Chapter 25
Hollywood
“Hot potato! Hot Potato!” Ruby sang (really, yelled) at the top of her lungs in the bathroom. The Wiggles had nothing on her. Splashing and giggling followed.
Tex’s deeper laugh rolled out after, sending a wave of warmth through me. Tonight, he was covering bath duty while I rinsed the dinner dishes. He’d cooked, so I didn’t have to throw out any pans. My French toast debacle had cost me more than my pride.
Tex had whipped up some shredded beef tacos, and Ruby had gone to town. Turned out she liked her meat just as much as her Teck did.
I bent to place the last plate in the dishwasher and closed the door.
Tex emerged a minute later, the sound of draining water seeping through the walls. He carried Ruby, already clad in pajamas decorated with little Powerpuff Girls, her second-favorite show after The Wiggles. Her long coppery red hair was closer to auburn while damp.
“Ruby had fun singing in the tub,” Tex said.
I grinned. “I heard.”
“I think someone takes after their daddy.”
“I can’t decide if that’s a compliment,” I said. “Do I yell at the audience too?”
Tex set Ruby down, and she ran over to the couch where her beloved stuffed bunny waited for her. She grabbed it up and hugged it to her face as if they’d been separated for years.
“Of course it’s a compliment, darlin’. She’s a toddler, but she’s got stage presence. She loves singing. It’s nice to see the ways she takes after you.”
“I never thought about that. She looks so much like Carrie.”
“Oh, but she looks like you too. See the way her smile hooks up more on the right? That’s all you.”
“So my smile isn’t even straight?”
He laughed. “Nothing about you is.”
I glanced toward the living room. Ruby was busy pulling out toys that I’d just put away. I’d have to get her to settle down for bed soon. But since she wasn’t looking…
I grabbed Tex’s shoulder, tugging him down. He kissed me, lips warm, his stubble prickling against my chin.
He pulled back. “I should go. I want to talk to my boss before he takes off for the evening.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” He drew a breath as if to say something more. Then he shook his head. “I love you, Hendrix.”
“I love you too.”
He brushed his thumb over my jaw. “You’re so much more than I deserve.”
“Not true. I—
A knock at the door cut me off. Tex glanced over his shoulder. “Let me guess. It’s Joyride.”
“Yeah, I invited him over for a movie night. He’s still down since seeing Dakota, and I don’t want him to go off and do something reckless. You know how self-sabotage can be.”
“All too well,” Tex said grimly. “But you sound like Knight, trying to save us from ourselves.”
I shrugged. “It was his idea. We’re all on Joyride watch. Did you not read the chat between us and Ghost?”
“I might have ignored a few texts after he sent all those kissy-face emojis…”
I grinned.
Tex rolled his eyes. “You love it, don’t you?”
I held my fingers a millimeter apart. “Just a tiny bit.”
Joyride knocked again.
Tex swept past me to kiss Ruby goodbye, then pulled open the door. “Come in already. You don’t have to knock.”
Joyride stepped inside. “Really?”
“Well, not as long as we know you’re coming over. Maybe don’t barge in at 2 a.m. or anything.”
He smirked. “Got it.”
Tex threw me one last look, then went out the door. I frowned after him, sure I’d missed something. That comment about me being more than he deserved. What was that about?
Tex gave so much to me and Ruby. Too much, sometimes.
“Everything okay?” Joyride asked.
I blinked. “Hm. Yeah. Just zoned out.”
“Da!” Ruby held up her bunny. “Bob is tired.”
I snorted. It killed me that she’d named her bunny Bob, of all things. Maybe she’d been watching too much SpongeBob SquarePants the day she picked its name.
“Is Bob ready for bed?” I asked.
Ruby nodded. “I’m not tired, but Bob will be scared without me.”
“Well, we can’t have that.” I handed Joyride the remote then picked up Ruby. “Choose a movie. I’ll be back.”
“Sure.”
I carried her to her bedroom and put her down. Ruby crawled into bed, eyes already heavy. She’d turned out to be a great sleeper once she was more settled with us. A nightlight cast a warm glow over the room, and a baby monitor sat on the table beside her bed.
I switched it on. “Da will hear if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay.” She yawned. “Will you sing ‘Love Me Tenner?’”
I smiled. “Sure, baby.”
I sang a few bars of my favorite song, keeping my voice soft and smooth, and she drifted to sleep within seconds. I smoothed her hair. How had I gotten lucky enough to have such a beautiful, charming little girl?
My phone trilled, and I hurried out of the room before it could wake Ruby. I checked the display.
Mom.
That was a surprise. Last I’d heard, Mom was attending an exclusive business retreat for some of the highest-powered execs in the country. She prioritized business over just about everything.
I picked up the call as I stepped into the hallway and closed Ruby’s door behind me.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hendrix!” There was the clink of glasses in the background. So she’d hit the bar already. “I was just thinking of you.”
“Oh, yeah? That’s nice to hear.”
“Yeah! I’m at the summit in New York.”
“I remember, yeah. I’m a little surprised you’re making time to call. Unfortunately, Ruby went to bed or I’d have her come say hi.”
“Oh, I’m not calling about Ruby.”
I sighed. Of course she wasn’t. She hadn’t asked, even once, to meet her granddaughter.
Hell, she hadn’t tried to see me when I got out of prison, so why was I surprised?
“I was talking to the vice president of SkyTech. I think if I get another couple of drinks in him, he might agree to fly you out for an interview.”
“What? I’ve got Ruby. I can’t just run off.”
“Exactly. You’ve got Ruby to think about. Don’t you want to give her the best you can? You’re not a barber. You’re a damn good business analyst.”
