Page 36 of Break Me Like a Promise (Oak Valley)

Maybe some things really didn’t change.

“Ah, the prodigal son returns not only to his hometown, but to his ex-high-school sweetheart’s house. And how are you, Colton?” Despite the colorful scarf covering her bald head, her pallid face, she spoke with conviction and stared up at him with icy eyes. She pushed past them to open the fridge, her slippers shuffling along the hardwood floor.

“I’m well, thanks. How are you?”

She turned to him, half-and-half in one hand while the other shut the refrigerator doors. “I’ve been better. Are you staying for dinner?” She glanced at Ruby.

“N-no, we just finished eating lunch but I think Colton needs to help his mom with something.” Ruby crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a pleading look. He sighed, knowing that even though he wanted to pretend they could fall back into old habits, there were some things they needed to work up to.

Dinner at the Delacey’s was one of those things.

“Yeah, I told my mom I’d help her close the bakery today. Actually, I should probably get going.” He glanced at the time on the oven, making a show of running late. “I’ll see you around, Ruby.”

He stepped forward, impulsively wanting to give her a kiss, but she turned her head so he got her cheek.

Right. Probably best to not actively kiss in front of her mom. At least not while they sort out whatever their situationship was.

“See ya, Colt. Thanks again for the bus help and the tacos.”

She followed him to the door and gave a little wave as he left. He flashed her a smile, hoping it was as cheeky and salacious as he felt. Getting caught by a parent was thrilling, and as an adult the anxiety of it disappeared and was replaced by that special voyeuristic feeling of doing something potentially dangerous.

And based on how Colton’s heart and body reacted to Ruby, if there was anyone that was dangerous, it was her.

33

It had been about a week since Ruby was caught in the kitchen basically with her shirt off, pressed between Colton and the fridge. They hadn’t seen each other since, but that didn’t stop their brief texting from turning into a voracious stampede. They hadn’t crossed over into sexting, more general friend chats. But on Saturday morning when she opened the front door to take her mom to chemo, there was a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers on the porch. No note, but finding wildflowers at the end of January was difficult and expensive — and only a select number of people knew Ruby’s love of the burst of sunshine from goldenrod, the sweetness of Morning Glories and the delicacy of Queen Anne’s Lace.

She glanced at her mom behind the library desk and willed her cheeks to not display the residual embarrassment of feeling like she was sixteen again. Beryl had yet to fully comment on the compromising position, but Ruby knew where she stood from their previous conversation. Part of growing up and becoming an adult was losing the incessantwhat are you doingtalks from her mom. Without them, most times Ruby felt like she was doing something wrong, but there was a sense of freedom at making her own choices and facing the consequences herself. Even if she knew her mom would have to pick up the pieces where Colton Taylor was concerned.

Beryl rested her head in her hands, bleary-eyed as she looked around the room. She was insistent on working until the very end, and Ruby felt the familiar tingle of anxiety mount when her mom announced she’d still be working at the library that week. It didn’t matter her second treatment had been two days ago, it didn’t matter that her mom walked with a cane when she wasn’t in public. Beryl felt that the proximity of the front desk to the employee bathroom was a justifiable reason to still work, and since Ruby couldn’t change her mind, she decided to bring her laptop instead.

Rachel and the others at Maven Media were being incredibly understanding of Ruby’s situation, but after last week when she had welcome meetings with six new clients, she was beginning to feel the inkling of doubt. She wasn’t good enough, couldn’t keep up with the no-sleep-New-York-City lifestyle in her sleepy hometown.

“Well, don’t y’all look cute today.” Macy Weathers’ voice cut through Ruby.

“Hello, Macy,” Beryl said, sitting up a little taller. The smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Hi, Ms. Weathers,” Ruby grudgingly offered. Her need to be called by her last name also got under her skin, like Ruby was still ten years old.

“Well, don’t you seem too weak to whip a gnat. What’s got you down, Miss Ruby?”

Ruby tried to keep her eyes from rolling and nearly failed.

“Nothing, Ms. Weathers. I’m working and keeping my mom company. How are you today?”

“Just dandy. I’m getting the town all situated for the Valentine’s Day Festival in a couple weeks, we decided to incorporate different Valentine fun facts from different countries. Just need to do a little research. Could y’all be dolls and direct me to where that info may be?”

Macy’s bright blue eyes bounced from Beryl to Ruby, her silver curls flashing more white-gold in the dim library light. She’d been around for as long as Ruby could remember and while she loved trying new things, technology was not one of them.

Ruby sighed, typing in a quick Google search and turning her computer around. “You can just search what you need, Ms. Weathers. See? All sorts of traditions from around the world. You could maybe even turn the fun facts into little kissing booths. Maybe have one for flowers, chocolate, stuffed animals, and have different questions. If the person guesses the right country, they get a kiss or maybe a chocolate or flower or something.”

Macy stared at the computer screen with her mouth open before fixing her gaze on Ruby. “Oh, my. Aren’t you just full of good ideas. We need you on the planning committee, especially with so little time left. Would you be able to also get the word out to the town? We want this to be the biggest festival Oak Valley has seen to date.”

Ruby tried not to laugh — big for Oak Valley was about two hundred people. But publicity was her literal job, and while she loved coming up with big ideas, she rarely had a chance to implement them due to client and Maven’s restraints. She didn’t know how she could juggle the bus build, her day job, and taking care of her mom, but it could be an opportunity to let her creative flag fly.

“Let me think on it. I’ll get back to you by tomorrow.” Ruby gave her a genuine smile while Beryl softly told Macy where the computer lab was. Once she left, Beryl went back to laying on the desk.

“Mom, you feeling okay?”

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