Chapter 17

Ruby watched as the mountains and trees transitioned into farms and fields. Everything was green, and so different than back in Amor. As beautiful as this was, it made her miss home. Ruby knew the desert, had grown up with it, and knew what to expect from it. She wasn’t thinking of just the landscape, but also the people in it. They were predictable, just like the seasons. She knew when the windy season would give way to the monsoon season, and when to expect the mosquitoes and rattlesnakes.

Up here was different. When she and Parker had first gone up in the balloon, she’d felt freer than she had in years. Everything was new and exciting. She found she could actually pretend she was a different version of herself, and there was nothing outside of the balloon and the mountains—and Parker. And then he’d reminded her of what she was running from. And the guilt quickly followed.

“How much longer do we have?” she asked, breaking the silence that had remained between them for over an hour.

Parker had been standing in the center of the basket, his hand on the burner. He looked at her, apparently surprised that she had talked to him. He recovered from his shock and checked one of his instruments. “It’s starting to heat up so we should probably land within the next thirty minutes to avoid any thermals.” He checked the GPS. “I also want to avoid landing on a farmer’s crops. They tend to get mad about that.”

“Parker, I’m sorry for earlier,” Ruby said. “I shouldn’t have—”

“Not a big deal,” Parker interrupted. He picked up his radio and gave Andy and Rafael their current location.

“We see you,” came the reply.

The most amazing morning of Ruby’s life was about to come to a close, but it was hard to enjoy it now. She’d made a mistake, and she didn’t know how to make up for it. The only thing that made Ruby feel better was knowing there was one more day of the balloon festival. She’d get one more chance at this.

* * * * *

Ruby braced herself for impact. Parker had found a stretch of dirt road that seemed like it was rarely used and said that landing there would be the easiest way for Andy and Rafael to get to them. She hadn’t thought about what a hot air balloon might use for brakes though. Apparently, there weren’t any. The panic returned, full throttle this time.

“How are we going to stop?” she asked, her breaths coming out staccato and fast.

“We’ll skid and let friction do the work for us,” Parker said, his tone more than a little annoyed, like her freak-out sessions were wearing on him.

“And what will keep us from bouncing and tipping over, the flames consuming the balloon, and us, in the process?”

Parker narrowed his eyes. “Do you really think I would invite you here with me if I didn’t have a reasonable and safe way to land? I know what I’m doing, and I’m good at it. Please trust me for once.” He turned his back on Ruby.

She knew that Parker was a seasoned flier. Logically she could tell herself there was nothing to be afraid of, but that didn’t mean her nerves could be calmed on command.

“I do trust you,” Ruby said, trying to keep her voice steady. “It’s the balloon I don’t trust.”

“When I’m the one in control, it’s the same difference,” Parker said, his tone clipped. He turned the burner on less frequently now and allowed the balloon to gradually lower toward the ground. From the looks of things, they’d land right on the dirt road, and Andy’s truck drove right alongside the balloon, waiting for it to touch down.

Ruby’s hands squeezed the side of the basket so hard, her knuckles turned white. The ground didn’t rush up at them, thankfully, but because it was so agonizingly slow, the anticipation of it was killing her. Finally, when the balloon was about to touch down, the truck stopped and both Andy and Rafael leaped out. They ran over to the balloon and caught the sides of the basket, pulling back just as it hit the ground.

Ruby flew to one side, but Parker wrapped one arm around her waist, keeping her from landing on the bottom of the basket.

“Spread your feet apart,” he said. “It will help you keep your balance.” Parker let Ruby go and braced himself as Andy and Rafael both jumped on the sides of the basket to keep it from tipping over.

Andy and Rafael were both breathing heavily, but once they had a chance to catch their breath, Andy asked, “How was the flight?” He directed a not-so-subtle wink at Ruby.

Parker answered for both of them. “It was fine.”

Andy and Rafael exchanged raised eyebrows before jumping off and grabbing a giant tarp out of the truck and laying it next to the balloon.

“It was only fine?” Ruby asked, her voice quiet.

“I have to open the parachute valve.” As soon as he did, air escaped the envelope and Andy and Rafael grabbed the cords so it would land on the tarp.

“Can I get out of the basket now?” Ruby asked.

“Sure,” Parker said, but he didn’t offer to help.

Ruby’s efforts weren’t graceful, but she managed to land on her feet, so that was something. She watched from a distance as the men worked to get all the air out of the envelope before getting it back into its case. It took a lot longer putting everything away than it had when they had set out that morning. Ruby looked at her watch. How could it only be ten o’clock? Sure, they had gotten up early, but that had seemed like a lifetime ago. She was starving and hoped they’d stop somewhere for an early lunch. Ruby hadn’t eaten much in the last couple of days, between the traveling and the fiasco at the steakhouse the night before.

“Can we get some burgers or something on our way back?” she asked as they got the final pieces settled and strapped down in the truck.

Rafael grinned. “A girl who loves a good burger? Careful, Parker, I may have to steal her away from you.”

Parker glanced sideways at Ruby. She could have sworn she heard him mutter, “Go for it,” but he quickly covered it up with, “I’d like to see you try.”

Rafael laughed. “Ooh, them’s fightin’ words.”

