Ignited (29 page)

Cora nodded. “I still have water, so you don’t need to worry.”

Knowing that helped. Ruth leaned down and tied up the edge of her skirt above her knees, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly as her eyes fell shut. The power in her veins seemed to thrum with energy and intensity, as if it knew she was about to use it. She imagined the flames sprouting from her feet, licking up her legs, growing and growing.

She was concentrating so deeply that she almost missed it when Cora gasped.

Ruth blinked and glanced down. Flames covered the skin of her legs to just under the hem of her dress, where they licked at the fabric, turning it dark and charred. Her arms were alight to the bottoms of her cap sleeves. There was no pain, no fear. She let herself burn brightly and then imagined the fire going down, petering out to nothing. The flames receded, disappearing altogether and leaving nothing but a faint glow that faded over the next few seconds.

“Wow,” said Ruth. She hadn’t expected that to happen; she hadn’t realized she was capable of that much control.

Cora’s arms were around her a moment later, the other girl laughing excitedly. “That was so amazing! I’m really impressed by how fast you caught on! You should be proud of yourself.”

And to her surprise, Ruth
was
proud. She’d always actively avoided pride, as it was a deadly sin, but this didn’t feel as morally perilous as she’d expected it would. It didn’t come from a place of vanity or self-indulgence, she reasoned. It was the pride of knowing she was growing. There was nothing sinful about being better, so long as she knew there was always room for improvement.

Ruth was miles away from where she needed to be in order to have full control of herself, but there was something pleasing about seeing how far she had come in so short a time. Despite everything she’d always been taught, Ruth could not find it in herself to believe this feeling of accomplishment was wrong.

“Thank you so much. I don’t think I would have felt comfortable doing this without you,” Ruth told Cora. It made the other girl hug her again.

June was by Ruth’s side as the two women pulled away from each other. She quickly took Ruth’s arm up in her own. “Sorry, Cora, but it’s getting late, and Ivan and I are heading back. We’re going to walk Ruth home.”

Cora frowned. “But Ruth lives on this side of town. She’s not on your way.”

June’s mouth gaped, and she stumbled over her words as she tried to find a reply. Ruth felt her face going up in flames—the metaphorical kind, thankfully. She hadn’t thought about how to handle the Henry situation with the other Independents.

The other Independents.
She
was an Independent. These people were the ones she could trust. In the course of the night, they’d shown themselves to be a tight-knit group dedicated to safeguarding each other’s secrets. Even Kent and Veronica had stopped by to welcome Ruth. If anyone was going to protect her, it was them. She had no doubt of that.

Ruth put a hand on June’s shoulder. “It’s fine,” she said. She turned to look at Cora. “I ran away from my father’s house. I’ve been living with Dr. Porter.”

The news was shocking, but Cora recovered quickly. She blinked in surprise and then smiled genially. “Oh, I see.”

Ruth nodded. The compulsion to be entirely truthful and to explain herself was strong. Her father had never let her out of a conversation with anything less than all the details of her sins. But she was not living with her father anymore, and she owed no one her secrets, even if she trusted them to keep them.

“Well, I’m glad to hear it,” Cora said. “No one ever approved of how he treated you.”

“I know.”

Ruth looked out over the faces of the Independents as they started to pack up their space, chatting amiably. Between her time with Henry and their warm welcome, she felt more comfortable in her own skin than she had in years. Since she was small, she’d felt like every step she had taken could have been done better. Religion was not supposed to make one feel small, it was supposed to connect one to others.

Her father had never wanted her to connect with anyone, had made her feel alone and worthless. There was no shame in not being like him, she realized. And there was no shame in having gotten away from him, either.

Maybe … maybe she would talk to Officer Harris tonight and do whatever she could to keep her father away from her. Then, she could do what she wanted, go into own, love Henry in public. What was stopping her, really? Her fear for her reputation? She’d lived in fear for so long. Maybe it was time to stop.

“We better get going,” June said.

“Thanks again, Cora,” Ruth called as June tugged her away. They passed Matt Harris at the entrance, and Ruth pulled back. “Hold on. I need one more minute.”

