Rubies And Boots (Country Brides & Cowboy Boots)

by Danni Lee Nicholls

  He walked out onto the front porch to see her standing alone in the far corner, nursing a glass of iced tea as she leaned against the railing. Her gaze was drawn up into the darkening heavens. Wispy clouds of deep pink and fuchsia painted the canvas of the deepening sapphire sky.

  “It’s a gorgeous night, isn’t it?” Jonah asked.

  Ruby turned her attention to him. “It is,” she replied.

  Jonah began moving toward Ruby, but the sound of a truck rattling down the drive caught his attention. He studied Ruby, who straightened as she focused her attention on the arriving vehicle, her eyes becoming fierce. She set her drink on the porch boards and walked down to the drive in time to meet the truck. Emmie hurried from behind him, and the two girls stood together as the pickup rolled to a stop.

  A young woman who looked a lot like Emmie got out of the passenger seat, her eyes blazing with defiance. That wasn’t the only thing that grabbed Jonah’s attention. The driver of the truck staggered out and gave the two women coming toward him a look of disdain that would curdle cream. Ruby’s expression told Jonah she didn’t care.

  Sparks of restless concern cascaded through Jonah. None of the unfolding scene looked good. He moved off the porch to stand by Ruby. Gently taking her arm, he stepped in front of her as she tried to approach the driver of the pickup while Emmie hurried to the passenger side. Guests began to pile up on the porch. Jonah didn’t care. If Ruby was going to confront this man, she would not have to do it alone.

  Moving toward the vehicle, Jonah was pushed aside by Ruby, who gave him a look of fierce indignation before she stood in front of the truck’s driver.

  Helplessness tossed him about like a dinghy in a storm. He desperately wanted to keep Ruby safe. He stood by her side and watched as she poked her finger into the driver’s chest, her eyes blazing with anger and determination, and Jonah was filled with both awe and dread as Ruby faced off with the drunk.

  “You leave my sister here and go home, Josh McPherson,” she said. “I can tell you’ve already got at least one six-pack in you, and you won’t be driving Lexie anywhere.”

  Jonah didn’t know Josh McPherson, but he obviously shouldn’t be driving, especially with a passenger. Confusion rose swiftly. “We shouldn’t let him drive in this condition at all,” Jonah whispered as he closed the gap between him and Ruby. He could feel the heat of her anger exploding. She refused to look at him.

  Curtis and his father came from the porch, both men looking bewildered. “What’s going on here?” Curtis asked.

  Lexie made a move to try to round the hood of the truck. Emmie tried to grab her sister, missing her by an inch.

  Ruby snagged her by the arm and held on tight. “You are not getting back in the truck with him,” Ruby growled. “Now, c’mon.”

  “Get your hands off me,” Lexie said. “I was invited.”

  “He was not.” Ruby’s voice held pent-up venom. “And he certainly has no right to show up here, drunk.”

  Josh gave Ruby an arrogant smile before turning toward Curtis, changing his expression to a lopsided grin. “We came here to welcome our old buddy home,” he slurred.

  Jonah moved forward with Curtis and his father, and Ruby and her sister stopped tussling. With another gentle move, Jonah once again placed Ruby and her sister behind him. This time, Ruby accepted the maneuver, and she stood with her sister.

  Curtis said, “Ahhh, now, Josh. You know better than to drive drunk, especially with this sweet passenger.”

  Joshua gave Curtis an insolent look. “I guess I can go where I want, and if Lex wants to come with me, who’s to stop her?”

  Curtis’s voice was neutral. “Why don’t you let us drive you home, Josh? Jonah and I will take you, and we can catch up in the morning.”

  Jonah watched as Joshua’s eyes hardened to little round stones as he scanned the unwelcoming crowd. Sneering, he said, “I never liked any of you people anyway.” He slopped his way back in the truck. Without one more look toward Lexie, he slammed his door, turned the key, and rammed the pickup in reverse.

  Out of reflexes and instincts, Jonah turned and grabbed Ruby and Lexie, pulling them to his chest and dragging them out of the way of the truck as Josh squealed into gear, causing gravel to fly.

  Lexie pulled free. “Joshua!” she yelled, running after the speeding vehicle.

