Chapter 24 #2
A knock came at the door. Everyone’s eyebrows flew up.
“Do you think it’s him?” Aiden asked.
“No way,” Joyride said. “He wouldn’t show up for something like that.”
“I don’t know,” Knight said. “I think he’s a bigger softie than he lets on.”
I hopped up to open the door. Ghost stood there, looking as unreadable as always. “Come on in. We’ve got a few doughnuts left.”
“Doughnuts?” He stepped inside, bushy eyebrows raising as he took in the crowd. “Was there some sort of meeting I forgot about?”
“Nope,” Knight said. “We’re here for the same reason as you.”
Ghost looked confused. “You wanted to tell Tex about borrowing the park’s gardening tools?”
“What? No. We’re here to suss out how their date went last night.”
“Oh.” He glanced at me, then Hollywood. Shrugged. “Looks like it went fine.”
Knight drew in a breath, looking affronted. Aiden laid a hand on his shoulder. Joyride buried a laugh in a cough.
“Yep,” I agreed. “It’s all good. Thanks for stopping by, guys, but we’ve got to pick up Ruby from her aunt’s house, so…”
Everyone took the cue, standing and heading toward the door.
“Let us know if we can help with anything,” Knight said, bending to scoop up a reluctant Biscuit and carry him out.
Ghost turned to me. “You still coming over to work on the garden later? I have to lock up the tools when I’m not using them, so…”
“I’ll bring Ruby over in a while. She loves playing outside.”
“I’ve got to run a few errands,” Hollywood said. “So that’s great. You two play in the dirt. It’ll be easier to shop for groceries without Ruby throwing every cereal invented into the cart.”
“But you really enjoyed those Cocoa Pebbles,” I teased.
His cheeks pinked. “And I really don’t need one more temptation in this house.”
I smirked. “As long as you keep me—”
Ghost cleared his throat. Damn. I’d forgotten he was still standing here. “I’ll just, uh, meet you over at my place later, then.”
As soon as the door closed, I drew Hollywood in for a kiss. “Think we have time for a quickie before we get Ruby?”
He smiled, eyes hot. “Race you to the bedroom.”
He took off, laughing, and I followed. It was so similar to that day in the little park behind my apartment across town, when I’d tackled him to the ground and Hollywood had tilted my whole world on its axis with a single kiss.
This time, when we crashed together, I pulled him closer and kept kissing him.
Ruby and I went over to the empty lot beside Ghost’s trailer just after lunch.
It was too late to plant much this fall. The first frost date was quickly approaching. But I wanted to prepare the soil to improve conditions for a spring garden.
Knowing I’d still be here with Hollywood and Ruby to harvest tomatoes and onions and strawberries made me picture roots running through my limbs, too. I was settling in, ready to grow.
I turned to Ghost. “Thanks for letting me do this at your place.”
“No problem, but I call dibs on the best tomatoes.”
I grinned. “Deal. But you’ll have to wait a few months for that. I’m just planting winter rye for now.”
“Why rye?”
“It acts as ground cover and prevents erosion. Keeps so many weeds from taking root, too. When I till it in spring, it’ll mulch into the soil and give it a lot of extra nutrients.”
“Huh. Okay.” He motioned. “I’ve got a shed around back. I borrowed a few tools from the park supply for you.”
“Nina doesn’t mind, right?”
“I take tools out for work around the park all the time. As long as they come back, it’s all good.”
“Thanks.” I started toward the shed, then pivoted back as an idea struck. “I don’t suppose you’d need some help with that?”
“What?”
“Groundskeeping for Nina? I’ve been thinking about picking up some extra work.”
His bushy eyebrows shot up. “Doesn’t Ruby keep you pretty busy during the day?”
“I guess she does, yeah. Nevermind. Dumb idea.”
Ghost’s brow furrowed, and I could see the questions in his eyes. I hurried around to the shed to grab the tools. When I got back, he was sitting in one of the lawn chairs we kept for our cookouts, Ruby in his lap.
They were playing patty-cake. Holy shit. The guys would never believe it.
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket. Without looking up, Ghost said, “Don’t even think about it.”
How did he do that? The man was all-seeing. No wonder he’d picked up a nickname like Ghost.
I carried a spade and broadfork over to the plot I’d cleared for the garden. I’d spent a couple of days clearing weeds, loose branches, and rocks. The soil was damp. Good. Ghost had watered it as I’d requested, then. It would make it a little easier to till.
I dropped the broadfork and stabbed the sharp edge of the spade into the ground. The ground resisted, firm and compacted. I set my foot on top of the blade, giving me extra leverage to force it into the ground.
Ruby ran over. “Can I help?”
“Can you? I think you better. I just can’t do it alone.”
I helped her step up onto my foot, weighing down the spade as I pushed it into the ground. “Oh, so much better!”
It wasn’t, of course. But she giggled and looked so proud of herself that I’d gladly spend a little extra time tilling the garden.
“Okay, hop off,” I said. “I need to pull it up.”
Ruby hopped down, and I tilted the spade, turning over the dirt. I moved to the side, and we repeated the action. Ruby “helped” for a little while longer before Ghost interested her in a few fresh strawberries.
She settled herself in a lawn chair, eating the juicy berries while I continued to churn through the dirt. Ghost picked up the broadfork and began following me, pulling the prongs through the soil and separating clods of dirt.
“You don’t have to help,” I said.
“Got nothing better to do.”
I grunted, most of my energy needed for digging. Ghost was never one to demand conversation, though, so it worked well enough until we took a break.
I collapsed into a chair, raising my shirt to wipe my sweaty face.
It came away dirt-streaked. I added laundry to my mental checklist. Hollywood always dressed so nice, in dockers and button-downs, or designer jeans with fitted polos.
It made my jeans and old T-shirts look sloppy in comparison.
The least I could do was actually keep them clean.
Ghost went inside and returned with a couple of cold cans of Coors. He handed me one.
“Thanks.”
I cracked the top and guzzled it down. It wasn’t my favorite brand, but I’d take anything that was cold and wet about now. Even though it was October, and the weather was crisp enough Ruby wore a puffy coat, I’d worked up a sweat.
“So, tell me what’s going on,” Ghost said.
“Huh?”
“Why do you need money?” he asked bluntly.
I blinked, caught off guard. I wasn’t used to talking one-on-one with Ghost. I wasn’t sure any of the guys were. He was close-lipped most of the time.
“It’s fine.”
“Bullsh—” He cut himself short, cutting a glance toward Ruby. “Be straight with me. If you’re in trouble, we need to know it.”
“No!” My stomach dropped. He really thought I’d get involved in crime? That hurt. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“I’m not saying it’s your fault,” Ghost said, eyes serious. “Knight had trouble too. He didn’t ask for it.”
I shook my head. “No, this isn’t…that. It’s just that I loaned my dad some money. Rent is coming due, and I haven’t heard from him.”
Understanding dawned in his eyes. “He’s not going to pay it back?”