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Two

Alexis held little Ruby’s weight against her, relishing the solid war the special baby scent of her hair and skin So far, so good, she thought as they watched Catherine drive away The older woman had been torn, clearly reluctant to leave Ruby behind, but Alexis had hastened to assure her that she was doing the right thing, for them all, but h about her upco hoell Ruby would settle into her father’s home

A light breeze lifted a tuft of Ruby’s fine auburn hair and brushed against Alexis’s cheek, the touch as soft and delicate as fingertips tracing lightly across her skin A sudden pang for Bree cut her to the quick The realization that she would never see her friend again, never share a bottle of wine and silly laughter over happy reain squabble over as the more handsome out of the Hemsworth brothers

Her hold on the baby in her arrahtened and Ruby squawked in protest

“I’irl,” Alexis murmured into the baby’s soft fuzz of hair

She fought back the burn of tears that threatened to cascade down her face and hter, Bree, I promise And I will love her and care for her and keep you alive in her heart forever

Stepping back indoors, Alexis noticed that Raoul was nowhere to be seen inside the house A good thing perhaps? Alexis couldn’t be certain She popped Ruby on the floor with a few of the toys that Catherine had brought over with the baby and sat doith her She seeh Alexis knew fro as a newborn Understandable, given her start in life, she rationalized as she watched the little girl reach for ait as she popped her thu blue eyes stared back solemnly at Alexis

Somewhere in the house a door slahed softly

“Goodness,” she said rolling onto her belly on the floor and tickling the baby on one of her delightfully pudgy feet “That was loud, wasn’t it?”

She was rewarded with a shy smile that exposed four perfect pearl-like teeth and she felt her heart twist in response While Ruby’s coloring was exactly that of her mother’s, her smile was all Raoul

“You’re going to be quite the heartbreaker, aren’t you, young lady?”

The baby’s chin began to wrinkle and her lower lip to quiver Her thumb fell fro with tears as she stared past Alexis

“Oh, dear, was it so I said?”

Alexis pushed herself up into a sitting position and pulled the baby into her lap, rubbing her back in an attempt to soothe her but to no avail A prickle of awareness up her spine er alone