Page 61 of A Tempting Seduction

I headed for the door, but Archie's voice stopped me.

“Come on, man. We go way back. Remember when we built that fort in my backyard? We were partners then.”

I turned back slowly. “Partners don't lie to each other, Archie. Partners don't put money first and throw their friends to the wolves.”

I left Archie sitting in his cluttered office and stomped back to my truck. The anger felt good, cleaner than the frustration I'd been carrying for weeks. Sometimes you had to cut out the rot before it spread.

The drive back to Jasper Creek stretched ahead of me like a promise. I could make the call to Lionel Lumber on the road, place the order for the cherry we needed. By the time I hit the outskirts of Nashville, my phone was ringing. Ruby's name on the screen made something loosen in my chest.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Hi.” Her voice was warm honey and home cooking. “I just wanted to check in on you. See how you're holding up.”

“That's the nicest thing I've heard in two weeks.”

“You don't sound right. You sound tense. Maybe even angry.”

Trust Ruby to read me through a phone line. “Just had to deal with an old friend who let me down.”

“What happened?”

I told her about Archie, about the broken contract and the lumber he'd sold out from under us. The betrayal stung worse because we'd grown up together. I'd trusted him the way you trust family.

Ruby was quiet for a long moment after I finished.

Shoot! How could I have complained about Archie after the betrayal she’d suffered? “Ruby, I know it's nothing like what you've gone through.”

“Don't say that.”

“Ruby—”

“This is going to sound bad, but I never really liked my sisters. At least not since my mom died. They hardly came around when she was sick. I never understood how they could be like that. Carla especially. She was always going to some frat party on the weekends instead of coming home to be with mom near the end.”

Her voice carried old pain, the kind that settled deep and never fully healed. I'd opened a door by talking about Archie's betrayal, and Ruby was walking through it.

“As for Lance. You know something, Ford? I never loved him. Truth be told, I never much liked him. I was pushed into getting engaged. It was a political thing.”

My hands tightened on the steering wheel. “What do you mean, political thing?”

Silence stretched across the line as I listened for the slightest sound out of my car speaker. I could feel Ruby pulling back, rebuilding walls I'd just seen her tear down.

“I'll tell you sometime when we're face to face,” she finally said.

“Let me take you out tonight. I should be back in Jasper Creek by eight.”

Ruby laughed, the sound soft and concerned. “You've driven all over the state today. Take me out some other night.”

“I'll take you out tomorrow then.”

She giggled. “I can't do it tomorrow. Fiona's dropping off her kids. She's going out with some friends from the gym.”

An idea formed in my head. “I'll help you babysit.”

“Ford—”

“I'm serious. JR and Suzy love me. We can order pizza, watch a movie, make it fun for all of us.”

“All right,” Ruby said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “I'd like that.”