  Ruby yanked herself from Jonah’s arms and gave him a stern look. “This is a family matter, and I didn’t ask for your help.” Her voice was a hard whisper.

  “You’re welcome,” Jonah replied.

  Curtis shook his head. “I’ll call the police.” He pulled out his phone, dialed 9-1-1, and spoke to the dispatcher. “He’ll be home or lying in a ditch somewhere before the police get to this part of the county. I hope he doesn’t hurt himself or someone else.”

  Jonah moved away from Ruby, expecting Curtis to follow. But his friend was reaching for Emmie with a look of concern and offering a warm embrace.

  Emmie leaned against Curtis before looking up at him with doe-like eyes filled with gratitude. They spoke a few words, which Jonah didn’t hear, before Curtis and his father turned back to the crowd on the front porch.

  Jonah envied Curtis and that sweet shared look with Emmie. The desire to turn back to Ruby overcame him as the heat of her body against him still resonated in his chest. He pursed his lips and turned away. She wasn’t interested in sharing anything with him.

  “Okay, folks. Let’s keep this party going.” Curtis smiled at everyone. The guests all started to chatter once again, leaving the Johannsen sisters standing in the driveway.

  Jonah left the sisters alone as he moved toward the house. His heart pounded with admiration, but it didn’t override his irritation. Ruby’s reproach stung.

  He’d practically saved her life, and she couldn’t even offer a sliver of gratitude. Weren’t they becoming friends? From the moment he and Curtis had entered Sunrise Creek, all Jonah wanted was to belong, and with one incriminating expression, Ruby made it clear he would never be a part of this community.

  The idea bit at Jonah. He tried to rethink it. Bert seemed to like him, and Curtis’s family members were appreciative of all he was doing. They never let an opportunity go by to thank him and praise his skills. But having Ruby’s acceptance also mattered, even if he wasn’t sure why.

  Once Jonah reached the porch, he turned and watched the three young women. Lexie’s face was red and her eyes shot daggers at her sisters as she stood with her arms folded in sullen anger. Ruby was calm and clearly in charge. Emmie broke away, hastily moved past Jonah, and hurried into the house toward Curtis.

  Once again, that little prickle of envy needled Jonah. He tamped it down and instead moved to the back deck, where he watched the last of the light withdraw behind the western purple mountains.

  It would be best to forget about Ruby. The woman was a human pistol, and he already had enough family drama with his mother shooting off demands. For one fleeting second, he remembered the unanswered text on his phone, but his thoughts flew right back to Ruby.

  The vision of her marching across the driveway to save her sister from an obvious drunk filled his mind. He’d never seen anything like it, and he wished he could’ve walked with her in that picture of defiance and headlong courage.

  The fierce protection that flashed in her eyes and the boldness of her step seared itself into his memory as his admiration now outstripped his irritation. Ruby walked where others feared to. She made all of those young women back in Texas in their pastel dresses look like faded newspaper. Ruby was pure fireworks, and some new and emerging desire in Jonah wanted to explore the vivid colors that made up her personality.

  Eight

  The next afternoon, Ruby sat at the kitchen table with her parents and Emmie, her nerves jumping inside her body like sparks. She held on to her hands to keep them from shaking. Ruby hadn’t seen Lexie since last night. When Ruby arrived home from Curtis’s party, her younger sister was holed up in her bedroom. Ruby starte
d work long before Lexie was awake, and Lexie was beginning her new job at the feed store. She’d be working until six, giving the family an opportunity to talk about last night’s events.

  “Maybe it’s a phase,” Emmie suggested. “Lexie wasn’t too happy that Josh left her last night. Perhaps that will have her second-guessing this relationship.”

  “She blamed me for that,” Ruby said. “She gave me an earful in Curtis’s driveway. She made sure I knew that if I hadn’t held her back, she would’ve climbed into the truck with him. It didn’t matter that Josh was drunk out of his skull and out on bail.”

  Emmie shook her head. “She has an excuse for everything Josh has ever done. On the way home, I tried to explain to her that Joshua and his brother, Andrew, are awaiting court for attempted cattle rustling, and I asked her if she understood the seriousness of that crime. I mean, it’s attempted felony theft!”

