Page 43 of Break Me Like a Promise (Oak Valley)

“Yeah, Katie will cover for me.”

Ruby nodded but didn’t say anything, her hand still tracing his skin.

Colton took a deep breath, wanting to bring her into his life like she was before. “Actually, maybe you could help me with something. Well, Katie.”

“Of course. Anything.”

“You know how my dad is, right? Well, Katie has this awesome plan to expand the business by buying the plot of land next door — you know the one, right? — but my dad doesn’t like that she’s spearheading it. He wants me to. And I don’t know how to help.”

Ruby pursed her lips. “He still expects you to take over?”

“You know it. Even though — as you know — Katie is the one that should.”

She sighed, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling. It was Colton’s turn to explore her body while he waited.

“Honestly, I think Katie should find a way to buy the land herself. If it’s in her name and she can secure a business loan and build out her own business, maybe then your dad will take her seriously. You know?” Ruby turned her head to his.

“That’s… that’s not a bad idea.”

He scrolled through the numbers from the paperwork Katie had shown him. She wouldn’t even need a business loan, not with what he had stashed away.

Ruby rolled back on her side and snuggled into him. “I’d love to help in any way I can but I think this might be on you, babe.”

“I think you’re right. And she needs to get out.” Colton’s throat tightened, surprising him. He’d been stuck here almost his whole life, mostly through some fucked up need to appease everyone around him. But it wasn’t actually there — his mom and Katie would’ve been fine if Colton had gone to school elsewhere. If he moved to another city, or country, or built a different life. His dad had constructed a veil around him, so Colton would feel responsible if anything went wrong and he hadn’t been around.

But Ruby had seen through that and had gotten herself out, offering Colton a ticket to join.

And he’d said no.

But this was Katie’s chance. Even if she didn’t want to leave Oak Valley, she could still get out from under their dad. And do it in a way that would hurt his pride in the process, maybe help teach him a lesson.

“What do you think you’re going to do?”

Colton hesitated. He didn’t like talking about money — especially his money — and with women he could play up the football star without going numbers. He knew what those women were after, but he wasn’t interested in sticking around long enough to confirm his suspicions. But Ruby was different. She’d seen him when he was a gangly teenager, when he had so much baby fat after he second gross spurt it was easy for him to fulfill his dad’s dreams of football stardom. She’d been there for family fights, B-plusses on papers instead of As, the way his dad stormed through the house like a hurricane. How his mom and sister made themselves scarce when the yelling got too loud.

“I’ll just pay for it. Invest in her business until she gets her feet under her. Maybe gift it for all the brotherly bullshit she has to put up with.” Colton chuckled, trying to offset the way Ruby stiffened — briefly — in his arms. He knew she was going over the potential costs of buying land that wasn’t for sale, for building a new auto shop. And the fact he was so comfortable spending that amount of money… Colton knew she had a good idea how much he was worth.

He wasn’t that broke, scared teenager anymore. And while he wanted to use what he could to help Katie, there was a piece of Colton that wanted to do the same for Ruby, and for himself. Like he was finally ready to move forward from his past and into his future.

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Ruby did some quick calculations in her head — his draft contracts were somewhat public knowledge — and while she didn’t place any value on her ex being a multi-kajillionaire, it was still shocking to run through the numbers.

He so casually said he’d just… buy his sister this land and build her business.

“Why do you still live at home, Colton?” She said it softly, not trying to accuse but ask out of curiosity.

It was his turn to roll onto his back, away from her, a hand resting in his hair while he stared at the ceiling. Ruby watched him, giving him the space he needed to answer.

“After my injury, I needed rehab. It was hard for me to move around, so it made the most sense for me to move home. My mom and Katie saved my ass, in more ways than one.” He paused, his eyes glassy, and took a shaky breath before continuing. “Ruby, I have never felt like how I did then. I was reliant on everyone around me, my career was over, and all I heard was my dad talking about me taking over the shop. And I just… I saw the rest of my life just drift away. When I could go about on my own, I couldn’t face getting a job in the town. And my dad wouldn’t let me — why would I get a job elsewhere when I had one waiting for me? So they put me to work there, to keep me from truly drowning. And because I still lived at home, I could help my mom and Katie.”

“So you stayed because…”

“To help my mom and Katie. I just said that,” Colton said. He turned to her, confused.

“Yeah, I’m just trying to figure out the how. How did you staying help them?”

“What do you mean?”

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