The By Request Collection. Kate HardyЧитать онлайн книгу.
put out his hand, holding his breath. There’d been a lot of bad blood between them, but he hoped they could put it all behind them. Sutton glanced at Brooks, then slowly offered his frail hand. It was putty soft, devoid of any strength, but he shook with Brooks and then smiled. Something Sutton Winchester rarely did. “It’s a deal.”
“Deal,” Brooks said. “I’ll work with your staff to make the arrangements.”
“Thank you.”
Brooks sighed in relief. He was making strides, and it felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He was free now to head back to Texas and make things right with one hot gorgeous woman. He only hoped Ruby would agree to see him. She was a stubborn one, too. She hadn’t answered any of his messages. Which worried him. But once he returned to Look Away, he vowed not to take no for an answer.
* * *
Brooks stood on the veranda with Beau, looking out at the cloudless night. There were hundreds of stars decorating the Texas sky, twinkling brighter than he’d ever seen before. He hugged his wool coat around his middle against the chilly winds. The Douglas fir tree decorating the veranda released the fresh scent of evergreen. It was Christmas Eve, and to spend it with his father for the first time locked up his fate good and tight. Brooks knew what he wanted to do with his life.
“Well, Dad. Here I go. Wish me luck.”
“You won’t need luck, son. Just tell the truth. There’s power in that, and you’d be surprised how much it’s appreciated.” Beau faced him. “I certainly appreciated hearing it from you tonight.”
Beau wrapped his arms around him good and tight, drawing him close. Beau was a hugger, and Brooks loved that about him. When they broke apart, his father said, “I’m behind you one hundred percent.”
He had his father’s love and support and, like a young boy would, he beamed inside. “Thanks, Dad.”
“All right now, go. I’ve got a houseful of guests I don’t want to neglect.”
The Winchesters had arrived this morning, and Beau had been a cordial host. Any awkwardness that might have occurred had been wiped clean straightaway by his father’s warm hospitality.
“I’m going. I’m going.”
Beau grinned and pivoted around to enter the house, leaving Brooks alone to make his move. He took a deep breath and sighed, a smile spreading across his face. What the hell was he waiting for?
Holding Ruby’s image in his mind, he climbed down the steps and walked the distance to her cottage. A light was on in her living room, which was encouraging. He took a moment to gather himself and then knocked. When nothing happened, he knocked again, harder this time. “Ruby, it’s Brooks.”
Silence.
He reached for his cell phone and called her number. When no one answered, he sent her a text.
Still no reply.
He closed his eyes and sent up a prayer. He hoped he wasn’t too late. He hoped Ruby hadn’t gone back to Trace Evans. Though he couldn’t imagine it, Brooks knew she had a soft spot for the guy. Who knew what lies Evans might have told her to claim his innocence? Had Brooks waited too long? Had his lack of commitment sent Ruby back into Trace’s arms?
Brooks’s shoulders sagged. He’d stand out here all night waiting for her, but catching pneumonia out in the cold would be a fool thing to do. He had no other option but to go home and try to speak with Ruby tomorrow. She’d be at the house bright and early for Christmas breakfast.
His hopes plummeting, he began the trek to his cabin, wishing now he’d thought to drive. The wind kicked up, lifting his hat from his head. He caught hold of it right before the darn thing sailed away and kept it flattened to his head as he walked on.
Oh man, his bones were chilled, and he had no doubt it was going to be a long, cold, sleepless night for him. Once he reached his cabin door, a wreath of pine and holly berries greeted him, something that hadn’t been there when he’d left for Chicago three days ago. The staff or maybe Beau himself must’ve put it up as a way of welcoming him back. Or maybe it was simply a Preston tradition to decorate every door on the ranch. Christmas cheer seemed especially important on Look Away.
Brooks entered the cabin, and as soon as his boots hit the wood planks, warmth rose up and smacked him in the face. It went a long way in taking the chill off from his cold trek. The fireplace crackled, and his gaze traveled to the tangerine flames partially lighting the room. He stepped farther inside, removing his coat and hat, rubbing at the back of his neck and wondering about the fire.
“Brooks?” Ruby’s soft voice had him turning toward the bedroom doorway.
As soon as he spotted her, his breath caught tight in his throat. She stood at the threshold clad in one of his white dress shirts, the sleeves pushed up and the tail reaching to midthigh on her gorgeous legs. Firelight christened her face and was reflected in her dark chocolate eyes. The lovely vision she made heated his blood, and hope sprang to life inside his body. Good God, she was beautiful.
And here.
“I hope it’s okay. Beau gave me the key to the cabin.”
Tongue-tied, Brooks barely got the words out. “No, uh, it’s fine.”
“I did some decorating.”
He tore his gaze from her to scan the room. A tree sat on a corner table. This one would make Charlie Brown proud. The awkward branches were filled with tiny ornaments and multicolored lights. It was a clear winner and perhaps his favorite Christmas tree ever.
Centered in the middle of the dining room table, a big glass bowl of shiny red and green Christmas balls caught his attention. Atop the mantel, a family of snowmen and Santa trinkets along with cinnamon-scented pillar candles added to the holiday warmth.
“I like it.” He was a little dumbfounded, standing there, drinking in the sight of Ruby in his cabin after days and days of no communication. “So, does this mean you’re talking to me again?”
“If you want an answer to that, you’ll have to come here.”
“Baby, you don’t have to ask twice.” Her subtle, familiar scent, sheet of glossy hair raining down her back and mysteriously sexy voice lured him in. He took the steps necessary to come face-to-face with the woman of his fantasies, giving him the little boost he needed to lay his heart on the line. He’d been a fool not to claim her before this. Not to tell her what she meant to him.
“I like your shirt,” he said, tracing a finger on her rosy lips, then skimming it along her sweet chin to her neckline and down to the hollow where the shirt dipped into her mind-numbing cleavage.
“Ask me why I’m here.”
“With you dressed like that, I’m supposed to think straight?”
She chuckled, the deep sound coming up from her throat catching him off guard. “Try.”
“You picked me?”
“Galahad, it was never really a contest. Trace isn’t the man for me.”
“You ditched him?”
“I told him I didn’t love him anymore. That we weren’t meant to be. I’m not happy about you bribing him, but afterward I had a heart-to-heart talk with him, and he was honest with me about everything. He’s messed up his life and swore up and down that he never meant to hurt me.”
“And you forgave him?” The cheater, the creep, Brooks wanted to add, but he was in too hopeful a mood to press his luck.
She nodded. “It’s easier when you’re no longer emotionally invested. He’ll get on the right track again. He got an offer to do a reality show on a country cable television station, and he jumped at the chance. He’ll be moving to Nashville soon.”
“That’s good to hear, because I wouldn’t have let you go. I