  “What did she say?” Ruby asked with a small light of hope. How could her sister outright deny the truth of Joshua’s crime?

  “She said that Willow and her father made up that story about cattle rustling, and that Joshua and Andrew were picking up cows that were rightfully theirs. They say they bought and paid for those cows.”

  Ruby’s hopes dimmed. Lexie was determined to defend Joshua at every turn.

  Emmie continued, “I guess Josh told Lexie that this deal was done under the table with cash only, and that they were there to pick up what they had bought and paid for. They claim that Chet was trying to steal from them.”

  “That’s ridiculous!” Ruby said with contempt.

  “There’s been bad blood between the McPherson boys and Willow’s family for a while,” Ruby’s father said. “We all know that Josh and Andrew worked for Chet several years ago, and he fired them after he caught them stealing.”

  Ruby nodded solemnly. “So this latest theft attempt was probably some sort of payback. Plus, they’d make a tidy sum on cows that were fattened up for market.”

  Ruby’s mom, Katherine, let out a long exhale. “And now, our Lexie is right in the middle of all of this.”

  A sense of desperation flooded Ruby as hope ebbed away. “Lexie doesn’t believe the truth about any of these things, but she can’t deny that he was driving drunk with her as a passenger.” She glanced at her mother, whose face turned the color of ash. Ruby reached over and took her mother’s hand, trying to offer some small bit of solace.

  Her mom closed her eyes for a brief moment. “I think we need to give this a day or two and then try to talk with her. If we do it now, her guard will be up and she’ll continue to be defensive, and that will drive her right into Joshua’s arms. If we let her simmer down, maybe she’ll come to some of these realizations on her own.”

  Ruby was doubtful. “How should we go about this? Should we talk to her as a family, or one at a time?”

  Ruby’s mother spoke slowly. “I think this needs to be handled by your father and me.” She looked at Ruby. “It might even be best if you and Em are out of the house. I don’t want her thinking we’re ganging up on her. She already sees Josh as some kind of victim in all of this, so I probably won’t talk much about last night’s events. I don’t want her to feel like she has to defend him. I want it to be about how worried we are and how much we love her.”

  “And if that doesn’t work?” Ruby asked, her heart beating with a fresh dose of anxiety and concern.

  Katherine gave her daughter an apprehensive look. “Then we’ll have to hope this is a phase,” she said as she glanced toward Emmie. “Because she’s old enough to make her own choices.” She stood to leave. “I’ll be going into work, and since I got her the job at the feed store, we’ll be working together this afternoon. That might help pave the way to this conversation.”

  Ruby’s parents gave each other a look of understanding as they moved away from the table, leaving Ruby with Emmie. The two young women looked at each other, and Ruby took a deep breath.

  “How did things go after I left?” Emmie asked.

  “No one mentioned Joshua or Lexie. Well, except Bert. You know how he has an opinion on everything.”

  “What did he say?”

  “That he was sorry to see our younger sister making such poor choices.”

  “And what did you say?” Emmie asked. She held up her hand and smiled. “No, let me guess. You told him to mind his own business.”

  A knowing smile tugged at Ruby’s lips. “Something like that.”

  “Ruby, I’m sure he means well.”

  “That’s kind of you to say, Em, but Bert loves nothing more than a good story. I’m sure he was hoping to hear one from me since our family has already given him quite a show.” She shrugged. “Everyone else was very gracious.”

  “And … how was Curtis?” Emmie’s voice was tentative as she gave Ruby a shy look.

  Ruby slowly returned Emmie’s smile. “Oh, Curtis was grand,” Ruby teased.

  “Did he …” Emmie hesitated, then continued, “Did he seem to miss Willow?”

  “Not that I could see,” Ruby said. “He didn’t really pay that much attention to her, which brought a great deal of relief to Willow.” Ruby shook her head. “He spent the evening talking to his friend, Jonah, when he wasn’t talking to you. After you left, the two of them were like a pair of conjoined twins.” Ruby laughed before turning serious. “You did give him your number, right?”

  Emmie blushed and nodded before changing the subject. “Jonah seems nice enough, but you looked mad at him. Didn’t you appreciate the way he came forward to help you with Joshua?”

