a slight squeeze. In that moment, she saw a glimpse of what life with Trace could be like again.
And a few moments later, Trace set his money down at a gaming booth and wasn’t satisfied until he hit the bull’s-eye target with a dart gun to win her an adorable stuffed reindeer. “Here you go, miss,” he said, bowing and presenting her with the toy.
He used to be her hero.
Could he be again?
She was as confused as ever, with the Trace she remembered returning to her and saying all the right things, making her feel like she mattered to him. She was a long way from forgiving him...and then there was Brooks.
A sigh blew from her lips, and Trace turned to her. “What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. I should go.”
“You sure? We haven’t gone into Santa’s Village yet.”
“I’m sure.”
Disappointment dimmed the gleam in his eyes. “Okay, I’ll walk you to your car.”
He took hold of her hand again. She didn’t want to make a fuss by pulling free of him, so they walked hand in hand into the parking lot.
Now’s your chance. Tell him you’re not taking him back. Tell him he hurt you and...
The words didn’t come. She couldn’t yank them out of her throat. Not when he was being so dang sweet and trying so hard to impress her.
When they reached her car, she hoped to make a quick getaway. Launching into her handbag for her key fob, she moved away from him, breaking their connection. “Good night, Trace. Thanks for the funnel cake,” she said, opening the car door.
He glanced at her hand on the door handle and knew enough not to press her tonight. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
She should tell him no. There was no point. “Okay.”
Before he could say anything more, she slid into the seat and pressed the ignition button.
The car didn’t rev right up. In fact, nothing happened. She pressed the button again, giving the engine gas.
Again nothing.
Shoot. Trace walked over. He had a keen sense of cars, and judging by the expression on his face, this couldn’t be good. After fiddling with the ignition button, he spent a few minutes under the hood and came up looking bleak. “You want the good news or the bad news?”
“Bad.”
“The car’s not going anywhere tonight. Not without a tow.”
Ruby silently cursed under her breath.
“The good news is, I can give you a lift home.”
* * *
Parked in front of her cottage now, Ruby slid across the pristine leather seat, angling for the truck’s door handle. “Thanks for the ride, Trace.” Her head was spinning from spending time with him tonight. It was almost too much to take in. What they had once was pretty darn remarkable. Being with him tonight at the carnival had brought back memories of the good times they’d shared when Trace had loved her.
Before he’d had second thoughts.
Before he’d turned into a jerk.
“Hold up a sec, Ruby.” The urgency in his voice stilled her. He climbed out of his truck and spun around the hood to open the door for her. He offered his hand, and she fitted her palm inside his as she stepped out. Now that they were alone under beautiful moonlight, she waited for the butterflies to attack her stomach, but nothing seemed to happen. No flip-flops. No queasy feeling. No little bursts of excitement.
That was a good thing, right?
As soon as her boots landed on Preston soil, she pulled her hand free, grabbing for her purse, ready to end this night. Earlier, rather than have her wait for a tow, Trace had insisted on taking her home. His good buddy Randy over at Cool Springs Auto promised to tow her car to the shop and take a look at it first thing in the morning. Ruby couldn’t argue with that logic. She would’ve had to do the same thing, and Trace had effortlessly taken care of everything for her.
Ruby had always thought of herself as an independent woman. She could fend for herself, but having Trace take over the reins tonight and deal with her car issues was nice for a change.
“I’ll walk you to your door,” he said.
She didn’t like the prospect of Trace giving her a good-night kiss, one more potent than the one he’d given her at the festival. He’d been her first love, and the splinters of his betrayal were still stabbing her. The pain wasn’t as strong as it had once been, but it left behind scars that had yet to heal. She couldn’t be a fool twice. “There’s no need, Trace.” Her door was ten feet away, and having him walk her there implied much more than she was willing to concede right now.
“Okay. But before you go, Ruby, I, uh...”
Brisk night breezes put a chill in her bones as she faced him, her back against the bed of the truck. He stepped closer and removed his hat, hesitating as if searching for the right words. Whatever he had to say had to be important for him to stumble this way. Usually confident, he rubbed at the back of his neck and inhaled from deep in his chest. She’d never seen him quite like this, and she almost wanted to put a hand on his arm to steady him. Almost.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry...deeply sorry for the way I treated you. I should’ve realized what we had was special, and now that I’m home to stay, I want to make it up to you. I want to start fresh. You and me, we were good together. I want that—”
The sound of footsteps crunching gravel came from the road behind them. She swiveled her head as a figure came out of the shadows and into the ring of moonlight surrounding them.
Trace saw him, too. “Who in hell is that?” he asked none too quietly.
Ruby tried not to react. “Beau’s son.”
Now that Brooks was upon them, his brows arched as his inquisitive glance went from her to Trace and back again. “Evenin’,” he said. He was picking up a Texas drawl, probably from spending time with Beau. She almost chuckled, except seeing her ex-boyfriend meet up with her current lover wasn’t a laughing matter.
“Hi, Brooks.” There was cheery lightness in her voice worthy of a big Hollywood award.
“Ruby.”
“Oh, um, Brooks, I’d like you to meet Trace Evans. Trace, this is one of Beau’s twin sons, Brooks. He’s visiting here from Chicago, getting to know the family.”
Trace sized Brooks up as he put out his hand. “Nice meetin’ ya.”
“Same here,” Brooks said without much enthusiasm as the two pumped hands.
“So, you’re one of the lost boys Beau’s been searching for. I heard about you. Not from Ruby, though. She didn’t say a word about you all night, but word spreads quickly when someone new shows up in Cool Springs.”
