Page 38 of Saved By Love at Christmas
“Breathe, Rubes. Like I showed you the other day. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Look at me. Like this, honey.”
I refocused on his face, making my breathing fall in line with his. My eyes fixed on his as I fought to regain my composure.
“Good girl, that’s it. Nice deep, even breaths.” His hands went to my face, the warmth calming me further. “You’re safe. You’ll always be safe with me.”
I flung myself into his arms and allowed him to wrap me up in the safety of his strong body. His familiar scent helped me further. My heart rate slowed, and my breathing regulated itself. I was safe. With Ben, I would always be safe; that’s what he told me. It was then I remembered he’d called me honey. Just out of kindness or a more intimate term?
The warm pads of his thumbs feathered across my cheeks, and I closed my eyes on a sigh.
“Ruby?”
I opened my eyes again to be met by blue ones as familiar as my own.
“I’m okay. Honestly. Sorry for the mini panic attack. Did you tell Grandad?”
“I discussed it with him while you were out with Marie. The last thing I wanted to do was alarm you, so when I saw the scratches on his car, I thought I’d tell him. He was worried about telling you, but he feels bad for not saying anything.”
“Poor Grandad. He shouldn’t have to be dealing with all this. And of course I understand why he didn’t want to tell me. Do you think it’s Jamie? And don’t sugar-coat it. Tell me the truth.”
He closed his eyes, his brows drawn together as if in pain. When he opened them again, his eyes had clouded over. My heart sank, knowing his answer even before he voiced it.
“Yes. I think it’s him.”
I pushed away from him and went to the window. Fred snuffled around my legs, pawing and whimpering. I knelt down and buried my head in the soft fur at his neck. A hand stroked my hair. Ben. I’d know his touch anywhere. I stood, one hand still stroking Fred’s head, the other clutching Ben’s arm.
“I’m so sorry, Rubes.”
“Hey,” I whispered. “You’ve done nothing wrong. I need the truth and you told me. When Grandad comes back, I think we need to discuss involving the police. I also think Marie should be there too. If he discovers where she lives…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence.
“You’re right. Jesus Christ, how I’d love to beat his ass. He’s fucking evil, Ruby.”
I gasped. I don’t think I’d ever heard Ben say the F word until after I’d escaped from Jamie.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t use that language.” He hung his head.
I hugged him close while Fred jumped up at us. “Where Jamie’s concerned, the use of the F word is allowed.”
We stood, the three of us, in our own little world. Reluctantly, I moved away first, my mind made up.
“Now we’re certain Jamie is on the prowl and we have our plan, I think we should forget all about him until Grandad’s home.”
A beautiful smile crossed his lips. He reached out to stroke my hair away from my face. “I agree. I’ll text Marie later.”
I pursed my lips. “Good idea. Maybe we should all meet here on Friday evening. I can cook and we’ll discuss our plan of action.”
With that decided, we got ready to head out with Fred.
* * *
BEN
We headed out for our walk down to Martlesham Creek. We could only reach there from the riverbank when the tide was out. Strolling down the path, we walked along the side of the river. The tide was still out. This time of year, it was a mix of sandy shore and mud. Fortunately, we had wellies on. We passed by a seat where I knew Tom sometimes sat. Walking farther on, we came to a small path, so narrow it was single file. There was a wooden fence on one side, separating the path from reed beds and the river beyond.
We continued in silence. The path got wider with countryside on one side and the river on the other. Ruby stopped and closed her eyes, taking in a lungful of the cold air. When she opened them, they were glassy with emotion.
“I’ve missed the smell of the river,” she admitted.
“Even if it smells a little stinky sometimes?” I raised my brows at her.