Parker laughed, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Ruby knew the conversation had turned awkward in the balloon, and had then turned embarrassing when Parker had shut down her advances. But was that enough for him to brush her off like this?

Apparently it was. Parker didn’t speak to Ruby the whole way back, except to ask her what she wanted to order at the drive-thru. After they got back to the hotel, he crashed on the bed and fell asleep within seconds. Of course, he sprawled out across the entire bed, and Ruby was left standing, wondering what she was supposed to do now. She was exhausted, but there was no way she was going to try to get Parker to scoot over. She was already on his bad side, and waking him up could only make it worse.

Ruby walked around the motel. For such a rundown place, it really had the best location. On the far side of the building, she discovered what used to be a swimming pool. Now it was just a hole in the ground with a few pool chairs turned over, collecting leaves and dirt. Rather than fight the spiders and the other awful things that must be hiding in there, Ruby opted to sit on the edge of the pool, her legs dangling over the edge. Her phone burst into the Indiana Jones theme, and when she pulled it out of her pocket, she saw Zoe’s face on the screen, smiling at her.

Ruby felt a sudden surge of homesickness. This had been a bad idea, running away, trying to escape. Everything, and everyone, she loved was back in Amor. She managed to answer the phone call before it went to voicemail.

“Hi, Zoe.”

“Hey, how’s my renegade doing this afternoon?”

Ruby smiled, but it quickly slipped away. “Fine. Hey, what are you doing right now?”

“Painting my kitchen. What are you doing?”

Ruby’s heart dropped into her stomach. “What? Tell me you aren’t getting rid of the pugs.” What would be left of Clark if all the things that held his memories were erased?

There was a long pause. “I’m sorry, Ruby. You know I always change things up. I don’t even want to know how many layers of paint are on my walls right now.”

“But you don’t change the kitchen. That one has been off limits since—”

“Yes, I know, since Clark died,” Zoe interrupted. “But it’s time for a new season. Just because I don’t have a pug clock staring me in the face doesn’t mean I’m going to forget my brother. But how would he feel if he knew that our lives stopped because his did? I’m sorry, but I have to move on.” She paused. “Why were you wondering what I’m doing?”

“Doesn’t matter. Sounds like you’re busy,” Ruby said, trying unsuccessfully to keep the bitterness from her voice.

“Do you need something? How is everything going with Parker?” Zoe asked. “He’s being a gentleman, I hope.”

“Nothing’s going well anymore, and I was actually wondering if you were up for an impromptu road trip.” Ruby couldn’t imagine having to spend another night in the same room with Parker. She had thought she could do this, move past Clark like Zoe apparently was, but Ruby had made a huge mistake in coming there.

“No can do,” Zoe said. “Sorry.”

A surge of anger tore through Ruby and she said, “Right. Because you’re too busy painting over your dead brother’s memory. Got it.”

“That’s not fair,” Zoe said, her voice escalating in pitch. “Normally I would drop everything to come get you, you know that. But not this time. You have issues you need to work through, and you can’t work through them in Amor. Sorry, but you need to stick out one more day there. I don’t know what’s happened between you and Parker, but you need to figure it out.”

The phone went silent, and then the call disconnected. Zoe had hung up on Ruby.

“Fine, I didn’t need you anyway,” Ruby muttered.

“Everything okay?” a low voice asked.

Ruby turned and found Andy standing behind her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize anyone else was here.”

He sat down next to her, his own legs dangling over the edge. “You want to talk?”

Ruby laughed, but it came out a bit maniacal. “What could I possibly want to talk about? My best friend refusing to come here to pick me up because she’s too busy painting her kitchen? Or perhaps you’d like to know about my dead husband. Or we could talk about my dead parents. How about this one? My baby that I lost after losing my parents and husband.” She sounded like a crazy person, and Andy should have leaped to his feet and run in the other direction. Instead, he looked out across the depressing remnants of the swimming pool and said, “You need to get over yourself.”

Ruby reared back as if Andy had just slapped her. “I’m sorry?”

“You’ve been given a crappy hand, yeah, I get it. But you’re using it to push everyone away, including Parker. Nobody deserves that, especially the person you’re hurting the most.”

“Yeah, and who is that?” Ruby asked, staring him in the eyes.

“Yourself.”

Who did this guy think he was? He’d met her the day before and all of a sudden he thought he knew everything about her. “You don’t know anything about what I’ve been through or what my life is like.”

“All I’m saying is if you don’t start acting like the girl that Parker thinks you are, you’re going to end up the lonely, cranky old lady that feels so sorry for herself she spends all her time and money buying stuff off the TV in the middle of the night, just so she can see the delivery guy for some social interaction.”

“I’m not going to be that lady,” Ruby whispered.

“Really? Because while you’re busy moping out here, Parker is hurting for real inside your hotel room. And it’s not about stuff that happened years ago. It’s about stuff that happened today. Right now. That is what is real.” Andy stood up, shook his head and walked away.

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Ruby called after him, but he didn’t turn back. She hurried back to the hotel room, and when she opened the door, Parker was slinging his backpack over one shoulder. “Where are you going?” she asked.

“Out. I need to fly.”