Hollywood (Redemption Road #2)

Prologue

JUNE

Hollywood

Tex’s legs pumped, dragging him forward under the weight of three kids as dusk rolled over the little park behind his apartment complex.

I stood under the branches of a silver maple, resting an arm on the tire swing suspended there. The six-pack of Budweiser I’d brought over—Tex’s favorite, not mine—sat by my feet.

We’d planned to meet up at seven, and it was a quarter after, but I didn’t mind waiting. It was a hell of a view.

Not the park. There wasn’t much to that. Just a small patch of land sprinkled with dead grass.

But Tex? He moved like the high school football star he’d once been, strong and powerful.

He hauled a four-foot boy under one arm, drawing out a screech of laughter. He had a football under the other arm, so ostensibly they were playing the game. An older kid of about ten hung off his right arm while a smaller boy clung to one leg.

Tex would have played college ball, he’d told me, but he’d torn his ACL and lost his scholarship. He was in perfect shape now, though. He’d once picked me up in a bear hug and spun me in a circle. We were about the same size—plus or minus some muscle mass—meaning he was strong as fuck.

A shiver went through me just as his eyes cut my way. A big smile spread across his face. Did he see my attraction and appreciate it—or was he just happy the cold beer had arrived?

I never knew how to read Tex. He loved to tease me about my pretty face and how I must have driven the desperate inmates wild in Business Jail.

He called it that because it was a low-security prison with a lot more amenities than the state penitentiary where he and the other Redemption Road guys served time.

His teasing skirted awfully close to flirting, and his eyes lingered on me in a way that suggested my attraction wasn’t one-sided.

And yet, there was an uneasiness in him if I tried to nudge that innuendo toward its natural conclusion.

He was evasive—distant, even—if I got too close.

The tension between us was more and more difficult to ignore, though. Eventually, like a rubber band stretched too far, it would snap. When it did, would Tex finally kiss me the way I wanted—or would he punch me in the face?

Metal screeched as the back door of the apartment complex opened. A woman stepped out. Her hair was a bottled shade of red—too crimson to be natural—and she was likely hiding a good amount of gray under that dye, too.

“Boys!” she called. “Dinner!”

“Aw!” The oldest of the three broke away from Tex, jogging a couple of steps toward the building. “Ten more minutes?”

“You get three.”

“But—”

“Nah, listen to your mom,” Tex said, deep voice cutting through the complaint. “Go eat. It’s getting late.”

“Not that late,” the kid grumbled.

Tex tousled his hair. “Eat some extra veggies for me.”

“Ew!” the youngest one cried. “No veggies!”

Their laughter rang out as the boys ran inside.

Did Ruby like veggies? My daughter was over two years old now, and I didn’t even know her favorite foods. If Carrie had her way, I never would. I’d ruined my family before it even got started.

Tex came my way, eyebrow raised. “You going to give me one of those beers or you just practicing for your next modeling gig?”

I flipped him the bird. “Never should have told you about that.”

He laughed, reaching out to snag the six-pack. I took a step to the side, blocking him. “Nope. I don’t think you deserve it now, bringing up my misspent youth like that.”

I’d made the mistake of telling Tex that I’d posed in an Abercrombie & Fitch ad campaign when I was fifteen. It had been my mother’s idea. She’d been working with an executive connected to the company.

“It’s not like it’s surprising,” he said. “You’ve got the looks for it.”

I rolled my eyes. “You know, I’m not just a pretty boy.”

“No?” He stepped back, gesturing. “Prove it.”

“Prove it?”

He jogged a few feet back to the discarded football. Clasped both hands around it. “Yeah, let’s see what you got.”

This was a mistake. I hesitated.

“Unless you’re all hat and no cattle,” he taunted.

“I have no idea what that means.” I stepped out from under the maple. “But I feel compelled to prove I’ve got some cattle.”

He laughed, eyes lighting up. “All right, then. Let’s go!”

I jogged forward, and he tossed the football at me. I scrambled to catch it, jolting to the side, fumbling it twice before locking hands around it. A sense of victory crashed through me. “Got it!”

“Good. Now run.”

What?

Tex charged. My heart leaped as if just zapped with a defibrillator, and a yell tore out of me. He was going to slam right into me! I darted to the right, attempting to avoid the bull running me down. Tex pivoted, a touch too slow, and I streaked across the park.

I could sense him just a step behind me. I put on a burst of speed.

Wham!

A heavy weight slammed into my lower back. Two-hundred-twenty pounds, to be exact. Tex laughed wildly as the ground rushed up to meet us.

I dropped the ball to catch myself. Tex’s body came down over mine. Damn, he did not hold back. My hands skidded through grass, stinging as if I’d just fisted ground glass. My face came an inch from eating dirt.

“Sonuvabitch!” I yelled. “This is my nice shirt.”

Tex laughed, sounding breathless. “Too easy, Holly. Too fuckin’ easy.”

