“I have a deadline, Wes, and your family…” Oh God, yeah—there was a red flag. His family. “No,” she said, steadfast. “Thank you for offering, but no. You can handle it. ”
She unstrapped the rig from his thighs, once again tense and uncomfortable. Pulling the disc from the unit, she slid it into a baggie with the others. “They’re labeled according to which he should start with. He needs to start with the strongest power and work backward, which is not intuitive. So, please, Wes, if you don’t remember that or explain it to others—”
He rested his hands on her shoulders. She couldn’t read his eyes now, as if he’d closed off. “I get it, Rubi. I’m not stupid or careless. ”
Pain zinged across her ribs. “I never… I don’t mean… I know you’re not. I’m just…worried. ”
“Which is why you should come with me. We don’t have to stay with my parents. We’ll get a hotel nearby. ”
“Stay with your— What are you thinking? I can’t even manage a decent relationship with my only relative. You can’t expect me to jump into your family as if I know what I’m doing. ” She held up her hands, palms out. “Look, I trust you with the rig. You can handle it. ”
> “Fine, fine. ” He released her, but frustration filled his voice and disappointment tightened his expression. “Relax. ”
She sat on the edge of the sofa, closed her laptop, and rested her head in her hand, rubbing her temple. “Sorry. The whole family thing just… I don’t understand it, and I’m not… I just don’t do family. ”
“I get it,” he said, curving an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry too. I’m not thrilled with this change of plans, and I’m going to miss you. Come on. We should get over to Jax’s before he calls looking for us. ”
Fifteen
Wes stood still while Rubi unsnapped the rig’s straps—again.
After that bizarre shock to his thigh muscles, she’d insisted on bringing the computer and rig to Lexi and Jax’s so she could add some safety measures to the program.
He was zero for two with Rubi today. He’d really stepped in it when he’d sprung his schedule change on her earlier. The look on her face when he’d told her he’d be leaving in a day instead of a week or more had shot an icy cold streak through him. The dismay and hurt had lasted only an instant before she’d expertly shut off her emotions like a light. But that moment had given him a glimpse of what she must have looked like as a kid, receiving word her father had left town again without notice. She’d denied caring when he’d tried to explain the schedule change, but he could tell she was still out of sorts. Then he’d gone and done it again when he’d asked her to go to Missouri with him.
He hated knowing he’d upset her. But what really bugged him was that both incidents were minor, everyday, normal events—a schedule change and an invite to meet the parents. But for Rubi…obviously trigger points. On the other hand, she could climax on a crowded dance floor without pause, get caught giving him a blowjob and grin.
He was trying to understand—he was—but he just didn’t get it.
“It’s not something someone who’s had a normal upbringing would understand. ”
Lexi’s words drilled into him, making him even more frustrated. How did he cope with something—or help Rubi cope with something—he couldn’t understand?
“Are you okay?” Rubi’s concern drew him out of his daze. She had that one vertical line of worry between her brows as she looked up at him, her hands unhooking the bands from his thighs.
He ran a hand over her hair and nodded.
She pulled the rig off his hips and swung it clear of his body, pushing to her feet. Without heels, the top of her head just cleared his chin, and as he looked down at her now, she seemed so much smaller, somehow more fragile than he’d ever thought of her before.
Her hand lifted and cupped his jaw. “Hey,” she said, voice soft, so much real emotion in her eyes it made his stomach clench. “Really. Are you okay? You’ve been…I don’t know… distracted since we got here. ”
He covered her hand with his, turned his head, and kissed her palm. “You’re worried about me, while I’m worried about you. ”
“These are my issues, Wes, not yours. ”
“Yours are mine. ”
“Go play with Rodie. ” She stepped back. “You two seem to make each other happy. ”
Rubi walked back to the table where Jax and Lexi talked about the new house as they cleared dishes from the table. She connected the rig to her computer with a cable, sat, and propped her feet up on another chair. Her fingers started flying over the keyboard. How her mind worked that fast, he couldn’t fathom.
He approached the table and picked up the Frisbee. Rodie danced on his hind legs beside him.
“You don’t have time for that, Lex,” Jax was saying. “I’ll hire an interior designer. They’ll make it just the way you want it. ”
“Why is it going to be the way I want it?” Lexi asked. “It’s your house. ”
Jax wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, pulled her against him, and kissed her hard. “Our house,” he said as she smiled up at him. “Let’s practice. Repeat after me. Our. House. ”