Page 145 of Hollywood

“Even better,” she joked. “I’ll be a bit tight on cash until I get my first paycheck.”

Chastity had gotten a job as a server at Sauced, of all places. Tex had talked to the owners, who’d fired him last year. Apparently, they felt so bad about letting him go that they instantly offered Chastity the job.

I went inside to help her unpack. Aiden joined us, too, while the other guys finished setting up the playground in Chastity’s backyard. Robbie and Lanie were already taking turns on the tire swing.

By the time Carrie pulled up in her teal blue Jetta with Ruby in the back seat, Knight had set up the patio furniture on the deck and was dropping into a chair with a tired groan.

I met Carrie in the front yard. She still moved a little slower than I remembered—a slight hitch in her stride—but she unbuckled and swung Ruby to the ground with relative ease.

“Hey, Roo!”

Ruby ran toward me, arms already outstretched. “Da!”

I swept her up, swung her around, and planted a big kiss on her cheek. Tex came around the house. He must have heard the car.

“There’s my girl.”

Ruby twisted in my arms. “Tex! I wannafly!”

She’s finally gotten his name’s pronunciation down, but I kinda missed her calling him Teck.

He plucked her from my arms and tossed her into the air. She was larger now, at three, but still so tiny in his big hands. “Is this all I am to you?” he teased. “Just an airplane ride?”

“Yes!”

He pulled her down and blew a raspberry into her neck. “Wrong answer!”

She giggled. “You’re my Tex!”

“Good enough,” he said with a grin, cuddling her for a moment before putting her down. “Tex is filthy. You wanna know why?”

She gaze up at him with curious eyes.

“I was making a surprise in the backyard. Go see.”

She took off like a shot, nearly tripping over a rock in her hurry.

“Be careful!” Carrie called. “Slow down!”

“You’re wasting your breath,” Tex said with a chuckle.

“I know,” Carrie said with a sigh. “She’s got boundless energy.”

“You doing okay with that?” I asked.

Carrie had only been out of rehab for two months. She still did outpatient therapy.

She smiled at me. “Yeah, but I’m glad we’re sharing custody. I couldn’t do it seven days a week. Not yet, anyway.”

I slipped an arm around her, hugging her from the side. “You got anywhere to be?”

“Not really. Why?”

I urged her forward. “Come meet Tex’s sister, Chastity. She’s got three kids. Ruby will probably spend a lot of time with them.”

“Okay,” she said with a smile. “I’m curious about this surprise.”

We walked around the house, pausing when we reached the backyard. Ruby had already found her way onto the slide, squealing as she slid down. Lanie was right behind her, giggling.