Free Love Finds You at Home for Christmas by Annalisa Daughety

topic?”
    Ruby laughed. “Yes. And no.”
    â€œFair enough.” He looked down and realized he was still holding her hand. It felt nice.
    â€œI have a confession.” She grinned. “Earlier when I fired the gun, I didn’t actually fire it at anything.”
    He burst out laughing. “Then what was that all about?”
    â€œI guess sometimes I’m too stubborn for my own good. I really just wanted you to know that I knew how to use the gun. Sometimes my stupid pride gets the best of me.”
    Her honesty surprised him. “You realize I never would’ve known that you didn’t fire at a rabbit.”
    Ruby nodded. “Yes, but I don’t like the idea of being dishonest. Especially not with you.” She grinned. “I think we should promise to always be honest with each other, even if it isn’t pretty.”
    He stood up and offered his hand. “Sounds like a plan. Never hold back.”
    â€œSounds good.” She clasped his hand and allowed him to pull her up from the log. “You know how I told you that I had to go to the admin building after work today?”
    He kept his grip on her hand as they started walking through the woods and was pleased that she didn’t let go. “I’m still not convinced you weren’t caught wearing sandals on the line again.”
    She stuck her tongue out at him. “I told you I learned my lesson about that. Actually I had to go over there to let them know that I’ll be staying on through mid-December.”
    He stopped walking and turned to face her. “You will?” He knew she picked up on the excitement in his voice, but he didn’t care. “What about college?”
    â€œI think it’s more important for me to stay here, where I’m actually making a contribution to the war effort besides just rationing or buying war bonds. You know? Every day when I go to work, I think about how what we’re doing here in this little plant in Arkansas could be helping my brothers wherever they are stationed. And right now it’s more important for me to do that than it is for me to go back to classes and do my student teaching.”
    Cliff didn’t try to hide his grin as they started walking again. “Well, I can’t say that I’m sad about your decision. I didn’t even know you were considering it. I’m a little surprised you didn’t say something sooner.” If she’d gone to the trouble to schedule a meeting with the higher ups, it meant she’d been thinking about it for a while.
    She shrugged. “You know how I am. I like to figure stuff out on my own. I guessed you’d think my staying was a good idea. Same with Lola. I didn’t tell her either. I wanted to make sure the decision was mine and mine alone.”
    Cliff could respect her quest for independence, but it worried him some too. Would Ruby ever be able to let go of some of that and have a real relationship? The more he got to know her, the more he wondered. “Well, that’s great. I’ll be happy to have you around—for a few more months anyway. December, did you say?”
    She nodded. “That’s right. I’ll work right up until Christmas, then I’m planning to go home to see my family. I can start back to classes in January.” She shrugged. “If I were only taking myself into consideration, I’d probably just stay here until the war was over. But my parents are not going to take the news well. Papa has paid a lot of money for me to get a college education. I don’t want to let my family down by dropping out, especially when I’m this close to finishing.”
    â€œYou’re a thoughtful daughter.”
    â€œI love my parents. I don’t like the idea of doing anything they don’t approve or aren’t proud of. It wasn’t easy for them to let me come here in the first place, so I know the idea of my sitting out of