Chapter 29 #2
I wanted to kiss him, but the curtains twitched on my sister’s house, and the door opened a minute later. My nephew Dylan came jogging down the steps.
“Uncle Tex!”
I threw open my door and pasted on a grin. “Hey, Dyl! Are you staying out of trouble?”
He scoffed. “My middle name is trouble.”
I laughed at the posturing. He was at that age where he tried so hard to be cool that it was anything but. Damn, I loved the kid. If my sister didn’t take this news well, I wouldn’t be losing only her.
Hollywood joined me on the sidewalk. Dylan’s gaze flicked to him. “Are you the guy with the kid?”
“That’s me,” Hollywood said.
“Dylan!” my sister called from the doorway. “Don’t be rude.”
“Sorry,” he said with a shrug.
“This is Hollywood,” I said.
Dylan eyed Hollywood. “What kind of name is that?”
“A silly nickname your uncle gave me,” Holly said. “My real name is Hendrix. You can call me that if you like.”
“Whatever.” Dylan turned back to me. “Can we game together later?”
“I don’t know if I’ll be here long enough.” His lips tugged down. “We’ll see, okay?”
“Okay,” he said, then added grudgingly, “your friend can have a turn too.”
“Well, thanks,” Hollywood said. “I’m not into gaming, but if there’s time, I’d love to watch you beat Tex’s ass.”
My nephew—the little traitor—laughed. “I always do!”
He ran inside ahead of us. My sister smiled at Hollywood. “So nice to finally meet you, but I’m a little irked with you both.”
Hollywood flashed me a look. Hell, I hadn’t even told her anything yet.
“Where is your little girl?” she went on. “I wanted to meet her!”
“Oh!” Hollywood laughed. “Sorry. She’s at a birthday party with her cousins.”
“Well, I suppose that’s a decent excuse.” Chastity stepped back, waving us inside. “Come sit. I’ve got my youngest down for a nap, so we can have a nice chat.” She paused. “Do you want a soda? I’m all out of beer.”
“That’s okay,” Holly said. “I’m good.”
“Me too,” I added.
Dylan lingered on the edge of the living room, but Chastity flapped her hand at him. “Go pick up your room. If you want to play with Uncle Tex, that floor better be free of dirty clothes.”
He huffed. “It’s not that bad. Robbie made most of the mess.”
“Then get him to help. And make the bed too.”
“But Mom…”
Chastity just gave him a look.
His shoulders sagged. “Fine.”
He turned and trudged down the hall, muttering under his breath.
Chastity dropped into her favorite glider rocking chair. “So, what brings you to Hayworth? Dad isn’t dragging you into more landscaping work, is he?”
“Nothing like that.” I swiped my damp hands on my jeans. “I, uh, actually just wanted to talk to you about something.”
She gave the floor a little push with her foot to keep her chair rocking. “Oh? What’s up?”
“I had a big fight with Dad last night. He hasn’t, uh, said anything about that, has he?”
Her forehead creased with a frown. “No. I mean, I knew he wasn’t happy you quit to be in Riverton. Was this fight about that?”
“Um, not entirely.”
I launched into the story about covering Dad’s purchase at the greenhouse and his refusal to pay me back, followed by him showing up and suggesting I steal some supplies for him. I was stalling, but it wasn’t the easiest news to just spit out.
At least, not when I wasn’t in the middle of a fight. With Dad, those words had practically leaped off my tongue. Now, they seemed to be lodged in my throat.
“I can’t believe him!” Chastity exclaimed.
“You could go back to prison if you were caught. That is so far over the line.” She shook her head.
“I wish I could loan you some money to cover what he owes, but things are tight. If they weren’t, I’d be out of here by now.
I hate this town. Everywhere I go, I bump into one of Luke’s family members or friends. ”
“Are they bothering you?”
“No. Not really. They’re just unfriendly. Which is logical, but I can’t avoid them, you know? Small towns are great until you’re on the wrong side of them.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “You should move to Riverton. We could help you. Right, Holls?”
“Uh, yeah. We’ve got a lot of friends there.”
His gaze met mine, questioning. Right. I wasn’t here to tell Chastity about my money problems or offer to help move her closer. She might not want to be closer to me once she knew the truth.
But Hollywood wasn’t going to say the words for me. If I chose to leave without coming out, he’d let that happen. Clearly, my dad hadn’t told her. Might never tell her if he wanted to deny it had happened. I could probably hide out in the closet a little longer.
