eyes at Brooks as she brushed by him. His lips twitched in amusement, and for that split second, devilish images of tossing him over her shoulder played out in her head.
She left them both standing there and walked to her door. Curiosity had her turning around briefly to see Trace waiting until Brooks