Love Finds You at Home for Christmas (7 page)

Ruby hurried down the stairs to the lobby, eager to see what Cliff had in store. He'd told her to wear dungarees and boots instead of her normal dress or skirt, but he wouldn't tell her the reason. “Just trust me,” he'd said with a laugh.

She knew times had changed and it was appropriate for girls to wear pants now, especially since they were doing work that just a few years ago would've been reserved for men only. Even so, she had to wonder what Mama would say if she could see her going out in public in this outfit.

“There you are.” Cliff grinned. “I was beginning to think you'd backed out or something.”

“I got called over to the administration building after my shift.” He raised his brows and held the door open for her. “Are you trading your work boots for sandals again?”

She laughed. “Nothing like that. I think I've finally learned my lesson.” She held up a foot encased in a cowboy boot. “Although if I could wear these my days would be a lot happier.” She grinned. “Or at least my feet would be.”

He opened the car door and she climbed inside, thankful for some time away from the dorm. The drawback to living just a few yards from where she worked was that she sometimes felt like she never had a break. Especially now that she was line inspector. It had been an adjustment for some of the girls on her hallway to get used to her being both their friend and their boss.

“What are we doing this afternoon? You never said.”

Cliff waved at the gate guard and turned the car onto the main highway. “You asked me the other day what I do during my time off. I thought I'd show you.” He glanced over at her with a grin. “We're going to do a little rabbit hunting this afternoon.”

She wrinkled her nose. She'd gone hunting with Papa and her brothers a hundred times over the years. She understood that it helped put food on the table for their family, but she'd never been especially fond of it. “Hunting?”

“Oh, don't worry. You'll be fine. I'll be there to look out for you.”

Ruby choked out a laugh. “Of course I'll be fine. I grew up on a farm.”

He slowed down and turned the car down a dirt road. “You've met Hazel's parents before, haven't you?”

She nodded. “At the wedding. Mrs. Collins invited me to come out for dinner sometime.”

“That's what I thought. I don't know if Hazel explained it to you, but Aunt Ida and my mom are sisters.”

Cliff hadn't volunteered much information about his immediate family, only that he was staying with his aunt and uncle for a little while. And Ruby hadn't had much time to quiz Hazel before she and Troy left town.

“And you said your parents still live in River Bend?” She'd never been there but had heard of the place before.

He parked next to an older model car. “That's right.”

“Do you see them often?”

Cliff shook his head. “Not enough.” He motioned toward the white house. “Ready?”

Just as he had the last couple of times, he seemed to shut down at the mention of his family or where he came from. Ruby didn't know what to make of it. “Sure.” She followed him to the house and smiled at the dog on the porch.

“Don't mind Old Blue. He's harmless.”

She laughed. “I didn't think otherwise.” She bent down and patted the dog's graying head. “He looks like he's already earned his keep and is enjoying his retirement.”

“Something like that.” Cliff grinned. “Actually he's a pretty good guard dog when it comes to strangers. When I first moved here, he'd howl and carry on every time I drove up. I think he's finally figured out that I belong here.”

“And do you?”

Cliff stopped and turned toward her, his blue eyes serious. “As much as I belong anywhere I guess.”

Before she had the chance to ask what he meant, the front door swung open and Mrs. Collins stepped out onto the porch. “Ruby, it's so nice to see you again.” She ushered them inside. “I just got a letter from Hazel yesterday, and she asked if you'd been to the house. It sounds like she and Troy are settling in well in Pine Bluff.”

Ruby followed her into the sunny kitchen. “I'm glad to hear it. I know y'all miss her, though.” She smiled. “I owe her a letter. Hopefully I'll get to that soon.”

“Well, it sounds like you'll be able to tell her all about your adventure here.” Mrs. Collins grinned. “I'm so glad Cliff brought you by.”

