บททั้งหมดของ The Moonshine Task Force Series: บทที่ 201 - บทที่ 210

RubyFebruaryI'm nervous as I smooth the dress down my torso, examining the way it shows the bare patch of skin at my stomach. Caleb is supposed to be here to pick me up in an hour. Excitement bubbles up in my throat as I think about how he's going to play my body after our dinner reservation. I bought special lingerie for tonight, and I can't wait to show it to him.I'm finishing up my hair when my phone rings. Seeing his smiling face, my stomach immediately sinks. Foreboding hits me hard, and I know he's about to cancel."Hey," I answer, trying to sound much more positive than I feel."Red." The regret is deep in his voice, like he wants to tell me anything other than what he's about to."You have to cancel don't you?"He sighs heavily. "I do. There's been a bad wreck on sixty-five, and they've called everybody in. There's some fatalities, Ruby. Dad and I are both responding."Carefully I control my emotions, because I don't want him to know I'm upset. There's nothin

RubyMay"Okay ladies and gents, you have five minutes before the bell rings, and that's all I have for the class. Talk amongst yourselves, but please keep it down," I tell the juniors that make up my history class.History isn't my first love. If given the choice, I would have taught English, but I can do both and there was a need for a History teacher, so here I am. Using my five minutes wisely, I go ahead and start in on next week's lesson plans, because I plan to spend as much of this weekend as I can with Caleb. A smile toys against my lips as I think about the guy who has so unexpectedly come into my life. We've been going strong for months now, definitely longer than any other relationship I've ever had. With other guys, I didn't stay at their places, they didn't stay at mine. I know part of that is growing up, not being in the dorms anymore, and not having to worry about roommates, but I feel adult in this with him. Like he and I could make a go of this, if we continue to

CruiseFourth of July"Do you need my help?" I ask Tank as I sit around a patio table at his parent's house. The entire MTF and their families have descended upon their pool, and have taken over their bar-b-cue. Somehow all of us got the afternoon and night off. Many of us worked the early morning and previous overnight hours, so there's some tired faces but we're all extremely happy to be spending this holiday together."Nah, I got it." He closes the lid to the grill and heads back into the kitchen.I'm glancing around, half paying attention, with my arm around Ruby, when a conversation starts that gets my interest. Renegade and Whitney are talking about a teenage boy Renegade found stealing at a local department store."I don't doubt that," Ruby is saying at my side, in response to whatever is being discussed. My girl is fired up about whatever this is, because she's leaned forward in her seat, away from my arm around her shoulder. The tank top she wears pulls at the back,

CruiseI love the smile on Kelsea's face, love even more that I'm the one who put it there. "You excited Kels?" I grin into the rearview as we make the drive to Birmingham."So excited, like I knew you knew him." She bounces in her seat. "But I didn't really know!"Him references my college roommate Slater Harlow, known by everyone who watches professional baseball as Savage. He's a formidable force on the baseball diamond, having the best season of his career. We're not as close as we once were, because life took us two totally different directions, but we still hang out every once in a while. Typically I like to keep the fact I know him from just about everyone, because I know he values his privacy. Now though? Kels is old enough to go to a major league game, and I'm doing my best to impress Ruby."I've known him a long time." I think back to our college days, how both of us had been so damn homesick. Him more than me, since I could at least head home on the weekend. Slater w

RubyI'm sitting in my car watching Morgan and Caleb eat through The Café window. This is what I've been reduced to. It's been a week since the shooting, and so far, Caleb's refused to see me. I went to see him the other night, and it was a bad scene."What are you doing here?" Caleb opens his door, arms crossed over his chest. "I figured me not answering any of your calls let you know I'm not up to talking to anyone right now. Including you."Not gonna lie, this hurts. Seeing him like this hurts, hearing him talk to me the way he is hurts. But I won't give up on him. I promised Kelsea months ago that I would be here if he needed me, that I could handle whatever was thrown at me."You need me," I talk against the tightness in my throat."I need to be left the fuck alone. You. Mom. Dad. You all need to leave me the fuck alone.""We won't," I shake my head standing my ground. "We won't leave you alone to deal with this by yourself.""Fine, then if you won't leave, I will."