Chapter 8
Tex
“No!” Ruby shrieked. “I do! I do!”
She ducked away from Hollywood’s brush and raised her hands protectively over her head. She wore pink tights under a tutu with cowboy boots and giant-sized sunglasses. The whole morning had been one long battle of wills—and Ruby was winning.
“Don’t you want to look pretty to see Mommy?” Hollywood tried. “We could do your hair up to go with your tutu.”
“No! I do!”
With a groan, he let her take the brush and lightly run it over her hair—not giving it much of a brush—then proclaim “all done!”
“Figures,” Hollywood grumbled. “Of all the things she needs, hair is the one I’m actually qualified to do.”
I chuckled. “It’s a phase. She’ll grow out of it.” I raised my voice. “Hey, Ruby, can you show me how you brush your hair?”
She demonstrated. I nodded along.
“Can I try it now? I’ve never brushed such pretty hair.”
She paused, looking suspicious, but handed over the brush. I took it and ran it through her red hair, careful to hold sections so tangles wouldn’t pull. “Oh, wow. Your hair is perfect for brushing!”
“Pretty?” she checked.
“Very pretty,” I agreed.
Hollywood shook his head. “I need your magic touch.”
I raised an eyebrow, a dozen inappropriate comments springing to mind. Not that I’d say them in front of Ruby. Hell, I wasn’t sure I was ready to say them in private. Wanting Hollywood was one thing, but inviting…action was another.
Hollywood reddened, reading my expression.
“Wait, I don’t need your magic touch on me,” he blurted. “I didn’t mean that. Obviously! I just want your touch, because— Ugh. No. That’s not better.”
I laughed. “Pretty sure I knew what you meant, Holls. It’s alright. Everyone wants these magic hands on them.”
He rolled his eyes. “Cocky bastard.”
“Bas?” Ruby said. “Cock Bas!”
“No!” he exclaimed, looking horrified. “I said cookie monster!”
Her eyes lit up. “Cookie?”
My phone buzzed with a text while Hollywood tried to dig himself out of a hole with Ruby. Poor guy was going to have to bribe her with sugar. I checked my messages to see a group text from Knight. I scanned it and looked over at Hollywood.
“Hey, Knight says the guys found a trailer for you to check out at Clover Leaf. Want to swing by before you take Ruby up to the hospital?”
Hollywood checked the time. “Oh, wow. That was fast. Yeah, I just told Carrie we’d be there midmorning, so there’s time.”
I typed out a reply to Knight, then nodded. “Okay, we’re all set.”
Hollywood grabbed a bag of supplies for Ruby containing her favorite bunny, a couple of pullups and wipes in case of any potty accidents, and a few snacks. She held her sippy cup filled with apple juice, slurping as I put her into the car seat and buckled her in.
“Okay, princess, we should be all set.”
She pulled the cup from her mouth. “No. I Ruby.”
“My mistake, Ruby. You’re just as pretty as a princess. I was confused.”
She gave me another one of those skeptical looks that were becoming a frequent part of our exchanges. Now that Ruby had settled in a little, her personality was coming out, and this girl was going to be sasssssy. Chastity would love her.
I jogged around the passenger side of Hollywood’s car and slid in.
Hollywood started the engine. “Okay, here we go.”
“Go!” Ruby echoed.
I buckled my seat belt while Hollywood shifted into reverse. Ruby kicked the back of his seat, making him flinch, then laughed at her naughtiness. She pulled back her foot to do it again, and I reached back to catch her ankle.
“It’s fine,” Hollywood murmured.
“Oh, I know.” I tugged off Ruby’s shoe. “I just couldn’t resist these little toes.”
I tickled her foot, making her giggle as Hollywood turned down the side street. He shook his head, a smile playing around his mouth. “Always saving me. Maybe we should start calling you Knight.”
I smirked. “I think he’d fight me for it, and we both know he’d win.”
“No kidding,” Hollywood said. “That fight he took on was something else.”
“The drive home was certainly interesting too…”
Knight had been pumped full of adrenaline, and he and Aiden had gone at it in the back seat.
The whole time, I kept thinking, what’s so bad about that? Why can’t I let myself have that with a guy? I wasn’t homophobic. Not on the outside. But there was a small voice inside that kept saying, It’s fine for them. Just not for you. That’s not who you are.
“What happened?” Hollywood asked as he slowed for a stop sign.
“What?”
“On the drive home?” he said. “What happened?”
I glanced into the back seat. “Uh, let’s just say it was not appropriate for little ears.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
“Yup.”
“With you in the car, huh?”
I chuckled. “I turned up the radio and tried to keep my eyes on the road.”