Mr. Collins walked in the back door, clad in mud-stained overalls. “I hear rabbit hunting is on the agenda.” His face was still flushed from the August heat. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Okay,” Cliff said, coming into the kitchen. “I've got everything we need.” He held up a shotgun. “Let's go.”

Ruby narrowed her eyes. “Wait a minute. What about my gun?”

Cliff chuckled. “You don't need one.”

“Well, if we're going rabbit hunting, what am I supposed to do without a gun? Just stand next to you and watch?” She hated to admit it, but she rather enjoyed the startled expression on his face. Clearly he had expected her to just stand and watch.

Mr. Collins clapped Cliff on the shoulder. “She's got a point there, son. She can take mine.”

Cliff sighed. “I'll go get it.”

Ruby knew her mama would be appalled at her behavior, but she couldn't help herself. Sometimes Cliff acted like she was some prissy girl who couldn't do anything but stand around and smile. She'd show him. Her brothers might've been overprotective, but they'd taught her to shoot.

Cliff returned with a shotgun and carefully handed it to Ruby. “Here you go.”

They stepped out the backdoor and started toward the thicket behind the house.

Ruby stopped. “Hang on a second.”

“What's wrong?” Cliff turned to face her.

She held up the gun. “You gave me a gun but no bullets.”

Cliff looked at her with wide eyes. “You sure are a lot of trouble.” The grin that played at his mouth gave him away.

She swatted at him. “You did that on purpose.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bullet. “Here you go. I was just testing you to see what kind of outdoorsman”—he cleared his throat—“I mean, outdoors
woman
you were.”

Ruby grinned. “I'm the kind that can probably hit a target as well as you.” She knew she shouldn't be so sassy. She'd heard it plenty of times growing up that sometimes the best thing for a well-brought-up lady to do was stand to the side and cheer for the boys. But growing up the only girl in the family had likely made her a little more competitive than most girls. “How about we split up?” She motioned toward the left of the thicket. “I'll take that section. You take the opposite side.”

Cliff looked unsure. “Well…if you say so.”

That did it. “I'll see you in a bit. Holler if you need me.” She tramped off, looking forward to showing him what she was capable of doing. She'd say one thing about Cliff Hamilton. He sure did know how to get a rise out of her.

And as much as she hated to admit it, she liked how alive it made her feel.

More alive than she'd felt in all of her twenty-two years.

* * * * *

Cliff watched her walk away.

Unbelievable.

He'd brought her out here so they could do something together, something away from the prying eyes of their coworkers. He was tired of the ribbing from Harold and the other guys who wanted to know all about the pretty girl he'd been spending time with.

So he'd thought they could get out in nature and look around, maybe see some wildlife. Honestly, he hadn't even meant to hunt much. He'd just wanted some time alone with Ruby away from everything else. And if he had to do it under the guise of hunting rabbits, he would.

Except that she'd turned it into some kind of competition.

Cliff sighed. He should probably have just been honest with her about wanting to spend time together. He'd always loved the outdoors, ever since he was just a small boy. Amid the trees and the wildlife, he always felt closest to God. And over the past few months, to Charlie. He and his brother had shared so many good times in the outdoors. Cliff had just wanted to share some of that with Ruby.

A gunshot rang out, breaking the silence.

He might've known she'd fire first. “Did you get it?” he called, hurrying in the direction of the shot. Since she only had one bullet, he was in no danger of sneaking up on her and being mistaken for a rabbit.

“I missed it.” She stepped out of the thicket, a broad smile on her face. “But I guess you know now that I can handle a weapon.”

She looked so proud of herself he had to laugh. “Tell you what, how about we leave our weapons behind and just go for a walk?”

Ruby nodded. “That sounds nice.”

He took her gun. “I'll just lean these against that tree over there. We can get them when we head back to the house.” He quickly put the guns down and motioned for her to follow. “It's a pretty place, isn't it?”

She grinned. “It sure is. It kind of makes me miss home.”

“So you've really hunted before?” he asked.

