Ruby Hill (Entangled Ever After)

by Sarah Ballance

  He dropped the shirt and twisted. Pulled her into his arms.

  She fell against him. Through all the dirt, she caught his familiar scent. It carried too many memories with it.

  The memories brought tears.

  “I believe you, Ash.” Words whispered against the tangled curtain of her hair. Words that meant everything.

  Her breath hitched. “My great-grandfather founded Ruby Hill,” she said, stumbling over the words. “It’s my heritage. That place is me.”

  He pulled away enough to look intently into her eyes. “It might be part of your family history, but it’s not you. You don’t have to be this place.”

  She shook her head. “He just wanted to help people. He never wanted this. All this time I’ve needed to see what he saw. I wanted to find the good here, but there’s none left. It’s all gone.”

  Tenderly, he swept her hair from where it had fallen in her face. “People cared. You care. That’s his legacy. Not the walls, but the people who tried to make a difference there. Take the good, Ash, and leave the bad in this prison where it belongs.”

  The sun chose that moment to break through the dusky predawn haze, bathing them in light. Light.

  Corbin hadn’t allowed an inch of space between them. “I’m done babysitting,” he said. “But I’ll make you a deal. I’ll go with you to the hospital, then we go home together.”

  She swallowed a lump of emotion the size of Gibraltar. “Sounds perfect.”

  He withdrew slightly to meet her eyes. “I couldn’t look at you without seeing Cash,” he said. “Without reliving every detail of that night.”

  “I know,” she said, looking toward her lap.

  He touched her chin. “I’m ready to move on.”

  “I understand.” She chewed her lip so it wouldn’t tremble. He’d see her home from the hospital, but then he needed to put his past behind him. At least she’d get closure this time—a chance to say goodbye.

  “I don’t think you do, Ash. I want to move on with you. If you’ll have me.”

  She didn’t get a chance to answer before the paramedic returned. “We need to head out,” he said.

  “She’s going to the hospital,” Corbin said. His eyes were full of questions, but she suspected her medical workup wasn’t one of them.

  “And he’s coming with me.”

  That earned a smile.

  He climbed into the ambulance after her, taking her hand after she settled on the stretcher. She didn’t need to lie down, but arguing would have been futile.

  A paramedic swung shut the back doors of the ambulance, closing her view of Ruby Hill. Sealing it away. She would never go back. She didn’t need to unlock the mysteries of her past.

  She had Corbin.

  She needed nothing more.

  Acknowledgments

  Holly, Holly, Holly. How can I ever thank you? If you hadn’t taken one look at the first draft of this story and told me to shelve it, my poor editor (who would never have become my editor) would still be on the floor in convulsions. For the massive kick in the butt, I OWE YOU ALL THE THINGS.

  About the Author

  Sarah and her husband of what he calls “many long, long years” live on the mid-Atlantic coast with their six young children, all of whom are perfectly adorable when they’re asleep. She never dreamed of becoming an author, but as a homeschooling mom, she often jokes she writes fiction because if she wants anyone to listen to her, she has to make them up. (As it turns out, her characters aren’t much better than the kids.) Though she adores romantic suspense, she writes in many genres. Her ever-growing roster of releases may be found at http://sarahballance.com.

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