Page 10 of Praised By the Mountain Man

“Okay,” I say, before getting out of bed and throwing on my t-shirt and underwear. “Do you want me to leave?” I ask, having absolutely no desire to be without her for even a second, but knowing she might need the space.

She looks at me with grateful eyes and contemplates for a moment. “No… just, sometimes she wants me to sleep with her, so I may not be back for a while.”

“That’s okay, baby. Do what you need to do. I know Ruby comes first.”

She looks relieved at the statement, and it baffles me that she thinks I would have said anything different. She presses a quick kiss to my lips before heading out of the room. I pick up myphone out of my jeans pocket on the floor, knowing I’m too wired to go back to sleep now.

I open up my book and read for about fifteen minutes before I hear a small knock on the door.

Ruby peeks her head in, her blonde mane sticking up in all angles around her.

“Hi Luke,” she says, quietly, walking up to me in the bed. I’m not sure what to do right now, if she’s supposed to be in here.

“Hi Ruby,” I say, opting to act natural. “Where’s your big sister?” I ask.

“She went down to make me some warm milk, but I heard your voice earlier and wanted to say hi. And sorry if my crying woke you up. My nightmares happen sometimes, but I’m working on them.”

She crawls up the bed and sits by my feet, and I can’t help but see a kindred spirit in this little girl who has trouble sleeping through the night and needs to keep her mind busy.

“That’s okay, Rubes,” I say. “I get nightmares sometimes, too. You’re doing great with them, and I hope they stop for you soon.”

“Thanks,” she says simply, sitting patiently on the edge of the bed. I hear steps coming up the stairs and a muffled “Ruby,” from the end of the hall before Tessa comes into her room and spies the two of us talking.

I can tell she’s trying to hold back a laugh as she mumbles, “So much for sneaking out in the morning,” before handing Ruby her glass of warm milk.

“Come on Ruby Do, let’s get back to bed,” Tessa says, ushering Ruby out of the room.

“Goodnight, Luke. I hope you don’t have any nightmares,” Ruby says, and Tessa looks back at me with curious eyes. I mouth “Tell you later,” to her before turning to Ruby and telling her I hope she sleeps well.

A few minutes later, I’m tucked back into my book when I hear the door creep back open, and Tessa greets me with an exhausted smile. She crawls back into bed and immediately curls into me, which I love.

“Sorry about that,” she says after a moment. “It takes a bit to calm her down, but she should be good for the rest of the night. And I guess you don’t have to leave early in the morning anymore,” she says with a laugh.

“How did she feel about it?”

“Wasn’t fazed at all, said it was cool that you were sleeping over. And that your talk made her feel better. What did you say to her, by the way?” she asks, tilting her chin up to look at me.

“I just told her that I get nightmares too and that she was doing great handling them. And that I hope they stop for her soon, which wasn’t purely selfish,” I say with a laugh. “I care about her, and I don’t want her to be in pain.”

Tessa’s eyes well up at that. “Thank you,” she whispers, “I don’t know what I did to deserve so much of your kindness after only knowing you for today, but I hope it never stops.”

It never will,I think.

Eventually, we drift back off to sleep and I can’t help but wonder what I did to deserve her, too.

Chapter Seven

Tessa

I wake to the smell of bacon and no Luke in my bed.HmmmI think, turning to look at the clock and seeing it’s after nine, the latest I’ve slept in more than two years. I should be worried about what Ruby’s up to, but I know she’s probably with Luke, safe and happy.

I’m surprised by how easily he has slipped into our lives in just one day, but don’t feel weird about it. It just feels right, for both Ruby and me. When I put her back to bed last night, she told me she liked how sweet Luke was to me, and to her, and it made me sure that taking his offer for a ride yesterday was the right call.

I stretch and hop out of bed, ready to see what my two favorite people are up to. I walk into the kitchen and see Luke supervising as Ruby flips what looks to be blueberry pancakes on the griddle as bacon sizzles in the pan beside them.

“Smells amazing down here, you two,” I say, leaning against the wall. They both turn and greet me with equally big grins.

“I was up reading in my bed like you said to do on the weekends,” Ruby says, “when I heard someone walking around and I came out and Luke said we could make you breakfast together!” She sounds so excited; I melt a little more.

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