“I really have. But it isn't something I make a habit of or anything. To tell you the truth, I'm a lot better at shooting at a target than at an animal. I think I'm way too tenderhearted for that.”

“Yeah, Hazel mentioned that was the problem with your being a pig farmer for the summer. Said you'd end up turning them into pets.”

She giggled. “You should hear my brothers tell the story about our pet cow. Her name is Spotty. She's not good for milk, but I made such a fuss when there was talk of sending her to a slaughterhouse that Papa finally gave in.” She shook her head. “My brothers have teased me about it for years. After I went off to college, I think they were finally going to get rid of her, but they all felt too bad about it. So now we have this old cow who lives in one of our fields with no real purpose other than eating and sleeping.”

Cliff grinned. “So underneath that tough exterior, you're really just a softie?”

“Something like that. I guess I've just always had a soft spot for creatures that can't help themselves. That goes for people too. You know how sometimes you meet someone and automatically feel protective? Maybe it's just me.”

“No. It isn't just you.” He motioned toward a log. “Let's go sit for a minute.” He put his hand on the small of her back to guide her over and almost recoiled at the surge of electricity between them.

“Everything okay?”

He sat down next to her. “Yeah. But you know what you said about feeling protective of someone? I really understand that feeling.”

“How so?”

It was time to tell her the truth. “I haven't mentioned this before, just because there never seemed like a good time, but I had a brother. Charlie.” He smiled at the sound of his brother's name. “He was two years younger than me, and when we were kids he drove me crazy following me around.”

Ruby grinned. “That was the role I played in my family. I followed my brothers around and tried to do everything they did, from climbing trees to skipping rocks.”

“Charlie was the same way. But by the time we were older, we'd become best friends. No one understood me the way he did.” He wiped a dirt smudge from his pants. “I went to Arkansas A&M to play football, and Charlie stayed home to work. Said he wasn't cut out for more schooling.”

“Not everyone is,” she said.

“Charlie was drafted. Army. As soon as I found out, I left college and joined up alongside him. No way was my little brother going without me.”

She reached over and patted his knee. “Sounds like you were a good big brother.”

“Not always, but I tried to be.” He would do a lot different if he had the chance to do it over. “Charlie thought of the war as a big adventure. We were going to see the world.” He shook his head. “I saw it as a mission to protect him at all costs. Charlie is—was—one of the most pure-hearted people I've ever known. He always wanted to do what was right. When the other guys were scared or homesick, it was Charlie who provided comfort. He'd pray with them or quote Scripture. It was really amazing. I realized while we were there that Charlie would make a great teacher or preacher. He just had such a way with people.”

“He sounds amazing.” She leaned closer to him. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” she asked softly.

Cliff looked into her green eyes and knew he could tell her anything. He could tell her the true version, not the sugar-coated one. “We were in a foxhole together. There was heavy firing. All of the sudden, things got eerily quiet and then there was a huge explosion. It seemed like the end of the world. Just before we were hit, Charlie jumped on top of me. He caught the brunt of the force. I was injured.” Cliff's hand went to his shoulder.

She grabbed his hand. “Oh, Cliff. I'm so sorry.”

He looked down at their intertwined hands. “And he was killed. Saving me.”

Chapter Eight

.................................

Ruby stared in horror. The grief on Cliff's face was enough to bring tears to her eyes. “I can't imagine how horrible that must've been for you. How horrible it must still be.”

He gripped her hand. “Is it okay for me to tell you this? I was afraid it might be too much for you to deal with.”

She managed a smile. “Now, Cliff. Haven't I proved to you that I'm tougher than I look? You can tell me anything, especially things like this that you obviously need to talk about.”

“I wanted to tell you a few weeks ago. I know you probably thought I was avoiding questions about my family.” He shrugged. “I just wasn't ready to talk about it until now.”

“Of course. I understand. Sometimes we have to sort things out in our own heads before we can talk about them to someone else.”