“I’m glad we had this private ceremony. Just a quiet celebration that’s all me and Mac,” Aimee told them. “And I’m so glad you get to be here.” She and Ruby hugged.

  “Your love for one another shines.” Ruby indicated Mac, who stood speaking with his parents.

  “He’s more than I ever expected.” Aimee’s goofy smile made Ruby swoon. So beautiful to see her friend blissfully happy.

  “Y’all deserve each other. In a good way.”

  “And now you have Damon and Katie Faith has Jace and it’s just, it’s a wonderful thing that we all have something this important and full of joy.”

  “Agreed.” Ruby’s gaze darted over to where Mac spoke to Dwayne and Scarlett. “Everything else all right?”

  Aimee rolled her eyes. “As all right as it can be.”

  “All righty then, Ms. Mayor. You let me know if anyone’s ass needs kicking, all right?”

  Aimee giggled. “Y’all are the best. So far, everyone is behaving as promised. Let’s just continue to hope that stays the course.”

  They stayed until the end of the champagne hour and told Aimee they’d see her on the Ave in less than an hour.

  “Are you more excited or less about our wedding?” Damon asked her as they walked back to the car.

  “I’ve been thinking a lot about ceremonies and what they mean. We’re already married. I’ve just felt that to my toes after Halloween night. And after the induction I certainly feel like I’m a member of Dooley and our connection comes via you. I learned a lot from that process. Your grandmother’s assistance was so helpful and important in letting me understand why and how things were done. So I do feel like I’ll learn things from our second wedding too. It’s not about feeling married. Like I said, I already do. It’s about ritual. And ceremony. It’s all part of making our bond stronger and better. Keeping it healthy.”

  “I never thought about it like that. I like that you did though.” Damon opened her car door and helped her up and once she was in the seat, he leaned in to kiss her slow and very thoroughly.

  She held his face in her hands and kissed his nose. “I love you, Damon. I’m so very glad to be yours.”

  His eyes filled with so much emotion it nearly stole her breath.

  “You are the best thing in the world, Ruby darlin’. I love you too. I can’t wait to marry you again next month. And then I can’t wait to have a few months of quiet after that.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “I lugged those boxes into the spare room like you asked,” Damon told her when she got home from work that evening.

  “Thank you.” He knew she was making a photo book for her family with pictures and things from her aunt, but he didn’t know she was doing the same for him and his brothers. He’d gone with her to pick the boxes up from where they’d been stored at her parents’ house.

  “I need to run.” He kissed her quickly. “We’re laying floors tonight. I think we’ll be ready to move in before Yule. I’ll take the boys with me if you like. They always behave and they like being around shifters.”

  They heard him talking about them and tappy tapped all over the place, vibrating with excitement, trying hard not to bark.

  “I think that’s an unqualified Mom can we please hang out with Dad and our uncles reaction.” Ruby bent to give them both some love, pleased with how well they’d all taken to one another.

  He left shortly thereafter with a flurry of noise and activity and she was blissfully alone in the quiet. She put on some music and after changing her clothes, she headed into the spare room.

  Her aunt Charlene had kept journals since she’d been a teen and when Ruby began to page through them, she found poems, snippets of song lyrics and recipes.

  Charli had been a bright, sunny light and the loss of her, Ruby’s uncle Chester and her two cousins had been a blow not just to the family, but the town they were such a strong part of. Ruby missed them every day and she knew her family had as well.

  Then there were photo albums. Each one she pulled from boxes and opened up had been another step into her past. Another block in the foundation of her family’s history. Naturally each photo had been labeled on the back with the people, places and year taken.

  Ruby pulled out the photos she needed and marked the pages of poetry and recipes she’d include. A few years back at an art fair, Ruby had seen cutting boards with recipes burned into the wood in the handwriting of the original recipe writer. She’d tucked it aside in her brain, pretty sure she’d use it at some point in the future and here it was, that opportunity. She knew for sure her mom and grandmother would really love it.

  She’d save some of the journal stories to give to people individually in private. Ruby wouldn’t share anything that was an intimate detail. She made it a point not to read further once she’d discovered an entry that was very personal. She didn’t want to embarrass anyone, or betray a confidence. But she knew these pieces of her aunt would be cherished by those who loved her.

  It was bittersweet. Ruby’s aunt had been the one to teach her how to roller-skate. Ruby learned to make candles at her kitchen counter. Death was another state of existence, but it was so hard for those left behind.

  Ruby blew her nose and dried her tears before she went to grab something for the crying headache she was sure to have later. And opened another several boxes, each full of delightful memories.

  And in one of the last boxes, there was a great deal of correspondence. Cards and letters for holidays and birthdays. Her congratulations cards from after the birth of her children. Letters she’d written back and forth with Ruby’s mom while her aunt and uncle traveled.

  The love letters from her uncle Chester, Ruby placed aside, unlooked at. Those two had a love Ruby had recognized as always and forever. They’d been together and yet wholly themselves. They’d chosen one another and it had shone from them. She’d been lucky to have grown up with so many positive examples of successful, working relationships.