But that wasn’t fair to Hollywood. And I really didn’t want to go on wondering if my sister really loved me—or just the version of me she thought she knew. It was time to rip off the Band-Aid.
“There was something I said to Dad last night. Something that made him really angry.”
Chastity tilted her head. “About time you gave him a piece of your mind.”
I licked my lips. “Um, yeah, it was more than that. I…sort of told him I have a boyfriend.”
She slapped her feet onto the floor, her rocking chair stilling. Her gaze flicked over to Hollywood. “You two are together.”
“Uh.” Hollywood glanced at me.
I reached for his hand, gripping it tight. “Yes. We’re together.”
“Oh, Tex…” She covered her mouth, eyes wide.
Suddenly, the words erupted from me like molten lava. “I hope you can accept that because I love Hendrix and Ruby, and I can’t give up on them. Not when they believe in me the way Dad never could. I love you, too, but—”
“Shut up!” She leaped from the chair and threw herself over me, half sprawling in both our laps to hug me. “You’re such an idiot. I don’t care who you love.”
Hollywood laughed as I squeezed her tight, my damn eyes burning with more tears. When would this bullshit stop?
“See?” Holly said. “You’ve got to stop expecting the worst, babe.”
“Aw.” Chastity drew back and patted my cheek. “Did you really worry about me? Me? You know my best friend in high school was a lesbian.”
“What? Kendra was?”
She laughed as she retook her seat. “My god. You are so oblivious sometimes.”
He shrugged. “Kinda had other shit on my mind, like uh, losing that scholarship. Dad never forgave me.”
“Fuck Dad. I’m sorry, but the way he’s treated you has been wrong for a long time.”
“He wasn’t the same after Mom died,” I said.
Hollywood squeezed my hand, wordlessly giving me support.
“We all miss Mom. It doesn’t give any of us a free pass, though.
You’ve tried so hard to please him. I used to be jealous, you know?
Because he focused so hard on you he didn’t even see me most of the time.
But after a while, I was relieved. I saw how you tried to live up to all his hopes and dreams. Let’s be honest, you went to prison because you were trying to win Dad’s approval. ”
“I made a stupid decision. I can’t put that on him. I have to be accountable for my mistakes.”
“Fine, that’s fair,” she said. “Own your mistakes. Just know that you didn’t make them in a vacuum. He was there. And maybe last time he didn’t know what he was doing, but this time? Telling you to steal? He fucking knew.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter because he’s done with me now. He said I wasn’t his son.”
Chastity’s eyes narrowed. “Then I must not be his daughter.”
I shook my head. “You don’t mean that.”
“I’m your sister. So if you’re not his son, then I’m sure as fuck not his daughter,” she insisted. “To hell with him.”
“I really like your sister,” Hollywood said next to me.
Chastity laughed. “I like you too. You know, I was surprised when Tex told me you were together, but I shouldn’t have been.
I could tell you were really special to him.
Every time he spoke about you, there was this…
warmth, I guess? I don’t know if you know this, but my brother isn’t always the most warm and cuddly guy.
I figured you two must be really close. I didn’t quite imagine how close… ”
“Please don’t imagine it,” Tex said. “That would be weird.”
She grinned. “Don’t worry. I’d rather not picture my brother that way, even if his gay boyfriend is hot.” She waved a hand in front of her face, giggling at Tex’s horrified expression.
“I’m bisexual, actually,” Holly said.
“Oh, shit, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.” She glanced at Tex. “Are you also…”
“Bisexual too,” I confirmed. “I, uh, guess it wasn’t something I thought much about before I met Hendrix. I could appreciate that men were attractive, but I never really met anyone who pushed those buttons for me.”
She nodded. “So you’re still attracted to women?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Doesn’t matter. I love Hendrix. He’s the only one I want.”
“Aw.” She pressed a hand to her chest, cutting her gaze toward Hollywood. “And what about you? Do you love my brother?”
Hollywood leaned in against me. “Yeah, I love him. I fell first.”
“Not really,” I said. “I just tried to hide it.”
“You were pretty damn good at it,” he grumbled.
I winced. “Sorry.”
My sister smiled at us both. “Well, you got there in the end. That’s what counts, right?”
I gazed into Hollywood’s soft hazel eyes. He had taken such good care of me today. Forgiven my mistakes. Lavished me with love. Held me while I cried. Stood by me while I faced my truth. I couldn’t imagine loving anyone more.
Ever.
“Yeah,” I said softly. “We did.”