her know he was bailing before she’d gone through the trouble of dressing cute and driving downtown. Naturally he wasn’t as nice as he seemed.
Because she was so sure of the content of the text that had just come in, she stared down at the screen for several seconds before the words registered.
It wasn’t Carter. It was Kayla, the youngest of Ruth’s four stepsiblings.
You coming by tonight?
Ruth felt a heavy weight in her stomach that sank lower as she processed the question. Kayla was sixteen. She was sweet and shy and smart and sensitive. Delicate. Since Ruth’s mother had died last year, Kayla had been living with her father and three older brothers—who probably loved Kayla after their fashion but were also clueless and selfish and thoughtless and messy.
Really messy.
Ruth connected a call with Kayla and waited until the girl picked up.
“Hey!” Kayla said, sounding breathless and relieved. “I thought you might be busy.”
“I’ve got this stupid date.”
“Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I’m sorry to interrupt. You didn’t have to call me.”
“I know. I don’t mind. Is everything all right?”
“Y-yeah. Yeah, it’s fine. I don’t want to mess up your date.” The hopeful hesitance in Kayla’s tone went right to Ruth’s heart.
When Ruth had moved into that house ten years ago, at least she’d had her mother. Kayla didn’t have anyone now but Ruth. “It’s fine, Kayla. He hasn’t even shown up yet. I’m assuming he’s going to stand me up.”
“Oh no. I’m sorry. He’s so cute.”
“Yeah. He’s cute. But the cute ones usually know it and don’t have to try very hard. They always take the easy road. Is everything all right there?”
“Yeah. It’s fine. But we’re out of groceries, and Dad and the boys got pizza.” Kayla didn’t like pizza. Perhaps because her father had tried to feed it to her at least three times a week since Ruth’s mom had died. Beer and pizza. That house was steeped in those smells. Even Ruth, who lived on her own and only occasionally visited, felt kind of sick whenever she smelled that combination.
“I’ll pick up a few things from the store for you when I’m done here and bring them over.”
“You don’t have to do—”
“Kayla, come on. You know I want to. You shouldn’t be trapped in your room without anything for dinner.” Although her stepsister hadn’t said so, Ruth knew Kayla was stuck in her room because her father and “the boys”—who were definitely not boys since the youngest of them was now nineteen—were set up in the living room, watching a sports network, drinking beer and swearing loudly at whoever happened to be on television.
If Ruth were there, she’d be hiding in her bedroom too.
“Okay. Thanks. But I don’t want you to miss your date. You hardly go out with anyone.”
Ruth chuckled wryly. That was definitely true. “Yeah, but like I said, I don’t think he’s going to even show up. If he does, I’ll just stay for an hour or so, so I can still get over there with something for you to eat.”
“If you’re sure,” Kayla murmured wistfully.
“I’m sure. I’ll let you know. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Ruth was smiling as she hung up. She still missed her mother like crazy, and she didn’t have any other real family. Kayla and the guys were all she had. Ruth had never bonded with the males in her stepfamily. They’d never hurt her in any way. Mostly just ignored her existence except when she cleaned up after them and brought them stuff from the kitchen so they didn’t have to get up. But she loved Kayla. The girl was all she had left.
“Ruth?”
She’d been focused on the call, so the voice startled her so much she jerked dramatically. Her phone slipped from her hands and landed with a thud on the hardwood floor.
Carter Wilson leaned over to retrieve it, offering it back to her with a rueful smile that momentarily took her breath away.
“Shit,” she breathed, staring up at him. The man might not be her type, but he was quite unjustly handsome. She’d always known that fact, but it hit her a lot harder as he stood less than a foot away. Warm brown eyes. High cheekbones. Classically cut nose and jaw. A sexy, intelligent mouth.
“Sorry,” he said, evidently misinterpreting her one-word response. “I’m late. I know. And then I snuck up on you and made you drop your phone. It’s not cracked, is it?”
She examined her phone, pleased for the moment to recover. Her whole