Page 56 of Hollywood

“Aw, Jedediah. Just be what you need. That’s enough. If you let Dad, he’ll pull you under and drown you in his pipe dreams. You know that, because it’s happened once already.”

“Yeah,” I rasped. “I guess you’re right.”

“Go home tomorrow. If I see you back here because Dad called, I’ll kick your ass myself.”

I grinned and picked up my bowl of chili. “Yes, ma’am.”

“And don’t call me ma’am, or it’ll be the last thing you ever say.”

I pushed a big bite of chili into my mouth and tried to look innocent. My sister picked up her beer and tipped back the rest, guzzling like a pro.

“Uncle Tex!” Dylan called from the doorway. “Hurry up! I want to play.”

I swallowed and reached for my phone. “Go get it set up! I’ll be right there. I just have to make a quick call.”

He groaned theatrically, but he dashed away, calling over his shoulder, “You better hurry!”

Chastity smirked. “Hard to believe you want to leave all this, huh?”

“Yeah.” I rinsed my bowl and set it in the sink, then threw my arm around her shoulders. “I really don’t want to leave all this. If I could be here and there at the same time…”

“Well, maybe someday it’ll work out for us all to be in the same town. Until then, visit when you can. Dylan and Robbie need a good male influence in their lives, and Luke sure as hell isn’t going to be one.”

I kissed the top of her head. “I’ll do my best.”

She gave me a push. “Good. Go call Hollywood. Check on Ruby. Then kick my son’s ass, because he’s always beating me at that game and I’m tired of hearing about it!”

“Not likely, but I’ll give it a shot.”

I tugged out my phone and called up Hollywood’s name in the contacts. He answered on the second ring.

“Hey, Tex,” he said, breathless. “How’s it going?”

“Okay,” I said. “Why are you so out of breath?”

“I was just playing with Ruby.”

I waited a beat. He sighed. “Okay, I was just chasing Ruby with a towel. Apparently our girl decided to air-dry.”

I laughed, delighted. As Hollywood continued to tell me about his day, Ruby’s antics, and the cute way she’d slurped up the spaghetti he’d made for dinner, my heart continued to lighten.

Like sunlight, he brightened my dark corners and made me smile like a fool.

Maybe it was selfish. Maybe I was being a badson. But with Hollywood’s sweet voice in my ear, I couldn’t bring myself to make a different choice.

This man—this life in Riverton—was what I wanted. And I couldn’t let Dad convince me to throw it away.

CHAPTER 13

Hollywood

Joyride sat on my sofa,jiggling Ruby on his knee while she fussed, as cranky on the outside as I was on the inside. The Redemption Road meeting would start in fifteen minutes, and Tex wasn’t back from Hayworth yet.

Joyride came over just after lunch to see if I needed a break. He’d taken Ruby to the playground so I could relax awhile. I really thought Tex would call before he hit the road, but it had been radio silence.

I pulled out my phone to check for missed texts.

“Dude, you just looked two minutes ago,” Joyride pointed out. “Why don’t you call him?”