  Another bundle, bound with a ratty rubber band, was in the bottom and she pulled it free to see they were all unopened. Five in all. From Mary Rodgers. Scarlett’s younger sister.

  What the hell?

  She got up and went to make a cup of tea. It’d warm her up and give her a task her hands knew well so she could think a bit.

  Boxes of effects and many cards and letters and they’d all been opened but the envelopes in her hand. Why? If they hadn’t been important in some way, why keep them for over twenty years? And if they had been important why not open them?

  Ruby tap, tap, tapped the envelopes against the counter as she thought and fought with herself. Would it be an invasion of privacy if she read them? After all, she’d skipped through anything in the journals that had looked intimate or sex related or anything of the sort. And the envelopes were closed for a reason.

  She needed advice, plain and simple, so she grabbed her coat, scribbled a note to Damon that she was going over to her mom’s and would be back shortly and headed to the door.

  And on her doorstep stood her dad.

  “Hey, baby. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “Not at all. In fact your being here right this moment is absolutely perfect. Come in. I need some advice.”

  He hugged her on his way past and then hung up both their coats.

  “Everything all right?” her dad asked. “Are things okay between you and Damon?”

  “Nothing like that, I promise. Things are great between me and Damon. And in general as it happens. It’s one of those moral quandary–type situations. Come through to the kitchen for a cup of tea and some cinnamon apple cake and I’ll explain.”

  “Ooh, cake,” he said with pleasure and she knew it was the exact right thing that it was him rather than her mom to give her advice.

  “I suppose I should have asked you if everything was okay,” she called over her shoulder as she got them both big squares of the apple cake. “I wasn’t expecting to find you on my doorstep. Though I’m sure glad to see you.”

  “I just dropped some bags of soil over at Lovie’s and when I saw the lights on here, I knew I needed to stop in.”

  A wave of affection hit her. “Your gut is never wrong, Dad.”

  When she brought the tea over and settled in once again, she drew out the bundle of letters. “I’ve been going through some of Auntie Charlene’s photos, journals and recipe books. Don’t tell anyone but I’m making a present for Mom and Lovie. You know how Charli was, she kept so much. But in these keepsake boxes, everything had some meaning. And then in the bottom of one of them I found these. Unopened. From Mary Rodgers.”

  Her father gave her a look and then one down to the envelopes. “Back when we were all a lot younger, Mary and your aunt were friends. This was before you were born but we had Greg.”

  “What happened to end the friendship?”

  “I don’t know. They were friends and then they weren’t. I figured your aunt finally learned Mary was two-faced and got herself free. Charlene always was too nice. But once she was done, she was done. She never brought it up and I never asked. But why not just open the letters and see what they are yourself?”

  “That’s what I need the advice on. It feels like an invasion of privacy maybe? Aunt Charlene never said anything so that was on purpose. Maybe she doesn’t want them to be read. Maybe I’m not the person to open them.”

  But there was something driving her. Something told her she was supposed to open them but it was hard to know if it was just nosiness or something more.

  “Ruby, Charli loved you and all these keepsake boxes of her things would have come to you anyway. You’re that person in the family.” Her dad shrugged. “If she hadn’t wanted those letters opened, why keep them? Why keep them with the pictures and journals and the like? She wanted them found and knowing Charlene, she had a reason for you to be the one to do it. You said yourself everything else in those boxes had a reason. Why would the letters be any different? Anyway, if it’s something you know she wouldn’t want anyone to see, you can shred them yourself.”

  “Will you stay while I read them?”

  “Sure will. I bet you have something good to eat in here. Let me call your momma to let her know where I am then I’ll make us both a snack.” Even though he’d just eaten a giant slice of cake. Goodness she loved her dad.

  She wasn’t hungry really, but she’d happily have him in her kitchen as she dealt with ghosts of the past.

  * * *

  Thirty minutes later, she’d finished reading the letters twice and she knew why Scarlett and Mary didn’t want the ending of the Rule of Silence to be applied retroactively.

  “This one,” she held it up as she spoke to her father, “isn’t from Mary even though it’s her return address on the outside. It’s from Scarlett.”

  Charlene,

  You have no call to keep upsetting Mary the way you have. If you can’t be her friend and protect her, keep your mouth shut and never contact her again.

  Let the past go. Mind your business and focus on taking care of your family and your career. Those boys are better off and they aren’t worth the damage you’d do to yourself over this.

  Protect yours and I’ll protect mine, Charlene. Don’t be a problem.

  Scarlett

  “Well now.” Her dad plopped down into the seat across from her. “Sounds like a threat. Why don’t you fill me in on the rest?”

  “Hang on a moment,” Ruby told him as she got up from the table. She needed to center herself to process everything she’d just discovered.

  She lit a candle and on the way back to the table picked up two shot glasses and pulled vodka from the freezer.

  Her dad looked at the booze and back to her. “When does Damon get home? Do you want to wait to talk to him?”