The light turned green and Hollywood pulled through the intersection, then continued on to the highway that would take us to Clover Leaf Mobile Home Park. We passed by the Ball Breakers Pool Hall, where we’d met up for drinks with the guys a few times, and the tattoo parlor where Knight worked.
He was quiet for a few minutes, and I assumed the conversation was over.
But as we reached the park, he suddenly said, “It didn’t bother you? Seeing that?”
“No. Why would it?”
“Well, because you…” He trailed off, lips pressing together, forehead creased in a frown.
I knew what he wasn’t saying. I’d rejected him. Refused to acknowledge my feelings for him. Run away. He was right. I’d looked like a homophobic ass. I guess I was. Internally, at least. But I was working on it.
“People can change, right?” I said quietly.
“Yeah. We’re all in Redemption Road to change our lives,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t have Ruby, if I didn’t believe I could change.”
I nodded. “I’m trying to change too.”
“Okay.” He cleared his throat and looked around. “So, where’s this trailer? Did you get a lot number?”
“Head toward the end of the park where Ghost’s trailer is. Looks like it’s on the same street, just a few slots down.”
The trailer park was made up of three circles, trailers lined up around them like spokes. He pulled around a curve, and the vacant trailer came into view. It was a pale yellow, like weak sunshine, with dingy white trim. That could easily be touched up, though.
Knight and Ghost leaned against the chain-link fence that surrounded the front yard.
“There it is,” I said.
Hollywood pulled in. “Well, at least it’s not a tiny camper like Ghost’s place.”
“Would kind of defeat the purpose of moving you out of the apartment.”
He laughed. “Yeah, it would.”
We got out, and Hollywood unbuckled Ruby and hefted her onto his hip. She let him carry her through the gate and up the porch. Once we stepped inside, she squirmed and pointed to the floor. “Down!”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, putting her on her feet.
She immediately darted down the hall.
“I’ll go keep an eye on her,” Ghost said. “Look around.”
I was surprised he’d volunteered, but maybe he just didn’t want to get drawn into chitchat.
“The living room is already bigger,” Hollywood said. “And there’s actually room for a dining room table.”
“How many bedrooms?” I asked Knight.
“Two,” he said. “I realize three would be better, but there’s nothing open right now.”
I exchanged a considering look with Hollywood.
“I could sleep out here? Let Ruby take the second room.”
“I’m not making you sleep on the couch for six months,” he said.
My heart skipped. Six months. That was a long time, wasn’t it?
This was a big commitment. The biggest I’d ever made to anyone, and that included every woman I’d ever dated.
And I wasn’t even dating Hollywood. Might never date him, in fact.
Because I’d fucked that up good, and I still didn’t know if there was any coming back from that.
“Not that you have to stay for the full six months,” Hollywood said. “The fact you’re helping for now means a lot.”
I mentally kicked myself. Wasn’t I just telling Hollywood that I was trying to change? Hadn’t I promised not to run anymore?
I licked my dry lips. “I’ve got no plans to leave. I just…hadn’t really thought about the timeline. That would be a long time to sleep on the couch, but what’s the alternative? Us sharing a bed?”
Knight made a strangled noise that he turned into a cough.
Hollywood’s eyes widened. “I wasn’t thinking that.” He turned to Knight. “Do you think the rooms are big enough for Ruby’s bed to go into my bedroom? Then Tex could have the second bedroom.”
“I think so,” Knight said, still fighting a grin. “But let’s take a look.”
He led us down the hall and pointed out the first room—definitely not large, but it’d hold a full-size bed easily enough.
The second room at the end of the hall spread across the full width of the trailer, thankfully, and looked like it could fit Ruby’s bed alongside Holly’s if we got creative in how we arranged the dresser and nightstand.
“We can make this work,” Hollywood said. “The place seems like it’s in pretty good shape. What’s the rent?”
“It’s going to be about a thousand a month,” Knight said.
“Nina is going to waive the deposit. You just need to cover the first month to move in.”
“Really?” Hollywood said. “That’s nice.”
“Well, not really,” he admitted. “But it’s covered.”
“Ghost does landscaping work for the park,” Knight said. “She normally gives him a discount on rent. She’s just applying it to you instead.”
“Oh, I can’t ask for that,” Hollywood said quickly.
“It’s no problem,” Ghost said. “Someday I’ll need a favor, and you’ll help me out. It’s what we do.”
“Thank you,” Hollywood said.
Ghost pulled out his phone and checked the time. “I should go. The junkyard opens soon.”
Hollywood nodded. “Sure. I need to get Ruby to the hospital to see Carrie again.”
“How is she?” Knight asked.