Page 51 of In Plain Sight

"But you were helping," I insisted. "You held my hair back. You kept a cooling cloth on my neck and cleaned me up whenever I needed it."

Mom wiped a tear from her eyes and reached over to put her hand over the both of ours.

"Those are the little things that matter most. All we've ever wanted for our children was for them to find someone that made them happy, someone who would stand by their side. And you've proven that these last few days, Bran. I'm so happy you found each other."

Dad walked up and rubbed Mom's shoulders. "She's right. We always knew Ruby would need a strong mate, but one willing to compromise and walk beside her, not in front of her. God knew what he was doing when he paired the two of you."

Bran

Chapter 19

Days later, Zach Collier’s words still weighed heavily on me.

God knew what he was doing when he paired the two of you.

Kelsey and Kyle had returned to Westin with no further altercations from me and the burning in my blood had subsided greatly.

Ruby was still recovering at home without protest. It worried me more than anything. I knew she was worried about the baby, but Doc said she was free to return to work and she had refused, placing herself on bedrest. The way she was protecting our unborn child—or possible unborn child because we didn’t even have confirmation that she was indeed pregnant—gave me some relief about their future.

After a full week, she had become restless and irritable, though. She was calling Clay every hour for updates at the dairy. He had been taken out of rotation entirely and assigned to her. I had spoken with the poor guy a few times, but he seemed to be taking it in stride. Turned out it was the job he had always wanted, and he was thrilled with his newfound responsibilities, but he did confess that he didn’t think Ruby trusted him to do the job.

“She calls me all the time with reminders of things she thinks I’ll forget,” he had confided in me. “Simple stuff that anyone should know to even work here.”

I had promised to talk to her and get her to back off, and I tried.

“Sweetheart, you either have to get up and go back to work yourself, or you have to leave Clay alone to do things his way.”

“His way? There is no his way, Bran,” she argued. “That’s my responsibility. I worked hard to establish our routine and keep things running smoothly.”

“And you trained him well. He knows what he’s doing, Ruby. You know he knows exactly what to do, or you would never have trusted him in that position to begin with,” I reminded her.

“But the baby, Bran. I can’t risk any more than I have already,” she admitted.

I kissed her forehead. “Ruby, what’s happened has happened. You have to remember, you and I are tough, and our kid is going to be doubly tough. You cannot stay in bed just waiting and hoping things work out for the next nine months. Even Doc says you need to be up and moving. It’s not healthy, and I’m worried about you.”

She sighed. “I know. I just want everything to work out so badly.”

“I know, so do I,” I admitted, and the truth of it slapped me in the face. I wanted my mate to carry my child. I wanted a lifetime to love them both and I not only regretted the decisions that led me here, but I hated my Alpha for the position he was holding me in. I was fighting back anger at the events that had happened and the guilt over the role I had played.

“Help me up,” she finally said. She was still so weak from the poison that it terrified me. “Okay, I’m out of bed. I still feel terrible and shaky. I can’t just go back to work and show this much weakness. We’re wolves, they’d know and take over my position.”

“No one is after your position. They are all just as worried about you as I am.”

“I know, I know. I’ll take today and through the weekend to move around and get my energy levels back up, and I’ll go back to work on Monday.”

“Well, I don’t want you rushing yourself either. But getting up and moving is a great first start.”

In the beginning, just walking to the bathroom was still tough on her. It was surreal how much a sickness and seven days in bed could weaken a person so quickly. But by Sunday she was eating normally again, and her strength had rebounded quickly. She’d lost too much weight from the sickness and still looked frail to me, but when Lily had come by to check on her for the millionth time, she was thrilled and gushed over how well my mate looked.

Cole and Lizzy were only going to be in town a few more days. The repairs to their house were coming along great and nearing completion; however, we were down one by Gage leaving, as he and Clara had finally gotten the call they had been waiting for, and within an hour they were just gone. I had no idea what it was they did, but they both seemed excited for their new adventure.

I tried to pitch in as much as I could, but most of my focus had been on Ruby, and I knew everyone understood that.

Thomas called me Sunday evening asking if I could come by the Alpha house to see him. When I told Ruby, she asked if she could tag along. It was the first time she’d left the apartment in over a week and I was thrilled for it.

Shelby was there, as well as Ruby’s parents, and they doted over my mate from the second we walked into the house. Thomas peaked his head out of his office and motioned me in. When I walked into the room, Cole Anderson was there, too.

I gulped and tried to steady my heartrate. Were they on to me? I had a sinking feeling that was what this was all about. They’d identified the poison and were confronting me about it. I shook hands with Cole, plastered a fake smile on my face, and took a seat next to him.

---