  A trickle of shame caused Ruby to blush before she tensed with irritation. “No, actually. I didn’t appreciate his interference. I can handle Joshua McPherson, and this is a family matter. He doesn’t need to get involved. I mean, how presumptuous to think he’s going to fix everything when he doesn’t know the first thing about any of it.”

  “It didn’t seem to bother you when Curtis stepped in.”

  “It’s Curtis’s house,” Ruby answered. “Curtis knows Joshua and the history behind the McPherson brothers. Jonah knows none of that, or at least not on a personal level. He didn’t have any business interjecting himself into the middle of me and Josh.”

  Emmie disagreed. “He may have saved you from bodily harm.” Emmie shuddered. “Or worse. Josh came extremely close to you and Lexie while he was whipping that truck into gear. If Jonah hadn’t pulled at you …” She shrank back against the chair. “Who knows what would’ve happened?”

  “I would’ve plowed over Jonah to get Lexie and myself out of harm’s way. He shouldn’t have been standing there.” Ruby held tight to her slipping indignation and was grateful to bolster it. Before Lexie and Joshua had shown up, Ruby had warmed up to Jonah. She was even hoping for a quiet conversation to get to know him better. When he appeared on the front porch, she was eager to share the sunset and a conversation with him, until they were interrupted by Joshua pulling up to the house. That changed everything, as did Jonah’s interference, reminding Ruby that he was a newcomer.

  Emmie was quiet for a moment before saying, “I will tell you something that Curtis told me during the party.” She leaned toward Ruby. “Jonah is rich. Super rich. Like Stiles Oil rich.”

  Ruby stared at her sister as she took in this information. The more she considered the news, the less it surprised her. “Of course.” she murmured. A surge of relief flowed through her. “I’m so glad I’m not getting tangled up with him. Newcomers with money are the worst. I mean, look at that atrocity that’s being built two doors down.” She flung her hand toward the window.

  “Jonah isn’t building that house,” Emmie said. Her voice took a gentler tone. “And he’s not Cooper.”

  Ruby blinked as emotions lined up like links in a chain, all of them bound together with distrust and guarded fear. Was she still keeping herself tethered to Cooper while happiness lingered just out of reach? “I don’t think about him every day like I used to,” Ruby said.

 
“Some part of you is still attached.”

  Ruby looked down at her lap as she felt her sister’s warm fingers slip into her palm. Tears came to Ruby’s eyes. “Do we ever recover from abandonment?”

  Emmie squeezed her fingers. “Maybe not entirely, but we don’t have to let it make our decisions, either. It’s okay that you carry that with you, Ruby. Just don’t let it make you bitter. Cooper isn’t worth it.”

  Shame sent a prickle of perspiration down her spine. “And you think that’s why I was so reactive to Jonah’s efforts to help?”

  Emmie shrugged. “Maybe.”

  The shame within Ruby flourished while growing hot, and she hated it. Was there a remedy? “I could apologize to him, I guess.” She winced, but as the idea developed, it offered her a reprieve from her heated embarrassment.

  Emmie nodded. “You don’t have to make this about anything more than what it was.”

  Ruby agreed before she smiled. “This is why you’re the older sister. I’m sure of it.”

  “Well, that and I was born before you.” Emmie smiled as she patted Ruby’s arm and stood to leave. “I’ve got to get to work,” she said. “I told Carson I’d come in and do the books this afternoon.”

  Ruby watched her sister leave before turning to the window overlooking the lake. The clear water bathed the shore as thoughts of Jonah began to gently lap into Ruby’s mind.

  Dueling emotions of aggravation and gratitude played off one another in Ruby’s heart as she watched the gentle waves travel toward the shore, compelled by some unseen current. Her mind traveled back to the urgency of Jonah’s grip as he’d pulled her out of the way of the spinning truck. Even now, the recollection of the heat from his chest radiated up her back and made her neck and scalp tingle, replacing the shame with something breathless and inviting. She could feel the strength of his arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind, digging into her biceps as he pulled her to safety while she dragged a furious Lexie with her. In that brief moment, she longed to cling to him as her knees almost gave way, even as she despised herself for that need, and she refused to give in to it.