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“Wow!” I could hear the genuine surprise in Tay’s voice. “That does sound like a fun day. Did you read your story already?”
“Nope, I just finished brushing my teeth and getting my braid.” Harper moved her head back and forth, causing her braid to swoop from side to side.
“Perfect timing, then!” Taylor enthused.
Harper and I went down the hallway to her room as she filled her mom in on dinner and that two of ‘daddy’s friends’ brought food. When she climbed into bed, she picked out two books. While Taylor was still on FaceTime, we read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and then I tucked Harper into bed. “Goodnight, baby burrito.”
“Goodnight, Daddy.”
“Goodnight, Peanut.” Taylor blew Harper a kiss over the screen. “I miss you and I love you and I love you and I miss you.”
“I miss you and I love you and I love you and I miss you!” Harper recited back to her mom as she caught the invisible kiss in the air.
I kissed Harp on her head and then rubbed Bandit’s head; he was curled up at the end of her bed. “Good boy,” I said before I flipped on the galaxy nightlight and shut the door behind me.
When I turned the phone around so the screen was facing me, I started to say, “Talk to you tomorr?—”
“You moved her in?!” Taylor spoke over me.
From the hallway, I could hear Ruby in the bathroom. The shower was running. Thoughts of her naked beneath the water populated my mind like multiple computer viruses. Every time I closed one of them out, another popped up.
“Hold on.” I walked to my room and shut the door behind me, then sat down in my armchair.
Taylor’s eyes danced with amusement. “Does Remi know that you and his baby sister are shacking up?”
Remi and Taylor had never met each other, but I’d talked about him to her a lot over the years. I’d explained how protective he was of Ruby and how Ruby used to tag along with us.
“We’re not shacking up,” I lowered my voice. “She needed a job and place to stay, and I needed help with Harp and Grandad.”
“Mmm, hmm. And what about last night?”
“That was…” I almost said it was a mistake, but it didn’t feel like a mistake. It felt like whatever the opposite of a mistake was. I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
Taylor’s tone and expression turned somber and serious. “Just be careful with her.”
“What does that mean?” I shot back defensively. I hadn’t meant to. In the eighteen years I’d known Taylor, I’d never spoken to her like that. But I would not put up with anyone judging Ruby over one night in her life. She wasn’t some wild child, and even if she was, that wouldn’t make her a bad person.
Taylor’s green eyes widened. “Relax, snapping turtle. I just meant that I know you care about her, and from what I’ve heard, she has no plans on settling down.”
“What have you heard about her?”
She shrugged. “I hear things.”
Kenna. I was sure it had to be Kenna filling Tay in.
“Look, I know you don’t let very many people in, and I just…I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I’ll be fine,” I assured her, feeling silly for my defensiveness.
“Okay, good.”
We talked for a few more minutes about Harper’s day camp and Grandad coming home and then ended the call. I set the phone on the nightstand as I rested my forearms on my thighs and ran my hand through my hair. Tay had definitely hit a raw nerve when it came to Ruby, proving that the warning had merit.
I wondered if I’d made the wrong decision by offering Ruby the job. I hadn’t done it because I wanted to ‘shack up’ with her. But, I had to admit, I did like the idea of her being under my roof for the next few months. The problem was that I might like the idea a little too much.
My phone rang, and I looked down and saw it was Remi calling. My stomach twisted in guilt knots. I knew my reaction was ridiculous. Ruby and I were both consenting adults, but that didn’t make what happened last night right. I felt like shit for betraying Remi’s trust.
“Hey, man,” I answered, hoping to sound as normal as possible.
