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18
KANE
“Ignoring the elephant in the room is about as effective as a paper condom.” ~ Miss Dottie
“How long is Ruby going to stay with us?” Harper stood on a stool at the bathroom sink, wearing her Little Mermaid pajamas, as I pulled the brush through her long brown hair.
“For the summer,” I explained as I set the brush down and separated her hair into three parts to braid it. If I didn’t braid her hair, then she would get knots in it. Detangler was helpful, but this was easier. Also, she liked the waves that the braids made when we took them out.
“Is she going to sleep in Grandad’s room?” Harp picked up her toothbrush and squeezed a dollop of toothpaste on its bristles.
“Yep.”
“Why isn’t Grandad sleeping in his room?” Her worried blue eyes met mine in the mirror's reflection.
Harp had handled Grandad’s accident well, but there were times I could see how scared and concerned she was. He was, for all intents and purposes, another parent to her. He’d lived with me since she was three months old.
“Grandad is still healing and getting better, so walking up and down the stairs would be difficult for him,” I explained.
“Why doesn’t Ruby sleep in your room?” Harper asked, and my heart slammed into my chest.
Had she picked up on something between Ruby and me? Did she have a suspicion that there was something going on? Had she figured out that Ruby and I had a sleepover?
“What? Why would you…why would she?” I stumbled over my words.
“Lilah’s mom and dad sleep in the same room,” she stated pragmatically.
“Right.” I nodded. Since she’d just spent the night at JJ and Destiny’s, it made sense that she would pick up on that. “But Ruby’s not your mom or my wife.”
“So when Mommy comes home, you guys are going to sleep in the same room?”
Harper was only four, and I knew that these conversations were only going to get more difficult the older she got.
“No, because your mommy doesn’t live here.”
“Why doesn’t Mommy live with us?”
“Because your mommy and me are just friends. We’re not in a relationship.”
Her head tilted to the side as her freckled nose scrunched. “Who are you in a relationship with?”
“No one.”
“Why not?”
Because I can’t be with Ruby. I wasn’t sure where that thought had come from. This past week had seriously fucked with my head, and last night sure as hell hadn’t helped. I’d always cared about Ruby. I’d followed her career from afar and been concerned about her when the video had gone viral, but something happened when she’d turned around at the Pit Stop, and I’d looked into her eyes. It was like my heart leapt out of my chest and landed in her hands.
Before I figured out how to answer Ruby’s question, my phone rang in my pocket. I finished securing the rubber band in place and then pulled it out.
“Oh, it’s your mommy calling.”
I answered the FaceTime call and turned the phone, so the screen was facing Harper. “Hi, Mommy!”
“Hey, Peanut! How was the rest of your day?”
“It was good. I colored you a picture and painted my nails.” She lifted her hands to reveal her sparkly pink manicure. “Grandad came home, and Ruby is going to stay with us, but she’s not sleeping in Daddy’s room because she’s not in a relationship with him.”
Internally, I sighed. I’d wanted to tell Taylor about Ruby myself. I knew she wouldn’t have an issue with it, but I still would have liked her to have heard it from me. I should have known Harper would blurt it out.