He levered off me, and I flopped over onto my back, breathing hard. I hadn’t run that fast since middle-school gym class. My elbow throbbed. Damn it. “Nice. I bring you beer, and this is the thanks I get.”

“Aw, poor baby,” he teased. “Do I need to kiss your booboos better?”

“Yes.” I thrust out my arms. “Look at my hands, man. I need these for work.”

He sat up and took hold of my right hand, tilting it for a better look, then brushed away some dirt. “Think you’re gonna live.”

The skin was red, but surprisingly whole. I could have sworn I shredded the fuck out of it. Grass was sharp, but not that sharp, apparently.

Tex’s eyes met mine, and there it was again, that draw between us.

I licked my lips, pulse spiking at his proximity. “You said you’d kiss it better.”

The words fell out of me. I wanted to take them back when his nostrils flared, but it was too late. They were out there.

“I guess I did,” he murmured, still holding my eyes. He lifted my hand and brushed his lips across the center of my palm.

That single touch ignited a wildfire. It burned through me, all sense lost. I grabbed his T-shirt with my left hand and pulled him toward me. He could have resisted, but he let me tug him closer.

Close enough to kiss.

We were inches apart, our breath mingling. He would never close that distance between us, but my heart ached for it. So did another part of my body that Tex probably wasn’t ready to think about.

We’d danced around it for so long. I couldn’t take it anymore.

I surged forward, mouth slamming into his, far too desperate and eager for a first kiss. A surprised noise left him. He didn’t think I’d really take that final step, did he?

Still, he didn’t push me away. His hand clamped around the nape of my neck, and he pulled me harder against him. God, he was fucking delicious, an earthy flavor mingled with the fruity tones of the gum he chewed so often. Our tongues met, hot and slick, and a quiet moan of need escaped me.

Tex jerked back, eyes wide.

Scrambled to his feet.

I jumped up. “Tex—”

“This was a bad idea.” He shook his head. “I don’t do this.”

“You could,” I said tentatively. “With me.”

His eyes darkened, and he turned, jaw so tight a muscle twitched. I should be grateful he hadn’t punched me. But he wasn’t exactly making a guy feel welcome, either.

“I’m not staying,” he ground out.

“Uh, okay. Sleep on it, then. I’ll see you at the Redemption Road meeting tomorrow and—”

“No,” he cut in, voice harsh. “I’m leaving town.”

My heart dropped. “What? But the program…”

“I’m dropping out of the program. It’s not working out. I’m always fucking everything up.” He gestured toward me. “Just like this.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Yes, you do. I’m leaving, Holly. I’m taking off. I’m gone, okay? So this”— he waved a finger between us—“isn’t happening.”

A different heat flashed through me, one threatening to blow my head off my shoulders. “You’re running away from me?”

“It’s not about you.”

I curled my fists, nails biting into tender flesh, but that sting hardly registered next to Tex’s rejection. “Bullshit! You’re afraid. I’ve sensed it all along. I knew this would eventually happen because you don’t want to face the truth! You want me, Tex. You want a man.”

“Shut the fuck up, Holly. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Why couldn’t he just punch me? At least it would distract me from the vise in my chest, squeezing my heart to an aching pulp.

“Then stay,” I challenged. “Prove it.”

“I can’t.” His voice was hard, leaving no room for negotiation. “I’m going to the meeting tomorrow to say my goodbyes to the guys. Then I’m gone.”

“Don’t walk away from this.” A pleading note clung to my words, and my cheeks heated. I didn’t want to beg, but my mouth kept going, digging the hole deeper and deeper. “I see how you look at me. I know you want me too. We could be something together, you know?”

He barked out a mean laugh. “So vain, aren’t you, pretty boy? Not everything is about you.”

“What is it about, then?”

“Me. I’m done here. That’s what.”

He turned his back on me and walked away.

“Hey, we’re not done!” I shouted after him, but he just kept walking. He didn’t even look back. “Fuck you, man! Your loss, then!”

He reached the door to the building and turned back, a strange smile on his face. “Wouldn’t be the first thing I’ve lost. Won’t be the last. It’s what I do best.”

He stepped inside and let the door fall shut behind him.

I shook my head. I couldn’t believe this. The punch to the face would have hurt less. As I crossed the lot and picked up the six-pack I’d brought over, I tried to convince myself that he’d cool down. That he was all bluster.

All hat and no cattle, as he’d said earlier.

But a deep pit of dread formed in my stomach.

There’d been an air of finality to his last words. And try as I might, I couldn’t make myself believe I hadn’t driven Tex away for good.

Why couldn’t I have just resisted the impulse to kiss him?

We could have had more days like today. More teasing and laughter. More friendship. More—

I cut the thought short. Tex might want me, but he wouldn’t let himself have me. There was no place in my heart for a man who turned his back on me.

If he really left town, we were done.