Jayden, page 4
part #5 of Heroes at Heart Series
Maybe tomorrow I’ll drive by. Not on my motorcycle. My truck will do. It’ll be less noticeable. I could just drive by and check on her.
With a plan formulated, albeit a simple one, he breathed a little easier.
Ruby lay in bed that night, curled up into a ball, facing away from Kevin, and looking out the window at the darkness. She had managed to get dinner fixed quickly, and once his belly was full, he fell asleep on the sofa. She had spent the rest of the evening tidying up the house in readiness for her grandmother’s return the next day.
He was much larger than her, but she managed to get him up the steps and into bed. Grateful that he had fallen asleep before reaching for her, she listened to him snore. The sound may have kept someone else awake, but the noise did not bother her. It actually brought relief, for if he was snoring, he was sleeping. If he was sleeping, then he would not touch her.
She had known him for years, first meeting in high school. She missed her dad when he died, and her mother’s illness gave her little time for friends. Both loners, they gravitated toward each other as friends. He had been so nice then, so easy to talk to. It had been years before he made a romantic move on her, and at first, she was thrilled. She thought going from friends to boyfriend was the natural progression. But then, over time, he changed. He drank more, worked less, and his frustration would slide into anger. The change was so slow, she did not realize how low he had fallen until his words became cruel. He often said she was lucky to have him. “No other man’ll look at you, Ruby. You oughta be grateful for me.”
She thought of how her parents would feel about her life now and winced. God, they would hate to see me being treated like he does. Maybe it’s time I started making my life my own. Thinking on that, she sucked in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, her decision firmly resolving in her mind. I’d rather be alone than with someone who treats me like he does.
She lay staring into the sky until the clouds passed, and she saw the first star twinkling that night. Unable to stop herself, she closed her eyes and made a wish, thinking of the handsome man who had ridden up on his motorcycle and offered to help.
If only wishes came true. Willing herself to go to sleep, she knew that at least the next day would bring her beloved Granny home.
4
“Oh, my, Ruby! You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble,” Granny exclaimed, leaning heavily on her granddaughter’s arm as they walked into the house.
Ruby beamed proudly although she was exhausted with worry. She had managed to get her grandmother, the suitcase, and the walker into her small car, and thankfully, it started. Her car had been giving her fits lately, but there was no money to get it worked on. Everything she earned from cleaning houses and working a late shift at a diner barely paid for their expenses, which had grown when Granny went into rehab.
Granny had fallen two months earlier, but, thank God, she did not break her hip, although a stay in rehab was required. Ruby was grateful that they found a place for Granny that took Medicare, but there were still bills to be paid. Money was tight, but now that Granny was back home, she felt as though she could breathe a little easier.
Once she had pulled into the driveway with her grandmother, her next concern had been getting her up the four steps into the house. The rehab had worked wonders because Granny was able to make it up the porch steps as long as she had Ruby to cling to.
Now they had shuffled into the living room that she had scrubbed clean and placed a bouquet of flowers on the coffee table. Turning to peer into her grandmother’s face, she breathed a sigh of relief. The pieces of her life were now aligned with Granny home.
“It’s no trouble, Granny,” she said. “I’m just so excited to have you home.”
She assisted Granny to the comfortable chair that faced the TV and was also near the fireplace. “You stay here, and I’ll get the walker and your suitcase out of the car. I’ll fix us a cup of tea just as soon as I get you settled.”
“Now, don’t you go fussing over me, girl.”
Bending to kiss her grandmother’s soft cheek, she said, “I’m so glad to have you back.” She blinked rapidly, filled with the desire to burst into tears, and hurried back out of the house toward her car. A myriad of emotions slammed into her, and she fought to get a handle on them.
Gratitude that her grandmother was back home warred with financial worries. She had to shift two of her housecleaning jobs to another day in order to pick up Granny which meant she was going to have to work a full day later in the week without a chance to check on her. Hoping that Kevin was not going to come by, she pushed all thoughts of him from her mind, focusing on the tasks at hand.
If only there were more minutes in an hour, more hours in a day, more days in a week. Sighing, she grabbed the small suitcase and the walker from her car and slammed the door. Working to keep her thoughts positive, she quickly headed back into the house.
As she entered, Ruby’s eyes landed on the familiar sight of her grandmother sitting in her favorite chair. She had been plump but was now thinner, and her grey hair had lost the slight blue tint that she so adored. All temporary changes and can easily be fixed with some good meals and a visit from her hairdresser.
“I’m surprised that Kevin’s not here,” Granny said as Ruby re-entered the living room, her voice even but her words not warm.
Jerking her eyes upward, she saw her grandmother’s sharp gaze piercing her. “I…he…he’s at work…uh…”
Granny’s face softened, and she shook her head sadly. “Ruby, you don’t ever gotta lie to me. I always thought that boy was a real charmer and hoped he’d treat you good. But since you two have been dating, he seems more like a wastrel than a good man. I don’t think he’s held down a job for a while, has he?”
Shoulders slumping, she busied herself putting the walker close to Granny’s chair. Tossing a smile her way, she said, “I’ll get some tea and we can sit for a bit.”