June frowned, her eyes traveling between Ruth and Matt, and then she seemed to understand. She nodded and took a step back, giving Ruth some space.

Although Ruth had never spoken to Officer Harris before, he couldn’t have helped but notice her exchange with June. He looked at her, eyebrows raised. “How can I help you, Ruth?”

“I want to talk to you about ways we can legally keep my father away from me,” she said. The words cost her a lot, cut her deeply, but the wound was clearing, and she stood tall.

Matt joined the three of them on their walk home, listening intently as Ruth talked about her need to escape her home life. His brows were drawn, face serious in the dim moonlight.

“Well,” he said, as they crossed the bridge, the river rambling underneath their feet. “I have bad news, some more bad news, and then some good news.”

Ruth’s heart sank. “Start with the worst, I guess.”

“Any sort of legal action—a restraining order, that sort of thing—is going to have to go through the district court, and that will take up to a month. And I’ve been put on unpaid leave, so there’s not much I can help you do with filing a complaint.” Matt paused, frowning. “I wouldn’t even bother with the police chief, if I were you.”

On Ruth’s left, June gasped. “Matt! You were forced to take leave?”

The Riverview neighborhood was immediately to the right, and Matt paused and nodded that direction. “I live this way.” He sighed. “And yeah. Barton—sorry,
Captain
Barton—claims I misfiled some evidence from the fight, but everyone knows it’s because I have powers. The chief just took his claim at face value and kicked me out.”

“He can’t do that,” Ivan cut in, angry and abrupt. “That’s an abuse of his power.”

Matt shrugged. “And who is going to stop him? The mayor’s barely addressed the whole powers thing, and the town hates us, so when she does, I don’t expect her to come down on our side.”

For the first time, Ruth realized she was never going to be wholly safe, no matter what. It wasn’t just her father and his congregants who disliked and feared the Independents. Nearly everyone was scared of them. It seemed preposterous—when had Ruth ever scared anyone in her life? Nevertheless, it was the truth.

There wasn’t a perfect solution. Every course of action had repercussions. This problem was bigger than Ruth and her father.

Resolve strengthened inside of Ruth. She would not live safely at the expense of herself. She would not cheat herself that way, not anymore. She’d made the break with her father, and maybe there were more breaks to come—worse ones, scarier ones. There was no way of knowing. But if she started running away from her problems now, she was certain she would never be able to stop.

“What was the good news?” she asked, glancing up at Matt.

He broke out into a grin. He was only a year or so older than her, but when he smiled like that, he looked much younger. “The good news is that you’re one of us, and no one is going to let anything happen to you.”

Ruth gaped at him, unable to find the words. June reached out and touched her shoulder, gentle and comforting. She looked around at all three of their faces, taking them in, soaking in the moment. This, she realized, was what it was like to be loved.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Henry

Henry awoke the next few morning tangled up in the sheets and Ruth’s limbs. It was the best he had ever slept.

When Ruth had come home from the mine, full of excitement about her first experience there, she’d only had one complaint: Matt Harris was on forced leave and would not be able to help her avoid her father—in any official capacity, at least. Unofficially, he and the rest of the Independents were more than happy to look out for one of their own. Matt, June, and Ivan had sworn they would make sure nothing happened to her, whenever she decided to go public.

She and Henry had found some wonderful ways to celebrate that particular piece of news.

The next morning, Ruth cooked them breakfast while he showered and got ready for the day. He slipped downstairs in stocking feet to find her wearing a dress he’d never seen before, plating eggs and toast. It was all so stunningly domestic. A small bit of guilt gnawed at him. He needed to stop being such a coward and go ask his mother for his father’s ring.

He shook the thoughts away. They weren’t the kinds of things he needed to dwell on, not when Ruth looked so pretty and fresh in a floral dress, smiling at him from across the table.

As she put a plate down on the table, Ruth sat down beside him. “I had a thought,” she said, biting at her lip. “Can I walk with you this morning? To work, I mean?”

