Page 37 of Hollywood

“I could sleep out here? Let Ruby take the second room.”

“I’m not making you sleep on the couch for six months,” he said.

My heart skipped. Six months. That was a long time, wasn’t it? This was a big commitment. The biggest I’d ever made to anyone, and that included every woman I’d ever dated. And I wasn’t even dating Hollywood. Might never date him, in fact. Because I’d fucked that up good, and I still didn’t know if there was any coming back from that.

“Not that you have to stay for the full six months,” Hollywood said. “The fact you’re helping for now means a lot.”

I mentally kicked myself. Wasn’t I just telling Hollywood that I was trying to change? Hadn’t I promised not to run anymore?

I licked my dry lips. “I’ve got no plans to leave. I just…hadn’t really thought about the timeline. That would be a long time to sleep on the couch, but what’s the alternative? Us sharing a bed?”

Knight made a strangled noise that he turned into a cough.

Hollywood’s eyes widened. “I wasn’t thinkingthat.” He turned to Knight. “Do you think the rooms are big enough forRuby’s bed to go into my bedroom? Then Tex could have the second bedroom.”

“I think so,” Knight said, still fighting a grin. “But let’s take a look.”

He led us down the hall and pointed out the first room—definitely not large, but it’d hold a full-size bed easily enough. The second room at the end of the hall spread across the full width of the trailer, thankfully, and looked like it could fit Ruby’s bed alongside Holly’s if we got creative in how we arranged the dresser and nightstand.

“We can make this work,” Hollywood said. “The place seems like it’s in pretty good shape. What’s the rent?”

“It’s going to be about a thousand a month,” Knight said.

“Nina is going to waive the deposit. You just need to cover the first month to move in.”

“Really?” Hollywood said. “That’s nice.”

“Well, not really,” he admitted. “But it’s covered.”

“Ghost does landscaping work for the park,” Knight said. “She normally gives him a discount on rent. She’s just applying it to you instead.”

“Oh, I can’t ask for that,” Hollywood said quickly.

“It’s no problem,” Ghost said. “Someday I’ll need a favor, and you’ll help me out. It’s what we do.”

“Thank you,” Hollywood said.

Ghost pulled out his phone and checked the time. “I should go. The junkyard opens soon.”

Hollywood nodded. “Sure. I need to get Ruby to the hospital to see Carrie again.”

“How is she?” Knight asked.

While Hollywood gave him an update on Carrie’s condition, I picked up Ruby and went to check out the rest of the trailer. There was only one bathroom, but that was no worse than the apartment. The kitchen offered a lot morecabinet and counter space, which would be damn nice. But best of all, the living room should hold all the furniture and leave a nice amount of space for Ruby to play with some toys.

“What do you think, Ruby? Should this be our new home?”

“Home?” She looked around, eyes big.

I wasn’t sure she understood, but there were some wheels grinding as she took in our surroundings.

“We’re going to live here. Bring Ruby’s bed. Her clothes. Her toys.”

She perked up at the mention of toys, then frowned as she gazed at the empty rooms. Well, she’d figure it out once we got some actual toys.

Knight and Hollywood came down the hall, still chatting about the hospital—this time about how much Aiden loved working there and to find him for lunch if he and Ruby wanted a visit.

“Hey, you should ask for Carrie’s house key,” I said.