Hurrying into the kitchen, she put on the kettle and pulled down two mugs from the cabinet. She looked around the small space and wondered how Granny would be able to maneuver with the walker. The house was long and narrow, built to fit the plot of land it was on. The living room took up the entire front of the house, with a kitchen and dining room in the back. A small powder room was nestled under the stairs near the front door, leading to the two bedrooms upstairs. The original house had three small bedrooms, but once Granny’s only son, Ruby’s father, left home for the Army, Granny and Grandpa remodeled the upstairs. They turned it into two large bedrooms, each with their own bathroom.
But while the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms were of a good size, Granny was no longer able to traverse the stairs. The one good thing Kevin had assisted with was to help her take the dining room furniture and put it in the storage shed in the yard so that a hospital bed would fit into the dining room.
The whistling of the teakettle startled Ruby, and she quickly poured the boiling water into the two mugs along with the teabags. Throwing in some sugar and a dash of milk, she set them on a tray and walked back into the living room, placing it onto the coffee table.
She handed the mug full of steaming tea to Granny, fussing over her slightly before sitting down on the sofa and taking a grateful sip of her own. The slight tang of orange and cinnamon hit her palate, always providing a sense of comfort. She watched in pleasure as Granny blew air over the top of her tea, sending the steam curling in the air before taking a sip and closing her eyes in an expression of pleasure.
“I can’t complain about the food they served in rehab, but they just could never get a good cup of tea right.”
“They seemed to treat you really well there,” Ruby said. “They were always nice to me when I came by.”
“Oh, they were,” Granny easily admitted. “The hardest thing about rehab was the physical therapy. They wanted me up and walking right away and told me that it was okay to hurt, but not hurt too much. I kept thinking how on earth am I supposed to know how much hurt is too much hurt!” She took another sip of tea and shook her head gently. “They knew what they were doing, though. My hip’s all better…well, almost all better.”
She watched as Granny’s eyes shifted toward the stairs, and Ruby said, “Oh, no. Don’t even think about it. I rented a hospital bed and had them deliver it to the dining room. I know there’s no shower down here, but with the powder room, you can take a sponge bath. I’ve already made arrangements for Charlene to come in and wash and set your hair once a week.”
Granny pursed her lips and grumbled, “That’s an awful lot of trouble for you to go to, sweetheart. I can’t believe you’re having to do all this for me and work as hard as you do.”
Blinking at the sudden onset of tears again, she replied, “Granny, don’t you know? I’d do anything for you, just like you’d do anything for me.”
She watched as Granny blinked rapidly also, and both women looked back down at the tea they were sipping. A movement on the street caught her eye, and she stared out of the front window. A pickup truck rolled down the street, but with the sun glinting off the windshield she had no idea who was inside. It seemed to slow near Granny’s house before heading down the road.
Before she had a chance to wonder about the truck, Granny looked up, her forehead scrunched.
“If a hospital bed is in the dining room, where are the table and chairs?”
“I made room for them out in the shed in the yard.”
Eyes wide, Granny exclaimed, “You moved all that stuff by yourself? Lordy, girl, you’re going to end up in rehab right along with me!”
Laughing, she said, “No. Kevin came over and helped me move the table.” As soon as his name left her mouth, she wished she could pull it back, seeing Granny’s eyes narrow on her. Sighing, she said, “He does do some good things, Granny.”
“Uh huh.” The silence stretched for only a few seconds before Granny softly asked, “And did he help you out of the goodness of his heart, or did he want some money for his time and trouble?”
Swallowing deeply, Ruby took another sip of her tea, her shoulders already slumping in defeat. Her voice small, she answered, “He just needed a little bit,” she said, “and it didn’t seem right to ask him to do some manual labor without paying him.”
Sighing heavily, Granny softened her voice. “I knew his daddy and granddaddy. Two meaner men I’ve never met. Harsh with words and heavy-handed with their wives and children. Kevin Wolfe Senior was mean to the bone, and when he named his son Kevin, I told your granddaddy that I hoped better for him. Then that Kevin grew up to be just as ornery. Lo and behold, he named his son Kevin, and I prayed that the chain would be broken. When you and Kevin first became friends in high school, I thought, ‘Praise the Lord, finally a Kevin Wolfe that was good.’”
Her grandmother’s words shifted her thoughts back to six years ago when she was a senior in high school. Kevin was not an overly large man, not like his father and grandfather, but considering she was only five feet, two inches, he was still a lot bigger than she was. She saw the vulnerability in his eyes and the bruises on his arms and found herself wanting to reach out and make it better.
Her father had died when she was thirteen, and then her mom was diagnosed with cancer just before she turned sixteen. When her mother died two years later, she sold their small house to help pay for her mother’s medical costs and funeral and moved in with Granny.
The kindness that she had shown Kevin was returned when he helped her with homework on the days that she had to miss school to take her mom to the hospital and then again when he helped her through the sale of her house and the move. He was such a dreamer. He always had a plan, a way to make money and have a good life.