I lingered in the hallway, not wanting to subject Joyride to my conversation.
“I’m on parole. I can’t leave the state—”
“SkyTech has a satellite branch in Omaha.”
Damn. She’d really thought of everything, hadn’t she? But my life was in Riverton.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“No? Well, it’s your decision,” she said. “I thought you’d want a chance to provide for Carrie the way you promised.”
“Mom, Carrie and I aren’t together anymore. I have a boyfriend now.”
She sighed. “Yes, yes. Dallas or something. I saw the message you sent your dad.”
“Tex,” I said.
Mom wasn’t homophobic, but she’d never understood why I’d choose to be with a man if I liked women, too. Mom was ambitious, and she knew the traditional family man label would get me a lot farther than guy with a boyfriend.
I hadn’t dated Carrie for that reason, but I hadn’t really tried to meet men either.
Not until I lost everything, anyway. Then it had seemed silly to worry about expectations. I’d already blown them all to smithereens. Mom hadn’t understood why I did that either. Not because it was a crime, but because I’d done it to help those retirees getting screwed out of their pensions.
“Why would you risk everything for people you don’t even know?” she’d asked.
To be fair, I hadn’t expected to get caught. Still, I didn’t regret it. I regretted the outcome—especially for Carrie and Ruby—but I didn’t regret trying to help people.
Mom and I just weren’t wired the same, even if we both had a knack for business.
“So stay with Tex,” Mom said, voice threaded with tension. “But think about what you put Carrie through. Think about your daughter. They both deserve better, don’t you think? This could be—ah, shit. I have to run. Think about it, Hendrix. That’s all I ask.”
Click.
She’d disconnected. I slumped against the wall. Damn. Was Mom right? Did I owe Carrie and Ruby better than I could offer as a small-town barber? Maybe it was selfish of me to avoid the career I’d built before my imprisonment.
I hadn’t trusted myself to go back to that world. I’d been afraid of repeating my past mistakes. And the longer I was out of the corporate cesspool, the more I realized how toxic it had been.
Joyride’s shadow fell over me. I looked up.
He stood at the entrance to the hallway, blocking the light from the kitchen. “Are you okay?”
I pushed off the wall. “Yeah, sorry. My mom called.”
Joyride watched me, eyes searching. “Not a good conversation?”
“Eh, not bad for her, honestly.” I chuckled at the absurdity of the statement, but it was true. Mom’s questions twisted inside me, poking and prodding at old bruises, but she’d had good intentions.
I pocketed my phone. “Let’s go watch the movie.”
“Okay,” Joyride said. “But if you need to talk about anything, you know I’m here for you.”
“I know. Thanks, Joey.”
“How about some popcorn with lots of butter?” he suggested. “That always makes me feel better.”
I considered it. “I’ll have to go for a long run tomorrow. That’s a lot of carbs and fat.”
“Dude, you’re ruining the magic. Don’t think about your health. That won’t heal emotional wounds. You know what will?”
“Butter?” I guessed.
He grinned. “Nailed it.”
I laughed. “Okay, buttery popcorn and a movie. I can handle that.”
We made the movie snacks, which also included cans of Coke and my renewed stash of peanut butter cups.
“Your snack game is on point,” Joyride said as we settled on the couch in front of the television.
He hadn’t queued up a movie.
“So, what do you want to watch?”
“I don’t know,” he mused. “I wasn’t really vibing with anything.” He shrugged. “We can just hang.”
“Okay.” I dug out a handful of popcorn and crammed it into my mouth. The slick butter mingled with the salt, pinging some sort of inner craving that had me instantly reaching for a second handful.
“Do you get along with your parents?” Joyride asked suddenly.
I stilled. “I told you the call was fine.”
“I know. I’m just thinking about how I keep fighting with my dad.” He shrugged. “It’s hard, you know? I want them to treat me like an adult, but they can’t seem to forget my mistakes, and why would they? I fucking destroyed someone’s life.”
“Hey, you can’t think that way.” I turned toward him, pulling my leg up onto the couch. “I know what happened was awful, but Dakota was smiling when we saw her. She was joking around with her brother. That’s not a life that is ruined.”
“Maybe.” He picked at his jeans. “So, you get along with your parents?”
I sighed. Apparently, I wasn’t getting out of talking about it.
“I guess. My mom is focused on business. She doesn’t make time for a lot else.
I was closest to her when we worked together.
It made it hard to leave that job because I knew I’d lose her attention, but…
she was also so intense it got to be suffocating.
” I shrugged. “That’s how my mom is. All or nothing. ”
Joyride nodded. “Suffocating, I get. My mom is super nurturing, though. She gives me, like, ten hugs a day. It can be frustrating. Like she sees me as a little boy.”
“You’re young, and you went to prison. That didn’t just affect you. She lost her son for five years. Give her some time. She’ll ease up.”
“So you said your mom is all or nothing. Does that mean she’s not invested in you anymore now that you’re doing hair?”
“Pretty much.” I chewed my bottom lip. “It doesn’t bother me that much that she doesn’t care about me. But her not wanting to see Ruby? That’s a fucking crime.”
“It really is. I love that kiddo.”
I smiled. “Me too. More than I ever thought I could. I just hope I’m doing enough for her.”
“Dude, you dropped everything to take care of her. What more is there?”
It was a nice, supportive statement, but there was always more I could do.
Maybe Mom was right. I’d broken my promises to Carrie. Let her and Ruby down. But if I returned to a corporate career, it was within my power to make it up to them.
Was it selfish not to pursue something more?