Henry rubbed the remaining sleep away from his eyes. Was he still asleep? “Do you think that’s a good idea? Someone is bound to see, and I don’t want to—”

“I don’t care. I don’t care anymore.” She leaned close to press a kiss to his cheek. “The Independents will look out for me. I don’t want to hide like we are some sort of shameful secret. I’m not ashamed.”

Henry stared at her and then swept his arms around her. “You feel comfortable with this?” 

Ruth nodded, and he grinned. 

“All right, if that’s what you want,” he said. “I would be honored if you would walk me to work.”

True to her word, when he was ready to go, Ruth slipped into her shoes and walked beside him into town. He had his medical bag in one hand and determinedly slipped his free one into hers, hoping she understood what he meant by the gesture. He was not ashamed, either. They were a united front.

Ruth made every effort to chat as they normally did, but it was hard not to notice this was a definite shift in their relationship. They loved each other, but it’d been their secret.

Now, everyone would know.

Henry didn’t mind that part. Ruth was incredible, Ruth was beautiful, and Ruth was his. One day, she would even bear his name. 

If you ever go get that ring
, a terrible part of him muttered. Henry ignored it.

He was proud of her, but more than anything, he was proud to belong to her. He watched the sun bounce off her dark hair, the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed. Proud was definitely the right word.

But he wasn’t completely ignorant of the fact that they were in very different situations. It was different for a woman to outwardly be with a man to whom she was not married than it was for a man to outwardly be with a woman. He was not going to experience the same stigma and shame that would be thrust upon her. If something were to happen, no one would resent him the way they would be bound to resent her.

To walk by his side, so obviously from his home—it was an incredible act of courage. Henry was overwhelmed by the strength of Ruth’s commitment to him, the depth of her love. He wondered what he had ever done to deserve something so good. He saw a few passersby—Robby from the butcher shop, and old Mr. Jenkins, opening the jewelry store. Their eyes felt weighty, but Henry paid them as little mind as possible.

When they arrived outside the clinic, the door was already open and Mrs. McClure was sitting at the front desk, going over the day’s schedule. Ruth went on her toes and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to do some shopping in town, I think. It might be nice to use your refrigerator to store food, rather than just as a decoration.”

“
Haha
,” he said in mock indignation, fighting a smile even as he admitted, “I don’t shop as often as I should.” He fished his wallet out of his pocket and handed her a few bills. “Pick out whatever you want. Thank you for doing that.”

“Well, someone needs to make sure you don’t starve.” She gave him a small wave good-bye, backing up a few steps instead of turning around. 

He felt pulled in by her eyes on him, and they kept their gazes locked until she turned and headed for the general store. Henry leaned against the front of the building for a moment, willing his heart rate to slow.

As he stepped inside the lobby, Mrs. McClure nearly vaulted over her desk. She was impressively agile for someone who was well into her advanced years. “Was that
Ruth Baker
?” she asked, scandalized. “Did she
kiss
you?”

Henry dodged around Mrs. McClure, offering her a charming smile. “Really, Mrs. M. I thought you weren’t a gossip.”

“It isn’t gossip if it happens ten feet in front of my own eyes!” she called back as he disappeared down the hall and into his office.

The morning rush calmed at some point after ten o’clock, and Mrs. McClure popped into Henry’s office. “Patrice and I are going to take a five minute cigarette break. Be a dear and sit at the front desk in case anyone walks in?”

Henry nodded, hoping he looked less reluctant than he felt. A five minute cigarette break usually meant a twenty minute conversation—and what was worse, he was sure to be the center of Mrs. McClure and Patrice’s morning gossip.

He couldn’t deny Mrs. McClure anything, however, not since he was six and she slipped him hard candies when his grandfather wasn’t looking. He made his way to the front as the pair of them disappeared out the back door, giggling like schoolgirls.

His grandfather was ensconced in exam room three, and the waiting room was completely deserted. Henry’s eyes darted around. He wouldn’t have another chance like this one unless he stayed late one night, and there was no way to do that without drawing attention to himself.