Ezra holds me for a moment, latching on as if I might float away. His strong heartbeat, muffled by his jacket, thumps out of sync like fireworks going off. He’s still charged, and I feel every little pulse that moves through his body.
“Hey, are you okay?” I burrow into his good shoulder, speaking into his neck.
“I’m fine.” He grabs my hand. “Can you stand?”
I nod, and he pulls me up, groaning as he shifts his weight. I rest a hand on his stomach and look down at his leg, staring at a red stain seeping through the denim.
“I’m fine. It’ll heal.”
“It … it doesn’t look fine,” I stutter, swallowing to keep from crying.
“I’ll be fine. But, Ruby, you can’t come up here again—ever. I don’t want you anywhere on this mountain. Do you understand?”
I wind my hand into his, twining our fingers together tightly. “Yes.”
Ezra pulls me to him. He stares down into my eyes, and a strange tingling migrates across my forehead.
“Don’t do that!” I pull away from him. “You promised.”
“Because I didn’t think you’d lie to me.”
“Ezra, I told you everything.”
“I’m sorry,” he says softly, examining my face. “But I don’t believe you.”
“You’re going to have to. Because you can’t go sneaking around my brain whenever you think I’m hiding something.”
He drops his head. “I need to know whether it’s safe for you to stay with me, Ruby.”
“Mom said to follow my heart. And my heart says you’re mine, Ezra. End of story.”
Ezra pulls me back to him, silently letting the tension between us settle. He holds me tightly against his chest, flexing his arms around my shoulders. Finally, his heartbeat slows, thumping in sync with my own as we both calm down.
“I didn’t mean to snap,” I say gently. “I just need you to trust me.”
His golden eyes gaze down at mine, worriedly searching.
Can you hear me? I ask in my head.
Yes.
They trust you to watch the ruin now. I trust you. Trust yourself, Ezra.
Ezra wraps an arm around my waist and directs me toward the trail, hobbling a little. We hold each other up on the way down the mountain. He wipes an eye here and there, and I shiver, but neither of us admit how scared we are.
Near the bottom, his arm stiffens around my shoulder. Softly, he says, “I’m a Watcher, and you’re True of Heart.”
“Yes.” I lean my head against his jacket, slowing down a bit. “But we have free will. We decide whether or not to love each other. Here at least, we get to decide whether it’s right.”
“And if it turns out they don’t want us to be together?”
“I don’t know. And I don’t care. This is my life, right now. If they want me in Ottomundo someday, they’ll have to deal because I won’t do it here without you.”
He looks me over, holding me hostage with his violet-golden eyes. “You’re willing to live with the consequences?”
“Aren’t you?” I ask.
“I’ve never been so sure.” His bright smile lights his already animated face, tugging at my heart. “I’m okay with consequences, as long as you’re safe and in my life.”
“How about you take care of me now, and I’ll watch your back in the Otherworld?”
Ezra looks at me with wide, hopeful eyes. “You’re a believer now.”
“I believe in us, Ezra.”
Ezra laughs, and the sound warms my freezing body. He looks up at the sky and chews on his bottom lip before looking down at me again. “I think you should leave La Luna when you graduate. But if you decide to stay, I swear on everything I am to do everything in my power to keep you safe.” He speaks softly. “Just remember, a leopard doesn’t just change his spots.”
“But you’re not a leopard, you’re a lion.”
“I am a lion. And I know what I want, but I’m not always levelheaded when I’m emotional. I’m rusty when it comes to relationships. You’ll have to bear with me for probably more than a while.”
I stop him and kiss his cheek, then his nose, then his mouth. “I know, and I will. Besides, it’s mutual.”
“I scare the pants off you too?”
I laugh and squeeze his arm.
“Well, that I like.”
When we get to my house, Ezra stops short, standing stiffly by the creek in the backyard like a Greek statue. He pulls my hand, tugging me back, lining me up with his substantial body. “Before we go in, promise that from now on, you’ll tell me if something feels off. Even if you think it’s nothing.”
“Define ‘off.’”
“Just promise, Ruby.”
“Okay. I promise.”
“And you won’t ever go up there again.”
“Never.”
He kisses my nose. “You will always be my first priority.”
“What about the ruin?”
“You, Ruby. Always.” He leans in and whispers in my ear. “Given the choice, I’ll knock it down before I’ll ever risk your safety.”
I look up at his sun-kissed face and sleek, rounded cheekbones. Ezra may as well have been chiseled by Michelangelo. In a million years, I’ll never get tired of looking at him.
“You’re beautiful,” he tells me.
“I was just thinking that about you.”
He points to his head. “I got that.”
Knowing there’s something bigger out there makes it easier to decide. Maybe in the next world, Ezra won’t be mine. Maybe in this world my friends and family will decide I’m crazy. Maybe being together and living so close to the ruin is dangerous. Maybe a scary creature will eat me before I have a chance to find out. Or maybe I’ll cross the street tomorrow and be hit by a car. But he could also be my happily ever after. I know now—life doesn’t come with guarantees. Betting on Ezra is just the start.
Coming Soon
Ruby and Ezra’s story continues in Between Wild and Ruin book two, Wild Open Faces. Stay tuned . . .
Acknowledgments
A special thank you to my husband, Greg. From reading all of my many manuscript iterations to holding my hand when I broke down, convinced I’d never write again, you’ve stood by my writing. My love for you is immense and the words ‘thank you’ alone don’t cut it, so pretend I have the power to grant you the Awesomest Husband in the Universe award and that it comes with a trillion dollars, an unlimited supply of calorie-less, still to-die-for pizza and Doritos; and never-ending effortless hikes through the American Southwest—for starters. Likewise, to my boys, Elijah and Gabriel, and my parents, Tamar and Abram. You’ve been wonderfully supportive in so many unique and immeasurable ways, I don’t know how to thank you with the full force of how I feel. I love you all enormously. Without your ongoing support and encouragement, I might have given up writing altogether, which means you would not be holding this book in your hands!
