The Presence of Grace (Love and Loss #2)(24)

Standing, I noticed the mantel had many more pictures of Olivia, only these were photos of her with her family, and I couldn’t help the smile that came over my face, the deep and hollow feeling that settled in my gut, or the frown that came with feeling two warring emotions at once.

I found the bathroom and on my way back out I practically ran into Ruby.

“Oh my goodness,” I said, hand to my chest, breaths coming hard and fast. “You scared me.”

“I didn’t know you were here.” Ruby’s tone landed somewhere between apologetic and accusatory.

“I fell asleep while your dad was getting your meds.” For some reason, it felt as though I was trying to explain to my father why I’d missed curfew.

Ruby watched me for a few more moments, still at the threshold of the bathroom. “I’m hungry,” she finally said, her voice softer, and my shoulders sagged as the tension between us melted away.

“Well, I think it would be good to let your daddy sleep for a bit, so how about I make you breakfast?”

She shrugged. “Okay.” I let out a breath of relief and made my way to the kitchen, quietly opening cabinets to try and figure out what I could make for a child recovering from a stomach bug. When I heard footsteps coming down the hall, I turned just in time to see Ruby hike herself up onto one of the barstools. Then she just stared at me.

“What do you feel like eating?” She shrugged again. “Hmmm, I know when kids are sick, you’re only supposed to feed them food on the BRAT list.”

“The what?” Her face contorted in confusion.

“BRAT—bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. Rice isn’t a very good breakfast choice. How about toast?” I gave her a hopeful look.

“I hate toast.”

“Okay….” I turned back to the cupboards, looking for applesauce but coming up empty-handed. My gaze moved over the countertops until I found what I was looking for. “Ah! But there are bananas. How about a banana?”

Ruby chewed on her bottom lip a bit, then said, “I’m, like, really hungry.”

“Hmmm,” I said, thinking that breakfast couldn’t always be this difficult. Then my eyes caught something else in the cupboard. “How about banana pancakes?”

Her eyebrows rose. “You can make banana pancakes?”

I shrugged one shoulder. “Sure. It can’t be that hard. You’ve got bananas and pancake mix. Besides, everything is possible with Google.” She gave a little laugh and I wanted to hold on to that sound forever, just grab it tightly and listen to it over and over again. Instead, I walked to the coffee table to retrieve my phone.

Twenty minutes later I had thrown together Google’s easiest banana pancake recipe and two good-sized pancakes were cooking on the stovetop.

“Were you on a date with my dad last night?” Ruby had been noticeably quiet as I prepared the batter, and I’d let the silence between us linger, unsure of where to start a conversation, so I was completely caught off guard by her question.

“We… were… just spending some time together. No big deal.” I tried to sound airy and light, not at all like we were talking about the huge change Ruby had picked up on.

“He put on his fancy cologne before he left. And you’re wearing a dress.”

I read between the lines of what she was saying, and thanked my lucky stars I was forced to watch the pancakes bubble instead of having to face her. Obviously, Devon hadn’t explained to his children that he was dating, and it wasn’t my business to have that conversation with his daughter. The pancakes made a satisfying sizzle as I flipped them, and then I turned to Ruby.

“Your father and I just enjoy each other’s company. Sometimes it’s good for adults to spend time with other adults.”

Her face didn’t change with my statement, and she continued to watch me, looking as though she was waiting for more of an explanation. Waiting for me to tell her something that would take the fear of change away.

“Are you making us breakfast? Why are you making breakfast? What are you doing here?” Jax’s questions came just as quickly as his presence. Suddenly, he was just there, climbing on the stool beside Ruby.

“Good morning, Jax. I hope you like banana pancakes.”

“We’ve never had banana pancakes before,” he replied, thankfully dropping his previous line of questioning. “But I like bananas, and pancakes, so sounds good.”

I smiled at him, glad things were so black and white for him.

“Where do you guys keep your plates?”

The next few minutes were spent making sure the pancakes didn’t burn, getting plates ready, finding the syrup, and then watching Ruby and Jax take their first bites.

“So?” I asked, curious as to whether the banana pancakes would pass the kid test. Both Ruby and Jax’s eyes rolled closed.

“These are the best pancakes I’ve ever had, Miss Richards,” Jax said, mouth full and with a second bite on its way.

“I’m glad you like it. And tell you what—if we’re not at school, you can just call me Grace.”

He nodded and gave a grunt in response.

“Ruby? How are the pancakes?” She took a moment to think about her answer.

“They’d be better with chocolate chips,” she said just before putting another forkful in her mouth.