“One of these days, I’ll be rich and can take care of you.” “I’m onto a new deal, and as soon as this pans out, I’ll have money.” “I hate seeing you work so hard, Ruby. I’ve got a line on a sure thing, and the money will be rolling in soon.”
They had only been officially dating for the past year, but as his get-rich-quick schemes never came to fruition, he became angrier over time. Then the drinking would start, and he would fall into a depression. She felt sorry for him, but begging him not to drink did little good.
“I’m going to ask you a question, Ruby, and I want an honest answer,” Granny said, once more startling her from her musings.
Before she had a chance to steel herself for whatever Granny was going to ask, the question came.
“Has he ever taken his hand to you?”
A quick denial was on her lips, but seeing her grandmother’s eyes peering deeply into hers, she knew she could not lie. Swallowing deeply, she replied, “Only a couple of times, Granny, and it wasn’t bad. Mostly, he just grabs me and jerks me around.” She watched as Granny shook her head slowly. Lifting her thin shoulders slightly, she added, “I know I shouldn’t let him, but I guess I just keep hoping that he’ll go back to the nice boy I once knew.”
“Is he drinking? Both his daddy and his granddaddy drank to excess.”
Unable to answer directly, she nodded.
Granny sighed audibly and said, “Yeah, I figured as much. Probably gets meaner the drunker he gets. Throw in money problems, because that boy never could hold onto a job since he was always trying to find an easy way to get rich, that makes it worse.”
Not knowing what to say, she drained her teacup before setting it on the coffee table.
“Ruby, sweetheart, I’ve never filled your head with the idea of a prince coming along and taking all your cares away. But I believe that life is hard enough without surrounding ourselves by those who just want to gobble up our souls. There are men out there…good men who would take care of you, and you can take care of them, and you’d make each other happy. That’s the kinda happily ever after I want for you. I had a man like that. Your daddy was a man like that. I don’t know when you’ll meet a man like that, but I know he’s out there. And you know in your heart that Kevin Wolfe is not that man.”
She knew her grandmother was right about Kevin. She had known for a while that she needed to break things off with him and distance herself, even if that meant being alone.
Her grandmother’s words had her mind slide back to the handsome man on the motorcycle from yesterday. The stranger who stopped. Who offered to help. She remembered the look on his face when Kevin had staggered to the door calling out his threats. She could tell he wanted to step in, but she forced him away out of fear.
She had only spent a couple of minutes in his presence yet felt instinctively that he was the type of man her grandmother was describing. He could have been a prince.
5
One Month Later
Jayden loved the freedom, the roar of the engine underneath him, the rush of fresh air blasting against his body. Leaving the crowded city streets behind, he rode on back country roads not slowed by traffic. Having worked in the garage late last night, he was taking a rare morning off. Deciding to go for a ride, he headed out to the country, inhaling deeply as woods, farms, and pastures slid by him.
It was a pleasure that he used to share with Jaxon and still did, though not as often now that Jaxon was engaged. Asher also enjoyed a motorcycle ride out in the country, but he had been busy lately, rarely getting away from the homeless shelter where he worked.
The rest of his brothers were at work or with their women, so today was a lone sojourn. It had been a month since he had met Ruby, but she had never left his mind. He told no one about the encounter but had driven by the house weekly hoping to catch a glimpse of her again. At first, he tried to convince himself that it was only to check to make sure she was all right. But in the dark of night, lying in his bed, he knew that was only part of the reason. The other was that he wanted to see her face again. He wanted those wide, blue eyes to stare up at him. He wanted to be the one to take the fear away. He wondered if she was still there because he had never seen her outside on any of his drive-bys.
Bringing his thoughts back to the ride, he left the country road and moved onto a slightly busier road heading back into town. The traffic was not heavy, but he was forced to go a little slower. Up ahead, he could see cars slowing as they moved around a vehicle that had pulled to the side of the road, their lights flashing, indicating a problem.
Not one fucker is stopping to help, he grumbled to himself, flipping on his blinker and moving to the shoulder. The sight of an oversized, red hoodie grabbed his attention. His breath caught in his throat as the driver who had been standing to the side of the immobile car turned and faced him. Ruby! Her wide, blue eyes stared at him, and this time he saw a flash of confusion as she tilted her head to the side, her mouth open slightly.
Swinging his leg over his bike, he pulled his helmet off, his hair curling about his shoulders. Walking over, he could not deny the sense of pleasure he felt at seeing her again.
“What’s the trouble?” he asked, observing her cross her arms in front of her tightly. Recognizing the defensive posture, he stopped several feet away from her.
“I don’t know,” she replied, her voice as soft as he remembered. She glanced back toward her car and said, “It’s been running a little funny for a long time, but I was hoping that it would keep going a bit longer.”
“May I take a look?”
She sucked in her lips, then nodded her reply.
He walked around her, making sure to not pass too closely, opened the hood and peered inside. It only took a few minutes to determine that the repair would not be something quick he could fix on the side of the road. She had edged closer to him and was now standing at his side, looking at the engine as well. He glanced down, observing her hand resting on the metal of the frame. Her wrists were thin and her fingers delicate. She was just as tiny as he remembered.