Much gratitude to my beta readers and friends Carolyn, Susan, Lisa, and Margaret who loved this book fiercely and with a passion from the start (and me, thankfully), and who gave me brilliant advice over the many years I took to finish Ruby and Ezra’s story. Lisa, thank you especially for your thoughtful feedback, as well as for encouraging me to keep on going each of the thousand times I threatened to throw in the towel while I went through the prepublishing rigmarole. Many thanks also to my Santa Fe writing group, especially Melissa, Sue, George, and Rachel for your continued advice and support through-out the publishing process. Also, to Amber, who has steadfastly championed my endeavor to publish overall and given me more spot-on advice than I could hope for. I could not have done it without all of you and appreciate all your advice and goodwill, not to mention the many mornings and evenings you listened to me fret or complain about my writing. You mean everything to me, and I hope you’ll find as much joy in this story as I have in being a part of your lives.
This book would not be what it is without my amazing editor, Alexandra O’Con
nell. And it would not be where it is without my wonderful manager, Kirsten Jensen. Thank you both so much for helping bring this story to fruition and for being such supportive, smart listeners. Because you never doubted me, I never lost faith in the story or the journey, no matter how arduous the process. Thanks also to Heather Giffin-Vine, graphic designer extraordinaire, for this amazing cover. You rock, girl! And a special shout-out to Shoshana Bettencourt, who patiently took a bazillion photos over the course of a day to capture what has got to be some of the more flattering author pictures I’ve encountered (and is also just a really awesome friend and person).
To all my friends and extended family that I don’t have room to mention by name (and there are a lot of you), I thank the Powers That Be every day for you and want you to know you’re the absolute best. Seriously. I’m a writer, and writers know these things; we operate from the heart.
Though untraditional, I’d also like to thank all the naysay-ers I’ve known throughout the years who either implied or out-right said I’d never be a successful writer. I hate the word ‘no’ with a passion and telling me I can’t do something is the most surefire way to ensure I succeed. You are the best motivation!
A million thanks to all my readers, whom I value, respect, appreciate, and adore! Don’t EVER give up. ALWAYS ignore people who come to you armed with a list of reasons why they think you can’t or shouldn’t do what you love. Don’t let anyone convince you, you’re not good enough. And when in doubt, fake it. Pretend you know you are, wear that knowledge like your second skin, and soon enough you will be.
Thanks also to all my online writing groups and social media peeps and peers. Your support has meant a lot, and your demonstrable interest and involvement in my writing from afar has encouraged me forward. Your support goes to show that the kindness of strangers is not a myth or lost art. There are plenty of selfless, incredible people in this world, and if you put yourself out there, it isn’t as hard as it sometimes seems at first glance to find them.
To my Bobe and Zade. You believed in me from the start and always encouraged me to keep writing. I don’t have enough room here to thank you for all the ways you’ve touched my life. But you know and I know, and wherever you are now, I’m betting you can read my mind.
Finally, but never the least, thank you to my sis, Libby, for your affection, love, friendship, advice, and never-ending adherence to the sometimes difficult but always worthy sister-code. I love you with all the force and energy of a bazillion supernovas and will worship and adore you until the end-times.
To paraphrase a quote from Carl Sagan, “In the vastness of space and immensity of time, it is my joy to spend a planet and an epoch with you all.”
About the Author
Jennifer G. Edelson is a writer, trained artist, former attorney, pizza lover, and hard-core Bollywood fan. Originally a California native, she currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her husband, kids, and dog, Hubble after surviving twenty-plus years in the Minnesota tundra (but still considers Los Angeles, the Twin Cities, and Santa Fe all home). Other than writing, Jennifer loves hiking, traveling, Albert Camus, Dr. Seuss, dark chocolate, drinking copious amounts of coffee, exploring mysterious places, and meeting new people—if you’re human (or otherwise), odds are she’ll probably love you.
For more information, please visit Jennifer’s
Author Page at:
www.JenniferGEdelsonauthor.com.
* * *
You can also find Jennifer on: Twitter: @JGEAuthor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JenniferGEdelsonAuthor/
Instagram: @J.G.E.Author
All comments, mail, and inquires, including book-club requests, speaking engagements, and signing inquires, may be addressed to Jennifer at: [email protected].
Between Wild and Ruin
Copyright ©2020 by Jennifer Edelson. All rights reserved.
Published and distributed by Bad Apple Books
Santa Fe, NM 87506
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either products of author’s imagination or used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual events, organizations, or persons, either living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher/author, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
All images, logos, quotes, and trademarks included in this book are subject to use according to trademark and copyright laws of the United States of America.
For information regarding bulk buys, or educational, promotional, or business inquiries, please contact [email protected]
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Names: Edelson, Jennifer G., author.
Title: Between wild and ruin / by Jennifer G. Edelson.
Description: First trade paperback original edition. | Santa Fe [New
Mexico] : Bad Apple Books, 2020. | Also published as an ebook.
Subjects: CYAC: Romance fiction. | Paranormal Fiction. | New Mexico—
Fiction. | LCSH: Paranormal romance.
BISAC: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Romance / Paranormal.
Classification: LCC PN3448.L67 | DDC 813.6–dc22
Cover design by Heather Vine-Giffin
Interior design by Victoria Wolf
All rights reserved by Jennifer Edelson and Bad Apple Books
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