  “Well.” She poured them both a shot and then took it. “I think this is related to whatever it was that Josiah Dooley did. Which means he’s not supposed to talk about it under the Rule of Silence. The same one Mary and Scarlett have been trying to stop.”

  She took another shot. “For that matter, I’m not supposed to I guess, since they inducted me into the pack.”

  “Bullshit,” her dad said, bringing a welcome laugh from her. He pointed at the letters. “Charli kept them for a reason. They came to you because she wanted someone to know at some point. That’s a different sort of promise and it weighs more. I do understand your wanting to think awhile on what to tell Damon about all this. So let me be your person to talk to about it all.”

  “Thank you.” Ruby got up to hug him and he did the same. There was nothing in her life like her dad telling her things would be okay and to trust him to help. “Okay so all the letters are dated in the months before Damon’s father was sentenced. Which is relevant because apparently Mary and Josiah Dooley had an affair. Looks like it’d been going on for over a year and Charli didn’t approve. Mind you this was one-sided so I don’t know the whole story. There was something she was covering up, or lying about and I think it has to do with Josiah and whatever he got punished for.”

  “But no specifics on what?”

  Ruby shook her head. “No. Like I said, it’s just whatever Mary is reacting to.”

  “You said you had Charlene’s journals here?”

  “You’re so smart. Yes, in the spare room. She even has the covers dated.”

  An hour later Ruby once again found her world turned on its head.

  “Dad, I think I have to tell Damon about this. There’s no way I can keep it from him. He needs to know.”

  “I think so too. I know you’re worried about what to do and say but I’m not. You love him and you’ll find a way to protect him. I have every confidence in you. These secrets are poisonous. Enough people have been hurt.”

  “Damon and his brothers had grown up weighted down by other people’s secrets. At the same time, when this comes out there’ll be collateral damage. Aimee and Mac will face leadership challenges. And horrible or not, Scarlett is his mother. Mary is his aunt. It’s all exhausting. On the other hand, Damon, Major and Jace had lost a parent, the only one they’d had left, and it looked like Scarlett and her sister might be why.

  “Most of all though, I know without a doubt that no matter how frustrated Damon is with the speed of this process to get rid of the Rule of Silence, he’s dedicated to his pack. He leads by example so if this does come out, I can’t let him be responsible for any part of it. The letters and journals aren’t wolf business. They’re mine to do with what I want.”

  Her dad patted her shoulder. “I’m going to head home because you need to think a bit on your own before Damon gets back. Just remember the difference between what’s legal or fair and what is just. Act accordingly. We both know you were raised right.”

  * * *

  Damon came home sometime after eleven, tired and sore but pleased they’d been able to get so much work done. The dogs ran into the house where his beautiful witch sat on the couch with a fire burning merrily.

  “Hey, boys. I missed you. All of you. Did you have fun with Daddy?” she asked as K Mags scampered up the ramp to the couch with Biscuit close behind. “So many kisses. Oh my!”

  Damon grinned at the sight but something wasn’t entirely right with Ruby.

  “Have you eaten?” she asked, extricating herself from dogs and the blanket to stand.

  He breathed her in as she moved into his arms. “We had a dinner break at eight so I could stand to eat. But first tell me what’s wrong.” Damon kissed her temple and she snuggled into his arms a moment before she broke free.

  “Dinner first. Then I’ll tell you. I’m sure the boys are tuckered out after having a fun night with you all but I could be persuaded to provide a bedtime snack for them too.”

  She put together a meal as he noted the half-empty vodka bottle and two glasses. The only other recent scent he picked up was of her father.

  “You and your dad been doing some drinking? Ruby darlin’, please share.”

  “I’m going to share with you but before I do understand I spent a lot of time today working through whether or not I should. And decided I needed to. Just trust me to hit the high notes and then I’ll come back to details as needed.”

  “I do trust you,” he told her. And it was surely true but he was not looking forward to whatever she had to say.

  “Today I went through my aunt’s stuff and I found some letters which led me to some journal entries. Your father and Mary Rodgers had an affair. Lasted a little over a year from what I can tell. During that time she helped him embezzle money from Pembry coffers. There’s also evidence he stole from Dooley.”

  Damon continued to eat as he processed. “No one gets executed and stricken from existence for embezzlement. And since Mary is still around and appears unpunished, I’m guessing she lied in some way to save herself. It’s hard to know about what because the charges are sealed as well.”

  “Damon, are you glad I told you? I wrestled so hard with everything. My dad was such a great sounding board. He said at the end to know the difference between what’s legal and what’s justice and to choose the right one. I know this knowledge is forbidden to you by pack law, but damn it, I will not have you hurt by these poisonous secrets any longer. And this didn’t come from a pack source at all. This came from my aunt’s journals and letters from Mary. The one from Scarlett sounds like a threat to me. Charli never even opened them but that’s not to say she never felt threatened. I don’t know why she kept them. It’s not like she knew what they said. But like Lovie, she had the gift of seeing. She wanted them to come to light someday.”