“I can imagine. Well now you don’t have to give it another thought. Such a generous man, Graham. He was always a lovely lad growing up.” His father smiled at Ruby and his gaze met Simon’s before he gave a brief wink. Obviously he thought Simon had this all sorted out. Little did he know that they were still on rocky ground. There were still things he hadn’t told her and he needed to rectify that.
“When he told us what he had planned, I was thrilled to bits.” Margaret smiled and passed the salad encouraging Ruby to eat up. “You’re still a little pale after being ill. Simon needs to look after you.”
“I’m sure Ruby can look after herself, Mom.” He didn’t blame her for fussing because he’d do the same thing given the chance.
“I know but I like the two of you together.” His mom put a hand on Ruby’s arm. “I was so happy when Simon told me he’d let Graham buy that land for you. He’s been so stubborn about helping you himself in case you got upset. Wanted to let you build the shelter on your own without interfering. I’m glad to see that everything is working out.”
“What do you mean? Simon used to own that land?”
His dad glanced over at him, a look of concern in his eyes. “You didn’t tell Ruby, son? Oh dear, you may have spoken out of turn, Marg.”
His mom put down her knife and fork. “Sorry, love. I didn’t know it was a secret.”
Ruby glanced at him, her back stiffening. “Think nothing of it, Margaret. It’s fine.”
But it wasn’t. For the rest of the evening, she was polite but reserved. Her defenses were up and Simon guessed he was in the firing line. Graham had warned him to tell her and he’d tried once then forgotten about it. This wasn’t going to end well.
She kept quiet until they were almost at her house. “You owned that land.”
“That’s right.”
“And you conveniently sold it to Graham to give to us.”
“Not exactly.” He pulled over and parked in her driveway before explaining. “I’ve owned it for years. Originally I had it earmarked for a shopping center. I figured that one day when the town grew it would be in the perfect spot for development. I honestly hadn’t given it much thought of late because it was an investment I was prepared to sit on. One Graham suggested I take about four years ago.”
Her lips thinned as she pressed them together. A sure sign of building temper. “He keeps popping up. Funny that.”
“Not really and not to me. He is a family friend after all and he advises me on land deals. I’ve even gone into a few with him as partner.”
Ruby glanced out the window. “Sounds a bit suspect to me.”
“There’s nothing fishy about Graham and once you get to know him better, you’ll find that out for yourself. What you did for him and Laura when you let them adopt Bubbles is true. Laura wouldn’t have made it without that little scrap of fluff. They’re both lovely people and very generous. They needed to do something in their son’s name to make sure he was never forgotten because that’s the kind of people they are. They decided your shelter was a worthy cause and I happen to agree.”
“You lied to me, Simon. Even if it was by omission, you lied. Just when I thought things were going to go well between us and I was ready to try again, you failed to tell me the truth. I figured you would’ve known I hate that.”
He slapped his hand on the steering wheel. “That is so far out of left field, it’s funny. I’m not trying to hide things from you, Ruby. It’s the last thing I’d do after the way we broke up. That was all my fault for being such an ass. Do you think I’d run the risk of it happening again when I’m finally making headway with you?” He took a deep breath.
“I don’t believe you. I think you set the whole thing up. The donation from him at the fundraiser, the bidding for a date with me and then the follow-up deal for the shelter. You just didn’t think I’d find out.” She opened the door and got out. “Thanks for the ride home.”
She slammed the door and stormed off without looking back. Simon waited until she was in the house and reversed out of the driveway and headed for home.
Getting Ruby back had just taken a nose-dive he wasn’t expecting. So many small steps and now he’d blown it again. There might be no coming back from this one.
He put the car in gear and headed home. All the way he cursed himself for not telling her how the deal really went. But she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to listen to him tonight. Perhaps she never would.
He skidded the car around the final bend toward his house and came to a sudden halt staring at the darkened building. He’d hoped to bring her here, to show her how much he cared. Now it looked as though that plan was in jeopardy. He’d stuffed up again and he didn’t like his chances of fixing it.
Simon put his foot on the gas pedal and drove into the quiet house for another solitary night on his own.
Chapter 18
Ruby showed him into the meeting room where the dog she wanted to introduce him to sat with a carer. “What do you think, Graham? Do you like her?”
He crouched down and held his hand out to the little poodle. “She’s adorable. Can I bring Laura over this afternoon? She’s dying to come and see what you have for us but she had
