Page 19 of Hollywood

Hollywood was allowing me in because he was out of his depth. Soon, he’d remember that I bailed on him. Just walked away and pretended like that kiss meant nothing.

Then he’d go back to giving me the cold shoulder.

But damned if I was going to let that stop me. Hollywood needed me. As long as he did, I’d be there.

I wasn’t going to walk away again.

CHAPTER 5

Hollywood

Ruby doveinto a box full of cords under the TV that I kept for some reason I was sure I’d discover someday. She yanked out a black cable, dragging three other cords with it. Visions of the child getting twisted up and strangling in half a dozen cords hit me.

“No, no.” I rushed over and took the cords from her, cramming them back into the box. “Not toys, Ruby.”

“Mine!” she insisted.

“No.Mine.”

She stamped her foot, tears welling up. Oh, damn it. I couldn’t handle the tears. Not that I could let her play with this tangle of cords, either. Dang it.

Ruby had fallen asleep in the car on the way back from the hospital and I’d put her on my bed with a pillow barrier for a while, but she’d woken up when Joyride delivered pullups, wipes, and a couple bags full of kiddie snacks.

She’d gotten a sort of strange second wind where she wouldn’t sit still. She roamed the apartment, grabbinganything and everything, making me aware that this place was a fucking hazard.

My flat-screen TV took up most of the wall, with about two feet of space between it and a coffee table that had sharp corners I’d never noticed before. The couch took up the rest of the living room, with one end table that held a lamp made of old pipe and industrial gears. I’d thought it was so cool when I found it at a craft fair, but now it just looked like a concussion waiting to happen.

I picked up the box of cords and sat them on the kitchen counter, then added the heavy lamp and the empty coffee cups cluttering the coffee table. “There. Maybe my apartment won’t injure you so much that your aunt killsme.”

Ruby followed me, still fussing over the cords, but as soon as we entered the kitchen, she got distracted by the cabinets. She yanked open the one under the sink and reached for the bottle of bleach.

“Nope!” I grabbed all the cleaning supplies, adding them to the counter as well. At this rate, I’d never be able to prepare food in here again.

Ruby was undaunted, moving on to the drawer next to the cabinet. She found dish towels and began hauling them all out. Fuck it. Towels couldn’t hurt her, at least.

How the fuck did Carrie do this alone? I’d had custody of Ruby for less than an hour and I was exhausted.

While Ruby was throwing a towel party, I went through my other cabinets, pulling out breakable casserole dishes and leaving the pans she could bang on harmlessly. Out of counter space, I had to use the top of the stove and those tiny cabinets over the refrigerator to store things out of Ruby’s reach.

A knock came on the door.

“Come in!” I called.

The door opened and Tex leaned in. “Hey, I’ve got a bed and—whoa. It looks like a tornado went off in here.”

Ruby whirled, eyes wide when she saw Tex. “You!”

“Me,” he agreed with a grin. “How are you doing, girlie?”

She raised her arms in the universal sign ofpick me up. She’d all but insisted Inotpick her up ever since we got here. I wasn’t sure what made Tex different until she demandedthrow.

“Apparently, you’re the carnival ride,” I said.

Tex obliged by tossing her in the air and catching her. “Not my first time.”

Ruby giggled. She already liked him way more than me. I collapsed onto my sofa. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Of course you can.” He opted to spin Ruby, rather than throw her, and she squealed. “You’re her dad.”