“Freak out.” She bit her lip.
“Yeah, exactly. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you. More that I didn’t trust myself. It blew my tiny little mind, let me tell you. I figured if we could at least get the contracts signed and speak to a proper finance planner before we told anyone, we could cope with it. Kinda take the pressure off, you know?”
“And did you? Cope?”
“Nah. My mom wouldn’t speak to me for weeks. She cried her eyes out when she heard about what we’d achieved on the news. I made her feel the worst kind of parent and that took a lot of time to heal. After everything she’d done for me. Raising me on her own and all, it was the stupidest thing I could’ve done. I hurt her real bad.” He huffed out a labored breath. “And Simon lost you over it.”
Ruby brushed away the tears and sighed. “Simon could have argued with you, Tyler. He has to take some of the blame too.”
“He did argue. Maybe not as much as you’d like but he wasn’t happy about it. But in the end we were a team and had to agree on everything. It’s how we always worked. Thing was, the company buying the program wasn’t supposed to announce anything until the papers were signed. They promised us and we were going to tell you once the deal was done. They stuffed up which ruined everything.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Ziggy turned around in a circle and snuck into the curve of Ruby’s hip.
“Give him another chance. Tell Simon you forgive him. The poor guy is head over heels in love with you still. There’s never been anyone else for him.”
She sniffed and plucked at the edge of the bedsheet. “I don’t know what to do. So much time has passed and we’re both very different people now.”
“No you’re not. Trust me, you’re not.”
By the time they disconnected the call, Ruby’s head was spinning. She dropped her cell on the bedside table and snuggled down again. She would struggle to sleep even more now. Her mind would churn over Tyler’s words again and again. She’d argue with herself and second guess Simon’s motives even though Tyler had told her what happened and why.
She thumped the pillow and closed her eyes. Ziggy shuffled up by her head.
Hot doggy breath washed over her face. Ruby sighed. It was hard to be cranky with her. She had such a sweet nature and only in the last few weeks had started to trust people more. When she thought about it, it was Simon Ziggy was trusting. She’d gravitated to him from the moment they first met.
A silly grin creased her lips. Truth be told, after what had just happened, she was feeling the same. No matter how much she tried to be angry with him, she no longer was. He’d made a stupid mistake and she’d taken it badly. But that didn’t mean she had to make him pay for it forever. He knew she couldn’t be bought even though he’d slapped down a ridiculous amount of money at the fundraiser. Thank you, Tyler.
She touched Ziggy’s head and the little black pug nestled down with her face tucked into Ruby’s neck. “He’s trying so hard, Ziggy. I have to give him credit for that.” She pulled the blanket up over her stomach and stared at the light of the moon over the ceiling. “He knows I can’t be bought.” She sighed. “Admittedly the fundraiser was a pretty good attempt to make me sit up and take notice but that’s because that’s for the dogs. Simon knows that’s the quickest way to my heart. Sneaky guy.”
She never did get angry at Tyler for his part in that plan either. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
The next morning when the alarm went off, a dull throb pulsed behind her eyes. Her sleep had been filled with fractured dreams of animal cruelty, fundraising balls with animals as waiters and images of her beloved shelter being snowed under, making it impossible for her to get to work. It didn’t snow in Sausalito. At least not since she’d been born. She’d kicked the blankets off during the night and chills now wracked her body. Ruby shivered and pulled the covers back up, tucking them under her chin. She didn’t feel well at all.
A wet tongue licked her nose and she forced her eyes open. “Ziggy.” The little dog whined and did a turn around the bed, staring her in the face. She needed to go outside.
Ruby pushed off the blankets and sat up. Her head swam making her feel dizzy. She held the side of the bed until the feeling passed. Holy crap. What was wrong with her? She stood, one hand on the bed, one on her stomach which threatened to revolt. Had she eaten something bad last night? She hadn’t had a bad taco for years. Why now?
She stumbled out to the kitchen where the dogs waited impatiently at the back door. Ruby opened the door and let them out. She leaned on the door frame, her head spinning and her stomach lurching. When the dogs had done their business and come back inside for breakfast, she shut the door. They all sat watching her expectantly.
“Guys, I feel terrible.” It took her longer than usual to get their food ready. Multiple times, she had to stop and lean on the kitchen counter, gripping the edge to keep herself upright. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and die. Eventually she got them all fed and stumbled back into the bedroom.
She collapsed on the bed. What the heck was going on? She’d never felt like this before. Was it bad food or had she picked up something? She grabbed her cell and texted Simon before she could overthink it.
Do you feel ok today? Think the food
